WWE Hall of Famer Dory Funk Jr. has died at the age of 85, his family confirmed on August 4, 2026. His wife, Marti, said Funk passed away while in hospital care in Florida. A member of the famed Funk wrestling family, he was the son of promoter Dory Funk Sr. and the brother of the late Terry Funk.
Funk was one of the most decorated figures of his era. He defeated Gene Kiniski on February 11, 1969, to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and held the title for 1,563 days before losing it to Harley Race in May 1973, the second-longest unbroken reign in the championship's history. He and Terry were inducted together into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009 and remain the only siblings to each hold the NWA World title. In later years, he and Marti trained future stars at their Funking Conservatory in Florida.
Tributes poured in across the wrestling industry, with WWE, the NWA, AEW, TNA, Triple H and numerous performers honoring a career that spanned more than six decades in the United States and Japan.