Ted DiBiase Remembers Terry Funk, Calls Him One Of The Greatest Wrestlers Of All-Time

On the latest episode of Everybody’s Got a Pod, WWE Hall of Famer Ted DiBiase talked about the late great WWE Hall of Famer Terry Funk, who recently passed away after battling dementia. You can check out some highlights below:

On Terry Funk’s passing:  “Terry Funk was one of the greatest wrestlers, in my opinion, of all time. He’s a guy who could do it all. He could be as scientific as his brother, Dory. Dory Funk Jr. Dory. Dory is a great wrestler, and he was an NWA world champion for, I think, four years, and he was great. But most of Dory’s work is like wrestling in and out of hold, but Terry could do all that. And what Dory never seemed to do is Terry could be the wireless orangutan in the ring. He could go from I don’t know. It’s hard to explain, but he could do it all. But more than his, more than his wrestling. Talent or skill. Terry was like a big brother to me. I. A little history, I mean. Our fathers, Dory Funk Senior and my dad, who wrestled as Iron Mike DiBiase, were best friends. And I think I’ve mentioned this before. Still, they had the longest professional wrestling match in history, a three-hour and almost 20-minute Texas death match in Amarillo, Texas 1966. And we always came. We didn’t have to go through Amarillo, but we would always go through Amarillo. We’d always stop any.”

On the most critical advice Terry ever gave him:  “Every time I had an issue, I had a major decision to make that concerned my wrestling career. I remember when I went up to Vince McMahon. Add me up. And I mean, I had made one Trump trip up there, and he laid it out. He didn’t lay it out. He said, I’ve got this idea, Ted, And he said, it’s never been done before. And so many things have been done and redone. And he says I think that you’re the guy for it. You interview well; you’re great in the ring. You can do this. And but. I said, well, like Ted, I can’t tell you until you have enough faith in me to sign the contract. And I said, Well, I want to do this. I said it’s a major decision, so I must think about it for a few days. And so he said, okay, well, when I left there, the first phone call I made was to Terry Funk, and I laid it out to Terry. I said, “Here’s what the deal is, and what do you think? And he said, Teddy, if Vince McMahon says he’s got a brand new idea. And it’s never been done before. And he thinks you’re the guy for it. Pack your bag, kiddo, and don’t look back. Go for it.”

On their relationship:  “And, of course, I thought that’s what he would say anyway, but that’s how much respect I had for Terry and his knowledge. You know, the psychology of wrestling and. You see, he was just there. He was always there for me. And I can remember, like, when I was in college and. I’d gotten married to my first wife. I’m not living in the dorm. I’m living off-campus. And it’s kind of like her. Her salary is paying our rent now. Everything else, my schooling and everything else, was free. But we’re living off of my first wife’s income. And Terry, I can remember one time this is wild, but I don’t know, and I can’t remember where we were, but we walked in. There had to be a wrestling show somewhere. So we walk into the bathroom at the same time, and we’re, and we’re standing side by side at the urinals. Right. And he takes a $100 bill and puts it in my pocket, on my shirt. And he would he would do things like that occasionally. He would always give me a little money here and there.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Everybody’s Got a Pod with an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.