Dory Funk Jr.

At 83 years old, Dory Funk Jr. has this physical status:

Dorrance Earnest Funk (born February 3, 1941) is an American professional wrestler and wrestling coach.

He is the promoter of the Amarillo, Texas-based Western States Sports promotion and is the son of Dory Funk and brother Terry Funk.

He is responsible for the invention of the Texas cloverleaf submission hold and runs the Funking Conservatory, a professional wrestling academy. Funk competed in the NWA World Heavyweight Championships for the first time.

He is the longest reigning NWA World Heavyweight Champion of all time, having been in office for more than four years.

He also won the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship and the CWA World Heavyweight Championships.

Inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009, he is the youngest inductee.

As the Pacific Wrestling Federation (PWF) chairman, he is primarily employed by All Japan Pro Wrestling.

Personal life

On June 8, 1960, Dory married Jimmie, his first wife. Dory III, Adam Dirk, and Penny have three children together: Dory III, Adam Dirk, and Penny. They also have five grandchildren. They later split and became officially divorced on July 6, 1983. Dory III went into medicine and now practices out of Colorado. Dory IV is now training to be a wrestler under Dory Jr. Dory married Marti, his second and current wife, in 1980; the couple married in 1989. They have two children.

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Professional wrestling career

Funk's career in professional wrestling began in 1963, right 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 El Paso, Texas, with a background in amateur wrestling and football. In Amarillo, Texas, Funk's first match was a win over Don Fargo. Jerry Logan of West Texas State University (Frankl's Corner) Jerry Logan was in Funk's corner, and Fargo's brother, Jim, was in his corner. The entire West Texas State University football team and the Tascosa High School amateur wrestling team all supported Funk. Under coach James Kyle, he was doing his student teaching at Tascosa High School.

Funk was involved in his father's Amarillo, Texas-based Western States Sports promotion and took on Harley Race, Iron Mike DiBiase, and Wild Bull Curry. He had a hard-hitting style that attracted a following. He'd eventually migrate to Florida, Missouri, and Japan, where his skills improved as he used uppercut forearm smashes, a number of suplexes, and leglocks. Funk captured the NWA World Heavyweight Championship from Gene Kiniski on February 11, 1969 in Tampa, Florida, where he remained the NWA World Champion for the second-longest reign of any NWA World Champion (Lou Thesz held the NWA World Championship from November 27, 1949, to March 15, 1956).

Dory and Terry are the only brothers in history to have both fought for the office. Funk lost the NWA World Championship on May 24, 1973, after a hurried recovery from a pickup truck crash in West Texas on his father's Flying Mare Ranch. Dory was forced into the ring in Kansas City after losing the belt to Harley Race. From the 1970s to the early 1980s, he appeared regularly throughout the NWA, particularly in the Mid-Atlantic and Ontario regions as a heel, Georgia, Florida, and Central States area. On October 17, 1982, he defeated Ric Flair in Toronto for the NWA championship. The Flair name was retained. He feuded with Mike Rotunda in Florida in 1987. On June 7, Rotunda defeated Funk for the vacant Florida Heavyweight title. A number of the matches ended in draws later in the game.

Funk made his All Japan Pro Wrestling debut in 1973, the year before. He joined the company as a veteran. He feuded with Giant Baba, The Destroyer, Jumbo Tsuruta, Abdullah The Butcher, The Sheik, Genichiro Tenryu, and the Harley Race. Terry Funk and his crew served as a tag team in a string of matches against Abdullah the Butcher and The Sheik, as well as Giant Baba and Jumbo Tsuruta. Both Terry and Baba received several of the world's Best Tag Determination League awards. Terry and he won the World's Best Tag Determination League tournaments in 1977, 1979, and 1982.

In their match against Giant Baba and Jumbo Tsuruta, the Funks received the Match of the Year Award from Tokyo Sports on December 11, 1980. His greatest achievement in All Japan was winning the NWA International Heavyweight Championship three times. On April 30, 1981, he defeated Terry in a tournament for the vacant heavyweight title. Butch Reed took the award in June and Butch Reed took it. In August, he defeated Reed. He lost the title to Bruiser Brody in Tokyo on October 9. On November 1, Brody returned to the title form Brody. He lost the title to Brody in Osaka on April 21, 1982. During his time in office, he feuded with Brody, Stan Hansen, and Tiger Jeet Singh. The Funks rivalred with Riki Choshu and Yoshiaki Yatsu; and the Youngbloods.

Dory (given the nickname "Hoss") made his WWF debut in 1986 when he joined his brother Terry. The brothers competed at WrestleMania 2, defeating the Junkyard Dog and Tito Santana. Terry left the WWF shortly after WrestleMania, but Dory remained, mainly tagging with storyline brother Jimmy Jack Funk, who had no connection to the Funk family. Jimmy Hart was in charge of them. He will feud with Junkyard Dog. They feuded with the British Bulldogs. On August 29, Funk fought his last WWF match against Pedro Morales at the Sam Muchunik Memorial Tournament.

Terry and Terry teamed up and lost to The Road Warriors by disqualification at the World Wrestling Council's 14th Anversario in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, on September 20, 1987. Funk defeated Bruiser Brody in the first round of the World Wrestling Council's La Copa Gillette tournament on February 27, 1988, but Carlos Colon lost in the quarter finals later that day. He lost by count out at the Continental Wrestling Association in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 11, 1988. On February 2, 1989, in Kansas City, Kansas, he rejoined Terry and Joe Young at the World Wrestling Alliance, defeating Doug Somers and Gary Young.

Both Terry and Dory returned to All Japan in October 1990. They competed in tag team tournaments until Terry Terry left the program in April 1991 and returned to North America. Dory found a new partner, Al Perez, and the World's Best Tag Determination League Teamwork Award was given later this year. In Obihiro, they lost to Andre the Giant and Giant Baba on November 30, 1991. Perez left Japan and returned to the United States at the end of the year. He first joined Baba in 1992. He began working with a variety of companies later on. He fought with Abdullah the Butcher and Giant Kimala from 1990 to 1996. At the end of 1996, he left Japan.

Funk made his Extreme Championship Wrestling debut in 1994. For the first time in three years, he reunited with Terry. Terry was a main star for the company. During Dory's time in ECW, they competed with The Public Enemy. On ECW Hardcore TV, they teamed up with Tommy Dreamer to beat Hack Meyers and Public Enemy. In a No Rope Barbed Wire match, they lost to Public Enemy at 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.

At the Slamboree 1993: A Legends Reunion Pay-Per-View, wrestling Nick Bockwinkel to a time limit draw in 15 minutes. Gene Kiniski was in his corner, and Bockwinkel had Verne Gagne in his corner. In Amarillo, Texas, October 28, 1993, he joined Dick Murdoch defeating The Heavenly Bodies in a tribute show to Dory called Funk Free For All. On the Stu Hart 50th Anniversary Exhibition in Calgary, Canada, the Funks defeated Bruce Hart and Brian Pillman. He made his return to the WWF as a participant in the 1996 Royal Rumble, but Savio Vega disqualified him. On June 6, 1997, he made his second appearance in WCW at Ilio DiPaolo Memorial Show 2 with Greg Valentine after losing to Tony Parsi and Gino Brito in Buffalo, New York. Dory appeared at Terry Funk Presents Wrestle Fest: 50 Years of Funk on September 11, 1997. Terry was intending to retire from wrestling for the first time. Dory defeated Rob Van Dam on Saturday night, defeating him by the night's lights. For the fourth time since 1981, he defeated Steve Keirn on November 7, 1997. Then would retain the octagon until August 15, 2000, when the title was withdrawn. In 2001, he competed for the New Japan Pro-Wrestling team with Terry McGregor. He rivaled Tatsumi Fujinami and Bob Backlund. Adam Windsor, a young boy from Leeds, defeated Homicide and Kory Chavis in a tough match for NWA Total Non-stop Action on November 27, 2002. On January 25, 2005, he partnered with Terry at WrestleReunion, where they lost to the NWA World Tag Team champions America's Most Wanted.

Funk fought Carlos Colon in Guatemala on Friday Madness, a return to Puerto Rico for WWC Friday Madness. Dory, Terry, and Mick Foley lost in a six-man tag team match against The Midnight Express on August 27, 2005. He defeated David Flair and Tully Blanchard at World Wrestling Legends on March 5, 2006. Dory and his brother Terry were accepted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2009 by Dusty Rhodes on February 16, 2009 episode of Raw. Funk appeared on TNA Today's April 1, 2010 edition to talk with Jeremy Borash. Dory has been fighting for his own recognition since 2002. Funking Conservatory is also known as "BangTV" in the United States. In Ocala, Florida, the Ocala, Florida, residents. He lost to Samoa Joe in a Lumberjack match on September 3, 2006. Funk has battled for Tokyo Gurentai from 2015 to 2018. His last match was against another student of his Osamu Nishimura, which resulted in a 10-minute draw on November 28, 2018. Funk pinned Nishimura, which came to a stop-time of 2 as time was up for the finals seconds. On the independent circuit, Funk wrestled numerous times throughout 2019.

On Leap year 2020 Funk collaborated with The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott) to defeat Blain Rage, Jake Logan, and Shane Chung of Funking Conservatory in Ocala, Florida.

Funk and Osamu Nishimura defeated Genichiro Tenryu and Masanobu Fuchi in Funk's retirement match by spinning toe hold on March 1, 2008.

Funk returned to All Japan Pro Wrestling, teaming with Terry in a tag team match, where they defeated Masanobu Fuchi and Osamu Nishimura to a twenty-minute time limit draw on October 27, 2013. Funk was appointed as the new Pacific Wrestling Federation (PWF) chairman in late 2012. Funk returned to All Japan on July 27, 2014, with Osamu Nishimura and Yutaka Yoshie competing in a six-man tag team competition, where they defeated Masanobu Fuchi, Takao Omori, and Firtimo Dragón, with Funk naming Fuchi for the victory. He partnered with Genichiro Tenryu and Nosawa Rongai for the Tenryu Project on May 30, 2015 to defeat Kohei Suwama, Hikaru Sato, and Atsushi Aoki. Funk's next match with All Japan took place on May 31, 2015, when he and Nishimura challenged Fuchi and Yoshiaki Fujiwara to a twenty-minute time limit draw. He returned to All Japan in the next month to compete with Fuchi and Ultimo Dragon to defeat his student Nishimura, Masao Inoue, and Soma Takao. All Japan's last match was November 28, 2017, battling Fuchi, Great Kojika, Atsushi Maruyama, and Daisuke Sekimoto in Yokohama.

Funk announced his retirement from wrestling on December 31, 2017.

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