JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In the movie “Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers”, the character King Theoden utters an impactful line: “No parent should have to bury their child.”
That line only scratches the surface of what legendary wrestling promoter Fritz Von Erich lived with.
The phrase in wrestling circles “The Von Erich Curse” is not one said lightly. It details the tragic tale of the Von Erich family, where five of the six Von Erich children died young. Before their father.
To understand this story you have to travel back to the 1960′s when a young man — whose real name was Jack Adkisson — took on the name of Fritz Von Erich. The young Fritz wanted to be one of the best “bad guys” in the industry. And back in the Cold War era there was no better way to get fans to hate you than to take on the character of a Nazi. So Adkisson, changed his name to a more German sounding Fritz Von Erich and the rest is pro wrestling history.
Like most wrestlers back in the territorial era before Vince McMahon took his World Wrestling Federation national and put all other companies out of business, the goal was to become a promoter. That’s where the real money was in wrestling in the mid-1900′s. You were the guy who ran the territory and made the most money. Fritz Von Erich took over World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) in the 1970′s. WCCW was a prominent member of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). That was the unofficial governing body of all the loose knit wrestling promotions around the United States. At one point he was NWA President, a prestigious role in the wrestling world.
Along the way Fritz Von Erich and his wife Doris had six sons. The first tragedy happened before his children were old enough to wrestle. That was in 1959 when his son first son Jack Jr. was accidentally electrically shocked and fell into a puddle. Jack Jr. drowned.
After that the family grew and eventually his remaining children ventured into their father’s world of professional wrestling.
Like many promoters over the years (Dusty Rhodes in WCW & Verne Gagne in AWA to name a few) Fritz Von Erich made his children wrestlers. In the Von Erich’s case they became the top “babyfaces” in the territory. And his children had something many wrestlers that preceded them did not -- good looks and muscular bodies. Unlike many wrestlers from the previous generation who looked often like everyday men, the Von Erich boys looked like movie stars. Particularly Kerry Von Erich. And they drew in a sort of fan to arenas all over Texas who were not common in that era of pro wrestling -- young females. The Von Erichs were teen heartthrobs. And fans couldn’t get enough.
But the reality of pro wrestling (particularly in the 1980′s) the lifestyle isn’t easy. Constantly on the road and taking abuse to your body nightly. While the outcomes may be pre-determined, the abuse to your body is real. And in 1984, tragedy once again struck the Von Erich family. David Von Erich was wrestling at an event in Tokyo, Japan. And another high profile wrestler Bruiser Brody found him dead in his hotel room. The police reported that he died of an inflammation of the small intestine called enteritis. But the lore among wrestlers has been he died of a drug overdose and Brody dumped the drugs down the toilet before police arrived. Even Ric Flair wrote about that suspicion in his autobiography.,
Following the death of David Von Erich there was an enormous outpouring of support as the state of Texas grieved over the fallen wrestling hero. This was still the era when wrestling was considered a legitimate sport and the curtain hadn’t been fully pulled back that it was a predetermined form of entertainment. To help honor David Von Erich’s passing WCCW held a memorial show in his honor. At the time it was considered possibly the highest attended wrestling event in American history with more than 40,000 fans packing into the stadium.
But that wasn’t the only headline to come out of that event. Kerry Von Erich would face Ric Flair for the NWA heavyweight title. That title was important nationally as all the promoters around the country had to agree Flair would be the face of wrestling nationally and to have him lose the title was a major decision. But due to David’s death and the importance of the Von Erich family, Kerry won and was the new NWA Champion.
Despite this WCCW was dealing with behind the scenes difficulty from both a business and very personal perspective. And they were both due to David’s death. The promotion was reeling from the loss of the beloved Von Erich and that was understandably wreaking havoc on the family. At the same time they needed to replace a top “babyface” in the promotion.
One way that was done was brining in another wrestler and telling fans he was a Von Erich. So Lance Von Erich was brought in. The problem was, he wasn’t really a member of the family. His real name was William Kevin “Ricky” Vaugh. He was a talented, muscular and good looking performer. However, fans knew he wasn’t a real Von Erich and they were being lied to. Many wrestling historians have pointed to that as a big part of the downfall of WCCW.
While this was happening another real Von Erich brother, Mike was put in the limelight. The problem there was by numerous accounts he didn’t want to be a wrestler. But he stepped up knowing how important it was to his family. As he was wrestling tragedy almost struck again when he was on a wrestling tour in Israel and had a shoulder injury. He had a bad reaction including toxic shock syndrome and was immediately rushed back to Texas. “Dark Side Of The Ring” is a documentary series that chronicled the Von Erich tragedy and they reported doctors believed his death was inevitable. But seemingly miraculously Mike recovered.
However, there was a widely held belief that Mike Von Erich pushed himself too hard to recover. And he frankly shouldn’t have returned to in-ring action for a long time. That led to issues with substance abuse and depression. Eventually in April of 1987 Mike Von Erich took his own life with an overdose. Tragedy had in fact once again struck the Von Erich family.
The next in this horrible string came in the form of another brother Chris. Unlike his tall, muscular brothers, Chris Von Erich did not have their natural gifts. He stood only 5′4″, very short to be a successful professional wrestler. But numerous accounts say Chris wanted desperately to be a successful wrestler. Sadly, that was not in the cards for the young man who suffered from medical conditions like asthma and very brittle bones. Following years of frustration over not succeeding in wrestling, Chris Von Erich took his own life in 1991 when he shot himself in the head.
By this time WCCW had largely failed as an organization and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) owned by Vince McMahon had mostly taken over the wrestling industry as McMahon put most of his competitors out of business. And that’s when Kerry Von Erich got the call.
McMahon was known for wanting to create his own characters and not utilizing names/gimmicks from other promotions. Ric Flair and Vader would be some notable exceptions. But Kerry Von Erich was asked to ditch his famous name and go under the moniker “Texas Tornado”.
At this time Von Erich was hiding a secret that was only known to his family. He didn’t have a foot. Years prior Kerry Von Erich had been in an accident driving and severely injured his leg. His recovery was played up on WCCW television. But an important part was not discussed publicly. As a result of his injuries he lost his foot.
Not wanting to give up his career, and being an extraordinarily gifted athlete, Kerry Von Erich used a prosthetic in his wrestling boot and continued to wrestle. Despite being on global television with the WWF the secret remained for many years and no one knew he didn’t have a foot.
But that wasn’t Kerry Von Erich’s only problem. He was still dealing with horrific trauma of losing three brothers in the previous decade. He was also dealing with marital issues along with substance abuse. And sadly in 1993 Kerry Von Erich, like his brother Chris shot himself and died.
Fritz Von Erich and his wife Doris had lost five of their six sons. Their grief was unfathomable.
The only surviving son is Kevin who’s still around today. In fact, a recent episode of All Elite Wrestling (AEW) Dynamite honored Kevin on a recent show. He also put the illustrious “Iron Claw” move on a wrestler.
Now the movie is out in theaters and getting great reviews. Especially from wrestling fans. But be ready, as you just read. It’s a sad story.