Dory Funk Jr. To Make History In Terry Funk Tribute Match

Legendary professional wrestler Dory Funk Jr. will make history this weekend when he competes in a tribute match for his late brother Terry Funk, who passed away one year ago today.

Dory Jr. will team with Osamu Nishimura (who is currently battling cancer for the second time) to take on Atsushi Onita & Raijin Yaguchi in a death match on a show at Kawasaki Stadium. As well as being a tribute for Terry Funk, the show will also mark fifty years since the debut of Onita.

But that's not all, because by wrestling in the match Dory Funk Jr. will become the oldest male wrestler to ever compete in a sanctioned match (at 83 years of age). X account Dark Puroresu Flowsion uncovered the statistic.

Dory Funk Jr. made his in-ring debut in 1963 and won the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Title in 1969. He held the title for 1,563 days, the second-longest individual reign (behind Lou Thesz) in history.

He enjoyed further success in the United States, as well as in Japan, as both a singles star and in a tag team alongside Terry in a career spanning decades. A noted trainer, his Funkin' Dojo training academy served as a WWE developmental territory in the 90s.

Widely considered one of the greatest technical wrestlers of all-time, Dory Funk Jr. last wrestled in December 2018 when he went to a ten-minute time limit draw with Nishimura in an exhibition bout on a Tokyo Gurentai show.