Dory Funk Jr.

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Dory Funk Jr.
Funk in 1973
Birth nameDorrance Earnest Funk
Born (1941-02-03) February 3, 1941 (age 84)[1][2][3]
Hammond, Indiana, U.S.
Spouses
  • Jimmie Funk
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1960; div. 1983)​
  • Marti Funk
    ​
    (m. 1989)​
Children5
FamilyDory Funk (father)
Terry Funk (brother)
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Dory Funk Jr.[4]
Hoss Funk[4]
The Long Tall Texan
The Masked Outlaw
Billed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[4]
Billed weight240 lb (109 kg)[4]
Billed fromThe Double Cross Ranch[4]
Trained byDory Funk[4][5]
Ricky Romero[6]
Pedro Morales[6]
Debut1963
RetiredAugust 24, 2024[7]

Dorrance Earnest Funk (born February 3, 1941),

professional wrestler and wrestling trainer. The son of Dory Funk (Dorrance Wilhelm Funk) and brother of Terry Funk, he was the promoter of the Amarillo, Texas-based Western States Sports
promotion.

Funk held the

NWA World Heavyweight Championship once. He is the second-longest reigning NWA World Heavyweight Champion of all time after Lou Thesz. He held the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship once and the CWA World Heavyweight Championship once. He is a 2009 WWE Hall of Fame
inductee.

Funk works for

professional wrestling school
.

Professional wrestling career

Training

With a background in amateur wrestling and football, Funk's career in professional wrestling began in 1963 just after a college football career with West Texas State University (now West Texas A&M University), culminating in a 15 to 14 victory over Ohio University in the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas. Funk's first match was a victory over Don Fargo in Amarillo, Texas. West Texas State University All American Jerry Logan was in Funk's corner and Fargo's brother, Jim, was in his corner. Funk was supported by the whole West Texas State University football team and the Tascosa High School amateur wrestling team. He was doing his student teaching as coach of the Tascosa High wrestling team under coach James Kyle.[citation needed]

National Wrestling Alliance (1963–1987)

See also: Western States Sports
NWA World Heavyweight Championship

Funk started in his father's Amarillo, Texas-based

NWA World Heavyweight Championship from Gene Kiniski on February 11, 1969 [10] in Tampa, Florida with a spinning toe hold and remained NWA World Champion for the next four and a half years, which is the second-longest uninterrupted reign of any NWA World Champion[4] (Lou Thesz
held the NWA world title from November 27, 1949, to March 15, 1956).

Dory and Terry are the only brothers in history to each hold the title.[11] Funk finally lost the NWA World Championship on May 24, 1973, after a hurried recovery from a pickup truck accident on his father's Flying Mare Ranch in West Texas. Dory was forced into the ring in Kansas City, losing the belt to Harley Race.[12] He performed regularly throughout the NWA, particularly in the Mid-Atlantic and Ontario as a heel, Georgia, Florida and Central States regions, through the 1970s and early 1980s. In Toronto he fought Ric Flair for the NWA championship on October 17, 1982. Flair retained the title. In 1987 he feuded with Mike Rotunda in Florida. Rotunda defeated Funk for the vacant Florida Heavyweight title on June 7. Later on a lot of the matches ended in draws.

All Japan Pro Wrestling (1973–1987)

Dory Funk Jr. in 1985

In 1973, Funk made his debut for

The Sheik, Genichiro Tenryu, and Harley Race. Terry Funk and he worked frequently as a tag team in a series of matches against Abdullah the Butcher and The Sheik; and Giant Baba and Jumbo Tsuruta. Funk won many World's Strongest Tag Determination League awards with both Terry and Baba. Together Terry and he won the World's Strongest Tag Determination League tournaments in 1977, 1979, and 1982
.

On December 11, 1980, the Funks won

Youngbloods
.

World Wrestling Federation (1986)

In 1986, Dory (renamed "Hoss") made his WWF debut in a team alongside his brother Terry. The brothers performed at

Jimmy Jack Funk, who in truth had no relation to the Funk family. They were managed by Jimmy Hart. He would feud with Junkyard Dog. They feuded with The British Bulldogs. Funk wrestled his last WWF match losing to Pedro Morales at the Sam Muchnick Memorial Tournament
on August 29.

World Wrestling Council and various promotions (1987–1989)

On September 20, 1987, he and Terry teamed up and lost to

Carlos Colon in the quarter-finals. On April 11, 1988, he lost to Jerry Lawler by count out at Continental Wrestling Association in Memphis, Tennessee. He reunited with Terry at World Wrestling Alliance defeating Doug Somers
and Gary Young on February 2, 1989, in Kansas City, Kansas.

Return to All Japan Pro Wrestling (1990–1996)

In October 1990 both Terry and Dory returned to All Japan. They wrestled in tag team matches until Terry left the promotion in April 1991 and went back to North America. Dory found a new partner,

Giant Kimala
. He left Japan at the end of 1996.

Extreme Championship Wrestling (1994, 1997)

In 1994 Funk made his debut for

ECW Heat Wave 1994 in a No Rope Barbed Wire match. Dory returned to ECW on September 27, 1997, losing to ECW Champion Shane Douglas
.

Later years (1993–2020)

He made an appearance for

NWA Total Non-stop Action defeating Homicide and Kory Chavis on November 27, 2002. On January 25, 2005, he teamed with Terry at WrestleReunion where they lost to NWA World Tag Team champions America's Most Wanted
.

Funk returned to Puerto Rico for WWC Friday Madness where he defeated

WrestleReunion 2 Dory, Terry and Mick Foley lost to The Midnight Express in a six-man tag team match on August 27, 2005. On March 5, 2006, he teamed with Mike Graham to defeat David Flair and Tully Blanchard at World Wrestling Legends. On the February 16, 2009 episode of Raw, it was announced that Dory along with his brother Terry would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2009 by Dusty Rhodes. On the April 1, 2010 edition of TNA Today, Funk appeared on the show to have an interview with Jeremy Borash.[14] Since 2002 Dory been wrestling for his own promotion Funking Conservatory known as "BangTV!" in Ocala, Florida. On September 3, 2006, he lost to Samoa Joe in a Lumberjack match. From 2015 to 2018 Funk has wrestled for Tokyo Gurentai. His last match was against another student of his Osamu Nishimura which ended in a 10-minute draw on November 28, 2018. With the finals seconds left in the match, Funk pinned Nishimura which ended at the count of 2 when the bell rang as time was up. Funk wrestled multiple times during 2019 on the independent circuit.[citation needed
]

On

The Steiner Brothers
(Rick and Scott) to defeat the team of Blain Rage, Jake Logan, and Shane Chung at Funking Conservatory in Ocala, Florida.

Second return to All Japan (2008)

On March 1, 2008, Funk and Osamu Nishimura defeated Genichiro Tenryu and Masanobu Fuchi in Funk's retirement match via spinning toe hold.[15]

Third return to All Japan (2013–2017)

On October 27, 2013, Funk returned to

Ultimo Dragon to beat his student Nishimura, Masao Inoue and Soma Takao. His last match for All Japan was on November 28, 2017, teaming with Nishimura, The Great Kabuki and his student Dalton Drellich as they defeated Fuchi, Great Kojika, Atsushi Maruyama and Daisuke Sekimoto
in Yokohama.

Final matches and retirement (2017–2025)

On December 31, 2017, Funk announced his retirement from wrestling. On January 27, 2024, Funk was backstage for the Royal Rumble event.[19]

Funk wrestled in his final match in a Double Hell Current Explosion Death match on August 24, 2024 teaming with Osamu Nishimura, and defeating the team of Atsushi Onita & Raijin Yaguchi.[7]

On January 25, 2025, Funk appeared alongside other legends at WWE Saturday Night's Main Event XXXVIII.[20]

Personal life

Funk married his first wife, Jimmie, on June 8, 1960.[21] Together, they have three children: Dory III, Adam Dirk, and Penny. They also have five grandchildren.[22] They later separated and were officially divorced on July 6, 1983. Dory III went into medicine and now practices out of Colorado. Funk's grandson Dory IV is now training to be a wrestler under him. In 1980, Funk met his second and current wife, Marti; the couple married in 1989. They have two children.[22]

Funk is the coach of the Funking Conservatory Professional Wrestling School in Ocala, Florida and teaches the Dory Funk Method of Professional Wrestling. It had a branch affiliated with the World Wrestling Federation called the "Funkin' Dojo. His students included Jeff Hardy,[4] Matt Hardy,[4] Christian Cage, Lita, Kurt Angle, Mansoor, Mickie James,[4] Cope,[4] Ted DiBiase, and Test. His wife Marti runs BANG TV in which Dory's matches are featured.

Championships and accomplishments

NWA World Heavyweight Champion
.
Dory and Terry Funk at the 2009 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony

References

  1. ISBN 978-1-77090-269-5
    .
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  3. ^ "Power Slam". This Month in History: February. SW Publishing. January 1999. p. 28. 55.
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  6. ^ a b Raj Giri (November 7, 2013). "Dory Funk Jr. Talks His Wrestling School, Why He Left WWF, Training Kurt Angle, Wrestling Terry". Wrestling, Inc. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
  7. ^ a b Boone, Matt (August 24, 2024). "Dory Funk Jr. Wins Double Hell Current Explosion Death Match At Age 83 At Event In Japan On 8/24". Wrestling Headlines. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  8. ^ a b 曙が諏訪魔を下し、新ベルトとなった三冠王座を奪取！健在だったファンクスにファン歓喜！ドリフは惜しくもアジアタッグに届かず！. Battle News (in Japanese). October 28, 2013. Retrieved October 27, 2013.
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  11. ^ Burton, Richard (March 10, 2008). "Ex-champ Dory Funk leaves ring". Ocala Star Banner. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  12. ISBN 0-9676080-7-4
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  13. ^ Brown, Sydney (September 23, 2002). "411 Video Review: Terry Funk's WrestleFest (1997)". 411Mania.com. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
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  20. ^ "Ted DiBiase, Alundra Blayze, Mark Henry Attend WWE Saturday Night's Main Event | Fightful News". www.fightful.com. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
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  22. ^ a b Henry, Dave (March 22, 2009). "The Funk Files". Amarillo Globe-News. Personal: Married to Marti. Has three children, including Dr. Dory Funk, and five grandchildren.
  23. ^ "Pro Wrestling History". prowrestlinghistory.com. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
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  25. ^ "PUROLOVE1980". PUROLOVE.com (in German). Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  26. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Real World Tag League 1984 « Tournaments Database « CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  27. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Real World Tag League 1985 « Tournaments Database « CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
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