Professional wrestler Joe Doering, a former champion in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling, died at age 44 on Friday, June 26, 2026. Doering passed away surrounded by his family following a nearly decade-long battle with brain cancer. His family confirmed his passing at exactly 9:13 a.m. via an update on his GoFundMe campaign, detailed by Hello Magazine.
The 6-foot-8 athlete was initially diagnosed with brain cancer in 2016. He experienced a recurrence of the disease in August 2022 and faced a third brain tumor in November 2025 before recently entering hospice care, according to a Times of India retrospective on his career.
Doering began building his international profile in Japan starting in 2007. Competing for AJPW, he formed a tag team partnership with Keiji Mutoh and secured the AJPW World Tag Team Championship four times. He later became only the sixth non-Japanese wrestler in the promotion’s history to win the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship.
Following his first brain surgery in 2016, Doering returned to competition in 2017 to win both the Champion Carnival and another Triple Crown title. In North America, Doering returned to TNA Wrestling in 2020. He joined the Violent By Design faction alongside Eric Young and Cody Deaner, where the group won the TNA World Tag Team Championship twice.
Following his death, TNA Wrestling issued a public statement calling Doering a “commanding in-ring performer and a wonderful person.” Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling also released a statement, noting the wrestler “packed a thousand years’ worth of living” into his 44 years.