00:00 Remember the glory days when the movies treated wrestling like it was a joke? Like No Holds
00:04 Barred? Nacho Libre? Or my personal favourite, Ready to Rumble?
00:20 Mike, what is this?
00:31 King me!
00:32 Hollywood has always looked down on wrestling. They call it fake. Unlike all that documentary
00:37 footage Hollywood makes, like this real footage of humanoid cats that did so well for them.
00:43 Even when one of cinema's most celebrated auteurs Darren Aronofsky released The Wrestler in 2008,
00:49 some believe its lead Mickey Rourke lost out on the Best Actor Oscar because he appeared on a
00:53 segment with Chris Jericho on Monday Night Raw. But as great work from Vice's Dark Side of the
00:58 Ring and the wrestling films and TV shows from Rock that Dwayne Johnson has shown,
01:03 professional wrestling is as real as it gets. And there are far more tragically true stories
01:09 in its history than the Von Eriks. A24's Ironclaw movie tells the tale of the
01:14 Von Eriks, who for a brief period in the early 80s were wrestling megastars in their home state
01:19 of Texas, but whose dynasty ended in an almost unbelievable series of tragedies. The film also
01:25 centres on world class championship wrestling, the Dallas-based promotion where they made their name,
01:30 which was also home to some of the craziest characters in 80s wrestling, many of whom
01:35 show up in the movie. Some had their lives cut short, like most of the Von Eriks. Others are
01:40 still with us, and a few are amongst the biggest and most impactful names in wrestling history.
01:46 Here is what happened to all the Ironclaw wrestlers in real life.
01:51 Jack Jr. Von Erik Let's start with the main characters in
01:54 the film, the Von Eriks themselves. Or are they? Because the Von Eriks aren't actually
02:01 the Von Eriks. Their real last name is Adkisson. But the family father in the movie, Jack,
02:07 changed his name to Fritz Von Erik when he was an active wrestler in the 1950s,
02:11 which was designed as a post-World War II 'evil foreigner' gimmick. Which means a group that
02:15 would go on to be the ultimate All-American family had kayfabe roots of their public name in Nazism.
02:22 Fritz was a big time heel in 50s North America, which was when the first family tragedy struck.
02:32 While staying at a trailer park in Niagara Falls in 1959, Fritz and his wife Doris' oldest son
02:38 Jack Jr. died after touching the metal part of a caravan that had somehow been electrified,
02:44 and then falling face down in a puddle where he drowned. He was only 6 years old,
02:49 and some say Fritz never truly got over the loss. David Von Erik
02:54 By 1984, Fritz was running the NWA territory in their home state of Texas, where his three
02:59 oldest surviving sons Kevin, David and Kerry had become huge stars. But another tragedy was about
03:05 to strike. David, who was viewed by many as a future NWA World's Champion, was found dead
03:11 in his hotel room during a tour of Japan at the age of 25. Some have speculated his death was
03:17 caused by a drug overdose, but the Von Erik family have always insisted it was a case of acute
03:22 enteritis, which is inflammation of the small intestine. The official cause of death registered
03:27 by the authorities backs up their version of events. Mike Von Erik
03:31 With David dead, his 19-year-old little brother Mike Von Erik was fast-tracked into a prominent
03:36 spot at world class to take his place alongside Kevin and Kerry. But the following year,
03:41 on a tour of Israel, Mike suffered a separated shoulder during a match. That's a normal injury
03:46 for wrestlers to suffer, and he underwent successful surgery after returning to Texas for
03:50 it. But soon afterwards, he developed a rare post-surgery infection called Toxic Shock Syndrome,
03:56 causing him to develop a fever of 107 degrees and taking him to the brink of death. He survived,
04:03 but suffered some brain damage and was never the same afterwards. In April 1987, not long after
04:08 his 23rd birthday, Mike tragically took his own life. Chris Von Erik
04:14 This is one Von Erik brother who isn't featured in the Iron Claw movie. Chris was just 17 when
04:20 Mike died, and was desperate to become a pro wrestler like his older brothers. The problem was,
04:24 he was only 5 foot 5, weighing 175 pounds, at a time when body image was far more important,
04:30 and he suffered from asthma and brittle bones that would sometimes break when he performed
04:35 even simple moves in the ring. Spiralling into depression and drug use after Mike's death,
04:40 Chris also took his own life just over four years later, at the age of 21.
04:46 Meanwhile, middle child Kerry had become a global star, signed by the World Wrestling Federation,
04:52 and competing as the Texas Tornado. But he too had addiction problems, not helped by the fact
04:58 his right foot had been secretly amputated after a motorcycle accident in 1986. For years,
05:05 he wrestled while wearing a prosthetic, and managed the pain with drugs. He was eventually
05:09 released by the WWF in the summer of 1992, and six months later found himself facing potential
05:15 jail time for violating probation on drug-related charges. At that point, he also took his own life.
05:23 Dying in February 1993 at the age of 33, leaving Kevin as the only surviving brother.
05:30 Meanwhile, Fritz died of cancer in 1997, aged 68.
05:35 Wanting to get away from where all the tragedy took place, Kevin moved with his wife and four
05:39 children to Hawaii in 2006. On behalf of his father and brothers, he accepted a WWE Hall
05:45 of Fame induction in 2009. Now 66 years old, Kevin makes occasional appearances for WWE
05:52 and other promotions, and has been supporting his sons Ross and Marshall, who have kept the
05:56 dynasty alive by becoming wrestlers themselves. Kevin and his wife moved back to Texas within
06:01 the past year, and they now have 11 grandchildren. And that's what happened to all the Von Erick
06:07 family members. It's a tragic tale, but at least Kevin's doing well. Oh, just one more thing.
06:13 Lance Von Erick. There's one more Von Erick that we haven't mentioned yet because…
06:19 he wasn't a Von Erick. When Mike Von Erick was recovering from his
06:22 toxic shock syndrome in 1985, Chris was still far too young to take his place. So Fritz decided to
06:28 pretend the boys had a cousin called Lance - a handsome young bodybuilder who had a vague resemblance
06:34 to the family. The problem was, the kid chosen for the role was from Dallas, so loads of people
06:40 who would go to the shows already knew him and how he wasn't a member of the Von Erick family.
06:45 Surprise, surprise, it didn't work. Lance, whose real name is William Vaughn,
06:49 was out of world class within little more than a year, and went on to own a chain of health clubs
06:53 in South Africa, which he sold in the mid-90s for a multi-million dollar sum. Vaughn now lives in
06:58 South Texas, and released his brilliantly titled autobiography Lance by Chance in 2020. He was
07:05 played by MJF in the Iron Claw movie. The Fabulous Freebirds.
07:10 Moving on from the Von Ericks, or people who claim to be the Von Ericks, the Fabulous Freebirds
07:14 were the Von Ericks' biggest wrestling foes. A group of brash Georgia boys with questionable
07:19 morals who were the total opposite of the good Christian values that the Von Ericks were presented
07:24 as standing for. The Freebirds themselves are considered to be amongst the greatest teams of
07:29 all time. Their leader was Michael Hayes, who kept wrestling until the mid-90s before becoming
07:33 a manager and agent in WWE, where he still works today as a senior producer, being entrusted with
07:39 the company's biggest storylines like the Bloodline. The Freebirds' enforcer was Terry 'Bam Bam' Gordy,
07:44 a bruising 300-pounder who was considered to be among the best big men in the business. He was
07:49 still wrestling around the time of his 40th birthday in 2001, but later that year, he died
07:55 of a heart attack caused by a blood clot. Buddy Roberts, the third member of the group,
07:59 died of pneumonia in 2012. The Freebirds were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2016.
08:06 Gino Hernandez Played by Ryan Nemeth in the Iron Claw,
08:10 Gino Hernandez was one of the biggest stars in world class outside of the Von Ericks and the
08:15 Freebirds. Only in his early and mid-20s for most of his run, Hernandez was considered one of the
08:20 best heels of his generation, portraying a fast-living, arrogant playboy with expensive tastes.
08:26 Much like Ric Flair. He was being tipped as a big future star, but he didn't live long enough to
08:30 realise that potential. Hernandez somewhat lived the gimmick, and was known to socialise with some
08:36 shady figures involved in organised crime. By early 1986, he had become paranoid that
08:41 powerful people were out to get him. After no-showing a couple of world class events,
08:46 company officials went to check on him at his condo in Dallas and found his body.
08:51 He was only 28. For years, there has been speculation as to whether his death was caused
08:56 by a cocaine overdose as it appeared at first glance, or whether there was foul play involved.
09:02 A 2019 episode of Dark Side of the Ring may have answered that question, as one of Hernandez's
09:07 associates contacted them to claim that he had not been murdered and the death was a legitimate
09:12 overdose. But some people still have their doubts. Bruiser Brody
09:17 Bruiser Brody was another staple of world class in its heyday. But the real-life Frank Goodish
09:22 had a reputation for being a Frank Badish, difficult to work with and making enemies
09:27 backstage. One of those enemies would be the end of him during a trip to Puerto Rico in 1988.
09:33 Brody was set for a match at a big stadium show organised by regional promoter Carlos
09:38 Colón, but ended up having an argument in the locker room prior to the show with a man
09:42 called Jose Gonzalez, who wrestled under the name Invader One. Brody was stabbed in the altercation,
09:49 and later died of his wounds in hospital. Gonzalez claimed self-defence and was acquitted
09:54 of murder in a trial in 1989, but some of those with first-hand knowledge of the incident have
09:58 claimed that Gonzalez killed Brody in cold blood, and that the trial was a sham. Brody was 42 years
10:05 old at the time of his death, and left behind a 7-year-old son.
10:09 The Sheik Another wrestler depicted in the Iron Claw is
10:13 The Sheik, who's not the same person as The Iron Sheik. They're different people. In fact,
10:19 he's referred to as 'Original Sheik' to help separate them, like he's a flavour of Coca-Cola.
10:24 He was a pioneering hardcore wrestler who competed in world class for years,
10:28 but was in his late 50s by the time the Von Erich Boys became main eventers. He was a successful
10:32 promoter for many years in his native Detroit, and is also the real-life uncle of ECW legend Sabu.
10:38 His real name was Edferhat, and he lived until 2003, where he died of heart failure at the age
10:44 of 76. He was posthumously inducted by Sabu and Rob Van Dam into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007.
10:52 And the rest! Legendary wrestler Ric Flair is also in the Iron Claw,
10:55 portrayed by Aaron Dean-Isenberg. He ended up a 16-time world champion,
10:59 not too shabby, and has probably had a similar amount of retirement matches.
11:04 Harley Race, one of the most iconic world champions of all time, was played by Kevin
11:08 Anton in the movie. Race died of lung cancer in 2019 at the age of 76.
11:13 And finally, two non-wrestler characters were Gary Hart, the dastardly heel manager who also booked
11:19 some of world class's finest moments - he died of a heart attack in 2008 - and the fascinating sports
11:25 commentator and news journalist Bill Mercer, who provided play-by-play announcing for world
11:30 class championship wrestling. Fascinatingly, he covered JFK's assassination in Dallas in 1963,
11:38 and is believed to be the reporter who told Lee Harvey Oswald that he had been charged
11:43 with the President's murder. Mercer is still alive, living in a retirement home at the age of 96.
11:50 After all that tragedy, cheer yourself up. Watch us try to name every WWE Tag Team
11:55 Champion in Survival Series by clicking the video on the left.
11:58 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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