Von Erich family
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-->The Von Erich family is a legendary wrestling family. Their birth names are that of "Adkisson", but in honor of the family patriarch, Fritz Von Erich, all of his sons who ventured into the wrestling business (Kevin, Kerry, David, Michael, and Chris) all took the Von Erich name on as their own.
Members
Fritz Von Erich
"The Iron Claw" Fritz Von Erich was born on August 16, 1929 in Jewett, Texas. Standing 6'4" tall and weighing 240 lbs, Fritz was an imposing figure who quickly became a top heel in the professional wrestling business.
Originally trained by the legendary Stu Hart, Fritz became a top star in many National Wrestling Alliance promotions, most notably in St. Louis and in the World Class Wrestling Association (the latter of which was later renamed World Class Championship Wrestling.
While never getting a shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Title, he maintained his presence within the Alliance, holding many other major belts. Fritz also served as NWA President for a short period in the 1970's, as well as President of WCCW when it moved to Dallas, TX.
Fritz Von Erich was also a major part of Japanese wrestling, helping to rebuild it after the death of Rikidozan. It was there that he was known as "Tetsu no Tsume" (in English, "The Iron Claw").
Fritz is the father of the other legendary members of the Von Erich family, and the grandfather of Kevin's son, Ross. He passed away of lung cancer which spread to his brain in 1997.[link]
Kevin Von Erich
Born May 15, 1957 in Denton, Texas, "The Golden Warrior" Kevin Von Erich is the second oldest son of Fritz Von Erich. The eldest, Jack, died after accidentally being electrocuted and drowning.
The majority of Kevin's career was spent working in World Class Championship Wrestling, where he had many memorable feuds against legendary wrestlers such as Chris Adams, The Fabulous Freebirds, and Ric Flair. It was there that Kevin became known for utilizing the body scissors and iron claw as his trademark manouvers, as well as wrestling barefoot.
Kevin retired in 1995 and is now settled down with his family and working in real estate. He has been married for over twenty five years and has two daughters, two sons, and a grandchild. He now lives near Nürnberg in Germany but prepares to go back to his ranch in Texas. He occassionally makes appearances in wrestling shows, but never wrestles. He is the sole survivor of the sons of Fritz Von Erich.
In late 2005 Kevin sold the World Class footage to Vince McMahon and the WWE. Since then he has made two appearances on WWE television when it has been filmed in Dallas.
In his first appearance, at WWE homecoming, he beat down Rob Conway with several other legends, even applying the legendary Von Erich Claw.
He also made a brief appearance on the 7/15/2006 episode of Saturday Nights Main Event.
David Von Erich
"The Yellow Rose of Texas" David Von Erich is the third son of Fritz Von Erich. He was born on July 22, 1958 in Denton, Texas.
David had many memorable feuds, mostly in Fritz's World Class Championship Wrestling promotion. It was there that he faced off with Ric Flair several times for the NWA World Heavyweight Title (never winning), as well as teamed with brothers Kevin and Kerry against the Fabulous Freebirds.
David died in 1984 shortly before he was booked to win the NWA World Heavyweight Title from Ric Flair. The official doctor's report states that he died of acute enteritis, but cynics suggested that it was a drug overdose that really killed him and that Bruiser Brody (a fellow wrestler who found David) disposed of the narcotics. Brody, a close friend of Von Erich, would later admit that he overreacted in the moment of tragedy and flushed David's pain killers down the toilet. It has been confirmed that David Von Erich's official cause of death was a heart attack caused by ruptured intestines, which were the result of acute enteritis.
A tribute show was held a couple of years later in his honor, during which his younger brother, Kerry Von Erich, won the NWA title from Ric Flair.
Kerry Von Erich
Kerry Von Erich is the fourth son of Fritz Von Erich. He was born on February 3, 1960 in Denton, Texas. Known as "The Modern Day Warrior" and "The Texas Tornado", Kerry was by far the most well known of the Von Erich Family.
Much like his brothers, Kerry spent the majority of his career wrestling in World Class Championship Wrestling. Amongst the many major feuds he had were those against Gino Hernandez, Iceman Parsons, Chris Adams and The Fabulous Freebirds.
Kerry became the most successful of the Von Erich family when he won the NWA World Heavyweight Title from Ric Flair at the David Von Erich Memorial Parade Of Champions, a tribute show to his deceased older brother. Kerry lost the belt three weeks later to Flair. Kerry also wrestled for several months in both the World Wrestling Federation and Global Wrestling Federation, two national promotions that were rising to fame at the expense of regional promotions such as WCCW.
On June 4th, 1986, Kerry was in a horrendous motorcycle accident that nearly ended his life. With a dislocated hip and a badly injured right leg, Kerry was in bad shape. Doctors tried hard, but could not save his foot, eventually amputating it. According to brother Kevin, Kerry injured the foot following surgery by attempting to walk on it prematurely, thus forcing the doctors to amputate it. He was able to continue wrestling after the accident with a fused ankle and until his death kept the amputation secret to the majority of fans and even some fellow competitors.
Kerry had a history of drug problems. Amongst the many of them were two arrests, the first of which resulted in probation. After the second, which violated the probation, Kerry committed suicide in 1993 on his father's ranch.
Michael Von Erich
Michael Von Erich, born March 2, 1964 in Denton, Texas, was the fifth son of Fritz Von Erich.
Despite being very good at wrestling, Michael never wanted to become a wrestler, as he only hoped to be a musician and a cameraman. Due to the death of his brother David, he was forced into the ring, where he replaced David in the feud the Von Erichs had with the Fabulous Freebirds.
After suffering a shoulder injury in in 1985 on a tour of Israel, Michael was forced to have surgery. Shortly after, it was discovered that he suffered from Toxic Shock Syndrome, and was forced to retire after not being able to return to the ring at full strength anymore. He committed suicide in 1987 by intentional overdose of a tranquilizer.
Chris Von Erich
Born September 30, 1969 in Denton, Texas, Chris Von Erich was the youngest, shortest, and least athletic of the Von Erich family. He made many attempts to succeed in the squared circle due to an incredible love of wrestling that kept him going despite numerous injuries. He managed one major feud with Percy Pringle in the USWA, but his career didn't take off like the rest of the family's.
After several years of not being able to succeed in the wrestling business, Chris became depressed and frustrated. He committed suicide in 1991.
Other members
Ross Von Erich
Ross Von Erich is the stage name of Ross Adkisson. He is the son of Kevin Von Erich, and the heir to the Adkisson family name, Von Erich legacy, and World Class Championship Wrestling. Ross, like his father before him, is also a football player.
Waldo Von Erich
Waldo Von Erich was the stage name of Canadian professional wrestler Walter Sieber. Though billed as the brother of Fritz Von Erich when they teamed, he is not related to the Adkisson family. Waldo is retired and currently working in therapy.
Lance Von Erich
Lance Von Erich was the stage name of professional wrestler William Kevin Vaughn. He was billed for a brief period of time in the 1980's as the son of Waldo Von Erich, but there was no biological relation between the two. Lance also has no biological relation to the Adkisson family.
Mark Von Erich
Mark Von Erich is the stage name of professional wrestler Mark Valiant, who competed in the Global Wrestling Federation as Mark Valiant, then later competed in the 1990s as Mark Von Erich. Originally, there were legal issues between Valiant and Kevin Von Erich for the use of the Von Erich name, but Kevin eventually allowed Mark to use it.
Von Erich curse
The Von Erich curse is a name applied to the situation involving the legendary Von Erich family. While patriarch Fritz lived till natural death, four of his five wrestling sons died premature deaths within a 10-year span. As previously mentioned, David died in 1984 under circumstances that were disputed for years, while Michael, Kerry, and Chris all committed suicide in subsequent years.The Von Erich curse eventually evolved into the World Class curse, as several other non-Von Erich wrestlers have also died prematurely, including two major non-Von Erich stars (Terry Gordy and Chris Adams).
Kevin Von Erich is the sole survivor of the Adkisson sons.
External links
- Official Family Site: http://www.vonerich.com/
- Obsessed With Wrestling Bio: http://www.obsessedwithwrestling.com/profiles/v/vonerichs.html
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