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Former WCW and TNA star Allan Funk recently spoke about his "Funkster" character that was inspired by Hulk Hogan.
Allan Funk signed with WCW back in the late 90s. After graduating from their Power Plant, he joined the main roster. After the company folded, he moved to WWE but did not make any TV appearances. He went on to compete at TNA and All Japan Pro Wrestling.
In this week's episode of UnSKripted, Funk mentioned that he started the Funkster gimmick as a joke, and it went on to take shape on its own. He detailed that he would often work the gimmick during his matches at Ohio Valley Wrestling, WWE's developmental brand at the time, and continued with it outside the company as well. He maintained that he was good at imitating Hulk Hogan, so he continued with it.
"That came about when I was in WWE actually. I was down at the Les Thatcher's HWA and then we would go to OVW and wrestle John Cena, Randy Orton and all those guys. On a Sunday, we'd do a TV show down there. I just started doing it because I was great at doing it, and everybody loved it. I kinda did it as a joke and then, once I started doing it, it was actually fun." [16:33 - 16:57]
You can watch the full video here:
Allan Funk was inspired to wrestle by Hulk Hogan
During the conversation, Funk revealed that Hulk Hogan inspired him to become a pro wrestler.
With Hulkamania sweeping WWE and the world during the 80s, Funk was one of the many who aspired to become larger than life and join the business like their hero.
"When I was a kid growing up, he was the end all be all. He's the reason I wanted to get into wrestling. When I was a senior in high school, I actually caught his Hulk Rules shirt in Ridgefield Coliseum." [17:30 - 17:42]
The former WCW star also spoke about meeting Hogan during his time in the company and recalled that The Immortal One was polite and friendly with him during their interactions.
What did you think of Allan Funk's Funkster gimmick? Let us know in the comments section below.
If you use any quotes from this article, please embed the YouTube video and credit Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.
