This legendary family of wrestling is notable not because of any brother rivalry, but because of the tragedies these five brothers endured under the pressure of being great. Kevin, David, Kerry, Mike, and Chris Von Erich, second generation stars and sons of Fritz Von Erich, all endured their share of heartache.
Kevin, the oldest, is the last remaining member of the Von Erich family and had to endure loss after loss. He was the first to make his debut in World Class Championship Wrestling in 1976 as “The Golden Haired Warrior”—he wrestled barefoot and was a crowd favorite.
Soon after he was joined in June of 1977 by his younger brother, David, who was considered by many fans as the “breakout star” (much like Jeff Hardy). David was known as “The Yellow Rose of Texas,” and was a rising star who main-evented among the ranks of Harley Race and Ric Flair.
Kerry started his career in 1979 in NWA Texas before joining his brothers in WCCW. He was introduced as “The Modern Day Warrior” and was probably the most athletically-tuned of all the Von Erichs—and the only one to win a major title (the NWA Heavyweight title in 1984).
Mike had a rather short career, starting off in 1984 and ending in 1987. He was the only Von Erich who truly did not want to wrestle or be in the limelight. He actually started off working in his fathers' WCCW promotion as a cameraman, until he was forced into the ring in 1984.
Chris was the youngest, smallest, and least athletic Von Erich; he grew up idolizing his father and brothers and yearned for the same success and popularity that had made his family synonymous with wrestling in Texas. He debuted in 1990 after doing various odd jobs for his fathers' WCCW promotion.
Tragedy struck on February 10, 1984, when David—the star of the family who was touring in Japan, and considered to be next in line to win the NWA Heavyweight Title—was found dead from mysterious causes.
The family claims it was a heart attack caused by intestinal complications. Others like Ric Flair claim it was a drug overdose, and other wrestlers covered up by destroying evidence at the scene of his death.
Following David’s death, Kerry won the NWA Heavyweight Title from Ric Flair on May 6, 1984 at The David Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions show. Later on, younger brother Mike was forced into the ring by his father, Fritz to replace David in the Von Erichs feud with the Fabulous Freebirds.
Mike, bearing a striking resemblance to David, felt the pressure of being David and filling his shoes.
Mike suffered a shoulder injury during a match in 1985, and underwent surgery to repair the injury. Several days after his release from the hospital, he suffered Toxic Shock Syndrome, due to a staph infection suffered because of his surgery.
Because of his bout with TSS, Mike lost a significant amount of weight, and was reported to have even suffered some brain damage.
16 Comments
Loading more comments...
This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete