Terry Funk, the 79-year-old hardcore wrestling star who set a new standard for cruelty in entertainment, has died.

World Wrestling Entertainment confirmed his death on Wednesday.

Dory Funk, Sr., his father, was a professional wrestler too, and the family went to Amarillo, Texas, on June 30, 1944.

According to WWE, Terry began wrestling in the Sixties as a tag-team with his brother Dory Funk, Jr., following in their father’s footsteps.

Funk wrestled in rings all over the world for nearly 50 years, feuding with everyone from Ric Flair to Mick Foley, and his extreme fighting style in promotions like ECW and IWA Japan — where he’d compete in an infamous “King of the Death Match” tournament — earned him recognition as one of the most celebrated wrestlers of his generation.

He also made an impression in Hollywood, appearing as a bouncer in 1989’s Road House, starring Patrick Swayze, and as a wrestler in 1978’s Paradise Alley, starring Sylvester Stallone.

Following the news of his death, fellow WWE champion Foley paid tribute to the icon.

“Terry Funk is gone. I just talked to Terry’s daughter, Brandee, who gave me the awful news. He was my mentor, my idol, one of the closest friends. He was the greatest wrestler I ever saw,” wrote Foley on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“There will never be another like him. May God bless Terry, his friends, family and all who loved him. RIP my dear friend – it was an honor to know you” he wrote.

At this moment, the cause of his death has not been given.