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 that included his dad Dory Funk Sr. and brother Terry Funk.
Dory Funk Jr. was 85.
“WWE is saddened to learn that Dory Funk Jr., a WWE Hall of Famer and influential wrestling trainer, has passed away,” according to a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) statement.
“A member of the legendary Funk wrestling dynasty, they didn’t come much tougher or more respected than Dory Funk Jr.”
Dory Funk Jr. 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,” the son said during a 2007 interview with WWE. “I wanted to be just like him.”
Terry Funk died in 2023 at age 79.
The brothers were marquee stars throughout the 1960s, 70s, 80s and 90s.
The pair regularly competed in Japan in their latter years, bringing American pro wrestling to a new, worldwide audience.
Dory Funk Jr. and wife Marti built the Funking Conservatory, training future WWE stars such as Kurt Angle, Edge, Christian, The Hardy Boyz, Mark Henry and Mickie James, the WWE said
The Funk brothers were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009.
