Funk arrived in the WWF in April 1986 in a Lone Ranger-style mask as the storyline younger and unstable brother of Terry and Dory "Hoss" Funk. In addition to his mask, he also wore a noose around his neck to the ring. With Jimmy Hart as his manager, Funk debuted to a decent push, but Terry Funk's exit from the WWF in early June caused Hoss and Jimmy Jack to fall down the card as a tag team under Hart. Their most notable match together (and Dory's last in the WWF for almost a decade) was a loss to The Killer Bees in the opening match of The Big Event, a supercard in Toronto on August 28.
As the only remaining "Funk" in the WWF (and without Hart in his corner), he quickly became an aimless "jobber to the stars", losing regularly to the likes of Tito Santana, Koko B. Ware, Hillbilly Jim and Blackjack Mulligan and teaming with a series of journeymen with whom he had no previous storyline connection. He remained in the WWF in this capacity until June 1987.
Funk then joined World Class Championship Wrestling, where he was a villain at first but turned into a fan favorite in 1989 after parting ways with manager Skandor Akbar after he took offense to the derogatory things Akbar had said about Texas. Funk and Chris Adams were involved in a tag team feud with King Parsons and Brickhouse Brown for several months with no clear resolution.