Wide World of Wrestling- Retirony, Part I

Welcome to the Wide World of Wrestling. If you are a new reader, this is where aim to explore the context of the shows seen on and off screen, comparing and contrasting with history to show its flaws and positives. This is about the issues and processes of today and the impact that has on the fans and the business

Exams and a final round of SACs  are responsible for the lack of a column last week.  From today, I’m aiming for what I hope works outs as a better style. Time will tell.

If you’ve watched The Simpsons, you may very well have come to grips with retirony before. A combination of ‘retirement’ and ‘irony,’ retirony is when retirement is ironic, as when a person died right before they retire. Well, I’d like to look at a bit of a different angle with retirony. You’re probably quite aware with what Ric Flair has done. Terry Funk is a notorious offender. That’s right, an ‘offender’ because what he and others for that matter, have done, including Ric Flair, is considered by some as a great offense. In case you haven’t followed, retirony is apt enough in describing the circumstances of retirement when they come right back.

The objective for today is not to look at why wrestlers return, or when they should retire, but how they retire.

Semi-retirement seems the natural state when one gets older. Yet, bowing out on one’s own terms also has an appeal. In Edition #11, the first of this three-part series, I focus on the master of retirony, Terry Funk. Through looking at his body of work after his various retirements and the circumstances of his retirements, it can be concluded that the old Funker might have attained the greatest irony of all- that his retirements help him to have a longer and more accomplished career.

Retirony is at full heights with Terry Funk, as with his many retirements, his return has come to be a foregone conclusion. When it comes to lasting retirement, Terry Funk has often proved elusive. He has retired in no less than three different decades, in three different countries- Canada, the United States and Japan-. Yet retirement has so far seemed to mean a break before a gradual return.

Whilst this attests to how wrestlers can be compelled to return by, there can also be no doubt that Terry Funk is a special case. Apart from the number of times he has retired, intriguingly, after he has retired he has come back and sizeably added to his body of work, unlike many who return from retirement. Retirement has been melded into something different in his hands.

His first retirement was in 1983, in Japan, with a match pitting The Funks (him and his brother Dory Funk Jr.) against Terry Gordy and Stan Hansen. This was a very big deal as it was believed to be his true retirement. It lasted little more than a year. After his return, he significantly added to his body of work, wrestling in what was then known as the WWF, as well as AJPW, SMW, WCW and ECW. He retired again in 1997, wrestling against then WWF Champion Bret Hart in Canada, in his final match. This proved to be such a good match that the crowd pleaded him not to leave.

Seeing as it was just his second retirement and that his first was known to only a relative few, it is understandable that the crowd though this retirement genuine. On top of this, Funk had recently transitioned to a hardcore style and his work in ECW and FMW must have taken a toll. This was an excellent time for one of his retirements, to gauge whether he still had what it took to wrestle.

Funk has been through a lot in order to get to where he is today. Image Credit: Christine Coons, Slam Wrestling

After a few months, however, Funk was back on the scene and soon returned to the WWF for about a year. During this time he made some notable appearances, including at WrestleMania XIV. It was at this time that he was known as Chainsaw Charlie and the fact that he was both on a program seen throughout the world and that his matches from this period can be seen in numerous DVDs, it is evident that his return did not bring with it reduced activity. After leaving the WWF in 1998, he retired yet again.

It is after this retirement and the previous one where it could truly be said that genuine retirement seemed quite possible. Now 54, he was older than most active wrestlers. He had accomplished much in a long career, had no pressing need for the money and had the aches and pain that accompanies longevity. He had already helped ECW and elevated numerous wrestlers. He was already considered to be a wrestling legend and had the reputation to focus on training others if he desired. It truly came down to whether Funk thought he still had the drive for professional wrestling. In his opinion, he did. I believe he discussed this in Beyond the Mat, but I’ve forgotten.

Was this the right decision? I would say so. His 1998 retirement did not include a big send-off the likes of which that his other retirements have had especially his 1983 and 1997 retirements. Considering these other retirements, it seems more appropriate for Terry Funk to go out in a blaze of glory, rather than going out quietly. Opportunities for that would arise later in his career. Of course, if Funk had retired whilst he still had the ‘itch’ to wrestle, he would not be at peace with himself. Some of his later work would continue to show that Funk still has this desire and what it took to wrestle.

A very content Terry Funk at home at Double Cross Ranch alongside close friend Masanorie Horie. He's the same one in both Jericho's and Foley's books. Image Credit: Masanorie Horie, View From The Rising Sun

As for his decision in 1997, it was a big send-off, but again, if Funk still had the drive, he would not be able to stay away- especially given that outside of pro wrestling, what can he do? He has been exposed to professional wrestling in a big way since the age of 4, thanks to Dory Funk Sr. and that has got to impact on his desires and capabilities.

His next return was about as short as his previous run. He returned to FMW in Japan and ECW but illness played a role in another retirement in mid-1999. Of all his various retirements, interestingly, this one is the only time to date where retirement was forced upon him. Rather than choosing his own terms for a hiatus, it was illness that chose for him. This time, his retirement interrupted another feud with Tommy Dreamer and months of interference came to naught as illness prevented him from having the matches to delve into the feud.

After a recovery, which may have been as much mental as it was physical, he returned again. This time, WCW was his port of call. Though this run was set far from WCW’s best days, he still added to his body of work, seen by numerous people. His work in his last WCW run led to him being prominently featured by the organisation WCW Commissioner and later as a full-time wrestler. After leaving WCW, he went on to appear for AJPW and ROH as well as independent promotions 3PW, XPW and MPW.

2005 featured what was billed as a ‘final match’ at Wrestle Reunion, when he faced then NWA World Tag Team Champions and TNA mainstays America’s Most Wanted alongside his brother. This may or may not have an ‘official retirement’ but either way the Funker could be found once more in the ring very soon after, getting involved in Hardcore Homecoming. He later rejoined what was now called the WWE, wrestling on the One Night Stand PPV. This was a match that could easily have been a retirement match, but it wasn’t. Instead, he continued to work and had another retirement match against Jerry “The King” Lawler in 2006 for independent promotion Impact Zone Wrestling.

Of all his retirements, this one has seemed to stick. It is also different to his other retirements in that the then 62 year-old claimed to be semi-retired, rather than ‘officially retired’ or a full-time wrestler as he usually ended back up as after each time he has left. Since that date, he has made some special appearances in 2009, but has otherwise been virtually silent. Though this technically was not a retirement match, fans can consider his match at One Night Stand to be his true retirement, unless he does return to wrestle in occasional matches as he hasn’t seemed to have done so far.  On October 23rd, 2009, Terry Funk was roasted at the Legends of the Ring convention, a further indication that he may truly be done and if not, has considerably winded down his activity.

Funk could prove to be a bit of a pioneer in that he has used the concept of retirement to give himself times to reflect on his career- and his health- to determine whether it indeed time for him to retire. There are many wrestlers who arguably wrestle past well after they deteriorate or are forced out by health concerns, unable to fully leave on their terms. The Funkster’s usage of retirement has allowed him to evaluate his place in the business. Though calling his retirements by that name invites critiques and jokes, the concept of a break after the various stages of one’s career may be sound one- especially given his most recent retirement appears to be genuine.

"Superstar" Billy Graham, aided by Awesome Kong and Jamie D presents a painting to Terry Funk. Image Credit: Christine Coons, Slam Wrestling

The concept of using retirement in this way has so far resulted in retirony, but that is because it is still considered as retirement. Whilst a number of his retirements could have ended up as the real thing, other retirements were indistinguishable from breaks for the three R’s of Funk’s ‘retirements’- reassess, rest and return.

The concept of a big match prior to taking a rest break has spread, though in the other cases so far, retirement was not being pondered. In 2005 Chris Jericho took a break following a match with Cena and planned to return, which he did in November of 2007. This last match wasn’t particular major, apart from the fact that he was facing WWE Champion John Cena and it was seen worldwide. In a bigger showing before a break, August 2007 had Manami Toyota taking a one year break following a tribute show to her- shades of Funk from 1997.

When he retired in 1997, it was at an event dedicated to him and both Dory Funk Sr. and Jr. The event was called WrestleFest- 50 Years of Funk and though it is unconnected, Funk’s activity has made the concept more acceptable. The first time something is done is always the hardest to come to grips with it. Unlike other wrestlers, as Jericho and Toyota were fully intending to return, it wasn’t considered a retirement match, unlike some of Funk’s numerous retirements and the breaks other wrestlers have had.

This method for taking breaks to reassess one’s desire for pro wrestling and the ability to continue with it, to rest one’s body and mind from the stresses of pro wrestling and to return on the right terms for him is effective. Few can match his longevity and considering his work includes brutal hardcore matches, with his work before that transition by no means soft on the body, the fact that he has lasted while others haven’t is in due part to this method.

His various retirements have allowed him times to recover without being too burdened by commitments to return to and fulfil. It has helped Funk to structure and increase the length of his career, which has lead to more accomplishments, by giving him some hard-earned time to focus on considering what he wants and where he wants to go. Whether he is affectionately viewed or scorned for his multiple retirements, it has prevented him from pushing himself beyond even his limits, which could have resulted in very real retirement earlier and quite possibly in far worse circumstances.

Wrestlers will always retire in one match, but Funk’s approach has allowed him to better select that match to ensure it isn’t in circumstances that are any less than the very best. The best way to retire is through the way of one’s own choosing, though when that may be is for another time. Funk’s method ensures retirement in grand style, which was entirely fitting for the Funker.

Wrestlers may retire because they no longer have it once and for all, or because they have just lost their passion for it following recent events or continued activity that has led to them being burned out. Funk’s approach has allowed him to better manage himself, by allowing him to have time to consider his place in the business. If his penultimate performance at One Night Stand is anything to go by, Funk was able to preserve himself as a wrestler for a very long time and was able to bow out on his own times, before he lost it as a wrestler.

Funk hoists his latest award, presented at his roast at the Legends of the Ring Convention, where he was acknowledged by his peers. Image Credit: Christine Coons, Slam Wrestling