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Dory Funk Jr.

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Dory Funk, Jr.
Born (1941-02-03) February 3, 1941 (age 83)[1]
Amarillo, Texas[1]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Dory Funk, Jr.
The Long Tall Texan
Hoss Funk
The Mass Outlaw
Billed height6 ft 3 in (190 cm)
Billed weight240 lb (109 kg)
Billed fromThe Double Cross Ranch
Trained byDory Funk, Sr.
DebutJanuary, 1963
RetiredMarch 1, 2008

Dorrance Funk, Jr.[1] better known as Dory Funk, Jr. (born February 3, 1941) is a retired professional wrestler and wrestling trainer. He is the son of Dory Funk Sr. and brother of Terry Funk. He is credited with the invention of the Texas cloverleaf submission hold and runs the Funking Conservatory, a professional wrestling school. His students and friends participate in a wrestling show, local to Ocala, Florida, called !Bang!. To date, he was the second longest reigning NWA World Heavyweight Champion of all time, holding it for over four years. He is also a 2009 WWE Hall of Fame Inductee.

Professional wrestling career

Training

Dory Funk Jr.'s career in professional wrestling began in January 1963 just after a college football career with West Texas State University culminating in a 15 to 14 victory over Ohio University in the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas. Dory Funk, Jr.'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. Dory was also supported by the whole West Texas State University football team and the Tascosa High School amateur wrestling team. Dory was doing his student teaching as coach of the Tascosa High wrestling team under Coach James Kyle.

National Wrestling Alliance

Dory Funk, Jr. came to the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) in 1968 and went on to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship from Gene Kiniski on February 11, 1969 [2] in Tampa, Florida 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 (Lou Thesz held the NWA world title from November 27, 1949, to March 15, 1956). Dory and his brother, Terry, are the only brothers in history to both hold the title.[citation needed] 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. Some people do not believe the accident actually occurred. Funk was scheduled by the NWA board to lose the championship to Jack Brisco on March 2, 1973. According to Brisco, Dory Funk Sr. did not want his son to lose the belt to another babyface wrestler, since that would imply that the other wrestler was actually better than Dory Jr. Thus, the convenient "accident", allowing Dory Jr. to lose to heel Harley Race and claim that he lost by returning to the ring too soon after being injured. [3] Dory Jr. still claims that the accident and injuries were real, but does not explain why he did not lose the title to Brisco as the NWA board had planned. Race held the title only a few months before dropping it to Brisco.

He performed regularly throughout the NWA, particularly in the Mid-Atlantic, Georgia, Florida and Central States regions, through the 1970s and early 1980s. In December 1984, he and his brother Terry would compete in a tag team match against Bruiser Brody and Stan Hansen that would be given a 5-star rating by Dave Meltzer.

In January 1986, Dory (given the nickname "Hoss") made his WWF debut in a team alongside his brother Terry. The brothers performed at WrestleMania 2 defeating the Junkyard Dog and Tito Santana. After Terry left the WWF shortly after WrestleMania, Dory remained, mostly tagging with "brother" Jimmy Jack Funk, who in truth had no relation to the Funk family. He made a single appearance with the WWF as "Dory Funk" as a participant in the 1996 Royal Rumble

Later years

Funk is now the Coach of the Funking Conservatory Professional Wrestling School and teaches the Dory Funk Method of Professional Wrestling. Dory's students include Matt Hardy, Christian Cage, Lita, Kurt Angle, Mickie James, Edge, and others.

On March 1, 2008 Funk and Nishimura defeated Genichiro Tenryu and Masanobu Fuchi in Funk's retirement match via spinning toehold.[4]

On the February 16, 2009 edition 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

Personal life

In December 1980, Dory met his second and current wife, Marti. They married in 1989. Dory has three children from his first marriage: Dory III, Dirk and Penny, and five grandchildren: Dory IV, Jennifer, Sheldon, Bob and Coby.

In wrestling

Championships and accomplishments

Dory and Terry Funk in Hall of Fame 2009.
  • New England Wrestling Alliance
    • NEWA North American Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • Other titles
    • New York Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Notes and references

  1. ^ a b c "Power Slam". This Month in History: February. SW Publishing. January 1999. p. 28. 55. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  2. ^ http://nwawrestling.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=41&Itemid=101
  3. ^ Murdock, William (2003). Brisco. Newton, Iowa: Culture House Books. pp. 134–135. ISBN 0-9676080-7-4.
  4. ^ Gerweck.Net
  5. ^ "Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame (1948-1990)". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
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