Biography: WWE Legends - Season 5 Episode 1 - The Curse of the Von Erichs, Part 1 - video Dailymotion

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Transcript

00:00:22I think I had to grow up to realize that

00:00:25life is not about just laughing it up all day

00:00:30there's a lot of terrible things that happen but in between those moments or

00:00:36those good ones to you know the laughing children you remember being a little kid

00:00:43too and it's just beautiful I love life can't wait to wake up in the morning so

00:00:54I just say thank you Lord for another day you know he doesn't owe me a thing but a

00:00:59place to be born in a place to die there was a time I thought life is too long and

00:01:06now I think life is too short

00:01:10here comes Devon Erics

00:01:13you gotta understand how big a star Devon Erics were in Texas

00:01:17if you knew anything about professional wrestling you knew who and what Devon Erics were

00:01:21Devon Erics the royal family of wrestling with father Fritz as the king of the ring and each of his

00:01:28sons waiting to take over the throne

00:01:30Fritz had six kids each of these boys are gonna be world heavyweight champions I'm dedicating my life to it

00:01:38the greatest name in professional wrestling today the Von Erics we begin to

00:01:42really understand how important the Von Erics were to the state of Texas they

00:01:46were superheroes the Von Erics are a prime attraction they were on their way to

00:01:51greatness until all the tragedy struck at six years old Uncle Jackie is just

00:01:57gone David Von Erics was found lying across his bed early this morning as

00:02:02it's awfully hard to believe it could have been a heart attack

00:02:05Michael Von Erics remains in critical condition at Baylor Medical Center

00:02:08doctors say the restful has toxic shock syndrome

00:02:12investigators found a handwritten note

00:02:14mom and dad I'm in a better place

00:02:18Gary Von Erics was in an accident recently

00:02:20this crumpled wreckage is all that's left

00:02:22some call it the curse of the iron claw

00:02:25it doesn't get easier

00:02:26was it a curse was it just a series of tragic coincidences

00:02:33was it the pressure of the wrestling business the pressure of family the pressure of the fans

00:02:38they did go through a lot of tragedy

00:02:40it was made for movie

00:02:42it's a new film it's called the iron claw

00:02:44don't you dare question me

00:02:46great acting Zac Efron did a phenomenal job

00:02:48but been nice if they'd had the real story

00:02:52this one is a little different

00:02:54I've never talked about the things I talked about

00:02:56but I wanted it to be said

00:02:59it might sound like the craziest story you ever heard

00:03:02but I know it's true

00:03:20there you go

00:03:23when I'm out here with my grandkids

00:03:26to me this is as good as it gets

00:03:30had I not been raised the way I was

00:03:32maybe I'd be different

00:03:33but that's just important to me

00:03:37oh Benji

00:03:38when I think about my youth

00:03:40my time with my brothers

00:03:42that's

00:03:43it was so great

00:03:44so much fun

00:03:45we had then

00:03:46and then my dad

00:03:49he didn't have any idea what it was like to

00:03:53have brothers

00:03:54you know

00:03:54it's too bad too

00:03:55because

00:03:58because he was an only child

00:03:59and I can't imagine what that would like to be

00:04:02being an only child

00:04:08Fritz Von Erich is my father

00:04:10he was born in Jack Atkinson

00:04:12in Jewett, Texas

00:04:15he had a pretty rough life I think

00:04:16he's only child

00:04:18and my granddad was busy

00:04:20and didn't have a lot of time for him

00:04:23my granddad didn't really pay any attention to my dad

00:04:25it was like if they weren't hunting

00:04:27well they weren't talking

00:04:30any stories I have about granddad being little

00:04:33are things that he told me

00:04:35in their town

00:04:36the dads would bet on their boys

00:04:39and have them fight in the woods

00:04:41and when granddad would lose

00:04:44his dad would just beat him in front of everyone

00:04:49the one person that my granddad felt like loved him

00:04:53was his daddy Ross, his grandfather

00:04:55and so daddy Ross lived a few hours away

00:04:59and for granddad that was his one source of

00:05:02you know love and encouragement

00:05:05there was a guy in town

00:05:07who asked my granddad if

00:05:10you know he was maybe 12 or 13 years old

00:05:12my granddad was at the time

00:05:13and he said

00:05:15you know Jack if you want a ride

00:05:17I'll give you a ride

00:05:18you can ride in my truck with me

00:05:19and I go out there every weekend

00:05:21I'd be happy to take you

00:05:23and granddad was so excited to take that chance

00:05:28the man drove him

00:05:30in the truck on the way there

00:05:32the man molested my granddad

00:05:38my granddad said

00:05:39I wanted to see daddy Ross so bad

00:05:41that I let that happen

00:05:42every couple of weeks

00:05:44you know to go see daddy Ross

00:05:45and it was worth it

00:05:47so that you know broke my heart

00:05:49whenever he told me about that

00:05:52that he was molested as a little boy

00:05:57I didn't know that

00:05:59there are things he didn't tell me

00:06:01but he did tell Kristen

00:06:03it's just really

00:06:04I guess he had no reason to tell me

00:06:06I didn't need to know I suppose

00:06:08but kind of surprising

00:06:15I think that granddad had felt invisible for a large part of his childhood

00:06:22and recognized that the best way to get people to notice him was his athletic ability his size

00:06:34and so he went to college

00:06:35and he actually had a scholarship

00:06:37for football

00:06:39and he threw discus

00:06:40at SMU

00:06:42here you were at SMU with a scholarship

00:06:44and you met this young lady named Doris

00:06:47at the time that my grandparents met

00:06:50they loved each other so much

00:06:53and Mimi

00:06:55she wasn't going to let this boy go

00:06:57you know

00:06:57like this was a boy that was going places

00:07:00and you eventually married Doris

00:07:02but what did that cost you?

00:07:04you mean up till now

00:07:05at that time?

00:07:08well it cost me my scholarship

00:07:10when I started as a freshman at SMU

00:07:12they put a non-marriage rule in

00:07:14that any freshman that came in from then on

00:07:15at that time and later

00:07:17if they got married they lost a scholarship

00:07:19so because you married

00:07:19oh no I didn't think they meant me

00:07:21I was too great

00:07:22uh huh

00:07:23and you lost a scholarship

00:07:24yes sir

00:07:25just to condense it brother

00:07:26that's what happened

00:07:28all this time went on

00:07:29uh

00:07:30I had a wife

00:07:31and a young baby on the way

00:07:32and uh

00:07:34I really didn't

00:07:35didn't know what I was going to do yet

00:07:42he tried lots of jobs

00:07:44he was a detective

00:07:46and a bus driver

00:07:49Ed Stringer Lewis

00:07:50belonging to Ole

00:07:51it was one of the greatest all time writers

00:07:52I guess ever was

00:07:53I said

00:07:54Fritz you got a big name at SMU

00:07:56he said

00:07:56man we can train you for about six months

00:07:58putting you in that spot of term

00:07:59you'll sell that building out

00:08:01and when he mentioned how much money

00:08:02I was going to make partner

00:08:03I mean to tell you

00:08:04he got my attention

00:08:05yes

00:08:05he said you're liable to make $20,000 or $25,000

00:08:08your first year in the business

00:08:09man I belonged to him after that

00:08:12that's when my dad started professional wrestling

00:08:15Jack Atkinson of Dallas 251 pounder

00:08:19Atkinson is the tall boy on the right

00:08:22so Jack Atkinson started off as a local hero

00:08:24football player from SMU

00:08:26but he set out to travel far and wide

00:08:29to really make this his full-time career

00:08:31in wrestling

00:08:33there's no middle ground

00:08:34you either want the people to love you

00:08:36or to hate you

00:08:38people love to cheer for the good guy

00:08:40and boo the bad guy

00:08:41I think he was really smart

00:08:44and seeing the opportunity there

00:08:46to be a memorable heel

00:08:50a bad guy

00:08:52and so that's what my dad did

00:08:54he thought well the most detestable person

00:08:57I can think of would be a Nazi

00:08:59he changed his name to Fritz von Erich

00:09:02basically the most German name he could think of

00:09:05from Berlin, Germany

00:09:07Fritz von Erich

00:09:09and there was a lot of potential in that character

00:09:13but he is rough and tough and nasty

00:09:15growing up as a fan

00:09:17if you watched TV you knew Fritz

00:09:18this guy is just vicious

00:09:20he just looked the part of a villain

00:09:22and he played the part of a villain

00:09:25unbelievably

00:09:25Fritz von Erich

00:09:26the master of the Iron Claw

00:09:28the Iron Claw was Fritz's infamous finishing hold

00:09:32where he would take his big mitts

00:09:33and just wrap it around the skull

00:09:35and just squeeze until

00:09:38sometimes until blood came out

00:09:39or until they gave up

00:09:42that character was beneficial for his family

00:09:45and he was a family man

00:09:46he wanted Jackie to have everything

00:09:48and his wife to be taken care of

00:09:56Granddad

00:09:56what year were you born?

00:09:591957

00:10:03oh

00:10:04that is

00:10:05so that's daddy right?

00:10:07okay

00:10:07okay so uncle Jackie and you

00:10:09yeah

00:10:10by 1957

00:10:12it was just the two of us

00:10:13me, Jackie

00:10:14and my mom and dad

00:10:19my mother loved her children

00:10:21she loved me and Jackie so much

00:10:24my mother was so full of love

00:10:27and my dad loved her

00:10:28we were happy and jovial

00:10:30and

00:10:31it was

00:10:31a great time

00:10:33there you are

00:10:34look at that cute baby

00:10:36that's me

00:10:37Jackie

00:10:38uh

00:10:39he was my big brother

00:10:40he kissed me

00:10:42aww

00:10:42he loves you

00:10:44aww

00:10:44he had the best personality

00:10:47he was so funny

00:10:49and

00:10:50like he's trying to make you laugh

00:10:54Jackie

00:10:54that big brother stuff

00:10:56aww

00:10:57it was in 1959

00:11:01up in Niagara Falls

00:11:03we didn't have money back then

00:11:05we were

00:11:05we lived in a trailer house

00:11:07and

00:11:07uh

00:11:08one day

00:11:09Jackie wanted to go play

00:11:10and my mother was

00:11:11busy

00:11:12and so she said

00:11:14yeah go play

00:11:15uncle Jackie

00:11:16uncle Jackie

00:11:17asked if he could go

00:11:18to his friend's house

00:11:19a couple of

00:11:20mobile homes down

00:11:21and Mimi said

00:11:23yes

00:11:23just go ahead

00:11:24you can come home for lunch

00:11:25but yes go

00:11:29later on

00:11:30Mimi called her friend

00:11:32and

00:11:33they chatted

00:11:34for a few minutes

00:11:35and then she said

00:11:36um

00:11:36you can send Jackie home

00:11:38thank you so much

00:11:39for having him

00:11:39and her friend said

00:11:41well Jackie's not here

00:11:43Mimi said her heart

00:11:45dropped

00:11:46she immediately knew

00:11:47something was wrong

00:11:54that

00:11:55day

00:11:56Mimi was

00:11:58cleaning

00:11:59and it was cold outside

00:12:01and

00:12:02when she called her friend

00:12:04and said

00:12:04hey will you please send Jackie home

00:12:05she said Jackie never came over

00:12:07oh

00:12:08I mean

00:12:09as a mother

00:12:11when you say

00:12:12when you hear that

00:12:13that's

00:12:14I just can't imagine

00:12:19Mimi dropped the phone

00:12:21and just ran outside

00:12:22looking

00:12:23screaming his name

00:12:26and

00:12:27uh

00:12:27they couldn't find him

00:12:28so

00:12:29everybody in the

00:12:30little town

00:12:31there was looking for him

00:12:34eventually the neighbors say

00:12:35just go home and wait

00:12:37go home and wait

00:12:38and

00:12:39we're looking

00:12:39cops are on their way

00:12:41so

00:12:41Mimi goes home

00:12:43so an officer

00:12:44knocked on the door

00:12:46when she opened it

00:12:47he said

00:12:48we found him

00:12:53but she said his countenance

00:12:55didn't match his words

00:12:56and she

00:12:57was just like

00:12:58okay give him to me

00:12:59give him to me

00:13:00but she said she

00:13:01there was this siren

00:13:02in her mind

00:13:03like why is this

00:13:04why is he not happy

00:13:04why does his face not match

00:13:06what I'm hearing

00:13:08and

00:13:08um

00:13:09he just

00:13:10you know said we found him

00:13:11and Mimi said that she

00:13:12like

00:13:13he went to hug her

00:13:14and she just punched him

00:13:15in the chest

00:13:16over and over

00:13:17and

00:13:18um

00:13:19screamed and cried

00:13:22at six years old

00:13:24he was just gone

00:13:26just like that

00:13:30what happened

00:13:31what happened was

00:13:31in this mobile home park

00:13:33someone had a little

00:13:34uh

00:13:35trailer or equipment room

00:13:37or something

00:13:37that had the sheet metal

00:13:38siding

00:13:40and so he was walking by

00:13:42rubbing his finger on it

00:13:44and he touched a spot

00:13:46where the skin on the trailer

00:13:47had been electrified

00:13:50that God wired his trailer

00:13:52wrong

00:13:53he touched it

00:13:54it knocked him out

00:13:55he was face down

00:13:57on the ground

00:13:59some snow had melted

00:14:00so his face was in a puddle

00:14:02um

00:14:03and I think the actual cause

00:14:04of death was

00:14:05was drowning

00:14:08and then whenever Grandad

00:14:10finally did get home

00:14:12I

00:14:13I cannot even imagine

00:14:14but just

00:14:15holding that news

00:14:16and then he comes home

00:14:18and you say

00:14:18here's what happened today

00:14:21my dad came home

00:14:23and

00:14:24punched the car window

00:14:25and broke the glass

00:14:26and

00:14:27it was a

00:14:28oh

00:14:29such a terrible time

00:14:31losing Jackie

00:14:32our first baby

00:14:35was a terrible blow to me

00:14:39listening to her tell that story

00:14:41made me realize

00:14:43oh

00:14:44she changed at that point

00:14:49she had an anger towards God

00:14:52God

00:14:53if you're real

00:14:54why did you let my little boy die

00:14:56she loved him

00:14:57but she felt like

00:14:58almost like

00:14:59but God owed her one

00:15:00for letting her

00:15:02baby

00:15:02be taken

00:15:05and

00:15:06at the time

00:15:07Grandad blamed himself

00:15:08for being gone

00:15:09Mimi

00:15:11blamed herself too

00:15:12but she also blamed Grandad

00:15:14for being gone

00:15:14and

00:15:15so I think that

00:15:16sort of

00:15:18cumulatively

00:15:19as time went on

00:15:20that

00:15:20you know

00:15:21anger

00:15:22that

00:15:22resentment

00:15:23sort of

00:15:24just

00:15:24built upon itself

00:15:32anyone that loses a child

00:15:34there's no pain

00:15:35and no hurt

00:15:36anyone can ever go through

00:15:37unless you lose one of your children

00:15:39how did you feel about God

00:15:40at that time

00:15:41I didn't

00:15:41I didn't have a

00:15:42I didn't have a Lord at the time

00:15:43I didn't

00:15:44didn't know he was there

00:15:45I didn't think he was there

00:15:46I just turned

00:15:47I said Lord if you're there

00:15:48if you're getting me back to Texas

00:15:51I said I will follow you the rest of my life

00:15:54he got me back to Texas

00:15:55it took a long time

00:15:57and I

00:15:57walked in a straight line

00:15:58we went like this

00:15:59but we got there

00:16:03after Uncle Jackie died

00:16:05Grandad

00:16:06when he had the opportunity

00:16:07to wrestle in Dallas regularly

00:16:09or in Texas

00:16:10I think that they wanted to

00:16:13pursue that for sure

00:16:14because it meant that they could

00:16:16you know

00:16:17be together more

00:16:18and wouldn't have to

00:16:19be separate

00:16:20so

00:16:20my grandparents

00:16:21and my dad

00:16:23they

00:16:24moved

00:16:25back to Texas

00:16:31oh wow

00:16:32there's a ranch

00:16:34that's where your

00:16:35great uncles grew up

00:16:37oh

00:16:39so after I was born

00:16:41my mother had four kids

00:16:42all boys

00:16:44Dave was born in 1958

00:16:46Carrie in 1960

00:16:49Mike was born in 1964

00:16:53and then Chris was born in 1969

00:16:55look at Uncle Chris

00:16:57what's he riding on?

00:16:58there's Chris

00:17:00my little brothers

00:17:01thought the world of me

00:17:02and I was really protective of them

00:17:04and

00:17:04and I just fell into the job

00:17:06that was me

00:17:07and my big brother

00:17:08and I

00:17:09and I loved my brothers

00:17:12look at you and Uncle Dave daddy

00:17:14yep

00:17:14skinny Dave

00:17:15we always hunted and fished

00:17:19and

00:17:19uh

00:17:19spent

00:17:20time together

00:17:23oh

00:17:23what great memories we had

00:17:25we all had horses

00:17:27we rode horses everywhere

00:17:29didn't everyone have their own motorcycle

00:17:30and their own dog?

00:17:32yeah

00:17:32we sure did

00:17:32and our own BB gun

00:17:34and we

00:17:34that's what we did all day

00:17:36there's Carrie with us

00:17:38for 22

00:17:39Carrie and I

00:17:40grew up together

00:17:42at their house out there

00:17:43in their ranch

00:17:44it was like

00:17:45Disneyland

00:17:47wear shorts

00:17:48and

00:17:49barefooted

00:17:49no shirt

00:17:50all through summer

00:17:51so that type of stuff

00:17:52oh that was me

00:17:53that's a flip

00:17:54really?

00:17:54it was a twist and flip

00:17:55you never told me you could do a

00:17:57oh yeah

00:17:57a back up or an 80

00:17:59I said to my dad one day

00:18:00dad what should I do for a living huh?

00:18:03I like to brag

00:18:04and I'm a show off

00:18:05he said

00:18:05you might want to try pro wrestling son

00:18:11after Uncle Jackie passed away

00:18:13Mimi and Grandad

00:18:15had this idea that

00:18:17the world

00:18:18is

00:18:19dangerous

00:18:20and they both had the desire to

00:18:23keep

00:18:24their family

00:18:25safe

00:18:26from

00:18:27the

00:18:28ugliness

00:18:29of this world

00:18:31so they

00:18:32tried to make their house

00:18:34be

00:18:34the fun house

00:18:36where you wouldn't want to leave

00:18:37at that time

00:18:39my Mimi was

00:18:41unbelievably strong

00:18:44I mean she had to

00:18:45she had to keep it together

00:18:47to lose

00:18:48a six year old

00:18:49is

00:18:50how do you go on?

00:18:51and whatever she did

00:18:52I think she did it right

00:18:53I just think it's amazing that

00:18:57both of them

00:18:58had this mentality

00:19:00to

00:19:02hold it all together

00:19:03like that

00:19:03both of them

00:19:06tell me

00:19:07tell me about raising the boys

00:19:08the greatest memories I have in my life

00:19:10is raising those youngins

00:19:12gosh it was fun

00:19:13I wish I could do it again

00:19:14I think that my dad

00:19:15learned a lot

00:19:17from his youth

00:19:17even though his father

00:19:19didn't

00:19:19wasn't around

00:19:20he

00:19:21learned from that

00:19:22he's gonna be the kind of father

00:19:24that is around

00:19:24don't misunderstand me

00:19:26I made a lot of mistakes

00:19:27raising my children

00:19:28but my wife and I loved

00:19:29to prevent it

00:19:30that may be the difference

00:19:31to a lot of folks

00:19:31they don't love it

00:19:33a lot of the home movies that we have

00:19:35you can hear granddad talking

00:19:36he's narrating the whole thing

00:19:38and just laughing

00:19:38and chuckling

00:19:44he didn't have parents

00:19:45that wanted to spend time with him

00:19:46so he wanted to be a dad

00:19:48that

00:19:48that did

00:19:49that wanted to spend time with his kids

00:19:52in the history of wrestling

00:19:53who would you say

00:19:54is the greatest wrestler of all time?

00:19:58that's a rather leading question

00:20:00don't you think?

00:20:00what do you think the answer's gonna be there?

00:20:02I would say Fritz Von Erich

00:20:03right

00:20:03there's no doubt about that

00:20:05the most winning wrestler

00:20:05the wrestler that's drawn

00:20:07the most money in the world

00:20:08today has got to be Fritz Von Erich

00:20:10at the time

00:20:10Fritz

00:20:11he just became

00:20:13an idol

00:20:14around here

00:20:15in Dallas

00:20:16what worth area

00:20:17Fritz Von Erich

00:20:18by his own admission

00:20:20the world's greatest wrestler

00:20:21people in Texas

00:20:22love Fritz Von Erich

00:20:24I mean he was

00:20:24that guy could have been king of Texas

00:20:26I remember

00:20:27Coach Landry

00:20:28and guys from the Cowboys

00:20:30would call my dad for advice

00:20:31and I just never really

00:20:33dawned on me

00:20:34how important he was

00:20:36not just Texas

00:20:37but all over

00:20:39all over the world

00:20:41my dad was a big star in Japan

00:20:43and he took each one of us

00:20:46Kevin's the first one of my sons

00:20:48to go on the trip

00:20:50I don't think Kevin even had any idea

00:20:54what to expect when he got there

00:20:57the first time I went with him

00:20:59I looked out

00:21:00the window

00:21:01and there were all these photographers

00:21:03like

00:21:04so many

00:21:06at least a hundred photographers

00:21:08I said

00:21:09Dad

00:21:10there's some kind of movie store

00:21:11should see all the photographers outside

00:21:13and

00:21:13my dad

00:21:15that's who they were there to see

00:21:16I couldn't believe it

00:21:18but they just wanted to see us

00:21:19wanted to see

00:21:20the guy

00:21:21the iron glow

00:21:23kids you know

00:21:24just like any other little fellow out there

00:21:25we wanted to be just like our dads

00:21:27I guess

00:21:27all y'all are the same way

00:21:29true

00:21:30and you know

00:21:30so we tried extra hard

00:21:32to

00:21:33I guess you know

00:21:33the young kids are just that way

00:21:35anything my dad did

00:21:36you know

00:21:36he was like

00:21:37we just wanted to be like him

00:21:39someone with Jack Atkinson's mindset

00:21:41he wants to conquer the world

00:21:43and

00:21:43by this time

00:21:45you know

00:21:45he knew how the business of pro wrestling worked

00:21:48and

00:21:49I think he probably just thought

00:21:50if I'm gonna make a go of this

00:21:51if it's worth my time to be a wrestler

00:21:53it's more worth my time

00:21:55to be running everything

00:21:57he kind of took over the Dallas promotion

00:22:00now

00:22:00Fritz was the promoter

00:22:01and Fritz

00:22:03then used that opportunity

00:22:05to exert his power

00:22:07and to

00:22:08kind of take over the booking

00:22:10of the Texas territory

00:22:12in all of the Texas towns

00:22:14nobody realizes it at the time

00:22:16but

00:22:17the path for the Von Erich boys

00:22:19is being set here

00:22:21and in a lot of ways

00:22:22that would be a shadow over the family

00:22:24forever

00:22:30all of my brothers were in sports

00:22:32me, Dave, Kerry, Mike

00:22:35were all

00:22:36athletes

00:22:37and

00:22:38we were good at it

00:22:39but with Chris

00:22:40he had asthma

00:22:41and had to take medicine for it

00:22:43and it

00:22:45it stunted his growth

00:22:47and it

00:22:49he couldn't breathe

00:22:50he really couldn't get enough air

00:22:51to

00:22:52to really be a successful athlete

00:22:54and it's just too bad

00:22:55it's just the way it is

00:22:57but me, Dave, Kerry, Mike

00:23:00we just had a gift for it

00:23:03Kevin

00:23:03Kevin, I mean

00:23:04in high school

00:23:05he really loved football

00:23:07man

00:23:08nobody could

00:23:09tackle him

00:23:10he'd just run over everybody

00:23:11you know

00:23:11so

00:23:12there's one game

00:23:13he averaged like

00:23:1421 yards a carry

00:23:16when dad would come

00:23:17to the football games

00:23:18it would be a touchdown

00:23:19or something

00:23:19I'd look up in the audience

00:23:20and

00:23:21I'd see his hands do this

00:23:24and that's all I cared about

00:23:25that's all I wanted to see

00:23:26was how he felt about it

00:23:28David was 6'7

00:23:30so

00:23:30he was a great basketball player

00:23:32in Lake Dallas

00:23:33the only All-State athletes

00:23:35that that school

00:23:36has ever had

00:23:36were my sons

00:23:38David's All-State

00:23:39in basketball

00:23:39two consecutive years

00:23:41but the kids

00:23:44I've been very proud of them

00:23:47it was

00:23:47kind of cool

00:23:49David and Kevin

00:23:49both got scholarships

00:23:50to North Texas

00:23:51which when North Texas

00:23:53was really

00:23:53a Division I

00:23:55you know

00:23:55powerhouse

00:23:56Kevin went first

00:23:57and then David went

00:23:58the next year

00:23:59and played basketball

00:24:00and football

00:24:03I went to college

00:24:04to play football

00:24:04I didn't care about

00:24:06my degree

00:24:07or anything like that

00:24:08I loved football

00:24:10and that's all

00:24:10I could think about

00:24:12it was his freshman year

00:24:14I was there

00:24:15Wayne Carey

00:24:15went to watch the game

00:24:16in Denton at North Texas

00:24:18and

00:24:18I think somebody

00:24:20got blocked into him

00:24:21his own man

00:24:21or something

00:24:22and just

00:24:23tore his ACL

00:24:24you know

00:24:24just one of the worst things

00:24:25and he came back

00:24:27with a vengeance

00:24:28and I'll be dadgum

00:24:29if he didn't hurt

00:24:29the other one

00:24:30his

00:24:31sophomore year

00:24:33With my knees

00:24:34out

00:24:35I could tell

00:24:36it took something

00:24:37from my quickness

00:24:39football wasn't as much fun

00:24:40to me

00:24:42and so

00:24:43it was just a matter of time

00:24:45before I

00:24:45quit playing it

00:24:46it was over

00:24:48not a time to make a living

00:24:50so

00:24:51I dropped out of college

00:24:53and

00:24:54I gave wrestling

00:24:55a try

00:24:58Kevin Von Erich

00:24:59was the oldest son

00:25:00and the first

00:25:01to give pro wrestling

00:25:02a shot

00:25:03when he decided

00:25:04to get in

00:25:04he didn't have to look far

00:25:05I mean his dad

00:25:06ran the local promotion

00:25:08by then

00:25:09Jack had taken over

00:25:10the Dallas promotion

00:25:11what's now known

00:25:12as world class

00:25:13championship wrestling

00:25:14so this is slowly

00:25:15becoming a family business

00:25:19I remember when Kevin debuted

00:25:21like it was yesterday

00:25:23I remember it because

00:25:24I was such a big fan

00:25:25of Fritz Von Erich

00:25:26and then Kevin debuts

00:25:27and he's

00:25:28he's this really good looking

00:25:29young guy

00:25:30with this great body

00:25:31it's this incredible

00:25:32star athlete

00:25:34and you're like

00:25:34wow

00:25:35this guy could carry on

00:25:36the Von Erich legacy

00:25:37Kevin majored in football

00:25:39and suffered an injury

00:25:40and football's loss

00:25:41became professional wrestling game

00:25:43in fact when I started out wrestling

00:25:45we had to change the building

00:25:47it's because the crowd

00:25:48was getting bigger

00:25:49from the Will Rogers complex

00:25:51in Fort Worth

00:25:51here's Saturday Night Wrestling

00:25:54there was the writing

00:25:55on the wall

00:25:55I could never make this kind of

00:25:57money

00:25:58cleaning catfish

00:25:59and washing dishes

00:26:02meanwhile

00:26:02David

00:26:03starts to take notice

00:26:05of what his brother Kevin

00:26:06was doing out there

00:26:07in the wrestling ring

00:26:07so even

00:26:08as a college student

00:26:09he begins to dabble

00:26:11in his dad's business

00:26:12as well

00:26:12David Von Erich

00:26:13high school all-stater

00:26:15in basketball

00:26:16Dave

00:26:17loved basketball

00:26:18when Dave got his first

00:26:20wrestling paycheck

00:26:22oh

00:26:23that's

00:26:24Mr. Wilkinson

00:26:25board

00:26:26he thought

00:26:27goodbye basketball

00:26:28introducing

00:26:30from Den

00:26:30Texas

00:26:31weighing 236 pounds

00:26:33David Von Erich

00:26:34David was the one

00:26:36that picked up

00:26:36on the psychology

00:26:37of the

00:26:38of matches

00:26:39really well

00:26:39man he was really good

00:26:43David

00:26:43blocks

00:26:44races

00:26:44suplex

00:26:45lifts

00:26:45race

00:26:46suplex

00:26:47by David Von Erich

00:26:48David had all the tools

00:26:50David was a natural

00:26:51it has been simply all

00:26:53David Von Erich

00:26:54who has dominated

00:26:56Harley Race

00:26:5718 years old

00:26:58he had his first

00:26:59sell out

00:27:00that's pretty young

00:27:02to sell out a building

00:27:03like he did

00:27:03David Harley Race

00:27:04oh

00:27:05he caught him in the claw

00:27:06he caught race in the claw

00:27:08that's it

00:27:12David Von Erich

00:27:13David Von Erich

00:27:15David Von Erich

00:27:16David Von Erich

00:27:17David Von Erich

00:27:19David Von Erich

00:27:28David Von Erich

00:27:30David Von Erich

00:27:31David Von Erich

00:27:33David Von Erich

00:27:36David Von Erich

00:27:37David Von Erich

00:27:38David Von Erich

00:27:40David Von Erich

00:27:41David Von Erich

00:27:42David Von Erich

00:27:43David Von Erich

00:27:44David Von Erich

00:27:47David Von Erich

00:27:49David Von Erich

00:27:53David Von Erich

00:27:57the best we possibly could and so uh my dad never pressured us into wrestling or pressured

00:28:01us into anything we just wanted to compete they literally had to talk for instance to let them

00:28:05start working and there's david look at that over the top and a big drop kick dad really didn't like

00:28:11that i say he didn't like it but the buildings were packed you know sell out crowds every week

00:28:17kevin von eric that's what the people here want to see my dad was a promoter too so he liked

00:28:23that

00:28:24i think we have the very finest professional wrestlers in the world coming up my son kevin

00:28:29my oldest boy kevin von eric just stay with us you're going to enjoy this i don't believe this

00:28:33look at kevin the oldest brother wrestled so the younger brother wanted to wrestle and

00:28:39my grandmother she said whatever they did my granddad made him do it 110 percent so he did

00:28:48give him a choice but if they wanted to he made sure that they committed 100 percent and she was

00:28:54supportive of that and then also my dad didn't have to pay us like he did the other guys we

00:28:59didn't mind

00:29:00the dad didn't pay us like the other wrestlers it was okay with us you know because everything was

00:29:04working out great we have probably the the greatest wrestling father of all times a man by the name of

00:29:10fritz von eric our ambition in life is to live up to his name and to do as well as

00:29:15he's done in this sport

00:29:18we had a family and we're a family and we did it for the family and

00:29:22and it's not for my family or for day's family it was for the family

00:29:30at the time my brother dave got married young well he had a girlfriend and

00:29:40wanted to do the right thing and marry her and he did around this time david's girlfriend candy

00:29:46gets pregnant and in 1978 their daughter natasha is born david was real excited about her you know and

00:29:55candy was just a wonderful mother once they had the child he was already talking like man i i don't

00:30:03want to be on the road as much it makes it hard he was so excited about the cruise i'll

00:30:07never forget he

00:30:07was they were going on the cruise they had never been on a cruise and back then hardly anybody been

00:30:12on

00:30:12a cruise but and then sure enough dave he gets a phone call they were able to get a hold

00:30:21of him

00:30:22and uh let him know that the child had died

00:30:28it was sid's sudden infant death syndrome it was just horrific man we didn't understand i mean how

00:30:38does the child just you know back then sid's was a huge questions and you know that a child could

00:30:44just

00:30:45a baby could just die in the middle of the night that had been perfectly healthy and

00:30:49but that's what happened you know obviously that was a big blow for dave

00:30:57david and candy it affected their relationship they just kind of

00:31:01drifted apart and they ended up getting a divorce it was tough you know nobody nobody wants to bury their

00:31:08kids jack jr fritz's firstborn son had died and then jack's first grandchild dies of sins i don't know

00:31:21at that point if you start thinking in terms of a curse but it really does seem like there's a

00:31:27bad moon

00:31:27hanging over this family

00:31:32on my lap the sensational von eric brothers david and kevin

00:31:39david and i were on the road a lot off the ropes and a big drop kick

00:31:45we were performing and so we weren't home like uh like carrie was

00:31:51at home when carrie was the big brother and david and i were out carrie was a lot more permissive

00:31:59and david and i were carrie was that with mike and chris and he'd let things go

00:32:05things like uh drinking staying out dave and i would have never let that go and carrie was all about

00:32:15fun everybody loved him and he was so good inside he just wanted to make you laugh

00:32:22carrie was pleasant all the time laughing and joking uh playing ribs constantly but uh

00:32:30also carrie was a the really an elite athlete the von erics were all athletes but my brother

00:32:40carrie was gifted in fact carrie was offered a full rod scholarship at university of texas

00:32:48to play football and carrie i heard him say it i was sitting right there he said i don't want

00:32:54i don't really like football coach i don't think i want to do that i'll throw the discus

00:33:00he was number one in the nation uh when we were seniors in the discus

00:33:05i'll tell you what folks every day my mother was out there

00:33:09lugging four or five discus that weighed four pounds a piece throwing them back to me every day

00:33:15and she couldn't thought that far she had run it in that far but my mother was there every every

00:33:20workout and he wound up throwing the discus but from the university of houston

00:33:25tom tellez was the university of houston coach he was the olympic coach so that's another reason carrie

00:33:31went to houston he was really wanting to go to the tryout for the 1980 olympics and then they boycotted

00:33:38it

00:33:40helen says that's that's a good question carrie said i'm going to wait until 1984 that's four

00:33:43five years away basically nearly and he he wanted to leave college

00:33:49so that's when Kerry came back home and I knew Kerry from his younger brother Mike because Mike

00:33:58and I were in in class together since third grade and so Mike was the strongest male athlete in

00:34:06school and I was the strongest female athlete in school so we used to get all the awards together

00:34:13and things like that so Mike and I were best friends one day Mike said to Kerry can I have

00:34:21a party and

00:34:22Kerry said only if you invite Kathy Murray Kerry and I got to talking and the rest is history we

00:34:30just stay together after that you know that young love it's so raw and so real and you're so young

00:34:38and it's your first and so that was really powerful for me

00:34:50my dad and my mom what a beautiful love story they have my mom adores my dad and my dad

00:34:58loves and

00:34:59treasures my mom I got married in 1980 my sweet Pam I've been so happy with her we've been married

00:35:0645

00:35:10years I mean yes it probably was scary to her to see this is a semi-famous family they're all

00:35:17wrestlers

00:35:17but I think when she saw what a beautiful family they were behind closed doors and she wanted to

00:35:24be a part of that and they cherished her and she said she had always prayed I want to marry

00:35:29a godly

00:35:30man that's who my dad was and on the outside that's not what my dad looked like he just looked

00:35:36like this

00:35:36handsome jock you know here's what they're waiting for Kevin Von Erich David Von Erich Kevin and Dave I mean

00:35:46the story was already of the Von Erichs they were drawing everywhere they go but the other thing was

00:35:54it was it was it was it was eaten on Carrie Carrie saw that and was just thinking wow this

00:36:03is a really

00:36:03big deal Carrie wanted to wrestle but Fritz wanted him to finish college Carrie was adamant he would

00:36:09matter of fact Carrie literally had a meeting with Fritz he said I want a meeting with my dad and

00:36:16he told

00:36:16Fritz either I start working here or I'll go somewhere else you are looking at the spotlight on Carrie Von

00:36:24Erich as he

00:36:25makes his way to the ring after the Olympics I don't really know that he ever thought of doing anything

00:36:32else

00:36:35Carrie just had this innate ability of this charisma some guys just walk into a room and and have

00:36:41this light come on Carrie Von Erich listen to the crowd now you got Kevin Dave and Carrie so three

00:36:50Von Erichs on the corner they had the look they had the feel and they could work Dave was the

00:36:55best

00:36:55worker of all of them the head scissors Carrie had the good looks and the charisma look at Carrie up

00:37:02top

00:37:02Kevin had kind of a little mix of all of them all these boys who just dominated every aspect of

00:37:12Texas

00:37:12wrestling there was a short time where Carrie me and Dave could all be in the same town there they

00:37:18are

00:37:20eventually after about a year we'd one town have Carrie one town have me one town have Dave and

00:37:27the houses were all good you know they all sellouts they were great listen to this crowd roar they're on

00:37:34their feet it was like a fairy tale for two three years a good roster is one that you know

00:37:45a natural

00:37:46athlete first of all like my sons and his kids like this they make wrestling what it is today

00:37:51Gary Von Erich as his brother David and Kevin have almost a religious responsibility to learn the art of

00:37:59wrestling from their father since they were small children winning something our dad instilled in us a

00:38:04long time ago and we do it as fairly as we can but number one goal is to win

00:38:18there's a misconception that Fritz sort of dragged all his sons into the ring kicking and screaming

00:38:24but I think for Kevin and then David and then Carrie it was hard to turn down the allure of

00:38:30the pro

00:38:30wrestling ring and once they got in there and the crowd started reacting to them Fritz basically said

00:38:35well if they're all in let's make the most of it

00:38:41fantastic what excitement they're just there's just nothing like it in the whole world

00:38:47they would come out through the crowd to different songs it would range by ZZ Top

00:39:04we wanted to put the kind of wrestling out there that we'd like

00:39:09so rock was a big part of our presentation

00:39:16all of a sudden you have something that becomes this rock show and it was a rock show

00:39:20you watched the other matches they were all good but when they came out that was the show

00:39:26it was just pure energy the guys wanted to be like them the girls wanted to be with them

00:39:33everyone trying to grab a hold of Terry perhaps get a kiss

00:39:37boy she's lucky isn't she

00:39:38it was just a spectacle anytime that they would come to the ring

00:39:41every match that you'll see tonight is not from a studio

00:39:45it's from a live arena one of the oldest most well-known arenas certainly in texas

00:39:50probably in the world itself the world-famous sportatorium if it's there it's the best in professional wrestling

00:39:55the home of the Von Erichs

00:39:57the sportatorium is the greatest building in the world and atmosphere personified

00:40:01this crowd is going wild

00:40:05one of the wildest nights in the history of texas wrestling

00:40:10i only was able to go once at the sportatorium i bragged to my friends for weeks

00:40:18bro i saw the Von Erichs live

00:40:25it wasn't your daddy's wrestling anymore they changed the the demographic and i think also

00:40:32the show on tv was completely different

00:40:34hi i'm Kerry Von Erich and this is my dog Shea

00:40:39for several weeks now we've been telling you about the changes in the new world-class wrestling show

00:40:42and this is just some of the improvements we've made

00:40:45we want to put boom mics in the ring cameras not just by the ring they climb up on the

00:40:51ring

00:40:52i'll never forget it Fritz set Kerry and I down in his office and he said

00:40:57i'm getting ready to do this thing called syndication

00:41:00that we're going to go all over the country and all over the world

00:41:03it's cable TV and we're like what is that

00:41:06you know when we first started syndication we had 10 or 12 markets then we got 20

00:41:10pretty soon we were 47 markets

00:41:12when cable started coming around we finally got world-class wrestling out of dallas

00:41:18and that's when i was exposed to the Von Erichs

00:41:20and how important the Von Erichs were to the state of texas

00:41:24you know i would watch KTTV channel 11 in my dorm

00:41:28it was absolutely amazing

00:41:34the rock concert atmosphere

00:41:35the sportatorium craze the way they looked on tv

00:41:40all of this combined to make the Von Erichs like the hottest thing in all of texas

00:41:46the Von Erichs in texas was almost religion

00:41:50it was a family of superheroes

00:41:52here obviously the dallas cowboys how popular they were

00:41:55if there's anything a texan loves more than chili

00:41:57it would have to be the sport of football

00:41:59if you saw a dallas cowboy at the local sports store you didn't know who he was

00:42:04because he didn't have the helmet the number

00:42:06on to where with wrestling you know there they were right there in your living room every

00:42:09saturday night doing an interview right in your face

00:42:12yeah baby we told you bill there's something magic with kevin and i in that ring together

00:42:18we would get tickets to go watch them wrestle and so

00:42:21they were pretty popular in terms of what we would talk about in the locker room

00:42:24there was two things that were big in texas it was football and the Von Erichs

00:42:28it wasn't football and wrestling it's football and the Von Erichs

00:42:32i think what really made the Von Erichs more popular

00:42:35than a lot of other great baby faces around the country was

00:42:39you saw them grow up

00:42:41and everybody felt like almost like they're part of the life

00:42:45they're part of what's happening to them

00:42:46they've really come behind us

00:42:48they were like their kids and they're like all parents

00:42:50and all the young kids around and everything else

00:42:52they're really nice to us here so we love it

00:42:54they're part of us

00:42:55we took an ownership of the Von Erich boys

00:42:58these were salt of the earth guys

00:43:00tell us a little bit about kevin

00:43:02i've been getting into some cliff diving

00:43:04i did one cliff diving on Acapulco a couple weeks ago

00:43:07and i like to write poems

00:43:09i like to ride horses i like to uh

00:43:11i like to fish and kevin and i have just gotten into a little bit of uh skydiving

00:43:16we've been doing that for about two months now

00:43:18we weren't big shots we acted like we were your big brother

00:43:22your son your grandson your uncle your cousin

00:43:27Von Erich was the name dad gave me and i'm proud to have it

00:43:30it was so important to be a good role model

00:43:32be respectful

00:43:34my dad was like that

00:43:36i didn't think any of them were presumptuous about who they were

00:43:40or ever even said hey do you know who i am or hey i'm this i'm that now

00:43:45no i think that's fritz teaching them hey you're somebody but you're nobody

00:43:51the people make you who you are

00:43:54with my brothers and i if we lose a fight

00:43:57the people are right there they're cheering for us just as loud as if we lose

00:44:01because they want us to know that they're behind us all the way

00:44:05it was just a great life you know

00:44:08i can remember the three of us just being young and getting in the car

00:44:12and head up to oklahoma for spot shows or down to

00:44:15middle of texas for spot shows and

00:44:17we were kids everything was fun

00:44:19everybody was our friend

00:44:21the police all knew us we all liked each other

00:44:25it just kind of spoils you because you can get in your car

00:44:28all you gotta do is take your boots and your trunks

00:44:30and go to another town and make a living

00:44:34swim in the rivers all the way up

00:44:36all the way back

00:44:38and just laugh the whole time

00:44:41man that was fun

00:44:42man just me and my brothers

00:44:46the greatest name in professional wrestling today

00:44:48the von erics have been for years

00:44:51today the allegiance of a lot of wrestling fans belongs to the von erics

00:44:55to father fritz and his three wrestling sons

00:44:57and there are still two more von erics waiting to jump into the ring

00:45:01mike and chris

00:45:04right now the von erics are a prime attraction

00:45:06a guaranteed draw at dozens of wrestling arenas

00:45:10but as successful as they are

00:45:12they've never forgotten that the most important ingredient in any family business

00:45:17is the family

00:45:18you talk about fritz family man businessman

00:45:21his business is his family

00:45:24they're your meal ticket right now

00:45:26the dramatic arrival of the von erics

00:45:29as hundreds of youngsters come to the ring

00:45:31seeking autographs their pictures

00:45:33but there's this just constant demand

00:45:36the feeling that like if we let anything slip

00:45:39then this could all come crashing down

00:45:41it was just a ton of pressure on them to keep it going

00:45:48we would have a weekly family reunion

00:45:50in there you know

00:45:51on friday nights

00:45:53good evening and welcome to the

00:45:55world famous sportatorium

00:45:57the home of world class championship wrestling

00:46:00i'd come down right here

00:46:01always be people here you know

00:46:03and hanging their arms out

00:46:06i've got scars all over my shoulder

00:46:08for the girls scratching like this

00:46:10you should see my shoulders

00:46:11kevin von eric what a beautiful specimen

00:46:15well i grew up in here you know

00:46:17it's like my little playground

00:46:18oh

00:46:23yeah that's some good memories

00:46:26that's where it all started

00:46:29kevin was

00:46:29he was an entertainer

00:46:31but as a person

00:46:32he was a pretty simple guy

00:46:33you know like

00:46:33he just wanted

00:46:34to

00:46:35have that sort of isolation

00:46:37that sort of getting away

00:46:38from everything else

00:46:39you're working nearly every night

00:46:41this must be a great way

00:46:42to just to

00:46:43take some edge off

00:46:44oh man you're right

00:46:46i'd probably crack up

00:46:48if i didn't have the

00:46:48country to come out to

00:46:50i don't get off on disco dancing

00:46:52and uh

00:46:52this is really where i'm at

00:46:53this is where my head is

00:46:55wait for your daughter

00:46:56to get old enough to come out

00:46:58we'll have to see about that

00:47:01once i had

00:47:02my first baby

00:47:03once pam had kristin

00:47:05well

00:47:06my priorities changed

00:47:08and wrestling

00:47:09became work

00:47:10i don't think wrestling

00:47:13was the number one priority

00:47:15for captain anymore

00:47:16he's obligated to do the wrestling

00:47:18he wanted to do the family thing

00:47:20he would show up

00:47:21at the matches

00:47:22he would leave immediately

00:47:23you know he didn't hang around

00:47:24and go home and be dad

00:47:26and then also

00:47:27my life went from

00:47:29loving my dog and my 22

00:47:31to that baby

00:47:33and pam my queen

00:47:34that gave me that baby

00:47:35i was

00:47:36had somebody to protect

00:47:39just uh

00:47:40give me your

00:47:41give me your

00:47:43give me your pretty girl

00:47:45my father

00:47:46big mean tough fritz

00:47:49he loved being a grandfather

00:47:51kristin and him were like that

00:47:59my granddad

00:48:02was one of the best men

00:48:04that i've ever met

00:48:06my baby girl

00:48:07he was just the epitome

00:48:11of safety

00:48:12for us

00:48:14now that's what i call

00:48:15pretty

00:48:16pretty

00:48:17pretty

00:48:18now mimi

00:48:22was also

00:48:23so loving

00:48:24and my grandparents

00:48:26did a really good job

00:48:27of making us feel like

00:48:29we were all a community

00:48:31and we had each other

00:48:33the first time i realized that there was something maybe different about our family

00:48:42we were gonna have a six flags day as a family

00:48:45and when we arrived at the park there were police everywhere and they put us right on a golf cart

00:48:52and we had a couple hours of the park exclusively but they opened the gate and i just have this

00:48:58image in my mind of i was sitting on the back of this golf cart and these people chasing us

00:49:03and screaming and this one lady had mascara running down her face and i remember thinking you know they're not

00:49:10chasing anybody else and don't they know how boring my dad is and how boring my uncles are like why

00:49:16do they think it's so cool

00:49:18you never realized what kind of rock stars these kids these kids had become

00:49:25and here they come the trio of wrestling personified everybody wanted to see the von erics but they needed a

00:49:33nemesis you know and when the free birds came in that's when wrestling just blew up

00:49:39michael hayes and terry gordy buddy roberts the free birds

00:49:44you finally had somebody that could go against the von eric boys and that was the perfect antithesis in the

00:49:50free birds

00:49:51hey man we're running these von erics out of texas when it comes to notorious bad

00:49:58that you love to hate

00:50:01that'd be us

00:50:02if we gotta run over the von erics

00:50:05we'll do it with pleasure

00:50:07oh my goodness

00:50:09well the free birds were just so easy to hate

00:50:13the free birds brought their own flags from georgia into texas which is something you don't know

00:50:17it kind of became like a college football rivalry in a sense georgia versus texas

00:50:23this war is not between texas and georgia it's between decency and filth

00:50:30it was like setting a nuclear bomb off in the state of texas i've never seen anything like it

00:50:36i want to say thanks to the people of dallas texas because it's the biggest crowd ever to be in

00:50:40the sportatorium

00:50:41shows that used to on a saturday night do 500 people all the time we were doing 8 000

00:50:47just packed to the walls and so this one is going to start in a hurry

00:50:53the rivalry worked i think because when we would get in that ring you could tell that these guys

00:51:00really don't like each other

00:51:02it may take everybody in the arena to separate these two

00:51:05but there was a respect between us that really made it work too

00:51:13you're supposed to make a man that's your job

00:51:16and of course the fans ate it up

00:51:18the whole family sticks together that's been their motto and their creed

00:51:22for two hours or three hours they got to cheer for the good

00:51:26it's not just our win it's all of our win

00:51:28and boo the evil

00:51:30and uh that's what wrestling is

00:51:32i get so wrecked up tonight i just love it i really do

00:51:36this is one of the few places where you come and holler and scream and they don't take you to

00:51:39jail

00:51:40me and my buddies ride down there every friday night

00:51:43i was there watching the von erickson the free birds go at it

00:51:46you could see those tv ratings shooting up

00:51:49and all we had to do was keep doing what we're doing just make it a little more dangerous and

00:51:53a little more reckless

00:51:54this looks like it's gonna be a wild plug fest

00:51:58whoop it over

00:52:00when you watch those guys you're like they're beating the s*** out of each other

00:52:03i mean this is incredible

00:52:04and that's what texans love so much about it

00:52:07people love to fight

00:52:08i never wanted to be a fake i really enjoyed what i did i loved it and i felt real

00:52:14doing

00:52:15i gave people real entertainment

00:52:18some of my brothers

00:52:19i mean they were really into it really really believed that what we were doing

00:52:26was real

00:52:27kevin von erick is now covered in blood

00:52:30a lot of times after the matches i felt like it was real

00:52:33because it hurt

00:52:35and the free bird is a loose bird as it goes to the floor

00:52:38and says man alive what hit me

00:52:49when you're young you feel like you're bulletproof

00:52:52nothing can hurt you

00:52:54and now kevin von erick

00:52:58struggling

00:52:59you can break a bone

00:53:00and keep going

00:53:02boss got a broken nose

00:53:03hey

00:53:05when you're right you win every time

00:53:07this doesn't hurt a bit

00:53:08there's plenty more

00:53:09you were pretty much always playing with pain

00:53:11you had to wrestle or you didn't get paid

00:53:15my nose has been broken dozens of times

00:53:17i got broken ribs

00:53:18my elbows have been both dislocated

00:53:20my shoulder my knee operations

00:53:23a tooth knocked out from michael hayes boot

00:53:25we used to take injections

00:53:27xylocaine, marcaine, procaine

00:53:29but they're not drugs

00:53:31they just numb nerve endings

00:53:35and i didn't want to live like that anymore

00:53:38and so to deal with that pain

00:53:42i grew my own marijuana

00:53:45let's sprout it up here in the car

00:53:49i don't want to be a proponent for such a thing

00:53:51but i have to say that

00:53:52i took a healthy approach by growing it myself

00:53:55hey man where are we going to smoke one again

00:53:58kevin

00:53:59if god makes it if it's a vegetable

00:54:01if it goes on a tree or in the ground

00:54:03i want it

00:54:04but i don't want anything made by man

00:54:07and here comes the modern day warrior

00:54:37drugs right and then how much is enough and do i need something even harder

00:54:43stronger to relieve this pain

00:54:47you know you can just get caught up in that

00:54:52and there were there's doctors because of who they are they're famous

00:54:55who would just write a prescription and here you go

00:55:00and then you take it and you go

00:55:02well it does help me feel better

00:55:04well the doctor just prescribed it

00:55:06it's legal

00:55:07and i think a lot of people got fooled by that

00:55:11carrie felt a big responsibility

00:55:14to the business

00:55:15he took care of his fans

00:55:17it's tough but we know it's a job

00:55:20it's a responsibility that we have to do

00:55:22and uh my father bred us to be winners not losers

00:55:26and to fight a hundred percent every night whenever we were in that ring

00:55:29so carrie fought between his health

00:55:33and keeping up with the image that was so important to the von ericks

00:55:58Dave was the only one of all of us that liked strong liquor

00:56:03had a bottle of it in his bag

00:56:07and then he

00:56:09told us he had a really bad stomach ache and a booze was helping him

00:56:13stomach pain must have something else

00:56:15i mean he said it was like a knife

00:56:18he had diarrhea for months

00:56:22at the time dave was married to trish

00:56:25i know she did think he had a virus or something because it you know had some symptoms but

00:56:30he didn't want her to worry you know so he wouldn't have said anything

00:56:36so carrie and i made sure he went to the doctor about a proctologist i guess it was

00:56:42they told dave to lean against this little wall thing

00:56:46they put his elbows down strapped him in

00:56:49strapped his elbow here in his knees

00:56:52and uh dave got mad easy the doc hit a switch and dave was

00:56:57brought up and he was furious

00:57:02he said absolutely not i'll tear this place down

00:57:06and he had to unstrap dave and let him go

00:57:09but if they would have done the uh

00:57:13examination i think they would have found something

00:57:18it's around 83 that david first starts complaining of stomach pain

00:57:23and also i think you know taking a lot of hard bumps in the ring and

00:57:27especially coming up in the atkinson household

00:57:30you maybe you're just taught to rub some dirt on it you know

00:57:34because he wasn't being treated for it he started turning to painkillers

00:57:40one time he'd showed up on uh

00:57:45uh quaaludes you know

00:57:47you know when you can't talk and you're slurring your word that's when it

00:57:51becomes bad

00:57:52i've seen him where he's a puddle in the middle of the floor and he's supposed to

00:57:55be going to the ring

00:57:57you know so you gotta try and get him up and get him going

00:58:03before long he almost couldn't overcome it

00:58:08looking at today's world i'd say they've had an opioid problem he was addicted to

00:58:12pills

00:58:12pills and boy i know fritz was just irate about it you're doing your fans a disservice

00:58:18anytime you get out of line because you are an image to them that they want to live up to

00:58:23and so many pro athletes uh you know what i'm talking about man

00:58:27they have no use for their fans the fans is what made them

00:58:30it's what made us and uh we need to always be aware of the responsibility that goes with them

00:58:37image was really important to granddad but

00:58:42mimi was i think more concerned about family image and reputation than

00:58:52that granddad was she wanted to have a perfect family that didn't fail and mimi was really concerned about

00:59:02media granddad maybe was to a point that it affected the business

00:59:09fritz always said it's one thing what a man does on his own time but when you're on my time

00:59:13you need to

00:59:14be top shape they're under pressure they were pretty much on call

00:59:2024 hours a day dealing with the public dealing with the news several thousand waiting in line

00:59:26for hours to see the famous wrestling von eric

00:59:30it was fun though everywhere you went you were treated like you were royalty

00:59:36we get endorsements through wrestling and so we get free cars from these dealerships

00:59:43they were top stars and mike and chris always looked up to them and they were like if they can

00:59:50do it i can do it

00:59:51mike and chris were super close they came to the matches every week

00:59:55right after high school mike wanted to be a part of what his brothers were doing i've seen the debut

01:00:01of all these guys

01:00:02said kevin david carey and now they debut in just a few minutes of mike von eric

01:00:07for mike

01:00:09it was hard not being a von eric you know if he was anywhere with the brothers he was treated

01:00:14as if

01:00:15he was in the business and it was contagious

01:00:17little mike i say is a big old stud but tonight i think he's going to show his colors he's

01:00:21a von eric right down to the wire

01:00:23mike wanted to wrestle so bad he wanted to be like dave mike's been taught by the best because we

01:00:28were taught by the best

01:00:29you lock your leg in here kevin oh just step her yeah yeah oh that's an excellent

01:00:33and roll a coil right here and now i got his leg

01:00:36oh yeah i go nowhere

01:00:38and here he comes

01:00:41mike von eric

01:00:44he has not only his own career to think about

01:00:47but of course he's upholding

01:00:49the honor of the von eric families

01:00:51part of it for him was just being with his brothers

01:00:55like okay they're not going out on the road and leaving me anymore i get to come along

01:00:58i'm the baby brother and we're going to have a good time together you know and they did

01:01:02you know a lot of people think that von eric should bit off more than we can chew they think

01:01:06that

01:01:06mike's too young to be getting in the ring with us this kid is not going to let me down

01:01:09we're going

01:01:10to take those freebirds oh look at that move

01:01:13at this point the von erics and the freebirds

01:01:17our story was so high

01:01:25that it was time to take it to a stadium

01:01:28which was unheard of back then

01:01:31we were doing the six-man tag team championship which at that time would have now been

01:01:35kevin carrie and mike

01:01:38against the birds

01:01:40now if the freebirds think they can beat us

01:01:42go ahead and come on with it all you got

01:01:43and then the main event was going to be flair versus david for the nwa world heavyweight championship

01:01:51the nature boy rick flair arguably the greatest wrestler of all time

01:01:56i thrive i thrive i'm being called the greatest

01:02:00but it was already decided it was very hush hush

01:02:04but david was going to beat rick flair for the title

01:02:10and then about five weeks before the show dave goes to japan

01:02:14to work over there

01:02:18for months before the japan trip

01:02:21he didn't look right to me

01:02:24but it was the stomach you know

01:02:27dave had that ashen look about him you know

01:02:31white look

01:02:33his eyebrows would get white

01:02:38and so arty had an idea something bad was going to happen

01:02:52this is december 24th uh christmas eve 1983

01:03:01it was so cold that day remember the pond froze over wow that never happens

01:03:08i'll lay some bets on it

01:03:10there's kathy and uncle chris

01:03:12there's chris

01:03:14dad thanks for the stereo

01:03:16oh yeah babe

01:03:17wow

01:03:18thanks

01:03:22there's uncle mike and me

01:03:24all the kids love mike don't they

01:03:28who is right

01:03:30Take him out of his hands.

01:03:31Oh, that's right.

01:03:32Oh, wow!

01:03:37Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for everything

01:03:40you've given us, all the family being together, the brothers.

01:03:43That's great, Lord.

01:03:44Thank you for everything you've given us.

01:03:46After that Christmas, our life would not be the same.

01:03:54For months before the Japan trip,

01:03:58Dave was white as a ghost.

01:04:01He didn't look right to me.

01:04:04I was with him when he wrestled in Austin, Texas.

01:04:07And after the matches, he was throwing up.

01:04:09He was sick.

01:04:10And he kept saying, ah, it's just some virus I got.

01:04:14And everybody just thought he had the flu.

01:04:16You know, it was this dead winter.

01:04:19You know, early February.

01:04:22We knew Debbie was sick, but they had no idea how sick.

01:04:25The boys had been raised to be there.

01:04:27Just thousands of people had paid their money

01:04:28to see those boys wrestle.

01:04:30The shoulder broken leg brought him.

01:04:31We expect him to be there.

01:04:33And he looked pale.

01:04:34And I could just tell my mom's face.

01:04:36He was worried about it, Dave.

01:04:37They were talking.

01:04:38And I looked at him.

01:04:39I thought, if I lost him, you know, I just put my hands on him.

01:04:42I said, don't you go over there and die, Dave.

01:04:44And he said, I won't give.

01:04:45And I thought, I kissed him.

01:04:48Well, now we're here.

01:04:50Yeah.

01:04:51Can't happen there.

01:04:52I know.

01:05:02When you go to Japan, it's always pretty much the same.

01:05:07We would eat and we'd have drink beers and have fun.

01:05:11And, you know, it was, it was great.

01:05:14I talked to Bill Irwin about it.

01:05:15He said, they got to that to Tokyo when they went about six o'clock and had a big steak.

01:05:21And Dave wanted two steaks.

01:05:23And Bill said he couldn't even finish his because Dave ate a lot, you know.

01:05:27But then Dave ordered a third steak and ate it.

01:05:31We get out of there and go back to the hotel.

01:05:34And we go into the hotel and we go in and, of course, the bar is still open.

01:05:37Well, you know, we got to go in there.

01:05:40And David said, hey, I'll be right back.

01:05:44I think he left and went upstairs and puked.

01:05:47And then he came back down.

01:05:48Everybody that's there, including myself, we were kind of full, but he ate.

01:05:54And he ate some more.

01:05:56David and I were in that, in that bar last.

01:06:00And David goes, well, come by the room.

01:06:02Come on by, you know, we'll have a drink or whatever.

01:06:04Last one went on into his room, went in, sat down.

01:06:07I think we had a beer or something right there.

01:06:10And, you know, after the beer, it was, it was the end of the night.

01:06:15He goes, yeah, I'm just going to call my wife.

01:06:18Okay, see you tomorrow.

01:06:25Well, tomorrow comes, and everybody's on the bus at 5 o'clock.

01:06:28Like, what the hell?

01:06:30You know, where's David?

01:06:33David, and in the distance, you hear sirens.

01:06:38Everybody's looking at each other.

01:06:39Everybody up.

01:06:40We all went off the bus, right into the hotel, up the stairs, right to the corner room.

01:06:46And they were there with the key and unlocked his door.

01:06:50And there was David, in the same spot I left him, just laid back, still dressed in the same clothes,

01:06:59everything.

01:07:06To this day, I cannot stand a phone call before daylight, because that's what I got that morning that Trish

01:07:16called me.

01:07:19And when that phone rang, it was dark.

01:07:24And I picked up the phone, and she was crying.

01:07:26I knew.

01:07:28And she said, he's dead, Kev.

01:07:29And I just said, I have to go.

01:07:33I hung the phone up.

01:07:36But I went outside, and I was just crushed, you know.

01:07:42I couldn't stand up.

01:07:44And I just laid down in the forest, and pushed the leaves back, and put my face in that black

01:07:49dirt, and I breathed it.

01:07:51God, let me die.

01:07:53God.

01:08:00Seeing my dad, and knowing that he'd lost his son, he'd lost Dave, oh my gosh, that was, that was

01:08:09the worst part.

01:08:12It was as bad as grief can get.

01:08:20Fritz had already said, whatever that autopsy says, we got to go with, because the public's probably going to get

01:08:25it sooner or later.

01:08:28And everybody thought David died of an overdose, but he didn't.

01:08:32I heard all the stories around the industry that it was pills, it was this.

01:08:38I'm not saying there wasn't any pills involved, because undoubtedly he was in excruciating pain.

01:08:44And, but did he do enough to OD?

01:08:46No.

01:08:48The autopsy said, acute enteritis, heart failure.

01:08:53So basically what they were saying was, because of the acute enteritis, his intestines ruptured.

01:08:59He filled up with blood, and it caused heart failure.

01:09:13Some say that David Von Erich's death hit Dallas Fort Worth like Elvis Presley's death hit the nation.

01:09:20David Von Erich died Friday of enteritis.

01:09:23He was 25 years old.

01:09:26I mean, at the funeral that we're expecting, 500 to 800 people, and we end up with almost 10,000.

01:09:35Fans from the area and foes from the ring turned out.

01:09:39The 1,800 seat church was soon filled to capacity, and hundreds stood outside, hoping to catch a few strains

01:09:46of the service from the loudspeaker system.

01:09:49It was a quiet, but unhappy group.

01:09:52It hit everyone.

01:09:54Look.

01:09:54A ton of bricks.

01:09:56The schools let out.

01:09:58I live and care for David, and I wanted to be here.

01:10:01The funeral procession stretched five miles across the Lone Star State.

01:10:06It was a hero send off.

01:10:07They shut down the highway all the way from Denton to Oak Grove Cemetery and Oak Cliff.

01:10:14Things, all of a sudden, it was like, this is like a president died.

01:10:19More fans waited at the cemetery for the procession of 150 cars to arrive.

01:10:25I don't think that we realized how much we were loved until we saw that.

01:10:32We're just overwhelmed today.

01:10:35All of these people showing up for the last experience that David's ever going to make.

01:10:40Our bodies may be left here on Earth, but our souls go to heaven.

01:10:44It's made us accept death a lot easier.

01:10:47Hey, we know our brother David's in a lot better place than we are right now.

01:10:51The loss of a brother was devastating for him.

01:10:55He said, you know, I think I should just go and be with David.

01:11:01There was always this thing with the brothers that maybe not so much Kevin, because Kevin was the oldest trying

01:11:08to protect his brothers.

01:11:09But beyond that, they always wanted to be together.

01:11:15After losing Uncle Dave, Mimi was just filled with so much pain, but she wanted to have a great image.

01:11:27You say, God help me through this.

01:11:29You get off your duff, and you start moving again.

01:11:33You start laughing again, and you refuse to stay down.

01:11:38You don't get over it, but we do have to keep fighting.

01:11:42We have to make it for the weak ones, for our children, for our women, for those that love us

01:11:47and those that are hurting, you know.

01:11:53You know, like Kerry and I were talking about earlier today, Dave wanted that world championship more than anything in

01:11:59the world.

01:12:00And that world championship is going to be a round of honor at waist.

01:12:06It has to be not only for our family, but for Dave.

01:12:11When David Von Erich died, Fritz already has this giant stadium show booked at Cowboy Stadium, and they have to

01:12:20go through with it.

01:12:21And now, as much as they might have wanted to just mourn him, they have to keep the business going.

01:12:31My dad was a businessman.

01:12:34It's a family business.

01:12:35This is what I do.

01:12:37It's my job.

01:12:38I'll never forget after Dave died, there was talk about, well, we can't put the belt on the other two

01:12:44boys at that point.

01:12:45And Fritz was like, it's not an option.

01:12:47It's a question now, which of you two is going to be the next world champion.

01:12:51So when you take that title, there's no question to anybody's mind in the world that you are the best

01:12:56that there is and the best there ever was.

01:12:58All in David's memory.

01:13:00And so Carrie and I had like a coin flip with my dad, but the truth of it was that

01:13:09I was married, and I did not want to travel like the world champion has to travel.

01:13:13It's all over the place.

01:13:15I had my children.

01:13:17I didn't want to be the world champion.

01:13:19And, uh, Carrie did.

01:13:22And so as far as the coin flip's concerned, it was more like you win.

01:13:30There are no seat belts on the chairs here at Texas Stadium, but we almost need them.

01:13:35My goodness.

01:13:36I mean, what an atmosphere.

01:13:38What a huge match feeling.

01:13:42And Carrie had the weight of the state on his back.

01:13:46From Denton, Texas, weighing 259 pounds, Mr. Carrie Lauder.

01:13:52You know, when I talk about butterflies or something like this, it's almost impossible to describe in words the way

01:13:58I felt.

01:13:58But it was like all of Texas Stadium was electrified.

01:14:01That title shot was supposed to be David's.

01:14:04David passes away in Japan.

01:14:07Now his brother comes and steps in, and who does he have to, I mean, Ric Flair, prime Ric Flair.

01:14:15Texas Stadium sold out.

01:14:17The largest crowd ever to see wrestling anywhere in the world is on hand here at Texas Stadium.

01:14:23A history-making event.

01:14:26Everybody in the state of Texas.

01:14:31I was pregnant with Holly, and it was a great day for all of us.

01:14:38Mary Von Erich, probably the most beautiful ring jacket I've ever seen.

01:14:42He wanted to make his dad proud.

01:14:45And all the fans, too, right?

01:14:47To make sure that that Von Erich image was, you know, upheld.

01:14:52This is it.

01:14:53Here we go.

01:14:55Watching that one.

01:14:56Blair can't find a handle.

01:14:59At my Papa Jody's house.

01:15:01Carey is rolling now.

01:15:05It was like watching a Mike Tyson fight.

01:15:09Back to his feet, there's a drive by Carey.

01:15:13And everybody had to go to the fight.

01:15:17Power slam.

01:15:19You got 40,000 grieving people.

01:15:23We had to have the pop.

01:15:26And it's a iron claw.

01:15:31Carey's got him.

01:15:32Here's the Nelson kid.

01:15:34Two.

01:15:34Three.

01:15:36The dream steps through.

01:15:38Yes.

01:15:41It's happened.

01:15:51Man, it gives you kind of, it gives you goosebumps thinking about it.

01:15:54How special that was for Carey to win the title.

01:15:57Carey Von Erich is the new world heavyweight champion.

01:16:01To have our guy, Carey Von Erich.

01:16:05You know, that iconic stadium with the holy roofs so God can watch his team.

01:16:10It was a day of celebration in this state.

01:16:12For the Texas flag, the big yellow rose, and the heavyweight belt.

01:16:17Winning the ultimate prize in dedication to your brother who passed away.

01:16:22Carey Von Erich was a god in the state of Texas.

01:16:25Prince there to greet Carey.

01:16:27There's Mrs. Von Erich.

01:16:28Carey's father.

01:16:30You know, today the world belongs to Texas.

01:16:33Because if it wasn't for the Texas people, I wouldn't have nothing.

01:16:36And you know what else?

01:16:37My brother David tonight, he had the best seat in the house, right upstairs looking down.

01:16:42And just God bless him, man, because he saw everything I did and we're just so happy.

01:16:46It was just one of the greatest moments, I think, in his history of wrestling.

01:16:56Then Carey had to take on the responsibility of being the champion and it's not fun.

01:17:02Here now comes world heavyweight champion, Carey Von Erich.

01:17:05That's a 360-day deal.

01:17:09He goes from David's dead, you're the main event, promos, promos, promos, and you can't

01:17:20just say, oh, we're taking a week off.

01:17:23So between that and losing his brother David, that's when I started seeing a little bit more

01:17:31of the drug starting to come in.

01:17:32Oh, Bill, there's so much going on inside my head.

01:17:35I feel like I'm ready now.

01:17:38I believe with all my heart, I can take it.

01:17:40I think before David's death, the drugs were under control, where it wasn't causing any problems

01:17:47for him.

01:17:47And then after David's death, it just...

01:17:58That was the right call for Carey to be world champion.

01:18:02For that night, in that stadium, regardless of how it turned out, it was the right call.

01:18:09Rick switches him, pulls him back.

01:18:12He's got him.

01:18:13And that's it.

01:18:14And Ric Flair, the world heavyweight champion once again.

01:18:19With an 18-day reign, the NWA was sort of doing a solid for the state of Texas, you know,

01:18:25for

01:18:25Dallas, for the Von Erich family, for all the tragedy that they were going through right in that moment.

01:18:31And it wasn't meant to be a long-term solution.

01:18:34I think for Carey, it didn't matter that he lost it so quickly because you're on top, right?

01:18:39How much further can you go?

01:18:41Like, I'm accepted now, right?

01:18:43My dad trusted me to be able to do this.

01:18:45And I did it.

01:18:46I tried to do this all my life, a national wrestling last world champion.

01:18:49And I was never able to take it.

01:18:51But Carey took it.

01:18:52Even after losing the title, the Von Erichs, they were still drawing in huge crowds.

01:18:56And I think that just says something about their start.

01:19:01Listen to this crowd roar.

01:19:03They're on their feet.

01:19:06It's getting around that the Von Erichs and world-class championship wrestling is the number one sport in the world

01:19:12today.

01:19:14World-class was just booming.

01:19:18Line, drop kick, and there goes Michael Hayes.

01:19:21They would play the show, I think it was at 11 a.m. Sunday mornings.

01:19:25We would have a replay of that at 6 at night, which was opposite of 60 minutes.

01:19:33Which is the number one show in the country.

01:19:36And we would almost double their ratings.

01:19:39With a replay.

01:19:41At this point, world-class is so successful that, you know, Vince McMahon takes notice.

01:19:48If there's one family that's dominant and reigns supreme somewhat in the entire wrestling world,

01:19:54it would be the Von Erich family at the beginning.

01:19:56There was a meeting that took place in Dallas.

01:19:59You know, Vince said, join forces with the WWE.

01:20:03We'll go everywhere.

01:20:05And at that time, they would even take 40% and we would be 60%.

01:20:11We didn't do the deal.

01:20:13Rich was, why do we need you?

01:20:15We just did 47,000 people.

01:20:18The wrestling family, which has made Dallas and Fort Worth one of the hottest spots in the sport,

01:20:23is still growing strong.

01:20:25The people love the Von Erichs.

01:20:27It's amazing, but wherever the Von Erichs go, a crowd always follows.

01:20:33Kerry, he was extremely popular.

01:20:36People just loved him.

01:20:37He was actually in an audition with Sylvester Stallone for Rocky IV.

01:20:42And they picked Dolph Lundgren for it.

01:20:45But becoming famous at a really young age can be difficult.

01:20:53And that was pretty tough for me as a wife, being with somebody that was so famous.

01:21:00I love you too, Kerry, but you're married so.

01:21:03I'm just worried about his health.

01:21:04I'm worried that he's going to get an eye out or something.

01:21:07I'm not really worried about the girls kissing on him or anything.

01:21:10I know that goes.

01:21:11I don't blame him.

01:21:12I would too.

01:21:13I'd be jumping all over him too.

01:21:14I like Kerry's body.

01:21:16All of it was really hard for he and I.

01:21:20I kept seeing Kerry Atkinson getting buried underneath the Von Erich image.

01:21:28I was losing a part of my husband that was very important to me.

01:21:34Because Kerry Von Erich belonged to everybody.

01:21:39Maybe taking the drugs helped him to escape from that.

01:21:44At least he told me that one time.

01:21:49That's a big responsibility, being on top.

01:21:52Because you're responsible for feeding everybody.

01:21:56And drinking and doing drugs don't help you balance that that well.

01:22:01Kerry sometimes.

01:22:02Is he 100%?

01:22:03Is he 70%?

01:22:04What have we got to work with?

01:22:06And when we finally get him in the ring, Michael Hayes or Terry Gordon, I don't care which

01:22:10one.

01:22:11But when we get you in the ring, baby, I ain't going out to hurt you.

01:22:15I'm going out to cripple you.

01:22:16And I guarantee you that.

01:22:20It was hard to be in that position to where you go tell someone that their son's got a problem.

01:22:27I mentioned it one time and I got heat for it.

01:22:31Not from Fritz.

01:22:32I'll just leave it at that.

01:22:35My grandmother loved her boys so much.

01:22:39And I love Mimi.

01:22:42I love my grandmother.

01:22:43But it's frustrating because it is just so easy to blame Granddad.

01:22:50It's not always as it seems.

01:22:54A lot of people want to make Fritz the bad guy.

01:22:57There is a deep love and respect between the boys and Fritz.

01:23:01And it went both ways.

01:23:02I saw it firsthand.

01:23:04Mr. Eftikenson absolutely wanted the best for his boys.

01:23:08But he also wanted the best for his business.

01:23:12Fritz was also very consumed with making sure that train kept running down that track.

01:23:17And we are still breaking attendance records.

01:23:19Gary Von Erich literally having to push his way through.

01:23:22Life was great.

01:23:24Everybody thought it was going to last forever.

01:23:27Wrong.

01:23:30We got to deal with life as it comes.

01:23:32Don't cry about it.

01:23:34The tragedy started coming around.

01:23:38It had its effect.

01:23:41Suicides, drugs, alcohol.

01:23:44You name it.

01:23:45It all played a part.

01:23:56It's so cool how you all got to wrestle together.

01:23:59Well, just imagine you inside, you know, just playing outside.

01:24:03But there's thousands of people watching.

01:24:04So that's what's going to happen when they play with their brother in front of a bunch of people.

01:24:11There was a time that they could all wrestle in any town and sell it out.

01:24:16The Von Erichs have won the hearts of wrestling fans.

01:24:19They're the most popular wrestling family in the world.

01:24:23Yeah, it's not like people think.

01:24:26It's a family business.

01:24:28It wasn't fun.

01:24:29It was work.

01:24:31You're pressured to be on all of the time.

01:24:34An image that they all want to uphold.

01:24:38They're just good boys.

01:24:39The world just needs heroes today.

01:24:41That's all.

01:24:42There's pressure to keep that name alive.

01:24:44Professional wrestler Mike Von Erich remains in critical condition.

01:24:48If Mike Von Erich dies, the whole world is going to hate you.

01:24:51It's in the Lord's plan for these things to happen.

01:24:53The Von Erichs are strong.

01:24:55I saw a lot of depression in him.

01:24:57I do remember times where he wasn't sober.

01:25:02The doctor told him he just might never be able to go back and arrest him.

01:25:05Dozens of searchers have been scouring Lake Louisville by ground and air since Wednesday night.

01:25:10When I got the call, I knew our world is crumbling.

01:25:13Investigators found a handwritten note.

01:25:15Mom and Dad, I'm in a better place.

01:25:18I'd rather die than let you folks down.

01:25:25Respondent book for a very early episode.

01:25:27But I'm gonna PROTEIVE EXTREME somet imposing.

01:25:28You're gonna pay off a lot.

01:25:28The Herr passer bay tomorrow has made us picture.

Biography: WWE Legends - Season 5 Episode 1 - The Curse of the Von Erichs, Part 1

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