Old-school wrestling great Dory Funk Jr., who followed his legendary dad’s footsteps onto the canvas and then forged a decades-spanning, globe-trotting career, has died, officials said Tuesday.
He was the last surviving member of the famed Funk wrestling family, which included his dad, Dory Funk Sr., and his brother, Terry Funk.
“WWE is saddened to learn that Dory Funk Jr., a WWE Hall of Famer and influential wrestling trainer, has passed away,” the company said in a statement. “A member of the legendary Funk wrestling dynasty, they didn’t come much tougher or more respected than Dory Funk Jr.”
Funk looked up to his dad and wanted to do nothing more than to be “just like him.”
“As a kid, I used to dream I could do all the things my father could do,” he said in a 2007 interview with WWE. “I wanted to be just like him.”
Funk, 85, died in hospital care in Florida, his wife, Marti, told the Ocala Gazette.
Terry Funk died in 2023 at age 79.
The brothers were marquee stars throughout the 1960s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. They regularly competed in Japan, bringing American pro wrestling to a worldwide audience.
“Dory Jr. and Terry Funk remain the only brothers to each claim the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Title,” the National Wrestling Alliance said Tuesday.
It added that Dory Funk Jr. spent 1,563 days from 1969 to 1973 as its champion, the second-longest unbroken reign. He was inducted into the NWA Hall of Fame in 2006.
The promotion called Funk “a true legend whose contributions to professional wrestling are still felt and celebrated to this day.”
Funk and his wife, Marti, built the Funking Conservatory, training future WWE stars such as Kurt Angle, Edge, Christian, the Hardy Boyz, Mark Henry and Mickie James, WWE said.
The Funk brothers were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009.
WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque said Dory Funk Jr. helped expose the sport to massive audiences.
“His travels across North America and Asia were a part of the early blueprint that helped build this business into a global phenomena,” he said in a statement.
Longtime wrestling and mixed martial arts journalist Dave Meltzer also noted his travels, saying Funk “became a legend in Japan.”
“Dory Funk Jr. was such a fantastic world champion for his time,” Meltzer said on X. “I’d call him for that 1969-73 time period the perfect champion, always a great match, always made the opponent, no matter the skill level, look like someone who could win the world title.”
WWE star Natalie Neidhart, known in the ring as “Nattie,” said her grandfather Stu Hart, the legendary Canadian wrestler and promoter, admired Funk as his favorite champion in the Calgary promotion Hart founded, Stampede Wrestling.
“The Funk family has meant so much to professional wrestling and Dory’s contributions helped shape this business for generations to come,” she said on X.
Before he took the canvas, Funk was a star on the gridiron. He was a standout lineman on the West Texas State football team, which beat Ohio 15-14 in the Sun Bowl.
The school, now known as West Texas A&M, inducted Funk into its Hall of Champions in 1990.
