Posted in: Fox, Sports, TV, WWE | Tagged: Bray Wyatt, Cody Rhodes, fox, LA Knight, Smackdown, Terry funk, tribute, wrestling, wwe

Bray Wyatt, Terry Funk Honored During Special WWE SmackDown (VIDEOS)

WWE honored the heartbreaking losses of Terry Funk and Bray Wyatt earlier in the week during Friday night's special edition of SmackDown.

It has understandably been a very rough couple of days for WWE and the wrestling world at large.  With the loss of an all-time great in Terry Funk on Wednesday and then the sudden loss of one of the world's greatest modern talents, Bray Wyatt on Thursday, you could almost understand if WWE needed to stop and take a breath to regroup after such a tragic 24 hours.  But as always with wrestling, the show must go on, and thus, we were presented with a live SmackDown on FOX last night, albeit one with a very somber cloud hanging over it, appropriately so.

I don't envy any major wrestling company's production team and the work they have to do when one of these tragedies occurs, but WWE's team rose to the occasion last night on SmackDown with a show that honored two great talents while also giving the fans both live in attendance and watching at home some action to break-up their sorrow a bit.  Similar to the shows they produced in the wake of the deaths of Owen Hart and Eddie Guerrero and the first show they did post-9/11, WWE produced the show around tributes to the tragedies, but with some in-ring action to keep it from feeling like a funeral, even if most major storylines were put on the back burner for the evening.

The 10-Bell Salute

Of course, SmackDown opened with a 10-bell salute for both men as the entire locker room stood on stage to pay their respects.  WWE brought in the likes of currently injured star Braun Strowman and former WWE superstar Erik Rowan, as both men were a big part of Bray Wyatt's career.

Bray Wyatt's Tribute Video

There's no sugar-coating this: it was heart-breaking and fair warning, you'll probably be in tears by the end.  Losing Bray Wyatt at only 36 years old and seeing his young daughters that he's left behind is a gut punch that cannot be braced for.

Cody Rhodes Honors Terry Funk

This was like watching a really great eulogy.  It was touching, personal, funny, and full of honor and reverence.  Cody was the perfect person to deliver this speech, not only because of his father's (WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes) iconic feud with the Funker, which resulted in one of wrestling's most iconic insults, "egg-sucking dog", but because he is such a passionate and well-versed storyteller.  Even without his special lineage, Cody Rhodes comes across so well as a leader and someone you'd look to pull an audience out of the darkness like last night's SmackDown easily could have been.

Terry Funk's Tribute Video

If anyone deserves to be argued as "the greatest of all time", Terry Funk has a damn-good case.  Let's be clear: there is no ECW, no Mick Foley, no popularized hardcore wrestling, no TLC or Ladder Matches, no Hell In A Cell, no "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, and no Attitude Era without Terry Funk making all of that possible.  He is distinctly in the DNA of every one of those things or people I listed, and without his involvement and contributions to pro wrestling (or in ECW or Foley's cases, them directly), they don't exist.  Terry Funk is pro wrestling.  Forever.

Bray Wyatt's Final Opponent, LA Knight, Pays Tribute

Just as Cody Rhodes' speech earlier was perfect for what it was, this one from LA Knight for Bray Wyatt towards the end of SmackDown was another home run.  Knight has become arguably WWE's most popular star over the past few months and in dark moments like last night, fans look to their heroes to be the light to follow.  Knight crushed it.  He was entertaining and in character but allowed emotion and humanity in, which will only serve to strengthen both his on-screen character and his pull with the audience.

I'll be honest: I've never watched the 5/24/1999 episode of Raw Is War, the Owen Hart tribute show, again after its original airing.  It was just something I never wanted to experience again as a fan.  But after last night's SmackDown, I did watch some clips from it to sort of compare and contrast, and what struck me was through all of the truly painful one-on-one taped tributes from the wrestlers breaking character and getting very emotional, the two that seemed to resonate most with the audience were those from The Rock and Steve Austin, easily the two biggest and most popular stars at that moment.

Neither man exactly broke character, with The Rock cutting a promo with all of his catchphrases and speaking in the third person and Austin quietly chugging a beer after a salute to Owen, and the crowd went nuts for both.  Why?  Because even in the darkest moments, we need our heroes to flourish for all the ways we love them, silliness and all.

Yes, they both showed some new dimensions, with The Rock saying how much he loved Owen and Austin showing empathy toward another person, but that only enhanced their pull with the audience as they were letting them know that it was going to be all right.  That the thing they loved wasn't destroyed forever with the tragic loss of one of its stars.  LA Knight and Cody Rhodes accomplished something similar last night.  Any wrestler will tell you that it's way harder to be a babyface than a heel, and it's because the role comes with responsibilities like this in moments like these.  The crowd doesn't have to just cheer for you; sometimes they need to lean on you as well, and you have to be strong enough to keep them up.  Bray and Terry would be proud.

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