Jim Ross recently talked about a wide range of topics on his Grilling JR podcast.
During it, the AEW announcer talked about how Chainsaw Charlie came to be in WWE, with Terry Funk portraying the character.
“Well, I think I’m not going to be surprised and I can’t tell you otherwise that it was Terry’s idea to be Chainsaw Charlie. I think Chainsaw Charlie was the creation of Terry Funk’s creativity. Who the hell else would have come up with Chainsaw Charlie? What did he do wear a nylon stalking over his face? That’s Terry. When you get a talent like Terry Funk, first of all for me as a lifelong fan and as somebody who had refereed Terry Funk’s matches in the 70s because Cowboy brought him in as a bounty hunter in a big program in the Mid-South and I refereed some of those matches. He was unbelievable. Unbelievable in those days. As good as I ever saw. Heavy heel and wasn’t afraid of heat. Great promos that were real. They weren’t outlandishly over the top to where you roll your eyes. He was just tremendous, but I think he came up with Chainsaw Charlie. For a guy like me that’s been a fan all his life and been around Terry for multiple decades it was an honor to have the job that I could call him and say ‘We want to hire you. I got work for you if you’re interested.’ Of course he was interested and he loved Mick.”
Quotes via 411 Mania