Legendary professional wrestling personality Bruce Prichard recently shared a fascinating story on his podcast, Something to Wrestle With, about an incident involving the late Terry Funk that resulted in an episode of WWE Shotgun Saturday Night being thrown off the air. This incident occurred during a match between Funk and Bret Hart in 1997.
Prichard recounted the instructions he gave Funk before the match, saying, “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.'” However, Funk disregarded these instructions and went off-script during his promo.
In his promo, Funk referred to Vince McMahon as a “Yankee bastard,” Jim Ross as an “Oklahoma son of a b***h,” and even insulted Hart by saying, “Your mother’s a whore.” These explicit and inflammatory statements caused the episode to be abruptly taken off the air.
Prichard humorously recalled the aftermath of the incident, stating, “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.”
This entertaining anecdote shared by Bruce Prichard sheds light on the unpredictable nature of live professional wrestling and the risks involved in giving wrestlers creative freedom on the microphone. It also showcases Terry Funk’s rebellious and unpredictable persona, which made him a beloved figure in the industry.
For more details on this story, you can check out the transcription provided by Wrestling Inc here.
Stay tuned to Pro Wrestling Wars for more news and updates from the world of professional wrestling.