Why Terry Funk Chose Hardcore Homecoming Over ECW’s One Night Stand in 2005

Upon joining ECW, Terry Funk brought instant credibility to the brand's new direction while selflessly elevating future superstars throughout his tenure. Without his early involvement, many, including myself, wonder if ECW would have ever grown so rapidly while establishing itself as a unique alternative that attracted loyal supporters.

With fan support at an all-time high and surprisingly high sales figures generated from The Rise and Fall of ECW DVD, Vince McMahon ultimately decided to proceed with ECW: One Night Stand after RVD pitched him the idea of an ECW reunion show.

In April 2005, WWE formally announced plans for an ECW reunion pay-per-view at the Hammerstein Ballroom on June 12, 2005.

The same month as WWE's announcement, Shane Douglas announced plans for a Hardcore Homecoming show that would take place at the former ECW Arena in Philadelphia on the same weekend as One Night Stand. Similarly to One Night Stand, this show was considered an ECW reunion. Still, a notable difference was that it did not include WWE-contracted performers who had previously competed in ECW.

While ECW's One Night Stand was undoubtedly the most successful of the two events, some argue that Hardcore Homecoming was more authentic and true to the original vision of Extreme Championship Wrestling since Vince McMahon and WWE did not promote it.

Raven (due to TNA shutting down his ONS offer), Shane Douglas, and Sabu were just a few of the notable names to appear on Hardcore Homecoming strictly, but a 60-year-old Terry Funk was faced with a very difficult decision. Does he perform on Hardcore Homecoming or ECW One Night Stand? Given his age, the probability of appearing on both shows that weekend was incredibly low, but his decision was a heartfelt one at the time.

Funk's Decision Process

Terry Funk explained during the Hardcore Homecoming documentary, which essentially acted as a companion piece to the event, that he was approached with a great offer by WWE in May of 2005:

"I had an opportunity to go into the WWE, and they sent me a contract. Sent me a very good contract. This is the contract here. Not that it's anything special or anything, but it's for quite a sum of money, and it certainly isn't for what Hulk Hogan or Triple H or Ric Flair or The Undertaker makes, but it's for quite a bit more money than for this group that I'm going to perform for."

Realizing that he had to choose between either One Night Stand or Hardcore Homecoming, Terry elaborated on his decision in the Hardcore Homecoming documentary:

“I had a choice and I had to make a choice between the two companies because I know at my age, my time again is that I can’t perform two shows that close together.

So, did I want to go for the man that possibly, not possibly, did a lot to destroy the company?

Did I want to go for the fella that made millions of dollars with the rise and fall of ECW that had nothing to do with it?

Do I want to go for the man that is going to have an ECW show that could give a damn about ECW?

Did I want to go to a show that he’s going to have fans that are simulating ECW fans?

No, I wanted to go to an ECW show. I wanted to go to a show where it’s an extension of the guys' personalities and not a Vince McMahon group, whatever it is.

So I chose to go back and enter into the ring in a three-way dance. That took a lot of thought on my part. I talked about it with my wife and she says, honey, at your age 60 years old, you outta be looking at the bucks and you better be up there at that Vince McMahon show.

And I said, honey (Terry fights to hold back the tears)

I said, honey, I can’t do it. I wanna go back to the guys that I love. The guys that I have been down the road with and that’s why I’m not a millionaire cause I’ve done the things that I’ve wanted to do instead of the things that I probably should have done.”

The Aftermath

Ultimately, Sabu got his arm raised over Terry Funk and The Sandman at the main event of the Hardcore Homecoming show.

In 2006, Terry had a change of heart and participated in One Night Stand, teaming with Tommy Dreamer and Beulah McGillicutty against Edge, Lita, and Mick Foley in an Intergender Extreme Rules Match. Given his previous remarks about valuing the locker room brotherhood over monetary gain, I believe Funk's desire to be in the ring with Dreamer and Foley one final time was the true allure of the opportunity.

Passion cannot be taught, and you would be hard-pressed to find any wrestler, past or present, who possessed more of it than Terry Funk.