Dory Funk Jr. Interview Recap - Raven, WWE, Tough Enough and more
Submitted by Daniel Pena on Saturday, June 25, 2005 at 6:19 AM EST
AudioWrestling.com Interview Recap: Dory Funk Jr. on The Mayhem
Former NWA World Heavyweight champion Dory Funk, Jr. was a guest on the 6/24/05 edition of Monday Night Mayhem which can be heard in streaming audio every weekexclusively on the AudioWrestling.com site, the exclusive legal home of the "Spring Break Incident" VOD featuring Stacy Keibler!
The interview with Dory Funk, Jr. is now available to hear for FREE in Real Audio!
Here are highlights from the interview provided by the show's co-host Shawn Walters of www.MondayNightMayhem.com and www.AudioWrestling.com. =========================
The Big Mosh and The Angry Hero welcome the legendary Dory Funk, Jr. to the program, on to promote the “Night of Champions” at the Funking Conservatory in Ocala, FL this Sunday, June 26th, featuring none other than WWE Superstar Rob Van Dam. Be sure to check out www.dory-funk.com for more details. Dory says it’s not only an action-packed card for the fans but beneficial to his students, who will be critiqued by Rob on their matches. This will be Rob’s second appearance at Dory’s school and they felt it was important to have him return to help out with the students. Dory continues to put Rob over as wrestling with “emotion and enthusiasm” and “gives the wrestling fans what they want.”
Dory still thinks wrestling is still “pure” today and it is exemplified with guys in the WWE like Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair, who are all about “performance.” While there were great athletes in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, he thinks a lot of wrestlers today surpass their predecessors in representing true athleticism. Dory does accept that you do need angles and hardcore matches to make the product entertaining, pointing out the quality bout between Mike Awesome and Masato Tanaka at ECW One Night Stand.
Dory talks a bit about his brother, the “Hardcore Legend” Terry Funk, and his mindset going into Hardcore Homecoming. He says Terry was determined to “bust his ass” and give the best possible performance, despite any circumstances. Dory thought both ECW shows were well done and happy about the interest in brought to wrestling as a whole.
In remembering some of his matches in ECW teaming with Terry against the Public Enemy, Dory recalls the time he and Terry hung Rocco Rock by his feet from the balcony. He also looks back at the match where the fans threw chairs in the ring and practically smothered the Public Enemy underneath. Dory remembers the moment as defining the “spirit of ECW.” He continues to stress how the ECW shows were good for business, not just for Vince McMahon but for the Funking Conservatory and wrestling in general.
Dory feels Raven is definitely worthy to hold the prestigious NWA title, given the long road he had in front of him to get to the top. He thinks the TNA shows are great and remains optimistic about the state of wrestling and its popularity. It’s on the upswing and Dory anticipates the next big star could come from anywhere, whether it is from the Funking Conservatory or the WWE training system.
Dory is extremely proud of his work in the WWE Funkin’ Dojo, training some of the current WWE stars like Kurt Angle, Edge, Christian, Test and the Hardys. He also has tremendous respect for those recent superstars that he helped train that broke in through other venues like Steve Corino and Lita. Dory is also proud to have work with newer WWE notables like Gene Snitsky and Sylvian Grenier.
Dory emphasizes that if one wants to be a success in wrestling, you just need to be yourself but “turn up the level.” He even suggests the Mayhem hosts would make good wrestlers, to which Mosh responds with the story of him pulling a hamstring getting OUT of the ring after a prize giveaway at a local indie show.
Dory has no problem whatsoever with WWE’s Tough Enough series since anything that generates interest towards the business is a good thing. He is optimistic that all publicity for wrestling is good publicity, whether it is on TV or in print. Dory sees it that if Maven and Nidia came out of Tough Enough with viable careers in the WWE, then the series achieved its goal.
After talking about working the WWE Royal Rumble in 1996, Dory discusses the importance of territorial wrestling. He enjoyed working the different regions and thinks regional wrestling is due for a comeback, just not right now.
Dory promotes his !BANG! TV show, which actually broadcasts its program on the web, found over at www.dory-funk.com. The promotion is a full television production in itself, complete with commercial breaks and actual storylines taking place on the show. Dory looks to use the Funkin’ Conservatory website as a “resume” for the students, being able to show promoters and even family members their progress at the school. Dory also promotes the aspect of safety, allowing the students to be creative but careful of their well-being.
After giving his thoughts on the comments made by Ric Flair towards Bret Hart and Mick Foley in his book, Dory talks about competing at WrestleReunion II (www.wrestlereunion.com). He and Terry will be teaming with Mick Foley (with Bobby Heenan in their corner) taking on the Midnight Express. Dory thinks this next convention will be better than the last and it’s awesome to have all those legends congregate for one event. Dory wraps up talking about one of his top students, Adam Windsor, and how it is expected of him and all of his students to perform quality matches.
Once again, check out www.dory-funk.com for more information on this Sunday’s “Night of Champions” featuring Rob Van Dam in addition to the latest episode of !BANG! TV (now up to episode 215)!
========================= You can hear Monday Night Mayhem in its entirety every week only on www.audiowrestling.com
Make sure you mark your calendars for next week’s edition of the Mayhem, with scheduled guest former (and as of recently, current) senior ECW official Jim Molineaux along with a full recap/analysis of WWE’s Vengeance PPV. Also, be sure to check out AudioWrestling.com OnDemand with a new segment of Behind the Brawl VIP featuring special guest Matt Striker!
- Hot pics of Stone Cold's busty blonde ex-wife!!
*NEW GALLERY* Candice Michelle's Head Up Maria's Dress! WOW!
- Quick Links -
[Back to LOP] [News Archives] [Results] [Columns] [Forums]
|
|