As WWE returns to Amarillo, MVP reflects on return to WWE, Funk family, Double Cross Ranch

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) returns Saturday bringing grappling action back to Amarillo, a city that celebrates one of the great wrestling families of the pro circuits with the Funk family. Dory Funk Sr. was a key proponent of the Western State Sports wrestling promotion, going on to take over ownership in 1967 with his sons Terry and Dory Funk already performing on cards for the organization. Both sons went on to wrestle with multiple organizations including the WWE, with long list of championships held by both brothers.

With Amarillo serving as the base of operations for the Western State Sports promotion, it drew many of its wrestlers from the football team at West Texas A&M, formerly known as West Texas State. At least a dozen major pro wrestlers played football at West Texas State, including Dusty Rhodes, Ted Dibiase and the Funk brothers. Terry Funk, 77, currently lives in the Amarillo area.

Hassan Hamin Assad, better known by his wrestling name Montel Vontavious Porter or MVP, spoke about the upcoming event in Amarillo. He said he had been to the city many times over his career, and the first thing that pops into his mind is the Funk Legacy in the region.

MVP has had a prior stint with the WWE and has been in multiple worldwide wrestling alliances in his more than two decades of wrestling experience.

“Whenever any wrestler thinks of Amarillo, I think of the Funks and the Double Cross Ranch along with the legendary history of western wrestling in that region,” MVP said.

He said that he had been on some cards with the Funks and met them a few times but had never wrestled either of them but was just honored to work with them.

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“I have had the pleasure of sharing a locker room with each brother on more than one occasion,” MVP said. “That they knew who I was (was) flattering with all they had been through.”

MVP said that although he contemplated retirement just a few years ago, his intentions for his young son of 5 to be able to see him wrestle outweighed those urges.

“It has really been great being back in the WWE and having my son watch me wrestle,” MVP added.

He said that he had asked to appear at the Royal Rumble held in Houston in January of 2020 and asked to wrestle the following night again on WWE Raw. He said that this was supposed to be a one-off, but this led to him being brought on as a backstage producer for WWE.

“You know, it’s all for my son. You know, I just wanted my son to see daddy in the ring before I was done,” MVP said. “I wanted him to see me in the premier wrestling company in the world; I was able to do that. Being back and being involved has really been a big part of getting my creative juices going, working with all these phenomenal people that I share a locker room with. This has absolutely rekindled the flame."

MVP stated that he has been a big part of the recent success of former tag team partner Bobby Lashley, including being two-time WWE champion and now is training and managing Lashley’s likely opponent for the Amarillo stop, the Nigerian Giant Omos, who stands 7-foot-4-inches tall and weighs more than 400 pounds.

Asked who his influences were in wrestling growing up and what got him into wrestling, MVP reflected on his childhood in Miami, Florida. He said one of his first matches taken to as a kid was Terry Funk and Dusty Rhodes wrestling at the Miami Beach Convention Center. He remembers Funk hitting Rhodes with a chair and bleeding all over the place.

“I was in first grade and everyone was screaming and carrying on, and I looked over at my mom and she was doing the same thing. I was like, she is letting me watch this,” MVP said. “That was my first introduction to wrestling, not realizing at the time it would be my chosen career. I watched a lot of Championship Wrestling from Florida as a kid.”

Asked which wrestlers were major influences on him in his career, MVP glowingly spoke about a masked wrestler from Florida named Sweet Brown Sugar.

“That was one guy that blew me away. He had a white mask, white trunks and boots, and his dropkicks and leap frogs were so exciting to watch,” MVP said. "I remember being in absolute awe of his abilities and later on thought, well I can do this.”

MVP addressed any people on the fence about coming to see the wrestling action and said he sees it as an experience like no other.

“To fans that love watching wrestling on TV and have never been to a live event, and to people that may not be wrestling fans, I have never seen a person leave a live wrestling event that they had a bad time at," MVP said. “I urge you to go and enjoy yourself. It is a completely different experience when you are there in person. What I love most about these shows is looking at three generations of wrestling fans all enjoying the experience together.”

The WWE Saturday Night Main Event will take place at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Amarillo Civic Center.

For more information and tickets, visit https://www.panhandletickets.com/ and  https://www.amarillociviccenter.com .

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: WWE returns to Amarillo, wrestler MVP reflects on return to the ring