A few of these gentlemen might deserve a post all their own and the first tribute almost certainly deserves one.
Goodbye to Terry Funk at the age of 79.
Terry Funk spent fifty-two years in the wrestling business between his first match in 1965 and his final bout in 2017 and had several incarnations of his career that each might be remembered most fondly to the age of the fan recalling Funk.
A fan from the seventies might remember Funk as the "bodyguard" against contenders for his brother Dory Jr.'s NWA title or later in the decade during his own NWA title run.
A fan in the early eighties might remember Funk's terrific series in Memphis against Jerry Lawler, one in the middle eighties, his WWF tenure against the Junkyard Dog, and his title challenges of Hulk Hogan.
A fan of 1989 or the early nineties favorite memories of Funk would be of his WCW time and his classic attempts for Ric Flair's title, and the early 2000s might be the run as the aging veteran gunslinger helping to build ECW out of their bingo hall in Philadelphia.
And any of those versions of Terry Funk would be more than correct as a personal choice.
For me (and I didn't even include his stardom in Japan for All-Japan Pro Wrestling), my favorite Funk version was the WCW version that famously returned from retirement with his attack on Ric Flair in the ring after Flair regained the championship in Nashville.
Known for his crazy "bump-taking" and often-manic interviews, Terry Funk re-invented himself so effectively so often that one could make an argument that without really changing his name or character Terry Funk may have been the most successful without a complete revamp.
Funk was a huge influence on many in the profession, most notably Mick (Cactus Jack) Foley and the late Dick Slater, who was regarded by many as being "More like Terry Funk than Terry Funk" often to his own detriment.
Terry Funk was able to transition to the faster-paced style of pro wrestling through the eighties better than older brother Dory Jr, who while a beautiful technical grappler never seemed to connect to the quicker pace and emphasis on interviews as Terry was able to.
Terry Funk is generally in most long-time fans' top ten wrestlers of his time and his style continues on through the wrestlers today.
Goodbye to Adrian Street at the age of 82.
The Exotic Street was known for his flamboyant style that hinted at homosexuality ( in actuality Street was married to Miss Linda, his ring valet) and his David Bowie-like glam rock outfits.
Noted for his real-life toughness, Street never stated he was gay but would walk the line with wrestling fans of the day despising him for his effeminate nature.
Street also released a few albums with his singing including his ring entrance song "Imagine What I Could Do To You".
After leaving wrestling, Street and Miss Linda opened a business making wrestling gear and selling equipment to wrestlers.
Goodbye to Killer Khan at the age of 76.
Masashi Ozawa was huge for a Japanese wrestler, so coming to the United States as Mongolian giant Killer Khan made financial sense and in 1981, Khan arrived in the WWF as the heel challenger of the month against WWF champion Bob Backlund, managed by Fred Blassie, and he dropped down the cards following his unsuccessful title attempt.
That was until a May 1981 match vs Andre The Giant, when Andre suffered a broken ankle getting out of bed the next morning which was attributed to Kkan's off-the-top rope kneedrop in the storyline and made Khan a star instantly worldwide.
Khan and Andre would feud throughout the nation (but especially in the WWF) usually ending with Khan taking the ride in the series-ending Mongolian Stretcher Match.
Khan's fame would enable him to headline in Mid-South and World Class before a final quickie return to the WWF where he memorably choked out Outback Jack before a short 1987 series against Hulk Hogan before Khan retired later that year.
Goodbye to Ole Anderson at the age of 81.
Anderson was one of the original Four Horsemen with Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, and Arn Anderson for Jim Crockett Promotions in the mid-eighties but was far more than only a Horseman both in and out of the ring.
Anderson was half of the "Minnesota Wrecking Crew" with his "brother" Gene, who terrorized Southern wrestling for the seventies and early eighties, infuriating crowds to the point where Ole was attacked with a knife by a fan in Greenville, South Carolina cutting several tendons in his arm that needed to be surgically re-attached.
Anderson won the NWA world tag titles with Gene on seven occasions and another with Stan Hansen and had his best days with the Mid-Atlantic and Georgia territories, where he often served as "booker" and owned a small piece of the Georgia promotion until it was sold by the majority owners to Vince McMahon and the WWF in 1984 to gain its television slot on WTBS.
Anderson would memorably tell Vince and his wife Linda to F-off when they arrived at the WTBS studio to introduce themselves to the company and it was after that event that Anderson would move to JCP and tag with "Nephew" Arn as the New Minnesota Wrecking Crew and eventually the Four Horsemen.
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