#136: Dory Funk, Jr. vs. Terry Funk, AJPW International Champion Series (4/30/1981).
Hello readers!
The theme I cooked up this week is one I've been excited to drop for a few months now. I've always been interested in the rarest of encounters in pro wrestling, so this week, I focused on "One Time Only" matches.
What that means is very simple: It's the only time that two competitors had a singles match, or the only time two competitors shared a ring together. It's fascinating to go back and see some of these matches knowing that they never happened again. It's always a treat to see how certain timelines align with each other.
Repetition is a harsh thing in wrestling, so seeing matches like these that are quite literally one in a million is a breath of fresh air.
Up first this week is a battle for the NWA International Heavyweight Championship, and it is the fabled sole singles encounter between the legendary brothers of the Funk Family - Dory, Jr. and Terry. On this night, Dory was set to face Bruiser Brody for the championship, but Brody was unable to make the event, so Dory was simply awarded the title.
However, he would still have a championship match on this evening, and the man who was selected to be his opponent would be none other than his own brother, Terry Funk! Two legendary careers between them, but only one singles meeting between the two.
The bell sounds, and Terry applies a front face lock immediately. Dory escapes and they get a quick lock up. Dory gets the side headlock takedown off. Terry grabs the leg and swings it in order to shift his momentum, but Dory has a vice grip on it.
Dory brings the action to the mat, and Terry pops off a few roll up attempts. Dory continues to hold tight to the headlock. Terry escapes and eats a shoulder tackle for his troubles. Dory goes right back to the side headlock.
Terry is on his knees, and he sends Dory off the ropes. He rushes Dory and he gets caught in the headlock again. All these headlocks - is this a Ricky Steamboat match? Terry tries to pull Dory's grip apart, but the tenacious older brother won't break.
Terry finally escapes and goes for the Spinning Toe Hold, but Dory sees it coming a mile away, and transitions back to the headlock. I swear, I feel like these headlock spots are a lost art in modern wrestling. Bring them back!
Terry escapes again and tries for an abdominal stretch, but Dory scurries to escape and - you guessed it - goes back to the headlock. Dory shoulder tackles Terry, who responds with a roll up. Dory is back up quickly and gets the headlock on again. You could do a drinking game with these headlocks. But hey, that's a true war general right there - controlling the pace.
Terry escapes and lifts Dory up in a fireman's carry, but Dory smartly holds onto his bicep, and gets to the apron. They lock up, and Dory cranks even harder on the side headlock. Dory flips him over for the takedown, retaining control of the headlock.
Terry escapes once again, but he dropkicks his brother a few times. Dory is right back in the Ring, and keeps his brother in the headlock. Terry gets back to his feet and tries to break the grip of his older brother, going as far as to hold his grip above both of their heads.
Dory eventually goes down and gets his arm hammerlocked. Dory counters it into a head scissors. He planks himself on Terry's back, and Terry carries him to the turnbuckle and places him on the top rope to break the hold.
They lock up, and Dory takes Terry to the mat. Dory applies a head crank, while Terry tries to counter with a guillotine. They're back to their feet, and Terry is trying for a Suplex. Dory is fighting hard to counter it. He gets to the ropes to break the hold.
Terry pops off some elbows to the head, and then applies a front face lock. Dory escapes and hammerlocks Terry's left arm. Dory extends both arms behind Terry's back, and uses his boot on his back to stretch all the ligaments.
Terry gets to his feet and tries to reverse the move, but Dory will not let up. He ties Terry's arm up under his own to make it even more difficult to find escape. Terry reverses the pressure and turns it into a slight back slide pin, until Dory rolls over and Terry continues to stretch his brother's arms.
Dory finds his way out of the submission, and the two circle each other. Terry grabs Dory's arm and applies pressure. He grinds at the wrist, and Dory responds accordingly. Terry moves from that, to hammerlocking both arms with his leg.
Terry with an arm drag to Dory, and he goes back to hammerlocking the arm. Dory tries to use his whole body to flip out of this, but it's Terry's turn to control the action.
Jumbo Tsuruta is at ringside watching this one. Dory tries to sit up on Terry, and it works, as he finally escapes the hold. He smacks his arm a few times to give it some feeling. That's smart psychology.
They lock up, and Terry takes wrist control again. Dory pops off a few forearms to Terry's head. Drop toe hold by Dory, and he cranks away at the Calf muscle of the Hardcore Funker. Oh hey, look who is at ringside watching with youthful eyes - the one and only Mitsuharu Misawa.
Dory drops all his weight on Terry's leg, bending it in all crazy directions. Dory slams Terry's knee off the mat. Dory with a Calf Crusher of sorts, AJ Styles style! Terry gets back to his feet, and tackles Dory down. He tries it again, and Dory sends him flying to the floor.
Looks like Terry banged up his leg on the way down. Back in the Ring, Dory suplexes Terry and gets a nearfall. Dory with the toe hold on Terry, but not of the Spinning variety. No less painful, though.
Dory has this thing on hard. He's got Terry folded up like a pretzel. Terry grabs Dory's wrist, and Dory responds with an elbow to the head. Terry responds to that with a headbutt! Dory with a shoulder tackle, followed by the abdominal stretch. Now both men are on the top, and Dory is contorting his brother around like he's Zack Sabre, Jr. It's the Tekkers!
Terry manages to return to his feet and apply the Indian Death Lock to his brother, Triple H style! Both men are back to standing, and they lock up. Dory with a nice back elbow to Terry's head. They lock up, and Dory goes into a neck crank.
Terry gets a back slide off, and Dory is able to kick out. Dory with a toe hold next. He twists Terry's leg around and does the early set up for a Muta Lock, minus the leaning back and stretching of the neck.
Terry turns it around, but now Dory has an Inverted Figure Four in. After a rope break, Terry hits a Piledriver on Dory, who is able to kick out. Terry with a spinning neckbreaker next. Dory is able to kick out of that as well.
Terry with a side headlock, Dory Funk Jr. Style! See what I did there? Terry cranks on the headlock hard, until Dory reverses it into a back suplex. Dory tries for a double arm Suplex next, but Terry fights it as best as he can. Both men go to the mat, and Dory gets a few pin attempts in.
Back to their feet, Dory goes for the headlock again, but Terry tries to escape with an Inverted atomic drop, to which Dory hits one of his own. Nice uppercut by Dory, who applies the Boston Crab next.
Terry fights it as best as he can, and breaks it by placing his head on the bottom turnbuckle pad. Huh, never seen that before. Terry stumbles back to his feet, and Dory asks for more. He gives him a powerslam and an uppercut.
Terry is down on his feet. He ain't got a clue where he is. They lock up again, and Dory Irish whips Terry to the turnbuckle a few times. Dory tries for the Double Arm Suplex, but Terry manages to break the grip. Nice back suplex by Dory, and Terry kicks out of it twice.
They collide head first following a shoulder tackle attempt from Terry, and he rebounds quickly with a series of elbows to the head. Now Terry tries for the Double Arm Suplex, but Dory sends him to the apron. Back in the Ring, Dory hits some hard uppercuts to Terry, then gives him an ugly back body drop to the floor.
Terry comes into the ring, and he seems to have hurt his shoulder. Dory goes to check on him, but AHA A RUSE! Terry trips him and applies the Spinning Toe Hold! Dory rolls out of it like a pro, and he looks pissed. His little brother got one over him.
They lock up, and Terry takes the side headlock. He cranks on it, applying as much pressure as he can. Dory lifts him up and drops his knee onto his own. Dory applies the toe hold, and forces Terry's leg way back, almost touching his head.
Dory transitions to a Half Crab submission, and then goes to a sitting toe hold. Terry forces himself up and gets to the ropes. Terry then grabs Dory and sends him to the floor. Dory gets on the apron, and Terry suplexes him back into the Ring. That gets a nearfall.
Terry with quick jabs to his brother. They lock up, and Dory gets in some quick shots to the midsection, and follows with hard uppercuts. Dory snatches the arms and hits the Double Arm Suplex. He covers, but Terry kicks out.
Dory maintains side control and attempts to hold his brother down for the count. Both men get back to their feet, and Terry unloads with elbows and forearms to the head. Shoulder tackle by Terry, and the second is avoided as Dory sends him to the apron. Terry comes in with a sunset flip pin, but Dory reverses it into a roll up for the 3 and the win to retain.
I cannot recommend this enough for the wrestling fan out there who has only seen the modern stuff. This is as old school as it gets. Both men didn't necessarily do a lot in this match, but they didn't have to. This was a Chess Match, start to finish, and the execution of each hold from both men was incredibly well done.
Dory played a great bully here, dominating his younger brother for the majority of this match, while Terry played a great young pup, constantly gnawing at his leg and making it difficult to put him away. Everything they did here mattered, which is something I can definitely say is lost in modern wrestling.
To some, this may come off as a tad boring, which is understandable. This match is almost devoid of high spots - it's just scientific wrestling. But man, if you love the basics, this is the match you need to see. Hell, watch it anyway, and see just how wrestling has evolved - or unevolved - in 2024.