WWE's CM Punk has named the stiffest wrestler he has ever gotten in the ring with, recalling how this legend's punches were real.
Punk recently spoke on the "My Mom's Basement" podcast, where he stated that the late, great Terry Funk was the hardest-hitting wrestler he ever got in the ring with. He also realized in his matches withFunk why his punches looked so real over the television screen.
"Terry Funk. Yeah, there's a moment in my career where I wrestled Terry Funk, and I had an epiphany of why his punches always look so good because they were real punches. [I thought to myself] 'All right, great.' And then [I would think] 'Why are you headbutting me?' And then I punched him and he looks at me and he goes, 'Why did you hit me that way?' And I was just like, 'What?' [Funk replied] 'I'm an old man,' and then jab, and I'm like, 'Oh my god, he's just fu**ing with me," recalled Punk.
Punk had a few run-ins with Funk in the wrestling ring, with their first encounter taking place in 2003, and the duo were involved in a few other tag team matches the following year. In another interview, he recalled being egged on by Funk to hit him harder after landing a chair shot on him, and also getting punched in the face to fire him up.
Funk was a hero and inspiration for the "SecondCity Saint," naming him as one of the wrestlers who drew him towards pro wrestling in the '80s. Funk was such an inspiration to him that he incorporated elements of Funk's character into the Ricky Rabies persona he portrayed on the TV series "Heels."
