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#Biography: WWE Legends - Season 5 Episode 1 - The Curse of the Von Erichs, Part 1 #video #trending #viral #dailymotionlove
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00:00:22I think I had to grow up to realize that life 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 are those good ones too, you know,
00:00:38the laughing children. You remember being a little kid too, and it's just beautiful. I love life. Can't wait to
00:00:51wake up in the morning.
00:00:54So I 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 and a place to die.
00:01:03There was a time I thought life is too long, and now I think life is too short.
00:01:10Here comes the Von Eriks.
00:01:14You got to understand how big a star of the Von Eriks were in Texas.
00:01:17If you knew anything about professional wrestling, you knew who and what the Von Eriks were.
00:01:21The Von Eriks, the royal family of wrestling, with Father Fritz as the king of the ring and each of
00:01:28his sons waiting to take over the throne.
00:01:31Fritz had six kids.
00:01:32Each 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 Eriks.
00:01:41We began to really understand how important the Von Eriks were to the state of Texas.
00:01:46They were superheroes.
00:01:47The Von Eriks are a prime attraction.
00:01:50They were on their way to greatness until all the tragedy struck.
00:01:54At six years old, Uncle Jackie is just gone.
00:01:59David Von Eriks was found lying across his bed early this morning, as it's awfully hard to believe it could
00:02:03have been a heart attack.
00:02:05Michael Von Eriks remains in critical condition at Baylor Medical Center.
00:02:09Doctors say the restful have toxic shot syndrome.
00:02:12Investigators found a handwritten note.
00:02:14Mom and Dad, I'm in a better place.
00:02:18Gary Von Eriks was in an accident recently.
00:02:21This crumpled wreckage is all that's left.
00:02:23Some call it the curse of the iron claw.
00:02:25It doesn't get easier.
00:02:27Lord, please don't take any more of my children.
00:02:29Was it a curse? Was it just a series of tragic coincidences?
00:02:34Was it the pressure of the wrestling business, the pressure of family, the pressure of the fans?
00:02:39They did go through a lot of tragedy. It was made for movie.
00:02:42It's a new film. It's called The Iron Claw.
00:02:45Don't you dare question me.
00:02:46Great acting. Zac Efron did a phenomenal job.
00:02:49But it would have been nice if they had the real story.
00:02:53This one is a little different. I've never talked about the things I talked about.
00:02:56But I wanted it to be said.
00:03:00It might sound like the craziest story you ever heard, but I know it's true.
00:03:21There you go.
00:03:23When I'm out here with my grandkids, to me this is as good as it gets.
00:03:31Had I not been raised the way I was, maybe I'd be different, but that's just important to me.
00:03:37Oh, Benji!
00:03:39When I think about my youth and my time with my brothers, it was so great, so much fun we
00:03:46had then.
00:03:46And then my dad, he didn't have any idea what it was like to have brothers.
00:03:54You know, it's too bad, too, because he was an only child, and I can't imagine what that would like
00:04:01to be, being an only child.
00:04:08Fritz von Erich is my father. He was born Jack Atkinson in Jewett, Texas.
00:04:15He had a pretty rough life, I think. He was the only child, and my granddad was busy and didn't
00:04:21have a lot of time for him.
00:04:23My granddad didn't really pay any attention to my dad. It was like, if they weren't hunting, well, they weren't
00:04:28talking.
00:04:31Any stories I have about granddad being little are things that he told me.
00:04:36In their town, the dads would bet on their boys and have them fight in the woods.
00:04:41And when granddad would lose, his dad would just beat him in front of everyone.
00:04:49The one person that my granddad felt like loved him was his daddy Ross, his grandfather.
00:04:56And so daddy Ross lived a few hours away.
00:05:00And for granddad, that was his one source of, you know, love and encouragement.
00:05:05There was a guy in town who asked my granddad if, you know, he was maybe 12 or 13 years
00:05:12old, my granddad was at the time.
00:05:14And he said, you know, Jack, if you want a ride, I'll give you a ride.
00:05:18You can ride in my truck with me and I go out there every weekend. I'd be happy to take
00:05:22you.
00:05:22And granddad was so excited to take that chance.
00:05:28The man drove him in the truck on the way there.
00:05:32The man molested my granddad.
00:05:38My granddad said, I wanted to see daddy Ross so bad that I let that happen every couple of weeks,
00:05:44you know, to go see daddy Ross and it was worth it.
00:05:47So that, that, you know, broke my heart whenever he told me about that.
00:05:52That he was, um, molested as a little boy.
00:05:57I didn't know that.
00:06:00There are things he didn't tell me, but he did tell Kristen.
00:06:03It's just really, I guess he had no reason to tell me.
00:06:07I didn't need to know, I suppose.
00:06:09Kind of surprising.
00:06:15I think that granddad had felt invisible for a large part of his childhood and recognized that the best way
00:06:27to get people to notice him was his athletic ability, his size.
00:06:34And so he went to college and he actually had a scholarship for football and he threw discus at SMU.
00:06:42Here you were at SMU with a scholarship and you met this young lady named Doris.
00:06:48At the time that my grandparents met, they loved each other so much.
00:06:54And Mimi, she wasn't going to let this boy go, you know, like this was a boy that was going
00:06:59places.
00:07:00And, uh, you eventually married Doris, but what did that cost you?
00:07:04You mean up to an hour at the end?
00:07:06At that time.
00:07:08Well, it, it cost me my scholarship.
00:07:10When I started as a freshman at SMU, they put a non-marriage rule in that any freshman that came
00:07:15in from then on at that time and later, if they got married, they lost their scholarship.
00:07:19So, because you married?
00:07:20I didn't think they meant me. I was too great.
00:07:23Uh-huh. And you lost the scholarship?
00:07:24Yes, sir. Just to convince it, brother, that's what happened.
00:07:28All this time went on, uh, I had a wife and a young baby on the way and, uh, I
00:07:34really didn't, didn't know what I was going to do yet.
00:07:42He tried lots of jobs. He was a detective and a bus driver.
00:07:49Ed Stranger-Lewis, belonging to Ole Ed, was one of the greatest all-time wrestlers I guess there ever was.
00:07:54I said, French, you got a big name at SMU.
00:07:56He said, man, we can train you for about six months, put you in that sport term, you'll sell that
00:08:00building out.
00:08:01And when he mentioned how much money I was going to make, partner, I mean to tell you, he got
00:08:04my attention.
00:08:05Yes.
00:08:05He said, you're liable to make $20,000 or $25,000 your first year in the business. Man, I'll belong
00:08:11to him after that.
00:08:12That's when my dad started professional wrestling.
00:08:15Jack Atkinson of Dallas, 251-pounder. Atkinson is the tall boy on the right.
00:08:22So Jack Atkinson started off as a local hero, football player from SMU, but he set out to travel far
00:08:28and wide to really make this his full-time career.
00:08:31In wrestling, there's no middle ground. You either want the people to love you or to hate you.
00:08:39People love to cheer for the good guy and boo the bad guy.
00:08:42I think he was really smart in seeing the opportunity there to be a memorable heel, a bad guy.
00:08:53And so that's what my dad did. He thought, well, the most detestable person I can think of would be
00:08:58a Nazi.
00:08:59He changed his name to Fritz von Erich, basically the most German name he could think of.
00:09:06From Berlin, Germany, Fritz von Erich.
00:09:10And there was a lot of potential in that character.
00:09:14Well, he is rough and tough and nasty.
00:09:16Growing up as a fan, if you watch TV, you knew Fritz.
00:09:19This guy is just vicious.
00:09:21He just looked the part of a villain and he played the part of a villain, unbelievably.
00:09:26Fritz von Erich, then the master of the Iron Claw.
00:09:28The Iron Claw was Fritz's infamous finishing hold, where he would take his big mitts and just wrap it around
00:09:35the skull and just squeeze until sometimes until blood came out or until they gave up.
00:09:42That character was beneficial for his family, and he was a family man. He wanted Jackie to have everything and
00:09:48his wife to be taken care of.
00:09:56Granddad, what year were you born?
00:10:00Um, 1957.
00:10:04Oh, that is, so that's daddy, right?
00:10:07Oh, okay.
00:10:08Okay, so Uncle Jackie and you.
00:10:10Yeah.
00:10:11By 1957, it was just the two of us, me, Jackie, and my mom and dad.
00:10:19My mother loved her children. She loved me and Jackie so much. My mother was so full of love, and
00:10:27my dad loved her. We were happy and jovial, and it was a great time.
00:10:33There you are. Look at that cute baby.
00:10:36That's me, Jackie. He was my big brother.
00:10:41He kissed me.
00:10:42He loves you.
00:10:44Oh, Jackie.
00:10:46He had the best personality. He was funny.
00:10:51Like he's trying to make you laugh.
00:10:55That big brother stuff.
00:10:56Oh.
00:10:59It was in 1959, up in Niagara Falls.
00:11:03We didn't have money back then. We lived in a trailer house, and one day Jackie wanted to go play,
00:11:11and my mother was busy.
00:11:13And so she said, yeah, go play.
00:11:16Uncle Jackie asked if he could go to his friend's house, a couple of mobile homes down.
00:11:22And Mimi said, yes, just go ahead. You can come home for lunch, but yes, go.
00:11:29Later on, Mimi called her friend, and they chatted for a few minutes, and then she said, um, you can
00:11:37send Jackie home. Thank you so much for having him.
00:11:40And her friend said, well, Jackie's not here.
00:11:44Mimi said her heart dropped. She immediately knew something was wrong.
00:11:55That day, Mimi was cleaning, and it was cold outside, and when she called her friend and said, hey, will
00:12:04you please send Jackie home?
00:12:06She said, Jackie never came over. I mean, as a mother, when you say, when you hear that, that's, I
00:12:15just can't imagine.
00:12:19Mimi dropped the phone and just ran outside looking, screaming his name.
00:12:27And they couldn't find him.
00:12:29So everybody in the little town was looking for him.
00:12:34Eventually, the neighbors say, just go home and wait. Go home and wait.
00:12:38And we're looking. Cops are on their way.
00:12:41So Mimi goes home.
00:12:43So an officer knocked on the door.
00:12:46When she opened it, he said, we found him.
00:12:53But she said his countenance didn't match his words.
00:12:57And she was just like, okay, give him to me, give him to me.
00:13:00But she said there was this siren in her mind, like, why is this, why is he not happy?
00:13:05Why does his face not match what I'm hearing?
00:13:08And he just, you know, said we found him.
00:13:11And Mimi said that she, like, he went to hug her and she just punched him in the chest over
00:13:17and over and screamed and cried.
00:13:23At six years old, he was just gone.
00:13:27Just like that.
00:13:30What happened was, in this mobile home park, someone had a little trailer or equipment room or something that had
00:13:38the sheet metal siding.
00:13:40And so he was walking by, rubbing his finger along it.
00:13:44And he touched a spot where the skin on the trailer had been electrified.
00:13:50The guy had wired his trailer wrong.
00:13:53He touched it, it knocked him out.
00:13:56He was face down on the ground.
00:13:59Some snow had melted, so his face was in a puddle.
00:14:03And I think the actual cause of death was drowning.
00:14:08And then whenever Granddad finally did get home, I cannot even imagine, but just holding that news, and then he
00:14:17comes home and you say, here's what happened today.
00:14:22My dad came home and punched the car window and broke the glass, and it was such a terrible time.
00:14:31Losing Jackie, our first baby, was a terrible blow to me.
00:14:39Listening to her tell that story made me realize, oh, she changed at that point.
00:14:49She had an anger towards God.
00:14:52God, if you're real, why did you let my little boy die?
00:14:56She loved him, but she felt like, almost like, but God owed her one for letting her baby be taken.
00:15:05And at the time, Granddad blamed himself for being gone.
00:15:10Mimi blamed herself too, but she also blamed Granddad for being gone.
00:15:15So I think that sort of cumulatively, as time went on, that, you know, anger, that resentment sort of just
00:15:24built upon itself.
00:15:32Anyone that loses a child, there's no pain and no hurt anyone can ever go through unless you lose one
00:15:38of your children.
00:15:39How did you feel about God at that time?
00:15:41I didn't have a Lord at the time.
00:15:44I didn't know he was there.
00:15:45I didn't think he was there.
00:15:47I just turned.
00:15:47I said, Lord, if you were there, if you were getting me back to Texas, I said, I will follow
00:15:52you the rest of my life.
00:15:54He got me back to Texas.
00:15:56It took a long time and I walked in a straight line.
00:15:58We went like this, but we got there.
00:16:03After Uncle Jackie died, Granddad, when he had the opportunity to wrestle in Dallas regularly or in Texas, I think
00:16:11that they wanted to pursue that for sure, because it meant that they could, you know, be together more and
00:16:18wouldn't have to be separate.
00:16:20So my grandparents and my dad, they moved back to Texas.
00:16:32Oh, wow.
00:16:33There's a ranch.
00:16:34That's where your great uncles grew up.
00:16:37Oh, wow.
00:16:39So after I was born, my mother had four kids, all boys.
00:16:44Dave was born in 1958, Carrie in 1960.
00:16:49Mike was born in 1964.
00:16:53And then Chris was born in 1969.
00:16:56Look at Uncle Chris.
00:16:57There's Chris.
00:17:00My little brothers thought the world of me and I was really protective of them and I just fell into
00:17:06the job.
00:17:07That was me and my big brother and I loved my brothers.
00:17:12Look at you and Uncle Dave, Daddy.
00:17:14Yeah, skinny Dave.
00:17:16We always hunted and fished and spent time together.
00:17:23Oh, what great memories we had.
00:17:26We all had horses.
00:17:27We rode horses everywhere.
00:17:29Didn't everyone have their own motorcycle and their own dog?
00:17:31Yeah, we sure did.
00:17:33And our own BB gun.
00:17:34And that's what we did all day.
00:17:37There's Carrie with his first .22.
00:17:39Carrie and I grew up together at their house out there in their ranch.
00:17:44It was like Disneyland.
00:17:47We're shorts and barefooted and no shirt all through summer.
00:17:51So that type of stuff.
00:17:53Oh, that was me.
00:17:53That's a flip.
00:17:54Really?
00:17:55It was a twist and flip.
00:17:55You never told me you could do a.
00:17:57Oh, yeah.
00:17:58A backflip or an 80.
00:17:59I said to my dad one day, Dad, what should I do for a living, huh?
00:18:03I like to brag and I'm going to show off.
00:18:05He said, you might want to try pro wrestling, son.
00:18:10After Uncle Jackie passed away, Mimi and Granddad 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, my Mimi was unbelievably strong.
00:18:44I mean, she had to, she had to keep it together.
00:18:48To lose a six year old is, how do you go on?
00:18:51And whatever she did, I think she did it right.
00:18:53I just think it's amazing that both of them had this mentality to hold it all together like that, both
00:19:04of them.
00:19:07Tell me about raising the boys.
00:19:09The greatest memories I have in my life is raising those youngies.
00:19:12Gosh, it was fun.
00:19:13I wish I could do it again.
00:19:14I think that my dad learned a lot from his youth.
00:19:18Even though his father didn't, wasn't around, he learned from that.
00:19:23He's going to 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 have a minute of it.
00:19:30That may be the difference to a lot of folks.
00:19:32They don't love it.
00:19:33A lot of the home movies that we have, you can hear Granddad talking.
00:19:37He's narrating the whole thing and 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 did, that wanted to spend time with his kids.
00:19:52In the history of wrestling, who would you say is 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 is going to be there?
00:20:02I would say Fritz Von Erich.
00:20:03Right.
00:20:04There's no doubt about that.
00:20:05The most winning wrestler, the wrestler that's drawn the most money in the world today,
00:20:08has got to be Fritz Von Erich.
00:20:09At the time, Fritz.
00:20:11He just became an idol around here in Dallas, Whitworth area.
00:20:17Fritz Von Erich, by his own admission, the world's greatest wrestler.
00:20:22People in Texas love Fritz Von Erich.
00:20:24I mean, that guy could have been king of Texas.
00:20:26I remember Coach Landry and guys from the Cowboys would call my dad for advice,
00:20:31and I just never really dawned on me how important he was.
00:20:36Not just Texas, but all over, all over the world.
00:20:41My dad was a big star in Japan, and he took each one of us.
00:20:47Kevin was the first one of my sons to go on the trip.
00:20:50I don't think Kevin even had any idea what to expect when he got there.
00:20:57The first time I went with him, I looked out the window and there were all these photographers,
00:21:04like so many, at least a hundred photographers.
00:21:08I said, Dad, there's some kind of movie store.
00:21:11You should see all the photographers outside.
00:21:14And my dad, that's who they were there to see.
00:21:16I couldn't believe it.
00:21:18But they just wanted to see us.
00:21:19They wanted to see the guy with the iron glow.
00:21:23Kids, you know, just like any other little fella out there,
00:21:26we wanted to be just like our dads.
00:21:27I guess all of y'all are the same way.
00:21:29Sure.
00:21:30And, you know, so we tried extra hard to...
00:21:33I guess, you know, the young kids are just that way.
00:21:35Anything my dad did, you know, he was like, we just wanted to be like him.
00:21:40Someone with Jack Atkinson's mindset, he wants to conquer the world.
00:21:44And by this time, you know, he knew how the business of pro wrestling worked.
00:21:49And I think he probably just thought, if I'm going to make a go of this,
00:21:52if it's worth my time to be a wrestler, it'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, and Fritz then used that opportunity to exert his power
00:22:07and to kind of take over the booking of the Texas territory and all of the Texas towns.
00:22:14Nobody realizes it at the time, but the path for the Von Erich boys is being set here.
00:22:21And in a lot of ways, that would be a shadow over the family forever.
00:22:30All of my brothers were in sports.
00:22:33Me, Dave, Kerry, Mike, we're all athletes, and we were good at it.
00:22:39But with Chris, he had asthma and had to take medicine for it.
00:22:44And it stunted his growth, and he couldn't breathe.
00:22:50He really couldn't get enough air to 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, we just had a gift for it.
00:23:03Kevin, I mean, in high school, he really loved football, man.
00:23:08Nobody could tackle him.
00:23:10He'd just run over everybody, you know?
00:23:12So there's one game he averaged like 21 yards a carry.
00:23:16When Dad would come to the football games, it'd be a touchdown or something.
00:23:20And I'd look up in the audience, and I'd see his hands do this.
00:23:24And that's all I cared about.
00:23:26That's all I wanted to see was how he felt about it.
00:23:29David was 6'7", so he was a great basketball player.
00:23:33In Lake Dallas, the only All-State athlete that that school has ever had were my sons.
00:23:38David's All-State in basketball two consecutive years.
00:23:42But the kids, I've been very proud of them.
00:23:47It was kind of cool.
00:23:49David and Kevin both got scholarships to North Texas,
00:23:52which when North Texas was really a Division I, you know, powerhouse,
00:23:57Kevin went first, and then David went the next year and played basketball and football.
00:24:03I went to college to play football.
00:24:05I didn't care about my degree or anything like that.
00:24:09I loved football, and that's all I could think about.
00:24:12It was his freshman year.
00:24:14I was there when Kerry went to watch the game in Denton at North Texas.
00:24:18And I think somebody got blocked into him, his own man or something, and just tore his ACL,
00:24:24you know, just one of the worst things.
00:24:26And he came back with a vengeance, and I'll be dadgum if he didn't hurt the other one his sophomore
00:24:32year.
00:24:33With my knees out, I could tell it took something from my quickness.
00:24:39Football wasn't as much fun to me.
00:24:42And so it was just a matter of time before I quit playing it.
00:24:47It was over.
00:24:49Not a time to make a living.
00:24:51So I dropped out of college, and I gave wrestling a try.
00:24:58Kevin Von Erich was the oldest son and the first to give pro wrestling a shot.
00:25:03When he decided to get in, he 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, what'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, and 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, and football's loss became professional wrestling's game.
00:25:43In fact, when I started out wrestling, we had to change buildings because the crowd was getting bigger.
00:25:50From the Will Rogers complex in Fort Worth, here's Saturday Night Wrestling.
00:25:54There was the writing on the wall, I could never make this kind of money cleaning catfish and washing dishes.
00:26:02Meanwhile, David starts to take notice of what his brother Kevin was doing out there in the wrestling ring.
00:26:08So even as a college student, he begins to dabble in his dad's business as well.
00:26:13David Von Erich, high school All-Stater in basketball.
00:26:16Dave loved basketball.
00:26:19When Dave got his first wrestling paycheck.
00:26:23Oh, that's Mr. Wilkinson board.
00:26:26He thought, goodbye basketball.
00:26:29Introducing from Denton, Texas, weighing 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, a suplex, lifts race, suplex by David Von Erich.
00:26:49David had all the tools. David was a natural.
00:26:52It has been simply all David Von Erich who has dominated Harley Race.
00:26:5718 years old, he had his first sellout.
00:27:01That's pretty young to sell out a building like he did. David Harley Race.
00:27:05Oh, he caught him in the claw. He caught Race in the claw. That's it.
00:27:12David Von Erich.
00:27:15I've known his old man for a long time.
00:27:20He's legend.
00:27:21And this kid right here is not damn far behind.
00:27:34Dave and I were pro wrestlers now.
00:27:38My dad, he never really wanted us to wrestle.
00:27:41He really doesn't.
00:27:42He wanted us to go to college and 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 thing to ever know.
00:27:54My dad was a pro wrestler, and 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 or 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.
00:28:08Over the top and 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.
00:28:19That'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.
00:28:28Coming 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.
00:28:35Oh!
00:28:36The oldest brother wrestled, so the younger brother wanted to wrestle.
00:28:39And my grandmother, she said whatever they did, my granddad made him do it 110%.
00:28:47So he did give them a choice, but 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, a man by the name of Fritz Von Erich.
00:29:12Our ambition in life is to live up to his name and to do as well as he's done in
00:29:16this sport.
00:29:18We have a family, and we're a family, and we did it for the family.
00:29:23And 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 he wanted 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,
00:30:02man, I don't want to be on the road as much.
00:30:04It makes it hard.
00:30:05He was so excited about the cruise.
00:30:07I'll never forget.
00:30:08They were going on a cruise.
00:30:09They 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.
00:30:20They 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.
00:30:37I mean, how does a child just, you know...
00:30:40Back 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,
00:31:03and they ended up getting a divorce.
00:31:05It was tough.
00:31:06You know, nobody...
00:31:07Nobody wants to bury their kids.
00:31:11Jack Jr., Fritz's firstborn son, had died.
00:31:14And then Jack's first grandchild dies of SIDS.
00:31:20I don't know at that point if you start thinking in terms of a curse,
00:31:24but it really does seem like there's a bad moon hanging over this family.
00:31:32On my lap, the sensational Von Erich brothers, David and Kevin.
00:31:40Dave and I were on the road a lot.
00:31:42Off the ropes and a big dropkick!
00:31:45We were performing, and so we weren't home like Carrie was.
00:31:51At home, when Carrie was the big brother, and Dave and I were out,
00:31:57Carrie was a lot more permissive than Dave and I were.
00:32:01Carrie was that way with Mike and Chris, and he'd let things go.
00:32:05Things like drinking, staying out.
00:32:09Dave and I would have never let that go.
00:32:13Carrie was all about fun.
00:32:16Everybody loved him, and he was so good inside.
00:32:19He just wanted to make you laugh.
00:32:22Carrie was pleasant all the time, laughing and joking,
00:32:27playing ribs constantly.
00:32:30But also, Carrie was really an elite athlete.
00:32:35The Von Erichs were all athletes, but my brother Carrie was gifted.
00:32:43In fact, Carrie was offered a full-rod scholarship at University of Texas to play football.
00:32:50And Carrie, I heard him say it. I was sitting right there and said,
00:32:53I don't want, I don't really like football, Coach. I don't think I want to do that. I'll throw the
00:32:58discus.
00:33:00He was number one in the nation when we were seniors in the discus.
00:33:06I'll tell you what, folks, every day my mother was out there lugging four or five discus that weighed four
00:33:12pounds apiece,
00:33:14throwing them back to me every day. And if she couldn't throw it that far, she'd run it in that
00:33:18far.
00:33:18But my mother was there every, every workout.
00:33:21And he wound up throwing the discus, but for the University of Houston.
00:33:26Tom Tellez was the University of Houston coach. He was the Olympic coach.
00:33:30So that's another reason Carrie went to Houston.
00:33:32He was really wanting to go to the tryout for the 1980 Olympics, and then they boycotted it.
00:33:40Carrie said, I don't want to wait until 1984. That's four, five years away, basically, nearly. And he, he wanted
00:33:47to leave college.
00:33:49So that's when Carrie came back home.
00:33:52And I knew Carrie from his younger brother, Mike, because Mike and I were in, in class together since third
00:34:01grade.
00:34:02And so Mike was the strongest male athlete in school, and I was the strongest female athlete in school.
00:34:11So we used to get all the awards together and things like that.
00:34:15So Mike and I were best friends.
00:34:18One day, Mike said to Carrie, can I have a party?
00:34:22And Carrie said, only if you invite Kathy Murray.
00:34:26Carrie 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, and you're so young, and it's your first.
00:34:39And so that was really powerful for me.
00:34:44Hi, Dad.
00:34:47Hey, Kim, get your shot here.
00:34:50My dad and my mom, what a beautiful love story they have.
00:34:55My mom adores my dad, and my dad loves and treasures my mom.
00:35:00I got married in 1980.
00:35:03My sweet Pam.
00:35:04I've been so happy with her, we've been married 45 years.
00:35:11I mean, yes, it probably was scary to her to see, this is a semi-famous family, they're all wrestlers.
00:35:18But I think when she saw what a beautiful family they were behind closed doors, and she wanted to be
00:35:24a part of that, and they cherished her.
00:35:27And she said she had always prayed, I want to marry a godly man.
00:35:31That'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, you know.
00:35:40Here's what they're waiting for.
00:35:42Kevin Von Erich, David Von Erich.
00:35:44Kevin and Dave, I mean, the story was already of the Von Erichs.
00:35:48They were drawing everywhere they go.
00:35:50And look at this pin of podium!
00:35:53But the other thing was, it was, it was eating on Kerry.
00:35:58Kerry saw that, and was just thinking, wow, this is a really big deal.
00:36:04Kerry wanted to wrestle, but Fritz wanted him to finish college.
00:36:08Kerry was adamant.
00:36:09Matter of fact, Kerry 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 Kerry Von Erich as he makes his way to the ring.
00:36:27After the Olympics, I don't really know that he ever thought of doing anything else.
00:36:35Kerry just had this innate ability of this charisma.
00:36:39Some guys just walk into a room and have this light come on.
00:36:42Kerry Von Erich, listen to the crowd!
00:36:45Kerry! Kerry!
00:36:47Now you got Kevin, Dave, and Kerry, so three Von Erichs on the corner.
00:36:51They had the look, they had the feel, and they could work.
00:36:55Dave was the best worker of all of them.
00:36:56The head scissors!
00:36:57Kerry had the good looks and the charisma.
00:37:00Look at Kerry, 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 Kerry, 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, we'd one town have Kerry, one town have me, one town have Dave, and the
00:37:28houses were all good, you know, they're all sellouts.
00:37:31They were great.
00:37:32Listen to this crowd roar, they're on their feet!
00:37:34It was like a fairy tale for two, three years, and they're on.
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.
00:37:52Kerry Von Erich, as his brother David and Kevin, have almost a religious responsibility to learn the art of wrestling
00:38:00from their father since they were small children.
00:38:02Winning something our dad instilled in us a long time ago, and 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.
00:38:25But, I think for Kevin, and then David, and then Kerry, 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, Fritz basically said,
00:38:36Well, if they're all in, let's make the most of it.
00:38:41Fantastic!
00:38:42What excitement!
00:38:44There's just nothing like it in the whole world!
00:38:48They would come out through the crowd to different songs.
00:38:52It would look 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.
00:39:19And it was a rock show.
00:39:21You watched the other matches, they were all good.
00:39:23But 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 a hold of Kerry.
00:39:36That's gonna kiss.
00:39:37Boy, she's lucky, isn't she?
00:39:38It was just a spectacle any time that they would come to the ring.
00:39:42Every match that you'll see tonight is 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 Erics.
00:39:58Sportatorium is the greatest building in the world.
00:40:00Atmosphere personified.
00:40:01This crowd is the world!
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.
00:40:14I bragged to my friends for weeks.
00:40:19Bro, I saw the Von Erics live.
00:40:22Watch this!
00:40:26It wasn't your daddy's wrestling anymore.
00:40:28They changed the demographic and I think also the show on TV was completely different.
00:40:35Hi, I'm Kerry Von Erics and this is my dog Shay.
00:40:39For several weeks now, we've been telling you about the changes in 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, they climb up on the ring.
00:40:53I'll never forget it.
00:40:54Fritz sat 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.
00:41:04It's cable TV.
00:41:05And we were like, what is that?
00:41:06You know, when we first started syndication, we had 10 or 12 markets and then we got 20.
00:41:11Pretty soon we were in 47 markets.
00:41:13When 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 Erics and how important the Von Erics were to the state
00:41:23of Texas.
00:41:25You know, I would watch KTTV, Channel 11 in my dorm.
00:41:29It was absolutely amazing.
00:41:31Three, Kerry Von Erics wins the box!
00:41:34The rock concert atmosphere, the sportatorium craze, the way they looked on TV.
00:41:40All of this combined to make the Von Erics the hottest thing in all of Texas.
00:41:46The Von Erics 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, it 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 because he didn't
00:42:05have the helmet and the number on.
00:42:06To where with wrestling, you know, there they were right there in your living room every Saturday night doing an
00:42:11interview right in your face.
00:42:13Yeah, 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 they were pretty popular in terms of what we
00:42:23would talk about in the locker room.
00:42:25There was two things that were big in Texas. It was football and the Von Erics.
00:42:28It wasn't football and wrestling. It was football and the Von Erics.
00:42:32I think what really made the Von Erics more popular than a lot of other great babyfaces around the country
00:42:39was you saw them grow up.
00:42:41And everybody felt like, almost like, they're part of the life. They're part of what's happening to them.
00:42:47They really come behind us. They were like their kids and they're like all parents and all the young kids
00:42:51around and everything else.
00:42:52They're really nice to us here. So we love it.
00:42:55They're part of us. We took an ownership of the Von Erics boys. These 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. I went to cliff diving on Acapulco a couple of weeks ago.
00:43:07I like to write poems. I like to ride horses. I like to fish.
00:43:13Kevin and I have just gotten into a little bit of skydiving. We've been doing that for about two months
00:43:18now.
00:43:19We weren't big shots. We acted like we were your big brother.
00:43:22Your son, your grandson, your uncle, your cousin. Von Erics was the name Dad gave me and I'm proud to
00:43:29have it.
00:43:30It was so important to be a good role model. Be respectful. My Dad was like that.
00:43:36I didn't think any of them were presumptuous about who they were or ever even said, hey, do you know
00:43:43who I am?
00:43:43Or, hey, I'm this. I'm that now. No.
00:43:47I think that's Fritz teaching them, hey, you're somebody, but you're nobody. The people make you who you are.
00:43:54With my brothers and I, if we lose a fight, the people are right there.
00:43:58They're cheering for us just as loud as if we lose, because they want us to know that they're behind
00:44:03us all the way.
00:44:05It was just a great life, you know.
00:44:09I can remember the three of us just being young and getting in the car and head up to Oklahoma
00:44:14for spot shows or down in the middle of Texas for spot shows.
00:44:17We were kids. Everything was fun. Everybody was our friend. The police all knew us. We all liked each other.
00:44:26It just kind of spoils you because you can get in your car. All you gotta do is take your
00:44:30boots and your trunks and go to another town and make a living.
00:44:34Swim in the rivers all the way up and all the way back and just laugh the whole time.
00:44:41Man, that was fun. Just me and my brothers.
00:44:46The greatest name in professional wrestling today, the Von Erics, have been for years.
00:44:51Today, the allegiance of a lot of wrestling fans belongs to the Von Erics, to Father Fritz and his three
00:44:56wrestling sons.
00:44:57And there are still two more Von Erics waiting to jump into the ring, Mike and Chris.
00:45:04Right now, the Von Erics are a prime attraction, a 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 is the
00:45:18family.
00:45:18You talk about Fritz. Family man, businessman. His business is his family. They're your meal ticket right now.
00:45:27The dramatic arrival of the Von Erics as hundreds of youngsters come to the ring, seeking autographs, their pictures.
00:45:34But there's this just constant demand. The feeling that, like, if we let anything slip, then this could all come
00:45:40crashing 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.
00:45:54Good evening and welcome to the world-famous Sportatorium, the home of world-class championship wrestling.
00:46:00I'd come down right here. Always meet people here, you know, and hanging their arms out.
00:46:06I've got scars all over my shoulder for the girls scratching like this. You should see my shoulders.
00:46:11Kevin Von Erich, 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, he was an entertainer.
00:46:31But as a person, he was a pretty simple guy.
00:46:33You know, like, he just wanted to have that sort of isolation, that sort of getting away from everything else.
00:46:40You're working nearly every night. This must be a great way to just take some edge off.
00:46:45Oh, man, you're right, brother.
00:46:46I'd probably crack up if I didn't have the country to come out to.
00:46:50I don't get off on disco dancing, and this is really where I'm at. This is 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, once Pam had Kristen, well, my priorities changed, and wrestling became work.
00:47:11I don't think wrestling was the number one priority for Kevin anymore.
00:47:16He's obligated to do the wrestling. He wanted to do the family thing.
00:47:20He would show up at the matches. He would leave immediately.
00:47:24You know, he didn't hang around and go home and be dad.
00:47:27And then also, my life went from loving my dog and my 22 to that baby.
00:47:33And Pam, my queen, that gave me that baby. I had somebody to protect.
00:47:39Kristen, give me your...
00:47:41Be alone, you pretty girl.
00:47:45My father, big, mean, tough, Fritz.
00:47:49He loved being a grandfather.
00:47:52Kristen and him were like that.
00:47:54Come here.
00:47:59My granddad was one of the best men that I've ever met.
00:48:07My baby girl.
00:48:08He was just the epitome of safety for us.
00:48:14Now, that's what I call pretty, pretty, pretty.
00:48:18Now, me, always have one of your pretty pretty's.
00:48:22Mimi was also so loving.
00:48:25And my grandparents did a really good job of making us feel like we were all a community.
00:48:32And we had each other.
00:48:33Look at me, question.
00:48:34I love you, good daddy.
00:48:36I love you, good daddy.
00:48:38The first time I realized that there was something maybe different about our family,
00:48:42we 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 of I 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.
00:49:12And don't they know how boring my dad is and how boring my uncles are?
00:49:16Like, why do they think it's so cool?
00:49:18Well, you never realized what kind of rock stars these kids, these kids had become.
00:49:25And here they come, the trio of wrestling personified.
00:49:30Everybody wanted to see the Von Erics, but they needed a nemesis.
00:49:34You know, and when the Freebirds came in, that's when wrestling just blew up.
00:49:39Michael Hayes and Terry Gordy, Buddy 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.
00:49:53When it comes to notorious bad motherfuckers that you love to hate, that'd be us.
00:50:03If we gotta run over the Von Erics, we'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, which is something you don't know.
00:50:17It kind of became like a college football rivalry, in a sense, Georgia versus Texas.
00:50:24This war is not between Texas and Georgia. It's between decency and filth.
00:50:31It was like setting a nuclear bomb off in the state of Texas. I've never seen anything like it.
00:50:37We're gonna say thanks to the people of Dallas, Texas, because it's the biggest cloud ever to be in the
00:50:40sportatorium.
00:50:41Shows that used to, on a Saturday night, do 500 people.
00:50:45All of a sudden, we were doing 8,000 just packed for the walls.
00:50:50And 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.
00:51:06But there was a respect between us that really made it work, too.
00:51:13You're supposed to make a match.
00:51:15That's your job. And, of course, the fans ate it up.
00:51:19The whole family sticks together. That's been their motto and their creed.
00:51:23For two hours or three hours, they got to cheer for the good.
00:51:26It's not just Arwen. It's all of Arwen!
00:51:28And boo the evil. And that's what wrestling is.
00:51:32I get so wrecked up, and 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 would ride down there every Friday night.
00:51:43I was there watching the Von Erickson, the Freedmen Birds go at it.
00:51:47You could see those TV ratings shooting up.
00:51:49And all we had to do was keep doing what we were doing, just make it a little more dangerous
00:51:53and a little more reckless.
00:51:54This looks like it's going to be a wild plug fest. Whoop 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.
00:52:05And that's what Texans love so much about it. People 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
00:52:15doing it.
00:52:16I gave people real entertainment. Some of my brothers.
00:52:20I mean, they were really into it. Really, really believed that what we were doing was real.
00:52:28Kevin 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.
00:52:39And 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, struggling.
00:52:59You can break a bone and keep going.
00:53:02Boy's got a broken nose.
00:53:04Hey.
00:53:06When you're right, you win every time.
00:53:07This doesn't hurt a bit. There's plenty more...
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. I've got broken ribs.
00:53:18My elbows have been both dislocated.
00:53:21My shoulder, my knee operations, a tooth knocked out from Michael Hayes' boot.
00:53:25We used to take injections, xylacaine, marcaine, procaine.
00:53:30But they're not drugs. They 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, I 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, but I have to say that I took a
00:53:53healthy 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, I want
00:54:04it.
00:54:05But I don't want anything made by man.
00:54:08And here comes the modern day warrior, Carrie Von Erich.
00:54:13For Carrie, the business was becoming very taxing on the body in general,
00:54:20with the amount of time in the gym and pumping iron and 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 and 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?
00:54:48You 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,
00:54:56who 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.
00:55:04Well, 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.
00:55:18It'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 and keeping up with the image that was so important to the Von Ericks.
00:55:59Dave was the only one of all of us that liked strong liquor, had a bottle of it in his
00:56:05bag.
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.
00:56:16I 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, you know, 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.
00:56:41A proctologist, I guess it was.
00:56:43They told Dave to lean against this little wall thing.
00:56:46They put his elbows down, strapped him in, strapped his elbow here in his knees.
00:56:53And Dave got mad.
00:56:55The doc hit a switch and Dave was butt up.
00:56:59And he was furious.
00:57:02He said, absolutely not.
00:57:05I'll tear this place down.
00:57:07And he had to unstrap Dave and let him go.
00:57:10But if they would have done the examination, I 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 and especially coming up in
00:57:29the Atkinson household,
00:57:30you maybe you're just taught to rub some dirt on it, you know, because he wasn't being treated for it.
00:57:37He started turning to painkillers.
00:57:40One time he'd showed up on Quaaludes, you know.
00:57:47You know, when you can't talk and you're slurring your words, that's when it becomes bad.
00:57:53I've seen him where he's a puddle in the middle of the floor and he's supposed to be going to
00:57:56the ring.
00:57:57And, you know, so you got to 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 Dave had an opioid problem.
00:58:11He was addicted to pills.
00:58:13And, boy, I know Fritz was just irate about it.
00:58:17You're doing your fans a disservice any time you get out of line because you are an image to them
00:58:21that they want to live up to.
00:58:23And so many pro athletes, you know what I'm talking about, man, they have no use for their fans.
00:58:29Their fans is what made them.
00:58:31It's what made us.
00:58:31And we need to always be aware of the responsibility that goes with them.
00:58:38Image was really important to Granddad.
00:58:41But Mimi was, I think, more concerned about family image and reputation than did Granddad was.
00:58:54She 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 dealing with the public, dealing with the news.
00:59:24Several thousand waiting in line for hours to see the famous wrestling Von Erich.
00:59:30It was fun though.
00:59:33Everywhere you went, you were treated like you were royalty.
00:59:37We get endorsements through wrestling and so we get free cars from these dealerships.
00:59:43They were top stars.
00:59:45And Mike and Chris always looked up to them and they were like, if they can do it, I can
00:59:51do it.
00:59:52Mike 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.
01:00:00I've seen the debut of all these guys, Kevin, David, Kerry, and now they debut in just a few minutes
01:00:06of 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, but 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.
01:00:27Mike'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 stiffer, yeah.
01:00:33Oh, that's an excellent one.
01:00:34I'm going to fall right here.
01:00:35And now I got his leg.
01:00:37Oh, yeah.
01:00:37I go nowhere.
01:00:39And here he comes, Mike Von Erich.
01:00:44He has not only his own career to think about, but of course he's upholding the honor of the Von
01:00:51Erich 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.
01:00:58I get to come along.
01:00:59I'm the baby brother, and we're going to have a good time together.
01:01:01You know, and they did.
01:01:03You know, a lot of people think that Von Erich is 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.
01:01:10We're going to take those free birds.
01:01:11Oh, look at that move!
01:01:13At this point, the Von Erichs and the free birds, our story was so high.
01:01:25That it was time to take it to a stadium, which was unheard of back then.
01:01:32We were doing the six-man tag team championship, which at that time would have now been Kevin, Carrie, and
01:01:37Mike against the birds.
01:01:40Now, if the free birds think they can beat us, go ahead and come on with it all you got.
01:01:44And then the main event was going to be Flair versus David for 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!
01:02:01But 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. Dave had that ashen look about him, you know, white look. His eyebrows
01:02:34would get white.
01:02:38And so, Marty 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 bats on it. There's Kathy. And Uncle Chris. There's Chris.
01:03:14Dad, thanks for the stereo, Dad. Oh, yeah, babe. Wow. Thanks.
01:03:22There's Uncle Mike and me. Ah, Mike. All the kids love Mike, don't they?
01:03:29Well, he's right.
01:03:30Take him in his hands.
01:03:31Well, he's right.
01:03:33Wow!
01:03:37Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for everything you've given us.
01:03:41All the family being together, the brothers, that's great, Lord.
01:03:44Thank you for everything you've given us.
01:03:47After that Christmas, our life would not be the same.
01:03:55For months before the Japan trip, Dave was white as a ghost.
01:04:00He, uh, he 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, it's dead winter.
01:04:20You know, early February.
01:04:22We knew that he 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 him, we expect them to be there.
01:04:33And he looked pale, and I could just tell my mom's face.
01:04:36He was worried about it, Dave. They were talking.
01:04:38And I looked at him, I thought, if I lost him, you know,
01:04:41I just put my hands on him and said, don'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.
01:04:49And I thought, now are you?
01:04:51Yeah, can't happen now.
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.
01:05:13I talked to Bill Irwin about it.
01:05:15He said, they got to that, to Tokyo, and 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.
01:05:28But 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, shit, 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.
01:05:49Everybody that's there, including myself, we were kind of full, but he ate.
01:05:55And he ate some more.
01:05:57David 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.
01:06:05Went on into his room, went in, sat down.
01:06:08I think we had a beer or something right there.
01:06:11And, 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.
01:06:19Okay.
01:06:19See 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?
01:06:33And in the distance, you hear sirens.
01:06:38Everybody's looking at each other.
01:06:40Everybody up.
01:06:41We 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.
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.
01:07:26I knew.
01:07:28And she said, he's dead, Kev.
01:07:30And 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.
01:07:43I couldn't stand up.
01:07:44And I just laid down in the forest and pushed the leaves back.
01:07:47And put my face in that black dirt.
01:07:50And I breathed it, God, 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 got to go with.
01:08:24Because the public's probably going to 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 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? 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 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.
01:09:36Fans from the area and foes from the ring turned out.
01:09:39The 1800 seat church was soon filled to capacity and hundreds stood outside hoping to catch a few strains of
01:09:47the service from the loudspeaker system.
01:09:49It 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.
01:10:06It was a hero send off.
01:10:08They shut down the highway all the way from Denton to Oak Grove Cemetery and Oak Cliff.
01:10:13Things 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,
01:11:07because Kevin was the oldest trying to protect his brothers.
01:11:09But beyond that, they always wanted to be together.
01:11:16After losing Uncle Dave, Mimi was just filled with so much pain.
01:11:24But she wanted to have a great image.
01:11:27You say, God help me through this.
01:11:30You get off your death and you start moving again.
01:11:33You start laughing again.
01:11:36And 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,
01:11:45for those that love us and those that are hurting, you know.
01:11:54You 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 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,
01:12:19and they have to go through with it.
01:12:21And now, as much as they might have wanted to just 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, there was talk about,
01:12:42well, we can't put the belt on the other two boys at that point.
01:12:45And Fritz was like, it's not an option.
01:12:47It's a question now of which of you, too, is going to be the next world champion.
01:12:51So when you take that title, there's no question of 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 Dave's memory.
01:13:00And so Carrie and I had like a coin flip with my dad.
01:13:06But the truth of it was that I was married and I did not want to travel like the world
01:13:12champion 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.
01:13:20And 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.
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.
01:13:53You know, when I talk about the butterflies or something like this, it's almost impossible to describe in words the
01:13:58way I felt.
01:13:58But it was like all the Texas Stadium was electrified.
01:14:02That title shot was supposed to be David's.
01:14:05David passes away in Japan.
01:14:07Now his brother comes and steps in.
01:14:10And who does he have to?
01:14:12I 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 is on hand here at Texas Stadium.
01:14:24A 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 make his dad proud.
01:14:45And all the fans too, right?
01:14:47To make sure that that Bonneric image was, you know, upheld.
01:14:52This is it.
01:14:54Here we go.
01:14:55Watching that one.
01:14:57Blair can't find the handle.
01:14:59At my Papa Jody's house.
01:15:02Carrie is rolling now.
01:15:05It was like watching a Mike Tyson fight.
01:15:09Back to his feet.
01:15:10There's a drive by Cary.
01:15:13And everybody had to go to the fight.
01:15:17Power slam.
01:15:18You got 40,000 grieving people.
01:15:23We had to have the pop.
01:15:26And it's a iron claw.
01:15:31Here he's got him.
01:15:32Here's the Nelson 10.
01:15:34Two.
01:15:34Three.
01:15:35Cary.
01:15:36The dream step two.
01:15:38Yes.
01:15:42It's happened.
01:15:51Man, it gives you goosebumps thinking about it.
01:15:54How special that was for Cary to win the title.
01:15:57Cary Von Erich is the new world heavyweight champion.
01:16:02To have our guy, Cary 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.
01:16:22Cary Von Erich was a god in the state of Texas.
01:16:25Prince there to greet Cary.
01:16:27There's Mrs. Von Erich.
01:16:29Cary's father.
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, Cary had to take on the responsibility of being the champion.
01:17:00And it's not fun.
01:17:02Here now comes world heavyweight champion, Cary Von Erich.
01:17:06That's a 360-day deal.
01:17:09He goes from David's dead, you're the main event, promos, 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, that's when I started seeing a little bit more of the drugs
01:17:32starting 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, I can take it.
01:17:40I think before David's death, the drugs were under control, where it wasn't causing any problems for him.
01:17:48And then after David's death, it just...
01:17:53Cary Von Erich, the new world heavyweight champion.
01:17:56I guess that's something we've all dreamed about.
01:17:59That was the right call for Cary 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, he's got him, he's got him, and that's it.
01:18:15And 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 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 Cary, it didn't matter that he lost it so quickly because you're on top, right?
01:18:39How much further can you go? Like, 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, and I was never able to
01:18:50take it.
01:18:51But Cary took it.
01:18:53Even 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.
01:19:25We would have a replay of that at 6 at night, which 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 with a replay.
01:19:41At this point, world-class is so successful that, you know, Vince McMahon takes notice.
01:19:49If 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.
01:20:04We'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?
01:20:16We just did 40-some thousand people.
01:20:19The 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.
01:20:34Kerry, he was extremely popular.
01:20:36People just loved him.
01:20:37He was actually going to audition with Sylvester Stallone for Rocky IV,
01:20:43and 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.
01:21:05I'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.
01:21:15I like Kerry's body.
01:21:16All of it was really hard for he and I.
01:21:21I 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 because Kerry Von Erich belonged to
01:21:36everybody.
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, because 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 percent?
01:22:03Is he 70 percent?
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 one.
01:22:12But 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.
01:22:36My 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, you know.
01:22:54A lot of people want to make Fritz the bad guy.
01:22:58There 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. Epikenson 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.
01:23:20Gary Von Erich literally having to push his way through.
01:23:23Life was great.
01:23:24Everybody thought it was going to last forever.
01:23:28Wrong.
01:23:30We have 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, you 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.
01:24:05So 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.
01:24:15The Von Erichs have won the hearts of wrestling fans.
01:24:19They're the most popular wrestling family in the world.
01:24:24Yeah, 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.
01:24:42There's pressure to keep that name alive.
01:24:45Professional 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 into wrestling.
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 was 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.
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