WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley reflected on a Barbed Wire Death match that he had with Terry Funk over twenty years ago on his Facebook page. He posted the following:
“22 YEARS AGO TODAY: the match I’m proudest of
Of all my matches, I am proudest of this one because of the lengths that Terry Funk and I went to during the course of this no-rope, barbed-wire bloodbath to put our little promotion, #IWAJapan on the map. There may have only been 150 people in that cold little gym, but after the graphic and gory photos were released in full color in the Japanese magazines, people started taking note of our promotion. Only six months later, we drew 30,000 fans a Kawasaki stadium for the fabled #KingOfTheDeathmatch tournament. I don’t think it would’ve been possible without the sacrifices Terry Funk and I made 22 years ago today.
I wrote about this match in 1999’s ‘Have a Nice Day’, and also extensively in 2010’s ‘Countdown to Lockdown’ – which just might be worth tracking down at the dollar store just for that chapter!
I don’t claim to be a tough guy, but my answer to veteran grappler Tracy Smother’s very reasonable request to ‘not do anything crazy out there, Cactus’, is pretty badass – if I do say so myself. I just looked at Smothers like it was the most absurd request of all time and before stepping through the door on my way to face Funk – a match I would return from in far worse shape and than I entered – simply said, “you know I can’t do that.”
