Dory Funk Jr.(1941-2026)

Deceased American professional wrestler and trainer who had great success all over the world. Prior to wrestling, he was one of the many future stars who played football for West Texas State University. He debuted in 1963 after training under his father Dory Funk Sr. and Lou Thesz. While competing for the Funk Family's Western States Sports promotion in Amarillo, TX, he held the promotion's version of the NWA North American Heavyweight Title, the NWA Texas (Amarillo) Brass Knuckles Title, the NWA World (Amarillo) Tag Team Titles, the NWA International Tag Team Titles, the NWA Western States Tag Team Titles, and the NWA (Amarillo) International Heavyweight Title. He and his brother Terry Funk would go on to win tag team gold all over the world, including Georgia, Los Angeles, Japan, Puerto Rico, and Florida. Dory defeated Gene Kiniski for the NWA World Heavyweight Title at "CWF Gasparilla Spectacular 1969" at the Fort Homer W. Hesterly Armory in Tampa, Florida on February 11, 1969 and held the belt for four years, losing it to Harley Race at an NWA Central States event at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, KS on May 24, 1973. In the 1990s, he started a wrestling school in Ocala, Florida originally known as the Funkin' Dojo and helped train such stars as Kurt Angle, Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, Lita (Amy Dumas) and Test (Andrew Martin). He turned the school into his own promotion, the Funkin' Conservatory. He and Terry were inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 1996 and into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009. Dory himself was inducted into the NWA Hall of Fame in 2006 (Terry was inducted in 2009). He and Terry were among the biggest gaijin (western) stars in the history of Japanese wrestling.