Dory Funk Jr., the former NWA World Heavyweight Champion and one of the most influential trainers the business has produced, has died at the age of 85.
He died on Tuesday in Ocala, Florida, where he had lived for decades. His wife Marti confirmed the news to the Ocala Gazette. No cause of death has been given.
Funk held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship for more than four years, winning it from Gene Kiniski in February 1969 and losing it to Harley Race in May 1973. It remains one of the longest reigns in the title’s history. His run at the top of the NWA, and his rivalry with Jack Brisco in particular, defined the promotion’s main event scene for the best part of a decade.
He was born in Indiana and raised in Amarillo, where his father, Dory Funk Sr., wrestled, promoted and ran the family’s Double Cross Ranch. Both of Funk Sr.’s sons followed him into the business. Terry Funk died in August 2023. Their father died in 1973 at the age of 54, and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a legacy inductee in April 2025.
Dory Jr. and Terry went in together in 2009, inducted by Dusty Rhodes.
Funk debuted for All Japan Pro Wrestling in 1973 and worked there for decades, part of a career that also took in WCW, ECW, WWF and dozens of NWA territories. He and Terry wrestled the Junkyard Dog and Tito Santana at WrestleMania 2. He is widely credited with devising the Texas cloverleaf.
His second career may have reached further than his first. Funk opened the Funking Conservatory in Ocala and trained a generation there, including Kurt Angle, Edge, Christian, Lita, Matt and Jeff Hardy, Mickie James and Ted DiBiase, running his !Bang! shows out of the same building.
He never really stopped. Funk wrestled his last match on August 24, 2024, teaming with Osamu Nishimura at a show in Kawasaki held in memory of Terry and marking Atsushi Onita’s fiftieth anniversary in the business. He was 83.
Paul Levesque paid tribute on behalf of WWE on Tuesday.
“Saddened to announce the passing of Dory Funk, Jr. From the Double Cross Ranch to the @WWE Hall of Fame, Dory’s style inspired countless performers in our industry. Whether it was at WrestleMania 2, WCW, ECW, or the dozens of NWA-affiliated promotions, his travels across North America and Asia were a part of the early blueprint that helped build this business into a global phenomena. A hard-nosed and fierce competitor, his rugged in-ring style was only eclipsed by the decades he spent training athletes to perform in the squared circle he loved so much. My thoughts and those of the entire @WWE Universe are with his loved ones during this difficult time.”
Saddened to announce the passing of Dory Funk, Jr.
From the Double Cross Ranch to the @WWE Hall of Fame, Dory’s style inspired countless performers in our industry. Whether it was at WrestleMania 2, WCW, ECW, or the dozens of NWA-affiliated promotions, his travels across North… pic.twitter.com/9XxPTzY7Pc
— Triple H (@TripleH) August 4, 2026
Brian Blair, who grew up watching Funk in Florida before working alongside him, wrote that he had gone from booing him as a child to counting him as a friend.
“It’s hard to find the right words to say goodbye to a man who became a mentor, a leader, and a dear friend, Dory Funk Jr. My love for him started all the way back as a kid at the Bayfront Center, booing him as the ultimate heel while he took on my hero Jack Brisco. He was an absolute legend who commanded respect just by being himself. My heart goes out to his wife, Marti, and his family. You will be deeply missed, Dory. I know God is welcoming you with open arms. Rest easy until we meet again.”
Funk is survived by his wife, Marti.
It’s hard to find the right words to say goodbye to a man who became a mentor, a leader, and a dear friend, Dory Funk Jr. My love for him started all the way back as a kid at the Bayfront Center, booing him as the ultimate heel while he took on my hero Jack Brisco. He was an… pic.twitter.com/2kClxA4Yxb
— B Brian Blair 🇺🇸 (@Killerbee1B) August 4, 2026
