WWE Executive Director Bruce Prichard has claimed that an infamous Terry Funk promo was the reason that many networks dropped WWE Shotgun Saturday Night in the late 1990’s.
The syndicated show ran from January 1997 until August 1999 and focused on the edgier side of the product as WWE entered the famous period now referred to as The Attitude Era.
Shows would often take place in unusual locations including Penn Station in New York City, with the legendary WWE Hall Of Famer Terry Funk causing chaos during an appearance over Royal Rumble weekend in January 1997. Funk was scheduled to battle Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart at the Denim & Diamonds nightclub in San Antonio, Texas and let loose on the microphone before the bout, delivering a promo that Prichard believes cost the WWE many major television deals.
Speaking on his podcast ‘Something To Wrestle With…‘ Prichard noted that he was cautious about Funk’s appearance and made some simple requests of the legend ahead of the show:
“Wrestle Bret, have a hell of a match, let’s get him over, and maybe a little promo beforehand. All I ask of you … ‘This is live … I know it’s late night but we’re live, and we’ve got a lot of eyeballs on us. Please, just watch your language, no hells, goddamns, or s**t, please.'”
Funk assured Prichard that he had nothing to worry about before launching into a now legendary promo in which he referred to Jim Ross as an ‘Oklahoma Son Of A B*tch’, labelled Vince McMahon as a ‘yankee bastard’ and, most famously, shocked his opponent by announcing ‘you’re Mother’s a wh*re’.
Prichard would lay the blame for the loss of several network deals at Funk’s feet following the outburst and also noted that Funk had not just ignored his requests on the night, but also treated the Executive to an impromptu beer bath at ringside:
“When people say, ‘Bruce, whatever happened to that show “Shotgun Saturday Night?” I say, Terry Funk.’ So yeah, we got thrown off the air — for those comments. I think we had a goddamn in there, we had everything I asked him not to do.
And there’s one point in the match [against Hart] where they had the big troughs of beer, on ice, and at one point, he [Funk] grabs me and put me in it. I didn’t have a change of clothes.”
When Did Terry Funk Pass Away?
Terry Funk sadly passed away on 23rd August 2023 after a battle with dementia. His passing was announced on social media by his long-time friend, WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley.
H/T: WrestlingInc for the above transcription