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Dutch Mantell talks working ‘snug’ with wrestling great Dory Funk Jr.

Posted: Aug 29th 2021 By: Mike Mooneyham

I got a big kick out of a recent social media post by the inimitable Dirty Dutch Mantell.

The Dutchman had run across a photo of a match he had years earlier with former NWA world champion Dory Funk Jr. in Florida. Using a photo as an illustration, Dutch drove home the point that Funk could get a little “snug” during the course of a match.

In pro wrestling parlance, “snug” is an interchangeable term for “stiff,” and that means applying real pressure on holds and working a style to make matches appear more realistic.

And back in those days, working snug was an accepted practice. Being an old school vet, Dirty Dutch certainly wasn’t complaining, but just making a point.

One of the great storytellers in the wrestling business, Mantell explains:

“The photo was taken in either Orlando or Tampa in the mid-’80s when I arrived to take over the booking. Dory was leaving and he did the honors for me to get started. I had always heard that Dory was a great worker, a great in-ring technician, but a bit snug.

“A little snug can also be employed to describe Abdullah’s work. Or Stan Hansen or Bruiser Brody. Actually what being snug is ... is a nice way of saying you possibly could get a (butt) whupping. But under control. Yeah … gotta add that in.”

Snug workers like to “lay it in.” A skilled, polished worker might look stiff and snug while actually working light as a feather.

Raised in a family of wrestlers, Funk was an all-time great who possessed the ability to work matches as long as 60 and even 90 minutes while performing with flawless perfection.

Mantell describes the action in the photo in which Funk has him “pretty wrapped up.”

“If anybody is familiar with Dory’s ring style, he was famous for what he called ‘lifters’ where he dips his right arm and brings his arm up into your chest connecting solidly. So solid that fans in the first five rows could hear the ‘pop.’”

Again, that’s a good thing if you’re a fan or viewer, but the maneuver looks credible enough to exact some pain and punishment.

“Not so much to the receiver, which in this case was me,” says Mantell. “I estimate that I took anywhere from six to eight lifters every match every night for two weeks. Dory should have been used as a Guantanamo interrogator just giving lifters to those detainees at GITMO. Forget that ‘waterboarding’ technique. Just let Dory hit them with a few lifters. They’ll give you all you want.”

Calling matches

In those days, most wrestlers were experienced enough to call matches in the ring, thinking on the fly and reacting to the crowd, as opposed to a choreographed bout that can be written out to every detail.

“With seasoned pros, you don’t call a match move by move,” said Mantell. “That’s WWE starter style. You react in the ring to what the match needs ... you just discuss the finish. I worked with a kid once (Ted Oates) so many times that we called spots in the middle of other spots. Crazy.”

At the time of Dutch’s program with Dory, Funk was more than a decade removed from his reign as world champion with more than 20 years under his belt.

Compared to Dory’s younger brother Terry, who also once held the NWA world title, Dory was more of a ring strategist, said Mantell.

“Terry was all over the place. He just made most of it up on the spot. Dory followed a plan. Terry didn’t give a crap as long as the match was good.”

“Yes, Dory’s work style was very physical,” added Mantell. “In contrast, you never feel Jerry Lawler, but Dory, I could feel him walking down the aisle to the ring.”

The purpose of Mantell’s post was to educate more current fans about the working of the business decades ago.

“I just put this photo out here so people might get a feel why some fans of wrestling thought it was much more believable back in the day. I don’t blame them. Sometimes I thought it was real too.

“To Dory’s credit, he schooled me in what I could expect from the older veterans and I learned so much from him. To that I say, thank you Dory. Great respect for you sir.”

Dutch, by the way, was no stranger to bloody and rugged ring wars.

The South Carolina native, now 71, did just about everything in the wrestling business — from wrestling bears, to wrestling in prisons, to escaping bloodthirsty fans in Puerto Rico.

One of the longest matches in Memphis wrestling history was a “Tornado Death Match” pitting Mantell and Lawler against Bill Dundee and Buddy Landel in a bout that went 26 falls and lasted nearly 85 minutes.

And, every now and then, a real “fight” might break out, said Mantell.

“I had a few but in my defense, I never started it. Some guys took liberties that I didn’t appreciate and I dealt with it later in the dressing room … Some of them ended up with blood on me and them. But part of the game. It happens.”

As for those “lifters” Funk administered to Mantell, Myrtle Beach-based mat pundit Chris Smith recalls respected British grappler Les Thornton being the first wrestler to use the term.

“Gordon Solie used to call them ‘bolo-like forearms’ as in ‘And now those repeated bolo-like forearms of Dory Funk Jr. beginning to take their toll on Jack Brisco,’” said Smith. “Terry Taylor said he was working Les early in his career and Les called for a lifter (actually Les sang it to him … Terry said Les would sing the spots to him). Terry made the unfortunate mistake of saying ‘What?’ and then promptly bit the end of his tongue off when said lifter landed.

“Dory’s were a thing of beauty. Compact motion and delivery, no wasted effort. That’s why I say Dory Jr. is the closest thing to a wrestling robot I have ever seen. Amazing consistency in all he did whether it was giving lifters, taking slams or bumping off Dusty’s elbow. Also loved Les’ lifters, they had a savage element to them I tried to emulate best I could. The Oates brothers both had good ones as did so many of the UK wrestlers such as Geoff Portz and his son Scott, (William) Regal and Dave Taylor.”
funks

Dory Funk with NWA world title flanked by brother Terry Funk (left) and father Dory Funk Sr. Provided photo

Widely regarded as one of the greatest grapplers to ever step inside a ring, Funk Jr. boasted one of professional wrestling’s most celebrated NWA world heavyweight title reigns from 1969-73. Funk also has served as a trainer for the likes of Kurt Angle, Edge (Adam Copeland), Christian (Jay Reso), Mark Henry, Matt and Jeff Hardy, and Lita, among many others.

Funk and brother Terry, who were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009, hold the distinction of being the only brother duo to ever hold the NWA world heavyweight title.

“There aren’t enough superlatives to describe Dory Jr.’s commitment to excellence,” said Smith. “To say he was singularly focused on being the NWA champ is an understatement of vast proportions. The travel alone was grueling. Different territories all over the country as well as Japan and Australia, having to adjust his style to whoever he was wrestling that particular night. He didn’t have the luxury of an extended program in a relatively confined area such as the Memphis circuit. He could be wrestling Jack (Brisco) in Florida and within the next few days wrestle (Ric) Flair in Charlotte, Harley Race in St. Louis and Bobo Brazil in Detroit. Then to Japan to face (Antonio) Inoki and (Giant) Baba or Canada vs. Gene Kiniski. To do that for a year is amazing. To do it for four is almost superhuman.”