Today's Lesson is on The Von Erich Family... For those of you who don't know them they changed Wrestling history and have a impact on it today. They even have a movie about them called The Iron Claw. They do have a Curse around the family but honestly they are still one of the most powerful family's in Wrestling History.
The Von Erich family is an American professional wrestling family. Originally from Texas, their actual surname is Adkisson, but every member working in wrestling has used the ring name "Von Erich" after family patriarch Fritz Von Erich (real name Jack Adkisson). Fritz, who wrestled from 1953 to his retirement in 1982, took on the German-sounding name as part of his wrestling gimmick (i.e. in-ring persona), as he originally portrayed a Nazi heel. Fritz Von Erich also owned World Class Wrestling in Dallas Texas which was a popular Wrestling company in the 80's that was a rival to both WWF and WCW.
The Legendary Stu Hart trained Fritz Von Erich to wrestle in his dungeon . Stu Hart will be another Lesson in the future. Fritz became a top star in many National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) promotions, most notably in St. Louis and in World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW). He held the AWA World Heavyweight Championship at one time in the 1960s. Despite never winning the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, he maintained his presence within the NWA, holding many other major belts. Fritz also served shortly as NWA President in the 1970s, as well as President of WCCW when it moved to Dallas, Texas. Fritz was also a major part of Japanese wrestling, where he was known as "Tetsu no Tsume" (鉄の爪; "The Iron Claw"), and helped rebuild the business after the death of Rikidōzan. In 1997 Fritz Von Erich Passed away from Brain and Lung Cancer.
Born Kevin Adkisson The Golden Warrior" Kevin Von Erich is the second oldest and last surviving son of Fritz Von Erich.
The majority of Kevin's career was spent working in World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), where he had feuds against wrestlers such as Chris Adams, The Fabulous Freebirds, and Ric Flair. It was there that Kevin became known for utilizing trademark maneuvers like the body scissors and the iron claw, as well as for wrestling barefoot.
In May 2006, Kevin sold the WCCW footage to Vince McMahon and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). At WrestleMania 25, Kevin represented the Von Erich family during their induction into the WWE Hall of Fame. In 2015, Kevin appeared in an ESPN 30 for 30 short film titled "Wrestling the Curse". Kevin has 2 sons who are currently wrestling today named Ross and Marshall and they are currently the 6 man tag team champions in ROH with Dustin Rhodes aka The son of Dusty Rhodes who is another Texas wrestler and a family friend of The Von Erichs.
The Yellow Rose of Texas" David Von Erich was the third son of Fritz Von Erich. He was born David Alan Adkisson.
David worked in the World Class Championship Wrestling promotion. It was there that he faced off with Harley Race and later Ric Flair several times for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship (never winning), as well as teamed with brothers Kevin and Kerry against The Fabulous Freebirds. David also wrestled in Missouri, winning the Missouri Heavyweight Championship on a couple of occasions. From late 1981 to mid-1982, David wrestled in the Florida territory to show that he could work as a heel. This run was successful, with David enjoying brief reigns as both singles and tag team champion.
David died on February 10, 1984, in Tokyo, Japan. The US Embassy's death report says he died of acute enteritis. Ric Flair wrote in his autobiography, To Be the Man, that "everyone in wrestling believes" that it was a drug overdose that really killed him and that Bruiser Brody (a fellow wrestler who found David) disposed of the narcotics by flushing them down a toilet before the police arrived. Mick Foley also claims that David died from an apparent drug overdose. A tribute show was held a couple of months later in his honor, during which his younger brother, Kerry Von Erich, won the NWA World Title from Ric Flair.
Von Erich was the fourth son of Fritz Von Erich. He was born Kerry Gene Adkisson on February 3, 1960, in Niagara Falls, New York. Known as "The Modern Day Warrior" and "The Texas Tornado", Kerry was by far the best-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 under the ring name "The Texas Tornado" in both the World Wrestling Federation (where he won the WWF Intercontinental Championship at SummerSlam on August 27, 1990) and Global Wrestling Federation.
His daughter Lacey wrestled for several years, most notably with TNA as Lacey Von Erich, before leaving the wrestling business in 2010.
On June 4, 1986, Kerry was involved in a motorcycle accident that resulted in the amputation of his right foot. He continued wrestling after the accident with a prosthesis and kept the amputation secret from the majority of fans and fellow wrestlers. He became addicted to pain killers, developed several drug problems, and was arrested multiple times. Kerry died after shooting a .44 caliber bullet through his heart on February 18, 1993, on his father's ranch in Denton County, Texas. There is a marker of an angel placed by his father Fritz on the spot where Kerry shot himself.
Mike Von Erich was the fifth son of Fritz Von Erich. He was born Michael Brett Adkisson on March 2, 1964, in Dallas, Texas, and was later known as the "Inspirational Warrior".
Mike replaced David in the feud the Von Erichs had with The Fabulous Freebirds following David's death. According to the DVD Heroes of World Class, Mike wanted to work for World Class as a cameraman and had no interest in being in the ring full-time. His only previous appearance on-screen was being involved in an angle where Ric Flair insulted him and wrestled him as a run-up to what was planned as David winning the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, but Fritz pressured Mike into the ring after David's death. Kevin once stated that Mike suffered from the pressure of having to "be David" and to succeed on the same level as his older brothers.
Mike was married on February 14, 1985, to Shani Danette Garza. He was divorced later that year. In 1985, he injured his shoulder on a tour of Israel and had surgery, leading to toxic shock syndrome, as there was an infection missed by the surgeons. He suffered some brain damage as a result of his illness and lost a great deal of weight.In 1986, he also suffered head injuries from a car accident in which his vehicle overturned after he lost control.
He committed suicide on April 12, 1987.
Chris Von Erich was the youngest of the Von Erich family. With his short stature (5'5”), asthma, and extremely brittle bones, which were prone to breaking, Chris was never able to achieve the success that his father and brothers achieved. He made many attempts to succeed in the squared circle because of his incredible love of wrestling, which kept him going despite numerous injuries. He managed one major feud with Percy Pringle in the USWA/World Class, but his career did not take off like the rest of the family's. On occasion, he and his brothers Kerry and Kevin, as well as Chris Adams, wrestled tag-team matches against Percy Pringle and Steve Austin, but Chris only wrestled Pringle, while the much more athletic Adams, Kerry or Kevin wrestled Austin.
After several years of not being able to succeed in the wrestling business, Chris became depressed and frustrated. He was also heartbroken over the loss of his brother, Mike, and experienced drug addiction. On September 12, 1991, aged 21, he shot himself in the head
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