[2000-02-14-WCW-Nitro] Lex Luger vs Terry Funk

[soup23]

I love the Total Package entrance. Luger is insanely jacked here. Funk sneak attacks him and starts off on top with punches. Luger comes back with a nice press slam sending Funk through the table. Luger is certainly moving slow but the psychology is still there. Funk misses a moonsault to a big pop and Elizabeth gets in the ring. That causes a DQ which makes no sense given the weapons we have seen. Arn comes down and steals the chair and Doug Dillenger chases Lex and Liz out. **1/4

[Loss]

As someone who has liked both guys at different stages of their careers (and Funk most of the time), this wasn't a match I was looking forward to all that much. Sometimes, you just see a match on paper and it just doesn't seem like the wrestlers will gel and this really seemed like one of those cases. Two very different wrestlers. Funk was a madman past his prime, which is fine because he could still be entertaining, but Luger was pretty broken down and hadn't had a good match in years. I have to say while I'm not generally a fan, I laughed at Mark Madden calling Hulk Hogan an actor who dabbles in wrestling. The press slam spot through the table was well done but I'm so sick of table spots, and it's only February 2000. Funk is selling the back in a big way and all of Luger's offense targets Funk's back. The match ends in a DQ when Elizabeth pushes a chair in the ring when Funk attempts a moonsault, only for Funk to land on the chair. Seeing a moonsault in a Lex Luger match is just too weird. And yeah, a DQ for that, but not for going through a table?

[goc]

I didn't realize Terry Funk was this broken down in his 2000 WCW run, I seemed to remember it as him still having something left in the tank. I mean yea he's willing to take punishment like bumps to the floor & going through a table but he just moves like a guy whose body is completely broken down. Even his punches don't look very good.

 

That said, with Funk's willingness to take bumps he shouldn't be taking and Luger not really having to do much other than beat on him, this ended up being better than I expect it to be on paper and even Mark Madden was not nearly as annoying as I expected him to be on commentary.

[GSR]

Lex is doing his entrance where Elizabeth tears off his clothes (and he looks in amazing physical shape!) when Funk sneaks into the ring. Liz sees him and backs off and he then aggressively rips off Lugers trousers in something that made me laugh more than it probably should. Funk with some rights and lefts, then a clothesline drops the Package. Lex with a headbutt to mid-section and he throws Funk to the outside. Funk reverses an Irish whip and Luger takes the bump into the guard rail. The Funker pulls a table from under the ring and as hes setting it up Liz distracts him. Lex with an axe handle, he rams Funk into the ring steps before throwing him through the table. Luger starts trying to wear him down ready for the Torture Rack with some nice forearms to the back and a suplex. He goes for the rack, but Funk with a low blow. DDT, reverse neckbreaker and up he goes for the moonsault. Again he misses and again he nearly kills himself landing on his head. Lex picks up a chair that Liz had thrown in the ring and cracks Funk over the head with it for the DQ. He puts the chair over Funks ankle as if he is going to break it, when out comes Arn Anderson to snatch it away.

 

Youve got to give it to Funk for taking those bumps at his age, especially when he looks so physically broken down. Lex wasnt going all out by any means, but he did enough to make it an enjoyable little match. Not sure if Funk was meant to land on the chair when he missed the moonsault, but the DQ finish was weak when you consider Lex had already thrown the Funker through a table on the outside. Liz isnt good at all in her role.