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

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

Transcript

00:00:00¿Qué es la vida de la vida?

00:00:30there's a lot of terrible things that happen

00:00:33but

00:00:34in between those moments

00:00:36are those good ones too

00:00:37you know

00:00:38the laughing children

00:00:41you remember being a little kid too

00:00:43and it's just beautiful

00:00:47I love life

00:00:50can't wait to wake up in the morning

00:00:53so I just say thank you Lord for another day

00:00:56you know

00:00:57he doesn't owe me a thing

00:00:59but a place to be born

00:01:00and a place to die

00:01:03there was a time I thought

00:01:04life is too long

00:01:05and now I think

00:01:06life is too short

00:01:10here come the Von Erics

00:01:14you gotta understand

00:01:15how big a star

00:01:16the Von Erics were in Texas

00:01:17if you knew anything about professional wrestling

00:01:19you knew who and what the Von Erics were

00:01:22the Von Erics

00:01:23the royal family of wrestling

00:01:25with Father Fritz as the king of the ring

00:01:27and each of his sons waiting to take over the throne

00:01:30Fritz had six kids

00:01:32each of these boys are gonna be world heavyweight champions

00:01:36I'm dedicating my life to it

00:01:38the greatest name in professional wrestling today

00:01:40the Von Erics

00:01:41we began to really understand

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

00:01:46they were superheroes

00:01:47the Von Erics are a prime attraction

00:01:49they were on their way to greatness

00:01:51until all the tragedy struck

00:01:54at six years old

00:01:56Uncle Jackie is just gone

00:01:58David Von Erics was found lying across his bed early this morning

00:02:02as it's awfully hard to believe

00:02:03it could have been a heart attack

00:02:05Michael Von Erics remains in critical condition

00:02:07in the Baylor Medical Center

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

00:02:12investigators found a handwritten note

00:02:14mom and dad

00:02:15I'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

00:02:26Lord please don't take any more of my children

00:02:29was it a curse?

00:02:31was it just a series of tragic coincidences?

00:02:34was it the pressure of the wrestling business?

00:02:36was it just the pressure of family?

00:02:37the pressure of the fans?

00:02:39they did go through a lot of tragedy

00:02:40it was made for movie

00:02:42it's a new film

00:02:43it's called The Iron Claw

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

00:02:46great acting

00:02:47Zac Efron did a phenomenal job

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

00:02:53this one is a little different

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

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

00:03:00it might sound like the craziest story you ever heard

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

00:03:20there you go

00:03:22when 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

00:03:39when I think about my youth

00:03:40and my 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

00:03:56because

00:03:58because he was an only child

00:04:00and 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 Jack Atkinson

00:04:12in Jewett, Texas

00:04:15he had pretty rough life

00:04:16I think

00:04:17he'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

00:04:26it was like

00:04:26if 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

00:04:37the dads would bet on their boys

00:04:39and have them fight

00:04:40in the woods

00:04:41and when

00:04:42when granddad would lose

00:04:43um

00:04:44his dad would just

00:04:45beat him

00:04:46in front of everyone

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

00:04:53loved him

00:04:53was his daddy Ross

00:04:55his grandfather

00:04:55and so daddy Ross

00:04:57lived

00:04:58a few hours away

00:04:59and

00:05:00for granddad

00:05:01that was his one source of

00:05:02you know

00:05:03love and encouragement

00:05:05there was a guy

00:05:06in town

00:05:07who

00:05:08asked my granddad

00:05:09if

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

00:05:12my granddad was at the time

00:05:14and he said

00:05:15you know Jack

00:05:16if 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

00:05:23granddad

00:05:24was 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

00:05:34molested my granddad

00:05:38my granddad said

00:05:39my granddad said

00:05:40I wanted to see daddy Ross so bad

00:05:42that I let that happen

00:05:43every couple of weeks

00:05:44you know

00:05:44to go see daddy Ross

00:05:45and it was worth it

00:05:47so that

00:05:48that

00:05:48you know broke my heart

00:05:50whenever he told me about that

00:05:52that he was

00:05:53um

00:05:54molested as a little boy

00:05:57I didn't know that

00:06:00there are things he didn't tell me

00:06:01but

00:06:01he did tell Kristen

00:06:03it's just really

00:06:05I guess he had no reason to tell me

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

00:06:08but

00:06:09kind of surprising

00:06:15I think that granddad

00:06:18had felt invisible for a large part of his childhood

00:06:22and recognized that

00:06:25the best way to get people to notice him

00:06:29was his athletic ability his size

00:06:34and so he went to college

00:06:36and 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

00:06:48at the time that my grandparents met

00:06:50they loved each other so much

00:06:53and Mimi

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

00:06:57you know

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

00:07:00and uh

00:07:01you eventually married Doris

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

00:07:04you mean up till now

00:07:05at the

00:07:05at that time?

00:07:08well it

00:07:09it cost me my scholarship

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

00:07:12they put a

00:07:12non-marriage rule in

00:07:14that any freshman that came in

00:07:15from then on

00:07:16at that time and later

00:07:17if they got married

00:07:18they lost their scholarship

00:07:19so because you married

00:07:20oh no I didn't think they met me

00:07:21I was too great

00:07:22uh huh

00:07:23and you lost the 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

00:07:45and a bus driver

00:07:49Ed Stringer Lewis

00:07:50belonging to Ed

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

00:07:52wrestlers I guess ever was

00:07:53he said

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

00:07:56he said

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

00:07:58put you in that sport

00:07:59and you'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

00:08:06twenty or twenty five thousand dollars

00:08:08your first year in the business

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

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

00:08:14professional wrestling

00:08:15Jack Atkinson

00:08:16of Dallas

00:08:17251 pounder

00:08:19Atkinson is the tall boy

00:08:20on the right

00:08:22so Jack Atkinson

00:08:23started off as a local hero

00:08:25football player from SMU

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

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

00:08:32in wrestling

00:08:33there's no middle ground

00:08:35you 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

00:08:44in seeing the opportunity there

00:08:47to be a memorable heel

00:08:50a bad guy

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

00:08:54he thought

00:08:55well the most detestable person

00:08:57I can think of

00:08:58would be a Nazi

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

00:09:02basically the most German name

00:09:04he could think of

00:09:05from Berlin Germany

00:09:07Fritz Von Erich

00:09:09and there was a lot of potential

00:09:12in that character

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

00:09:16growing up as a fan

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

00:09:19this guy is just vicious

00:09:21he just looked the part of a villain

00:09:23and he played the part of a villain

00:09:25unbelievably

00:09:25Fritz Von Erich

00:09:26and the master of the Iron Claw

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

00:09:31finishing hold

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

00:09:34and just wrap it around the skull

00:09:36and just squeeze until sometimes

00:09:38until 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

00:09:56what year were you born?

00:09:59yeah

00:09:59what year were you born?

00:10:001957

00:10:04oh

00:10:05that is

00:10:06so that's daddy right?

00:10:07oh okay

00:10:08okay 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 it was a great time

00:10:33there you are

00:10:34look at that cute baby

00:10:36that's me

00:10:37Jackie

00:10:38he was my big brother

00:10:40he kissed me

00:10:42oh

00:10:42he loves you

00:10:44oh Jackie

00:10:46he had the best personality

00:10:48he was so funny

00:10:49and

00:10:51like he was trying to make you laugh

00:10:54Jackie

00:10:54that big brother stuff

00:10:56oh

00:10:57it was 1959 up 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

00:11:11and my mother was

00:11:12busy

00:11:12and so she said

00:11:14yeah go play

00:11:15uncle Jackie

00:11:16asked 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

00:11:31called her friend

00:11:32and

00:11:32they chatted

00:11:34for a few minutes

00:11:35and then she said

00:11:36um

00:11:37you can send Jackie home

00:11:38thank you so much

00:11:39for having him

00:11:40and her friend said

00:11:41well Jackie's not here

00:11:44Mimi said her heart dropped

00:11:46she immediately knew

00:11:47something was wrong

00:11:54that day

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

00:12:06she 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

00:12:19Mimi dropped the phone

00:12:21and just ran outside

00:12:22looking

00:12:23screaming his name

00:12:26and

00:12:27they couldn't find him

00:12:29so

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

00:12:38and we're looking

00:12:39cops are on their way

00:12:40so

00:12:41Mimi goes home

00:12:43so an officer knocked 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

00:13:00give 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

00:13:05why does his face

00:13:06not match

00:13:06what I'm hearing

00:13:07and

00:13:09um

00:13:09he just

00:13:10you know said

00:13:11we found him

00:13:11and Mimi said that she like

00:13:13he went to hug her

00:13:14and she just punched him

00:13:16in 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

00:13:27just

00:13:27like that

00:13:30what happened was

00:13:32in 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

00:13:43along it

00:13:44and he touched a spot

00:13:46where the skin

00:13:46on the trailer

00:13:47had been electrified

00:13:50the guy had wired his trailer wrong

00:13:52he 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 of death

00:14:05was drowning

00:14:08and then whenever granddad

00:14:10finally did get home

00:14:12I

00:14:13I cannot even imagine

00:14:15but just

00:14:15holding that news

00:14:17and then he comes home

00:14:18and you say

00:14:19here's what happened today

00:14:21my dad came home

00:14:23my dad came home

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

00:15:01for letting her baby

00:15:02be taken

00:15:05and

00:15:06at the time granddad blamed himself

00:15:08for being gone

00:15:10Mimi

00:15:11blamed herself too

00:15:12but she also blamed granddad

00:15:14for being gone

00:15:15so I think that

00:15:16sort of

00:15:18cumulatively

00:15:19as time went on

00:15:20that

00:15:21you know

00:15:22anger

00:15:22that resentment

00:15:23sort of

00:15:24just built upon itself

00:15:32you know

00:15:32anyone that loses a child

00:15:35there'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 have a

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

00:15:44I 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 were there

00:15:48if you were 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 a

00:15:57one in a straight line

00:15:58we went like this

00:15:59but we got there

00:16:03after uncle Jackie died

00:16:05granddad

00:16:06when he had the opportunity to wrestle in Dallas regularly

00:16:09or in Texas

00:16:10I think that they wanted to

00:16:13pursue that for sure

00:16:15because it meant that they could

00:16:16you know

00:16:17be together more

00:16:18and wouldn't have to be separate

00:16:20so

00:16:21my grandparents

00:16:22and my dad

00:16:23they

00:16:23moved

00:16:24back to Texas

00:16:26oh wow

00:16:32there's a ranch

00:16:34that's where your great uncles grew up

00:16:40so after I was born

00:16:41my mother had four kids

00:16:43all 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

00:16:56look at uncle Chris

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

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 I just fell into the job

00:17:06that was me

00:17:07and my big brother

00:17:08and I

00:17:10and I loved my brothers

00:17:11look at you and uncle Dave daddy

00:17:14yeah

00:17:14skinny Dave

00:17:16we always hunted

00:17:18and fished

00:17:19and

00:17:19uh

00:17:20spent

00:17:20time together

00:17:23oh

00:17:24what 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

00:17:31and their own dog?

00:17:32yeah

00:17:32we sure did

00:17:33and our own BB gun

00:17:34and we

00:17:35that's what we did all day

00:17:37there'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

00:17:44in 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 backup or an 80

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

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

00:18:02I 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

00:18:10after Uncle Jackie passed away

00:18:13Mimi and Grandad had this idea that the world is dangerous

00:18:20and they both had the desire to keep their family safe from the ugliness of this world

00:18:31so they tried to make their house be the fun house where you wouldn't want to leave

00:18:38at that time

00:18:39my Mimi was

00:18:42unbelievably strong

00:18:44I mean she had to

00:18:45she had to keep it together

00:18:47to lose a six year old is

00:18:50how do you go on?

00:18:52and 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

00:18:58both of them

00:18:59had this

00:19:00mentality

00:19:00to

00:19:02hold it all together

00:19:03like that

00:19:04both of them

00:19:06tell me

00:19:07tell me about raising the boys

00:19:08the greatest memories I have in my life is raising those youngins

00:19:11uh

00:19:12gosh it was fine

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

00:19:14I think that my dad

00:19:15learned a lot from his youth

00:19:18even though his father didn't

00:19:19wasn't around

00:19:20he

00:19:21learned from that

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

00:19:25don't misunderstand me

00:19:26I made a lot of mistakes raising my children

00:19:28but my wife and I love to prevent it of it

00:19:30that may be the difference to 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 and chuckling

00:19:44he didn't have parents that wanted to spend time with him

00:19:47so he wanted to be a dad that

00:19:49that did

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

00:19:52in the history of wrestling who would you say

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

00:19:59that's a rather leading question don'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

00:20:06the rest of the storm

00:20:07the most money in the world today

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

00:20:10at the time Fritz

00:20:11he just became

00:20:13an idol around here

00:20:15in Dallas-Waltworth area

00:20:17Fritz Von Erich

00:20:18by his own admission

00:20:20the world's greatest wrestler

00:20:21people in Texas love Fritz Von Erich

00:20:24I mean he was

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

00:20:27I remember Coach Landry

00:20:28and guys from the Cowboys

00:20:30would call my dad for advice

00:20:31and I just never really dawned 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 the window

00:21:02and there were all these photographers

00:21:03like so many

00:21:06at least a hundred photographers

00:21:08I said dad

00:21:09there's some kind of movie store

00:21:11should see all the photographers outside

00:21:13and my 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 with the iron glow

00:21:23kids you know just like any other little fellow out there

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

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

00:21:30and you know so we tried extra hard

00:21:33I guess you know the young kids are just that way

00:21:35anything my dad did

00:21:36you know he was like we 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 by this time

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

00:21:48and I think he probably just thought

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

00:21:52if it's worth my time to be a wrestler

00:21:53it's more worth my time to be running everything

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

00:22:00now Fritz was the promoter

00:22:02and Fritz then used that opportunity

00:22:05to exert his power

00:22:07and to kind of take over the booking

00:22:10of the Texas territory

00:22:12and all of the Texas towns

00:22:14nobody realizes it at the time

00:22:16but the 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

00:22:25forever

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

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

00:22:35we're all athletes

00:22:37and we were good at it

00:22:39but with Chris

00:22:40he had asthma

00:22:42and had to take medicine for it

00:22:44and it 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 really be a successful athlete

00:22:55and it's just too bad

00:22:56it'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, I mean, in high school

00:23:05he really loved football, man

00:23:07nobody could tackle him

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

00:23:11you know, so

00:23:12there's one game

00:23:13he averaged like 21 yards a carry

00:23:16when dad would come to the football games

00:23:18it'd be a touchdown or something

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

00:23:21and I'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

00:23:29David was 6'7", so

00:23:30he was a great basketball player

00:23:32in Lake Dallas

00:23:34the only All-State athletes

00:23:35that that school has ever had

00:23:36were my sons

00:23:38David was All-State in basketball

00:23:40two consecutive years

00:23:41but the kids

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

00:23:47it was kind of cool

00:23:49David and Kevin both got scholarships

00:23:51to North Texas

00:23:51which when North Texas was really

00:23:53a Division I, you know, powerhouse

00:23:56Kevin went first

00:23:57and then David went the next year

00:23:59and played basketball and football

00:24:03I went to college to play football

00:24:05I didn't care about my degree

00:24:07or anything like that

00:24:08I loved football

00:24:10and that's all I could think about

00:24:12it was his freshman year

00:24:14I was there

00:24:15Wayne Carey went to watch the game

00:24:16in Denton at North Texas

00:24:18and I think somebody got blocked into him

00:24:21his own man or something

00:24:22and just tore his ACL

00:24:24you know, just one of the worst things

00:24:26and he came back with a vengeance

00:24:28and I'll be dadgum if he didn't hurt

00:24:30the other one his

00:24:32sophomore year

00:24:33With my knees out

00:24:36I could tell it took something

00:24:37from my quickness

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

00:24:40to me

00:24:42and so it was just a matter of time

00:24:45before I quit playing

00:24:46it was over

00:24:49I had time to make a living

00:24:51so I dropped out of college

00:24:53and I gave wrestling a try

00:24:58Kevin Von Erich was the oldest son

00:25:01and the first to give pro wrestling a shot

00:25:03when he decided to get in

00:25:05he didn't have to look far

00:25:06I mean his dad ran the local promotion

00:25:08by then Jack had taken over the Dallas promotion

00:25:11what's now known as world-class championship wrestling

00:25:14so this is slowly becoming a family business

00:25:19I remember when Kevin debuted like it was yesterday

00:25:23I remember it because I was such a big fan of Fritz Von Erich

00:25:26and then Kevin debuts

00:25:27and he's this really good looking young guy with this great body

00:25:31it's this incredible star athlete

00:25:34and you're like, wow, this guy could carry on the Von Erich legacy

00:25:37Kevin majored in football and suffered an injury

00:25:40and football's loss became Professor Wrestling's game

00:25:43In fact, when I started out wrestling

00:25:46we had to change buildings because the crowd was getting bigger

00:25:49From the Will Rogers complex in Fort Worth

00:25:52here's Saturday Night Wrestling

00:25:54There was the writing on the wall

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

00:25:58cleaning catfish and washing dishes

00:26:02Meanwhile, David starts to take notice

00:26:05of what his brother Kevin was doing out there in the wrestling ring

00:26:08so even as a college student

00:26:10he begins to dabble in his dad's business as well

00:26:12David Von Erich, high school all-stater

00:26:16in basketball

00:26:16Dave loved basketball

00:26:19when Dave got his first wrestling paycheck

00:26:23Oh, that must have broken some boards

00:26:25He thought, goodbye basketball

00:26:29Introducing, from Denton, Texas

00:26:31weighing 236 pounds, David Von Erich

00:26:34David was the one that picked up on the psychology of matches really well

00:26:40Man, he was really good

00:26:43David blocks race

00:26:44Suplex, lifts race

00:26:46Suplex by David Von Erich

00:26:48David had all the tools

00:26:50David was a natural

00:26:52It has been simply all David Von Erich

00:26:55who has dominated Harley Race

00:26:5718 years old

00:26:58He had his first sell-off

00:27:01That's pretty young to sell out a building like he did

00:27:03David Harley Race

00:27:05Oh, he caught him in the claw

00:27:06He caught race in the claw

00:27:09That's it!

00:27:12David Von Erich

00:27:15I've known his old man

00:27:17for a long time

00:27:20He's legend

00:27:21And this kid right here

00:27:23is not damn far behind

00:27:35Dave and I were pro wrestlers now

00:27:38My dad, he never really wanted us to wrestle

00:27:41He really didn't

00:27:42He wanted us to go to college

00:27:44and have desk jobs

00:27:48I never wanted my boys to be in wrestling

00:27:50What I didn't realize was that's the only last he'd ever known

00:27:54My dad was a pro wrestler

00:27:55And so that's the way we were brought up

00:27:56We wanted to be the best we possibly could

00:27:58And so my dad never pressured us into wrestling

00:28:01or pressured us into anything

00:28:02We just wanted to compete

00:28:03They literally had to talk, for instance, to let him start working

00:28:07And there's David, look at that, over the top

00:28:09And a big drop kick

00:28:10Dad really didn't like that

00:28:12I say he didn't like it, but the buildings were packed

00:28:15You know, sell out crowds every week

00:28:17Kevin Von Erich, that's what the people here want to see

00:28:21My dad was a promoter too, so he liked that

00:28:24I think we have the very finest professional wrestlers in the world

00:28:27Coming up, my son Kevin, my oldest boy Kevin Von Erich

00:28:30Just stay with us, you're going to enjoy this

00:28:32I don't believe this, look at Kevin

00:28:34Oh!

00:28:36The oldest brother wrestled, so the younger brother wanted to wrestle

00:28:39And my grandmother, she said whatever they did

00:28:44My granddad made him do it 110%, so he did give them a choice

00:28:49But if they wanted to, he made sure that they committed 100%

00:28:53And she was supportive of that

00:28:55And then also, my dad didn't have to pay us like he did the other guys

00:28:59We didn't mind that dad didn't pay us like the other wrestlers

00:29:02It was okay with us, you know, because everything was working out great

00:29:05We have probably the greatest wrestling father of all times

00:29:09A man by the name of Fritz Von Erich

00:29:12Our ambition in life is to live up to his name

00:29:14And to do as well as he's done in this sport

00:29:18We have a family, and we're a family, and we did it for the family

00:29:22And it's not for my family or for Dave's family, it was for THE family

00:29:31At the time, my brother Dave got married young

00:29:35Well, he had a girlfriend, and...

00:29:41Wanted to do the right thing and marry her, and he did

00:29:44Around this time, David's girlfriend Candy gets pregnant

00:29:47And in 1978, their daughter Natasha is born

00:29:51David was real excited about her, you know

00:29:54And Candy was just a wonderful mother

00:29:59Once they had the child, he was already talking like

00:30:01Man, I don't want to be on the road as much, it makes it hard

00:30:05He was so excited about the cruise, I'll never forget

00:30:07They were going on a cruise, they had never been on a cruise

00:30:11And back then, hardly anybody had been on a cruise, but...

00:30:16And then, sure enough, Dave

00:30:18He gets a phone call, they were able to get a hold of him

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

00:30:28It was SIDS, sudden infant death syndrome

00:30:33It was just horrific, man

00:30:36We didn't understand, I mean, how does a child just...

00:30:39You know, back then SIDS was a huge question

00:30:42And, you know, that a child could just...

00:30:45A baby could just die in the middle of the night

00:30:47That had been perfectly healthy

00:30:49But that's what happened, you know

00:30:53Obviously, that was a big blow for Dave

00:30:57David and Candy, it affected their relationship

00:31:01They just kind of drifted apart

00:31:02And they ended up getting a divorce

00:31:05It was tough, you know, nobody...

00:31:07Nobody wants to bury their kids

00:31:11Jack Jr., Fritz's firstborn son, had died

00:31:15And then, Jack's first grandchild

00:31:19Dies of SIDS

00:31:21I don't know at that point if you start thinking in terms of a curse

00:31:24But it really does seem like

00:31:27There's a bad moon hanging over this family

00:31:32On my left, the sensational Von Erich brothers David and Kevin

00:31:39Dave and I were on the road a lot

00:31:41Off the ropes and a big drop kick

00:31:45We were performing and so we weren't home like...

00:31:49Like Kerry was

00:31:51At home, when Kerry was the big brother

00:31:55And Dave and I were out

00:31:57Kerry was a lot more permissive than Dave and I were

00:32:01Kerry was out with Mike and Chris

00:32:03And he'd let things go

00:32:05Things like drinking, staying out

00:32:09Dave and I would have never let that go

00:32:12And Kerry was all about fun

00:32:16Everybody loved him and he was so good inside

00:32:19He just wanted to make you laugh

00:32:22Kerry was pleasant all the time

00:32:25Laughing and joking

00:32:27Playing ribs constantly

00:32:29But also, Kerry was really an elite athlete

00:32:35The Von Erichs were all athletes

00:32:38But my brother Kerry was gifted

00:32:42In fact, Kerry was offered a full-rod scholarship

00:32:47At University of Texas to play football

00:32:50And Kerry, I heard him say it

00:32:52I was sitting right there and he said

00:32:54I don't want, I don't really like football coach

00:32:56I don't think I want to do that

00:32:57I'll throw the discus

00:33:00He was number one in the nation

00:33:02When we were seniors in the discus

00:33:05I'll tell you what folks

00:33:06Every day my mother was out there

00:33:09Lugging four or five discuses

00:33:11That weighed four pounds a piece

00:33:13Throwing them back to me every day

00:33:15And she couldn't thaw it that far

00:33:16She had run it in that far

00:33:18But my mother was there every, every workout

00:33:21And he wound up throwing the discus

00:33:23But for the University of Houston

00:33:26Tom Tellez was the University of Houston coach

00:33:28He was the Olympic coach

00:33:30So that's another reason Kerry went to Houston

00:33:32He was really wanting to go to the tryout

00:33:35For the 1980 Olympics

00:33:37And then they boycotted it

00:33:40Kerry said, I don't want to wait until 1984

00:33:42That's four, five years away basically nearly

00:33:45And he wanted to leave college

00:33:49So that's when Kerry came back home

00:33:52And I knew Kerry from his younger brother Mike

00:33:57Because Mike and I were in class together since third grade

00:34:02And so Mike was the strongest male athlete in school

00:34:07And I was the strongest female athlete in school

00:34:11So we used to get all the awards together and things like that

00:34:14So Mike and I were best friends

00:34:17One day, Mike said to Kerry, can I have a party?

00:34:22And Kerry said, only if you invite Kathy Murray

00:34:26Kerry and I got to talking and the rest is history

00:34:29We just stayed together after that

00:34:32You know that young love that's so raw and so real

00:34:37And you're so young and it's your first

00:34:40And so that was really powerful for me

00:34:43Hi Dad!

00:34:47Hey Kim, get your shot here

00:34:50My dad and my mom

00:34:52What a beautiful love story they have

00:34:55My mom adores my dad

00:34:57And my dad loves and treasures my mom

00:35:01I got married in 1980

00:35:03My sweet Pam

00:35:04I've been so happy with her

00:35:06We've been married 45 years

00:35:10I mean yes, it probably was scary to her to see

00:35:14This is a semi-famous family

00:35:16They're all wrestlers

00:35:18But I think when she saw what a beautiful family they were

00:35:21Behind closed doors

00:35:23And she wanted to be a part of that

00:35:25And they cherished her

00:35:27And she said she had always prayed

00:35:29I want to marry a godly man

00:35:30That's who my dad was

00:35:32And on the outside that's not what my dad looked like

00:35:35He just looked like this handsome jock

00:35:38You know?

00:35:40Here's what they're waiting for

00:35:41Kevin Von Erich, David Von Erich

00:35:44Kevin and Dave, I mean the story was already of the Von Erichs

00:35:48They were drawn everywhere they go

00:35:50And look at this pandemonium

00:35:53But the other thing was it was

00:35:56It was eating on Carrie

00:35:58Carrie saw that and was just thinking

00:36:01Wow, this is a really big deal

00:36:04Carrie wanted to wrestle but Fritz wanted him to finish college

00:36:07Carrie was adamant

00:36:09Matter of fact, Carrie literally had a meeting with Fritz

00:36:13He said I want a meeting with my dad

00:36:15And he told Fritz, either I start working here or I'll go somewhere else

00:36:21You are looking at the spotlight on Carrie Von Erich as he makes his way to the ring

00:36:26After the Olympics, I don't really know that he ever thought of doing anything else

00:36:35Carrie just had this innate ability of this charisma

00:36:38Some guys just walk into a room and have this light come up

00:36:42Carrie Von Erich, listen to the crowd

00:36:47Now you got Kevin, Dave and Carrie, so three Von Erichs on the card

00:36:51They had the look, they had the feel and they could work

00:36:54Dave was the best worker of all of them

00:36:57Carrie had the good looks and the charisma

00:37:00Look at Carrie, up top

00:37:03Kevin had kind of a little mix of all of them

00:37:07All these boys who just dominated every aspect of Texas wrestling

00:37:14There was a short time where Carrie, me and Dave could all be in the same town

00:37:18There they are, the Von Erichs

00:37:21Eventually, after about a year

00:37:23We'd one town have Carrie, one town have me, one town have Dave

00:37:27And the houses were all good, you know, they all sell outs

00:37:31They were great

00:37:31Listen to this crowd roar, they're on their feet

00:37:34It was like a fairy tale for two, three years

00:37:37And it all

00:37:42A good wrestler is one that, you know, a natural athlete, first of all

00:37:47Like my sons, and it's kids like this that make wrestling what it is today

00:37:52Carrie Von Erich, as his brother David and Kevin

00:37:54Have almost a religious responsibility to learn the art of wrestling from their father

00:38:01Since they were small children

00:38:02Winning something our dad instilled in us a long time ago

00:38:05And we do it as fairly as we can

00:38:06But number one, goal is to win

00:38:08Two, three, oh, what a dazzling show of wrestling ability

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 wrestling ring

00:38:31And once they got in there and the crowd started reacting to them

00:38:34Fritz basically said, well, if they're all in, let's make the most of it

00:38:41Fantastic! What excitement! There's just nothing like it in the whole world!

00:38:47They would come out through the crowd to different songs

00:38:52It was LaGrange by ZZ Top

00:38:53Well, here it's fine

00:38:56If you've got the time

00:38:59I'm there and I tend to get

00:39:02Don't sell men

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

00:39:13Sort of a Pied Piper of the youth for this area

00:39:16All of a sudden, you have something that becomes this rock show

00:39:18And it was a rock show

00:39:20You watched the other matches, they were all good

00:39:22But when they came out, that was the show

00:39:26It was just pure energy

00:39:29The guys wanted to be like them

00:39:31The girls wanted to be with them

00:39:33Everyone trying to grab the whole room

00:39:36Terry Graff's gonna kiss

00:39:37Boy, she's lucky, isn't she?

00:39:38It was just a spectacle

00:39:40Any time that they would come to the ring

00:39:41Every match that you'll see tonight

00:39:43Is not from a studio

00:39:45It's from a live arena

00:39:47One of the oldest, most well-known arenas

00:39:49Certainly in Texas

00:39:50Probably in the world itself

00:39:51The world-famous Sportatorium

00:39:53If it's there, it's the best in professional wrestling

00:39:56The home of the Von Eriks

00:39:57The Sportatorium is the greatest building world

00:39:59And atmosphere personified

00:40:01This crowd is going wild

00:40:05One of the wildest nights in the history

00:40:08Of Texas wrestling

00:40:10I only was able to go once

00:40:12At the Sportatorium

00:40:14I bragged to my friends

00:40:17For weeks

00:40:18Bro, I saw the Von Eriks live

00:40:21Watch this

00:40:25It wasn't your daddy's wrestling anymore

00:40:28They changed the demographic

00:40:30And I think also

00:40:31The show on TV was completely different

00:40:34Hi, I'm Kerry Von Eriks

00:40:37And this is my dog Shea

00:40:38For several weeks now

00:40:40We've been telling you about the changes

00:40:41In the new world-class wrestling show

00:40:43And this is just some of the improvements we've made

00:40:46We want to put boom mics in the ring

00:40:49Cameras not just by the ring

00:40:50They climb up on the ring

00:40:53I'll never forget it

00:40:54Fritz sat Kerry and I down in his office

00:40:56And he said, I'm getting ready to do

00:40:59This thing called syndication

00:41:00That we're going to go all over the country

00:41:02And all over the world

00:41:03It's cable TV

00:41:05And we were like, what is that?

00:41:06You know, when we first started syndication

00:41:08We had 10 or 12 markets

00:41:10Then we got 20

00:41:11Pretty soon we were in 47 markets

00:41:12When cable started coming around

00:41:15We finally got world-class wrestling out of Dallas

00:41:18And that's when I was exposed to the Von Eriks

00:41:20And how important the Von Eriks were to the state of Texas

00:41:24You know, I would watch KTTV Channel 11 in my dorm

00:41:29It was absolutely amazing

00:41:30Three, Kerry Von Eriks wins the box

00:41:33The rock concert atmosphere

00:41:35The sportatorium craze

00:41:37The way they looked on TV

00:41:40All of this combined to make the Von Eriks

00:41:43The hottest thing in all of Texas

00:41:46The Von Eriks in Texas was almost religion

00:41:50It was a family of superheroes

00:41:53Here, 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

00:42:03You didn't know who he was

00:42:04Because he didn't have the helmet and the number on

00:42:06To where with wrestling, you know, there they were

00:42:08Right there in your living room every Saturday night

00:42:10Doing an interview right in your face

00:42:13Yeah, baby, we told you Bill

00:42:15There's something magic with Kevin and I in that ring together

00:42:18We would get tickets to go watch them wrestle

00:42:20And so they were pretty popular in terms of what we would talk about in the locker room

00:42:25There was two things that were big in Texas

00:42:27It was football and the Von Eriks

00:42:28It wasn't football and wrestling, it was football and the Von Eriks

00:42:32I think what really made the Von Eriks more popular than a lot of other great babyfaces around the country

00:42:39was

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

00:42:47They really come behind us, they were like their kids

00:42:49And they're like all parents and 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

00:42:56We took an ownership of the Von Eriks boys

00:42:59These were salt of the earth guys

00:43:01Tell us a little bit about Kevin

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

00:43:04I went to cliff diving in Acapulco a couple of weeks ago

00:43:07And I like to ride poems, I like to ride horses, I like to fish

00:43:12And Kevin and I have just gotten into a little bit of 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 Eriks 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

00:43:33Be respectful, my dad was like that

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

00:43:41Or ever even said, hey, do you know who I am?

00:43:43Or hey, I'm this, I'm that now, no

00:43:46I think that's Fritz teaching them, hey, you're somebody but you're nobody

00:43:52The 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

00:44:12We're gonna head up to Oklahoma for spot shows or down in the middle of Texas for spot shows

00:44:17But we were kids, everything was fun, everybody 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

00:44:31And go to another town and make a living

00:44:34Swim in the rivers all the way up, all the way back

00:44:38And just laugh the whole time

00:44:41Man, that was fun

00:44:43Just me and my brothers

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

00:44:48The Von Erics have been for years

00:44:50Today, 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

00:45:07A guaranteed draw at dozens of wrestling arenas

00:45:10But as successful as they are, they'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, seeking autographs, their pictures

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

00:45:36The feeling that like, if we let anything slip, then 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 in there, you know, on Friday nights

00:45:53Good evening, and welcome to the world-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

00:46:04Hanging their arms out

00:46:06I've got scars all over my shoulder for the girls scratching like this

00:46:10You should see my shoulders

00:46:11Kevin Von Erics, what a beautiful specimen

00:46:15Well, I grew up in here, you know, it's like my little playground

00:46:18Oh, off the rock

00:46:23Yeah, that's some good memories

00:46:27That's where it all started

00:46:29Kevin was a, he was an entertainer

00:46:31But as a person, he was a pretty simple guy, you know

00:46:33Like he just wanted to have that sort of isolation

00:46:37That sort of getting away from everything else

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

00:46:41This must be a great way to just to take some edge off

00:46:44Oh, man, you're right, brother

00:46:46I'd probably crack up if I didn't have a country to come out to

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

00:46:52And this is really where I'm at

00:46:54That's where my head is

00:46:55Wait for your daughter to get old enough to come out

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

00:47:01Once I had my first baby

00:47:03Once Pam had Kristen

00:47:05Well, my priorities changed

00:47:08And wrestling became work

00:47:10I don't think wrestling was the number one priority for Kevin 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 at the matches

00:47:22He would leave immediately

00:47:23You know, he didn't hang around and go home and be dad

00:47:26And then also, my life went from loving my dog and my 22

00:47:31To that baby

00:47:33And Pam, my queen that gave me that baby

00:47:36I had somebody to protect

00:47:39Yes, dad, give me your

00:47:42Get alone, you pretty girl

00:47:45My father

00:47:47Big, mean, tough, Fritz

00:47:48He loved being a grandfather

00:47:51Kristen and him were like that

00:47:54Come here, close my face, man

00:47:59My granddad

00:48:02Was one of the best men that I've ever met

00:48:06My baby girl

00:48:07He was just the epitome of safety for us

00:48:14Now that's what I call pretty, pretty, pretty

00:48:18Now, Mimi always have one of your pretty face

00:48:21Mimi was also so loving

00:48:25And my grandparents did a really good job

00:48:27Of making us feel like we were all a community

00:48:32And we had each other

00:48:37The first time I realized that there was something maybe different about our family

00:48:43We were going to have a Six Flags Day as a family

00:48:46And when we arrived at the park, there were police everywhere

00:48:50And they put us right on a golf cart

00:48:52And we had a couple hours of the park exclusively

00:48:56But they opened the gate

00:48:57And I just have this image in my mind

00:48:59I was sitting on the back of this golf cart

00:49:01And these people chasing us and screaming

00:49:04And this one lady had mascara running down her face

00:49:08And I remember thinking, you know, they're not chasing anybody else

00:49:11And don't they know how boring my dad is?

00:49:15And how boring my uncles are

00:49:16Like, why do they think it's so cool?

00:49:19You never realized what kind of rock stars these kids, these kids had become

00:49:25And here they come

00:49:27The trio of wrestling personified

00:49:30Everybody wanted to see the Von Erics

00:49:32But they needed a nemesis, you know, and when the Freebirds came in

00:49:36That's when wrestling just blew up

00:49:39Michael Hayes and Terry Gordy

00:49:42Buddy Roberts, the Freebirds

00:49:44You finally had somebody that could go against the Von Erics boys

00:49:48And that was the perfect antithesis in the Freebirds

00:49:51Hey man, we're running these Von Erics out of Texas

00:49:54When 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 Freebirds were just so easy to hate

00:50:13The Freebirds brought their own flags from Georgia into Texas

00:50:16Which is something you don't do

00:50:18It kind of became like a college football rivalry in a sense

00:50:22Georgia versus Texas

00:50:24This war is not between Texas and Georgia

00:50:26It's between decency and filth

00:50:31It was like setting a nuclear bomb off in the state of Texas

00:50:34I've never seen anything like it

00:50:37We're gonna say thanks to the people of Dallas, Texas

00:50:38Because it's the biggest crowd ever to be in this auditorium

00:50:41Shows that used to on a Saturday night do 500 people

00:50:45All of a sudden we were doing 8,000

00:50:48Just packed to the walls

00:50:49And so this one is gonna start in a hurry

00:50:53The rivalry worked, I think, because when we would get in that ring

00:50:58You could tell that these guys really 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

00:51:10You're supposed to make them mad, 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, and that's what wrestling is

00:51:32I get so wrecked up today, I just love it, I really do

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

00:51:39to jail

00:51:40Me and my buddies would ride down there, every Friday night

00:51:43I was there watching the Von Erickson, the Freedom 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 were doing

00:51:51Just make it a little more dangerous and a 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 shit 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

00:52:11I really enjoyed what I did, I loved it and I felt real doing it

00:52:15I gave people real entertainment

00:52:18Some of my brothers

00:52:19I mean, they were really into it

00:52:22Really, really believed that what we were doing was real

00:52:27Kevin Von Erick is now covered in blood

00:52:31A lot of times after the matches, I felt like it was real

00:52:34Because 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, nothing can hurt you

00:52:54And now Kevin Von Erick

00:52:58Struggling

00:52:59You can break a bone

00:53:01And keep going

00:53:02Bo's got a broken nose

00:53:05When you're right, you win every time

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

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

00:53:12You 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, my elbows have been both dislocated

00:53:20My shoulder, my knee operations

00:53:23That tooth knocked out from Michael Hayes' boot

00:53:25We used to take injections

00:53:28Xylocaine, Marcaine, Procaine

00:53:30But they're not drugs

00:53:31They just numb nerve endings

00:53:35And I didn't want to live like that anymore

00:53:39And so, to deal with that pain

00:53:42I grew my own marijuana

00:53:45Look what's sprouted up here in the carpet

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

00:53:51But I have to say that I took a healthy approach by growing it myself

00:53:56Hey man, where are we going to smoke one again?

00:53:58Kevin?

00:53:59If God makes it, if it's a vegetable, if it grows on a tree or in the ground

00:54:04I want it, but I don't want anything made by man

00:54:08And here comes the modern day warrior, Carrie Von Erich

00:54:12For Carrie, the business was becoming very taxing on the body in general

00:54:21With the amount of time in the gym and pumping iron

00:54:24And then just getting hurt in the ring

00:54:28Oh, Carrie is pretty well shaken

00:54:30When you're getting hurt all the time

00:54:33And you start asking for prescription drugs, right?

00:54:38And then, how much is enough?

00:54:41And do I need something even harder, stronger 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, well it does help me feel better

00:55:04But the doctor just prescribed it, it's legal

00:55:08And I think a lot of people got fooled by that

00:55:11Carrie felt a big responsibility to the business

00:55:16He took care of his fans

00:55:17It's tough, but we know it's a job, it's a responsibility that we have to do

00:55:22And my father bred us to be winners, not losers

00:55:26And to fight 100% every night whenever we were in that ring

00:55:30So Carrie fought between his health

00:55:34And keeping up with the image that was so important to the Von Erichs

00:55:59Dave was the only one of all of us that liked strong liquor

00:56:02Had a bottle of liquor, had a bottle of it in his bag

00:56:07And then he told us he had a really bad stomach ache and booze was helping him

00:56:14Stomach pain must have something else, I mean he said it was like a knife

00:56:19He 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 had some symptoms

00:56:29But he 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 it

00:56:40A 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 them in

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

00:56:53And, uh, Dave got mad easy

00:56:55The doc hit a switch and Dave was butt up

00:56:59And he was furious

00:57:02He said, absolutely not

00:57:04I'll tear this place down

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

00:57:10But, if they would have done the, uh, examination

00:57:13I think they would have found something

00:57:19It'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

00:57:27And especially coming up in the Atkinson household

00:57:31Maybe you're just taught to rub some dirt on it, you know

00:57:35Because he wasn't being treated for it, he started turning to painkillers

00:57:40One time he'd showed up on, uh, uh, quaaludes, you know

00:57:47You know, when you can't talk and you're slurring your word

00:57:50That's when it becomes bad

00:57:52I've seen him where he's a puddle in the middle of the floor

00:57:55And he's supposed to be going to the ring

00:57:58You 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

00:58:11He was addicted to pills

00:58:13And boy, I know Fritz was just irate about it

00:58:16You're doing your fans a disservice anytime you get out of line

00:58:19Because 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

00:58:29The fans is what made them, it's what made us

00:58:32And, uh, we need to always be aware of the responsibility that goes with them

00:58:37Image was really important to Granddad

00:58:42But, Mimi was, I think, more concerned about family image and reputation

00:58:51Than that Granddad was

00:58:53She wanted to have a perfect family that didn't fail

00:59:00And Mimi was really concerned about media

00:59:04Granddad 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

00:59:12But when you're on my time, you need to be top shape

00:59:16They're under pressure

00:59:18They were pretty much on call 24 hours a day

00:59:21Dealing with the public, dealing with the news

00:59:24Several thousand waiting in line for hours

00:59:27To see the famous wrestling Von Erich

00:59:30It was fun, though

00:59:32Everywhere you went

00:59:34You were treated like you were royalty

00:59:37We get endorsements through wrestling

00:59:39And so we get three cars from these dealerships

00:59:43They were top stars

00:59:45And Mike and Chris always looked up to them

00:59:48And they were like, if they can do it, I can do it

00:59:52Mike and Chris were super close

00:59:54They came to the matches every week

00:59:55Right after high school, Mike wanted to be a part of what his brothers were doing

01:00:00I've seen the debut of all these guys, Kevin, David, Carey

01:00:04And now, they debut in just a few minutes of Mike Von Erich

01:00:08For Mike, it was hard not being a Von Erich

01:00:12You know, if he was anywhere with the brothers, he was treated as if he was in the business

01:00:16And it was contagious

01:00:18Little Mike, I say, is a big old stud

01:00:20But tonight, I think he's going to show his colors

01:00:21He's a Von Erich right down on the wire

01:00:23Mike wanted to wrestle so bad, he wanted to be like Dave

01:00:26Mike's been taught by the best, because we were taught by the best

01:00:29Do you lock your leg in here, Kev?

01:00:31Oh, just a step, yeah

01:00:32Oh, that's an excellent one

01:00:34Right here, and now I got his leg

01:00:36Oh yeah, I go nowhere

01:00:39And here he comes

01:00:41Mike Von Erich

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

01:00:47But of course, he's upholding the honor of the Von Erich 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

01:00:57I get to come along, I'm the baby brother, and we're going to have a good time together

01:01:01You know, and they did

01:01:02You know, a lot of people think that Von Erich's a bit off more than we can chew

01:01:05They think that Mike's too young to be getting in the ring with us

01:01:08This kid is not going to let me down, we're going to take those freebirds

01:01:11Oh, look at that move!

01:01:13At this point, the Von Erichs and the freebirds

01:01:17Our story was so high

01:01:19It racks up one, two, three

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

01:01:34Which at that time would have now been Kevin, 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

01:01:44And then the main event was going to be Flair versus David

01:01:47For the NWA World Heavyweight Championship

01:01:51The Nature Boy Ric Flair, arguably the greatest wrestler of all time

01:01:56I thrive! Woo! 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 Ric Flair for the title

01:02:10And then about five weeks before the show, Dave goes to Japan to work over there

01:02:18For months before the Japan trip, he didn't look right to me

01:02:24But it was the stomach, you know

01:02:28Dave had that ashen look about him, you know, white look

01:02:33His eyebrows would get white

01:02:38And so, Marty had an idea something bad was going to happen

01:02:52This is December 24th, Christmas Eve, 1983

01:03:01It was so cold that day, remember the pond froze over

01:03:04Wow, that never happens

01:03:08I laid some bats on it

01:03:10There's Kathy

01:03:11And Uncle Chris

01:03:12There's Chris

01:03:14Dad, thanks for the stereo, Dad

01:03:16Oh yeah, babe

01:03:17Wow, thanks

01:03:22There's Uncle Mike and me

01:03:23Ah, Mike

01:03:26All the kids love Mike, don't they?

01:03:29Who is right?

01:03:30Who is right?

01:03:32Wow!

01:03:37Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for everything you've given us

01:03:40All the family being together, the brothers

01:03:42That's great, Lord

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

01:03:47After that Christmas

01:03:50Our life would not be the same

01:03:54For months

01:03:56Before the Japan trip

01:03:58Dave was white as a ghost

01:03:59He didn't look right to me

01:04:05I was with him when he wrestled in Austin, Texas

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

01:04:09He was sick

01:04:11And 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

01:04:18This dead winter

01:04:19You know, early February

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

01:04:25The boys have been raised to be there

01:04:27Just thousands of people have paid their money to see those boys wrestle

01:04:30So the broken leg brought them, we expect them to be there

01:04:33And he looked pale

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

01:04:36She was worried about Dave, they were talking

01:04:38And I looked at him, I thought, if I lost him

01:04:41You know, I just put my hands on him

01:04:43Don't you go over there and die, Dave

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

01:04:46And I thought, I kissed him

01:04:49Now I get

01:04:50Yeah, can't happen now

01:04:52Finally

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 great

01:05:13I talked to Bill Irwin about it

01:05:15He said, they got to that, to Tokyo

01:05:18And 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

01:05:25Because Dave ate a lot, you know

01:05:27But then Dave ordered a third steak

01:05:30And I ate it

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

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

01:05:37Well, shit, we gotta 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

01:05:49And everybody that's there, including myself

01:05:52We 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

01:06:14He goes, yeah, I'm just gonna call my wife

01:06:18Okay, see you tomorrow

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

01:06:28Like, what the hell?

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

01:06:33David

01:06:33And in the distance, you hear sirens

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

01:06:40Everybody up, whoosh, we all went off the bus

01:06:42Right 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

01:06:54Just laid back, still dressed, in the same clothes, everything

01:07:06To this day, I cannot stand a phone call before daylight

01:07:12Because that's what I got that morning that Trish called me

01:07:20And when that phone rang, it was dark

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

01:07:37I went outside and I was just crushed, you know

01:07:42I couldn't stand up, and I just laid down in the forest and pushed the leaves back

01:07:47And put my face in that black dirt and I breathed it

01:07:51God, let me die

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

01:08:06Oh my gosh, that was, that was the worst part

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

01:08:20Fritz had already said, whatever that autopsy says we gotta go with

01:08:24Because the public's probably gonna get it 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

01:08:36It was pills, it was this

01:08:38I'm not saying there weren't any pills involved

01:08:40Because undoubtedly he was in excruciating pain

01:08:44And, uh, but did he do enough to OD? No

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

01:09:00And 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

01:09:30500 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 1800 seat church was soon filled to capacity

01:09:43And hundreds stood outside, hoping to catch a few strains of the service from the loudspeaker system

01:09:48It was a quiet but unhappy group

01:09:51It hit everyone, like a 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

01:10:05It was a hero's send off

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

01:10:13Things all of a sudden, everybody was like, this is like a president died

01:10:18More fans waited at the cemetery for the procession of 150 cars to arrive

01:10:24I 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

01:11:06Because Kevin was the oldest trying to protect his brothers

01:11:10But beyond that, they always wanted to be together

01:11:15After losing Uncle Dave, Mimi was just filled with so much pain

01:11:23But she wanted to have a great image

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

01:11:29You get off your death and you start moving again

01:11:33You start laughing again

01:11:35And you refuse to stay down

01:11:38You know, get over it

01:11:40But we do have to keep fighting

01:11:42We have to make it for the weak ones

01:11:44For our children, for our women

01:11:45For those that love us and those that are hurting, you know

01:11:53You know, like Kerry and I were talking about earlier today

01:11:57Dave wanted that world championship more than anything in the world

01:12:00And that world championship

01:12:04Is 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

01:12:14Fritz already has this giant stadium show

01:12:17Booked at Cowboy Stadium

01:12:19And they have to go through with it

01:12:21And now, as much as they might have wanted to

01:12:25Just mourn him

01:12:27They 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

01:12:41There was talk about, well, we can't put the belt on the other two boys

01:12:44At that point, and 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

01:12:53There's no question to anybody's man in the world

01:12:55That you are the best that 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

01:13:06But the truth though it was

01:13:08That I 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

01:13:16I didn't want to be the world champion

01:13:19I 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

01:13:33But we almost need them

01:13:35My goodness, I 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 the butterflies or something like this

01:13:55It's almost impossible to describe in words the way I felt

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

01:14:02That title shot was supposed to be David's

01:14:04David passes away in Japan

01:14:07Now his brother comes and steps in

01:14:10And who does he have to, I mean, Ric Flair

01:14:13Prime Ric Flair

01:14:15Texas Stadium sold out

01:14:17The largest crowd ever to see wrestling anywhere in the world

01:14:22Is on hand here at Texas Stadium

01:14:23A history-making event

01:14:26Carrie Bonner in the state of Texas

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

01:14:38Carrie Bonner, probably the most beautiful ring jacket I've ever seen

01:14:41He wanted to, to make his dad proud

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

01:14:47To make sure that that Bonneric image was, you know, upheld

01:14:52This is it, here we go

01:14:55Watching that one

01:14:56Blair can't find the handle

01:14:58At my Papa Jody's house

01:15:01Carrie is rolling now

01:15:05It was like watching a Mike Dyson fight

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

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

01:15:31Carrie's got him, here's the Nelson 10

01:15:33Go, three

01:15:35The dream step two

01:15:37Yes!

01:15:42It's happened!

01:15:50Man, it gives you kind of, it gives you goosebumps thinking about it

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

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

01:16:01To have our guy, Carrie 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

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

01:16:25Prince there to greet Carrie, there's Mrs. Von Erich, Carrie's brother

01:16:31You 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

01:16:40Right upstairs looking down

01:16:42And just God bless him, man, because he saw everything I did

01:16:45And we're just so happy

01:16:47It was just one of the greatest moments, I think, in his history of wrestling

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

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

01:17:06That's a 360-day deal

01:17:09He goes from, David's dead

01:17:13You're the main event

01:17:15Promos, promos, promos

01:17:19And you can't just say, oh, we're taking a week off

01:17:23So, between that and losing his brother David

01:17:27That's when I started seeing a little bit more of the drug starting to come in

01:17:33Oh, Bill, there's so much going on inside my head

01:17:36I feel like I'm ready now

01:17:38I believe with all my heart

01:17:39I think before David's death, the drugs were under control

01:17:44Where it wasn't causing any problems for him

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

01:17:53Carrie Von Erich, the new world heavyweight champion

01:17:55I guess that's something we've all dreamed about

01:17:59That was the right call for Carrie to be world champion

01:18:02For that night, in that stadium

01:18:06Regardless of how it turned out, it was the right call

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

01:18:11He's got him, he's got him, and 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

01:18:23For the state of Texas, you know, for Dallas, for the Von Erich family

01:18:27For 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 Carrie, it didn't matter that he lost it so quickly

01:18:37Because 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, and 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, but Carrie took it

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

01:18:57And I think that just says something about their start

01:19:01Listen to this crowd roar, they're on their feet

01:19:06It's getting around that the Von Erichs, and world-class championship wrestling

01:19:10Is the number one sport in the world today

01:19:14World-class was just booming

01:19:18Line, dropkick, and there goes Michael Hayes

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

01:19:26We would have a replay of that at 6 at night

01:19:30Which was opposite of 60 Minutes

01:19:33Which was 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

01:19:46That, you know, Vince McMahon takes notice

01:19:48If there's one family that's dominant, and reigns supreme somewhat

01:19:52In the entire wrestling world, it would be the Von Erich family

01:19:55There was a meeting that took place in Dallas

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

01:20:04We'll go everywhere

01:20:05And at that time, they would even take 40%

01:20:08And we would be 60%

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

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

01:20:16We just did 47,000 people

01:20:19The wrestling family, which has made Dallas and Fort Worth

01:20:22One of the hottest spots in the sport, is still growing strong

01:20:24The people love the Von Erichs

01:20:27It's amazing, but wherever the Von Erichs go

01:20:29A crowd always follows

01:20:33Kerry, he was extremely popular

01:20:35People just loved him

01:20:37He was actually going to audition with Sylvester Stallone

01:20:40For Rocky IV

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

01:20:45But becoming famous at a really young age

01:20:48Can be difficult

01:20:53And that was pretty tough for me, as a wife

01:20:57Being 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, I would too

01:21:12I'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 Atkison getting buried

01:21:24Underneath 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

01:21:50That'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, is he 100%, is 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

01:22:09I don't care which one

01:22:12But when we get you in the ring, baby

01:22:13I 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

01:22:23You go tell someone that their son's got a problem

01:22:27I mentioned it one time and

01:22:29I got heat for it

01:22:31Not from Fritz, I'll just leave it at that

01:22:35My grandmother loved her boys so much

01:22:39And I love Mimi

01:22:41I 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, you know

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 first hand

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

01:23:14With making sure that train kept running down that track

01:23:17And we are still breaking attendance records

01:23:20Harry Von Erich literally having to push his way through

01:23:22Life was great

01:23:23Everybody thought it was going to last forever

01:23:27Wrong

01:23:30We had 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

01:24:01You know just playing outside

01:24:02But there's thousands of people watching

01:24:04So that's what's going to happen when they play with their brother

01:24:07In front of a bunch of people

01:24:11There was a time that we could all wrestle in any town

01:24:14And sell it out

01:24:15The 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, it 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, that's all

01:24:41There'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

01:25:01The doctor told him he just might never be able to go back into wrestling

01:25:05Dozens of searchers had 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

01:25:17I'd rather die than let you folks down

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

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