The Von Erich Family
Another wrestling promotion that I watched in syndication back in the 80s was the Texas-based World Class Championship Wrestling. Fritz Von Erich, a respected wrestler who passed his vaunted Iron Claw submission move to his sons, was the father and he ran the promotion beginning in the late-60s.
By the early 80s, his sons, Kevin, David, Kerry and Mike, became the core of WCCW which had a territory affiliation with NWA until 1986. They had a good thing going down there in Texas and I remember watching some of the greatest most-brutal wrestling battles involving the Von Erichs against The Freebirds or Gentleman Chris Adams and Gino Hernandez. If you’ve never seen these, you are really missing out on some legendary clashes.
David was on pace to become a breakout star, but in 1984, a couple months before he was supposed to defeat Ric Flair for the NWA Heavyweight title, he died in Japan of a rumored drug overdose at just the age of 25. Mike Von Erich would commit suicide about three years later at just the age of 23. Chris Von Erich was the youngest and didn’t even become a wrestler until 1990, but like his brother, he committed suicide in 1991 at just the age of 21.
Kerry Von Erich was nicknamed the “Modern Day Warrior” and, as a tribute to his brother David, defeated Flair for the NWA title in May of 1984 though he would only hold the belt for 18 days. In 1986, he was in a motorcycle accident that almost took his life and resulted in his right foot being amputated. He was able to continue wrestling after the accident with a prosthesis and until his death, kept the amputation secret to the majority of fans and fellow wrestlers, even going to the extreme of showering with his boots on.
In mid-1990 Kerry would get his chance in the WWF, billed as the Texas Tornado and held the Intercontinental Title for about three months that year. He never received a full push leaving the WWF in 1992 before sadly committing suicide in 1993 at the age of 33.
Kevin Von Erich is the only surviving brother and quite an accomplished wrestler himself. He was a high flyer with loads of athletic ability that became known for wrestling barefoot. He was a key member in those battles mentioned earlier and had several close matches with Ric Flair for the NWA title, but never made the move to the WWF or received the full push that he deserved in a national promotion. To me, the Von Erichs are wrestling royalty, but many suffered a tragic ending before they could reach their full potential in the industry.
Good post, I love old school wrestling memories and thoughts
I wouldnt consider Steamboat, Perfect, Rude, Snake, or The Von Erich’s underrated they are loved by all (and I think most were brought up during the USF Fantasy Wrestling Draft .. not sure though)
Underrated for me are really good wrestlers who people wouldn’t immediately come up with when a wrestling fan named their favorites or ones they remember
Give me:
Magnum TA
Paul Orndorff
Nikita Koloff
Greg Valentine
Shane Douglass
Lance Storm
Super Calo and The Yeti lol
I actually considered including the first 3 guys you mentioned who were all personal favorites of mine: MagnumTA, Mr. Wonderful and the Russian Nightmare. They probably should have at least all been on the honorable mention list.
I was not implying that these wrestlers were never adored by fans, it was more that they never received the big time push that they probably deserved. Thanks for reading and commenting.
I was raised on AWA so I would have like to see The High Flyer, Greg Gagne and Jim Brunsel go further than they did. Greg’s father Verne was also a favorite.
Like I mentioned, I started off on AWA as well. The High Flyers are another example of a strong tag team that never really received the opportunity for individual glory.
The AWA was the first live wrestling match I was able to attend as a kid. Had front row seats and it hooked me in to wrestling even more at a young age. Baron Von Raschke, The Crusher, Mad Dog Vachon, Rock n Roll Buck Zumhoff, Sgt. Slaughter, Hulk Hogan, The Road Warriors, Jerry Blackwell, Nick Bockwinkle, Shiek Adnan El Kasey, the list goes on and on (and so do the great memories!)
good list, at first I thought no way Ricky is underrated, and then the Von Erichs, but I see what you mean. They were so talented they should have been as big as Hogan but weren’t.
Yes, that is the angle I tried to use. Who deserved a much bigger push than they ever received. There are certainly different ways to go at it and underrated is very subjective to begin with. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Where’s CoCo B. Ware or Jimmy “Superfly” Snukka?