- 10 hours ago
Biography WWE Legends Season 5 Episode 2 (Full Episode)
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00:00:12Each of these boys are going to be world heavyweight champions.
00:00:16I'm going to give you my life to them.
00:00:19The most famous family in the history of professional wrestling, the Von Erich boys.
00:00:23Kevin, David, Kerry, and Mike Von Erich.
00:00:26There's two things that were big in Texas, football and the Von Erichs.
00:00:30Today it's Texas, tomorrow the world, baby.
00:00:33We don't grow up in Texas without hearing about the Von Erichs.
00:00:36Wherever the Von Erichs go, a crowd always follows.
00:00:40Everything was fun. Everybody was our friend.
00:00:44Everybody thought it was going to last forever.
00:00:47It didn't work that way.
00:00:49David Von Erich died Friday. He was 25 years old.
00:00:53It was a shock. Texas was in mourning.
00:00:56We're just overwhelmed. All of these people showing up for the last experience that he's ever going to make.
00:01:02Kerry didn't have time to grieve.
00:01:04It's tough, but we know it's a responsibility that we have to do.
00:01:08He goes from David's dead, you're the main event.
00:01:12Harry Von Erich goes to the world heavyweight champion.
00:01:17There's an image he had to hold up, and there's pressure to keep that name alive.
00:01:31For a lot of people, they need different things, but for me, I need this.
00:01:37Life throws a lot at you, but if I can get out into nature with my family, it's just the
00:01:46best in the world.
00:01:47When I'm out here with my kids, and then with my grandkids, it's almost like I'm getting a chance to
00:01:53be their dad again.
00:01:55And in every one of my grandkids, I see Dave.
00:01:58I see Kerry.
00:01:59I see Michael.
00:02:00I even see Chris.
00:02:03Taking a grain of salt because I'm a guy that lost family.
00:02:06But to me, family is everything.
00:02:09Everything.
00:02:25Well, we have a lot of pictures.
00:02:31You know, pictures are great, and it can be painful, too.
00:02:35But my dad documented everything.
00:02:38Okay, I remember exactly when we did this.
00:02:41There weren't any birds there, but we were imagining it, and we saw Dad's face.
00:02:45He was looking.
00:02:46So we got serious, too.
00:02:48Or I just, you know, whatever he did, I did.
00:02:50And look at Dave.
00:02:51He's fierce.
00:02:55Gary cracked a joke, and everyone's laughing.
00:02:58And I got two pictures of Dave laughing, horse laughing.
00:03:04Mike, too.
00:03:07It's so cool how you all got to wrestle together.
00:03:10Well, just imagine you inside, you know, just playing outside.
00:03:14But there's thousands of people watching.
00:03:16So that's what's going to happen when they play with their brother in front of a bunch of people.
00:03:21I'm going to show you something.
00:03:26This is a pizza commercial we did.
00:03:30And it was like all night long we took it to do that.
00:03:34Kiri kept cracking everybody up, you know.
00:03:37Kiri was always playing tricks.
00:03:38It felt like it was a great day, though.
00:03:41Happy, Mike?
00:03:42Okay.
00:03:44Okay.
00:03:45Here we go.
00:03:45Ready?
00:03:47And walk, guys.
00:03:48Action.
00:03:49My brothers taught me about wrestling, but I taught them about eating.
00:03:53So he brought us to Pizza Inn's All-You-Can-Eat Buffet.
00:03:57Okay, gentlemen.
00:03:58Lots of energy.
00:04:00Pizza, Mike.
00:04:01Pizza.
00:04:01But I taught them about pizza.
00:04:06I'm hungry again now.
00:04:08Pour pizza out.
00:04:10It's Pizza Inn.
00:04:21I can't say that I was ripped off because my brothers died too young.
00:04:26And there's our four babies all together.
00:04:30Because the truth is, we had a hell of a lot of fun.
00:04:33A lot of fun.
00:04:35We did everything.
00:04:38The Von Eriks have won the hearts of wrestling fans with their style and flair.
00:04:44They're the most popular wrestling family in the world.
00:04:47As a sports anchor, I had a chance to cover the Von Eriks.
00:04:50A remarkable family from Father Fritz right down to sons Kerry, Kevin, and Mike.
00:04:54Well, they were constantly in the media.
00:04:56So the Von Eriks are going to be watching this?
00:04:58Had a knock on the door one night, and the policeman come and got me.
00:05:01He said, hey, there's a big guy at the door.
00:05:03And I went, and I'm looking up at this guy.
00:05:05He literally reached out, took hands, and he said, my name is Carl Malone.
00:05:09Trying out for the Mavericks.
00:05:11You think I could meet the Von Eriks?
00:05:15Von Eriks.
00:05:16That was our splurge every six months to go see these guys.
00:05:22And I remember how nice they were, every one of them.
00:05:26They're just good boys.
00:05:27The world just needs heroes today, that's all.
00:05:29I'm just a regular guy, you know.
00:05:31The Lord has given us all this popularity, and we're lucky to have it.
00:05:35If you're watching the Von Eriks like I was on cable,
00:05:38there's something very authentic about them.
00:05:41They're just like the family down the road.
00:05:43Come see me on the boys at the sporting goods store that does have it all.
00:05:46In a sense, the Von Eriks family just wrapped its arms around all of Texas.
00:05:49Kevin Von Eriks recently visited the Donald Society for Crippled Children.
00:05:53They were making a difference in this world with those that needed a helping hand.
00:05:56The Von Eriks donated their time, their energy, and their money
00:05:59so that youngsters may learn to walk in this world of ours.
00:06:03Being a part of the community was super important.
00:06:06Their faith was, when you tithe, then you will receive.
00:06:10And a part of their tithing was giving of themselves.
00:06:14And they did take the responsibility of the image that they had very seriously.
00:06:23You've got to be on all the time in front of your fans.
00:06:28And so, for Carrie, the use of drugs got a little stronger, even more stronger.
00:06:38I can't imagine what that was like for all of them.
00:06:42I was so young coming in, out of high school and getting into it,
00:06:45and everybody recognizing you, you know, wherever you go.
00:06:48It's hard.
00:06:49My Uncle Chris really idolized Uncle Mike and Uncle Kerry.
00:06:55I think it was really hard for Uncle Chris when Uncle Mike left home to go wrestle
00:07:00because he was just home with Mimi and Grandad.
00:07:04Being home alone, watching them be successful.
00:07:07Mike, Kerry, and Kevin Von Eriks!
00:07:11The reach of the Von Eriks, and of world class more broadly,
00:07:14was pretty incredible.
00:07:17They were hugely popular in Israel, of all places.
00:07:22Well, we were wrestling in Israel, and we had a lot of shows there.
00:07:26And Mike dislocated his shoulder in a match, which just popped out.
00:07:34So we flew him back to America to have surgery.
00:07:39A few days after that, his wife, Shaney, called me, and she said,
00:07:45Kev, Mike is acting really funny.
00:07:49Hold us over there.
00:07:51And sure enough, his fever was so high.
00:07:54So I just picked him up and put him over my shoulder.
00:07:59I couldn't wait in traffic, so I'm driving in the median,
00:08:02and a cop sees me, recognizes me, pulls in front of us,
00:08:07and we drove down the median all the way to that little hospital.
00:08:11And we got Mike there.
00:08:13I thought he was going to die.
00:08:16Start things off a little on the downside tonight, as far as sports goes.
00:08:20I got a call about 20 minutes ago from Fitzbrunn-Erik,
00:08:22and he said a lot of people are a little concerned about the younger boy, Mike,
00:08:25who has not been wrestling for the last four or five weeks.
00:08:28He had some shoulder surgery done.
00:08:30Apparently, he suffered some type of toxic poisoning.
00:08:33Mike was in a bad way.
00:08:36The incision in the shoulder, evidently that got infected.
00:08:41Doctors say the wrestler has toxic shock syndrome,
00:08:44a type of staph infection which sends potent toxins circulating through the bloodstream.
00:08:48It causes damage to major organs and even death.
00:08:52And my mother, been through all this, and she's looking at,
00:08:56I may face this again.
00:08:59I may lose another baby.
00:09:01Luckily, they got Dr. Bill Sutker, who made the diagnosis.
00:09:04He was the head infectious disease doctor really anywhere in the country.
00:09:08It's just this one particular kind of bacteria that can be so virulent.
00:09:12I practiced for 40 years.
00:09:15Mike is one of the sickest patients I saw in my entire career.
00:09:19One of the Dallas area's most celebrated wrestlers
00:09:22is now fighting for his life at Baylor University Medical Center.
00:09:25The youngest, Von Erich, suffered kidney failure
00:09:27and temperatures in excess of 106 degrees.
00:09:30You can't sustain a temperature of over 105 or 106 very long.
00:09:36And we would ice him down when his fever would go up
00:09:39to try and help bring the temperature down.
00:09:42He developed kidney failure as well as other multi-organ failure.
00:09:46Baylor Medical Center.
00:09:47The Baylor Hospital switchboard is receiving 100 calls an hour from Von Erich fans.
00:09:52We're having to transfer Von Erich calls to public relations.
00:09:55One moment, please.
00:09:56During that whole week that Mike was in the hospital,
00:09:58people were calling, offering to donate organs.
00:10:01In fact, several people have called several times so they can donate their organs.
00:10:06What does he need?
00:10:07I'm here.
00:10:08Take my number.
00:10:09More than 100 fans gathered in the parking lot of the Sportatorium to hear news of Mike.
00:10:13It's a sad situation.
00:10:15I look at him like I would my own kids.
00:10:17I'm just afraid that he would fall out of this.
00:10:20Kevin and Kerry Von Erich say they'll wrestle Monday night and dedicate the match to their brother.
00:10:25It's a family business out there and somebody had to mind the shot.
00:10:30Everybody in Chicago wishing the very best for your brother, Michael.
00:10:37We're not sure when this battle will end, but I guarantee we're all champions, we're all winners, and Mike's the
00:10:44winner, and we'll come out of this as a winner.
00:10:49You know, my son said to me, if Mike Von Erich dies, the whole world is going to hate you.
00:10:56Doctors say they can't predict when Von Erich will be out of danger, but they say that someone physically weaker
00:11:02would be dead.
00:11:04Mike's whole situation, you know, zooming out, it's like the word curse feels like wholly inadequate, and also it captures
00:11:14the ominous unknowableness in a way that we don't really have another word for.
00:11:20It's impossible to wrap your head around what one family had to go through.
00:11:26There was quite a while where he didn't seem to be responding, and I was not optimistic that he was
00:11:31going to be able to make it through the illness.
00:11:34But I had gone down to tell them there was a good chance he wasn't going to survive.
00:11:41He said, we've done all we can do.
00:11:43He said, Kevin says, doctor, how long?
00:11:46He said, Kevin, maybe 20 minutes.
00:11:49The doctor gave us the bad news, but we all got down with all our good friends and prayed that
00:11:55the Lord would work through their hands.
00:11:58We said, we're not going to say goodbye, so we all formed a circle and held hands, and our preacher
00:12:05started these prayers.
00:12:08Gary Holder was there, the evangelist.
00:12:11Gary Holder took that Bible, and he said, he said, God, here's your word.
00:12:15In it you say, if we believe, if we pray, you will deliver.
00:12:20And then he slammed it down on the table.
00:12:25He said, there's your word, deliver.
00:12:30And it wasn't 30 seconds till the door swung open.
00:12:34It was just Bill Sudger.
00:12:36And he came out, and he said, well, I don't know what's happened, but his vitals are back to normal.
00:12:41Last night was really scary.
00:12:43I mean, scary to the point of where it was almost hopeless.
00:12:46Folks, let me tell you, a miracle took place last night, just that we have Mike with us today.
00:12:52Well, professional wrestler Mike Von Erich remains in critical but stable condition at Baylor University Medical Center.
00:12:58The best sign of all is that Von Erich's temperature has fallen from a high of 107 to normal.
00:13:03We'll update you on his condition again tomorrow.
00:13:07Things started to plateau, and then eventually started to improve.
00:13:17Yeah, I pray for prayers.
00:13:19That's what he did.
00:13:20I can't wait till the convo show on and be there.
00:13:25He's still very, very sick.
00:13:27There's no question about that.
00:13:28But that boy is going to be fine, thanks be to the Almighty himself.
00:13:34I think he was in the hospital about a month.
00:13:36I think the fact that he was a professional athlete and that his body was in such good shape was
00:13:42the reason that he was able to survive.
00:13:45The main thing that I'm looking forward to is getting back in the ring again.
00:13:50Whenever I get home, you know, I have to start slow.
00:13:52But whenever they say it's okay to start working out, boy, I'm going to be in there working hard.
00:13:58You go from deathbed to literally six weeks, seven weeks, whatever it was before we brought him out for Cotton
00:14:04Bowl.
00:14:05I'm pleased to present to you a living miracle.
00:14:08Welcome to the Cotton Bowl, Mike Von Erich!
00:14:15They brought him out in the car for all the fans to cheer.
00:14:20The crowd was just crazy.
00:14:23I'd like to thank everybody here for being here today.
00:14:27I'd like to thank all the doctors and nurses for helping me.
00:14:31And I'd like to thank all of you for the prayers and your support.
00:14:36Thank you for coming and thank you very much.
00:14:38It's great to be back.
00:14:41When Mike Von Erich got sick, they were down on Von Erich, right?
00:14:46So Fritz brought in a fake Von Erich, Lance Von Erich, who was billed as a cousin of the Von
00:14:51Erich family.
00:14:52Lance, welcome to World Class. Great to have you with us.
00:14:55Thank you. It's great to be here.
00:14:56I feel right at home here.
00:14:59My dad figured that he needed extra help.
00:15:03Man, I hated that idea.
00:15:05He's the closest you can get to a brother, and hey, we need a brother right now.
00:15:09And I'm sure he's going to surprise a lot of people.
00:15:12World Class was doing everything he could to compete.
00:15:14They were still very successful.
00:15:15But in the background, the script is totally flipped for World Class, right?
00:15:20It's like they were so recently the biggest promotion in the country.
00:15:25But now, WWE had this national TV deal with NBC.
00:15:29They had the Rock and Roll Connection on MTV, a Saturday morning cartoon.
00:15:35They were finding whole new plateaus of success.
00:15:39Fritz did what he thought was best to sort of band-aid the whole thing together.
00:15:45Life was still good. We were still drawing.
00:15:47And then the phone rang, and I picked it up.
00:15:50It was Fritz.
00:15:51And he said, Carrie's been in an accident.
00:15:54And I'm like, how bad?
00:15:55He said, his leg looks like an alligator chewed on it.
00:16:07You know, before I even say anything, everybody back then, you drank and you smoked weed and stuff like that.
00:16:14A lot of time, even if you did get pulled over, unless you were doing something really bad,
00:16:19Yvonne Erickson were so popular, the cops would let him go.
00:16:26That day, Carrie was out at Lake Dallas.
00:16:30He had a boat.
00:16:32I guess he had been drinking.
00:16:35And he had on flip-flops and a tank top and shorts.
00:16:39And he's on his motorcycle.
00:16:48He ran into a cop car that was sitting at a red light.
00:16:51He hit it from behind, going like 50 miles an hour, and went over the top of it.
00:16:57I was pregnant with Lacey.
00:17:00When I got the call, I knew.
00:17:02I was like, our world is crumbling.
00:17:04He's really, really getting bad.
00:17:07The fractured ankle is fairly serious.
00:17:11It's an open wound to the ankle.
00:17:13And that's the reason for necessitating surgery tonight.
00:17:19I actually saw him in the emergency room.
00:17:21The yellow paint from the paint on the stripes was right here on top of his foot,
00:17:27where his foot had grounded that and had some yellow paint on his bone.
00:17:32Lucky it didn't kill him.
00:17:35That was a miracle, no doubt about it.
00:17:37That was his only injuries.
00:17:39He had no other injuries at all.
00:17:42His foot was in really pretty pathetic shape when he came in.
00:17:47And we were all worried that he really had a very good chance of losing his foot.
00:17:52However, with a surgical team, they have saved Gary's foot.
00:17:58Thank you for all your support.
00:17:59Thank you for your prayers.
00:18:01A lot of big things have happened since I've came into the hospital.
00:18:04One of the greatest things, again, thanks to Dr. Suckerman, Mike, my brother.
00:18:10We'll be back July 4th.
00:18:13Ladies and gentlemen, all of you have to go, Mike Porter!
00:18:19There's a lot of Greek mythology built into pro wrestling.
00:18:23It's the tragedy and the triumph and overcoming the odds.
00:18:26I think that's the real power of the Von Erich story.
00:18:29It's not just the tragic part.
00:18:31Their ability to triumph over it at times.
00:18:34I'm Connery for the triumphant return to the ring.
00:18:37There was a big push for him to get back in the ring.
00:18:39And the people were like, come on, Mike, you can do it.
00:18:42When the fans really love you, you love them too, you know.
00:18:45And you feel a responsibility.
00:18:47You feel like you owe it to them to be what they expect you to be.
00:18:50You know, and he's just doing what he's got to do.
00:18:53Fritz's opinion was, when he's ready, he'll know he's ready.
00:18:58But he wasn't pushed to come back.
00:19:00Mike wanted to get back.
00:19:03Mike was never the same after he came back from the toxic shop.
00:19:07He had a look in his eyes where he was just like he was way out in la-la land.
00:19:13I'll tell you what, Brian Adias, I want you to know.
00:19:16I want a country whipping match with you.
00:19:19Country whipping match is what it's called.
00:19:22I don't think he was ever ready.
00:19:25I give Kevin credit.
00:19:27Gosh, he stepped up.
00:19:29Kevin Bonnery.
00:19:30Listen to the fans cheer.
00:19:33It's a family business.
00:19:34It wasn't fun.
00:19:36It was work.
00:19:37And it was hard work.
00:19:40We were still trying to run three towns a day, but the people were not showing up to watch Mike.
00:19:45Kerry's in bed.
00:19:46He's got his foot cut off.
00:19:47So I've got to try to keep it going.
00:19:49And it was just, God, I'd do anything for a little bit of relief.
00:19:53You're pressured to be on all of the time.
00:19:58An image that they all want to uphold, to make each other proud, and to not let each other down,
00:20:04that is pressure.
00:20:06We want you to be somebody that we can idolize.
00:20:10And the crowd picks it up for Kevin.
00:20:13Those really tough days, the real hard days.
00:20:17I was working two or three times a day.
00:20:20If one of us were hurt, people would want their money back.
00:20:242,000, 3,000, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, however many people, they bought a ticket.
00:20:30They're expecting to see them on Earth.
00:20:33And they want to see you, whether you're grieving or hurt a lot with Kerry.
00:20:38I've been out now for four or five months.
00:20:41And I miss the people, and I miss wrestling more than anything I've ever missed in my whole life.
00:20:47Kerry felt a big responsibility in that he took care of his fans.
00:20:52I had, you know, doubts.
00:20:54It was a bad wreck.
00:20:55Thank the Lord I'm still alive.
00:20:57It was really hard.
00:20:58All those months that he was down, I had to keep a smile through all of it and tell him
00:21:04it'll be all right.
00:21:08Even though Kerry's ankle was crippled, almost to the point of amputation, he refused to believe that he was through.
00:21:14For Kerry Von Erich, he could either give up or go to the gym.
00:21:18He worked really hard, and he had that work ethic just to make sure that he maintained the proper image.
00:21:26Life deals, you lemons, you make lemonade, you keep on training, and you never give up.
00:21:33Supposedly, if he had followed up on the therapy and rehabilitation, it would have come back, and he would have
00:21:39been fine.
00:21:40But he wanted to get back.
00:21:42He wanted to get in front of the fans.
00:21:44He wanted to get back to being Kerry Von Erich.
00:21:47He came back, but the leg wasn't ready.
00:21:51He went too early, and it cost him.
00:21:56The biggest thing I remember about Kerry's motorcycle wreck was he was working hard in the gym.
00:22:02He wanted to come back, but he just wasn't ready.
00:22:08Because he came back, and the leg wasn't getting good blood circulation.
00:22:14And we had these steps at the fortitorium where you could go up and watch the matches.
00:22:18He was coming down those steps, and it broke.
00:22:21It was crazy.
00:22:23They had tried to save his foot.
00:22:25They did several operations, but it just wouldn't take.
00:22:29It was damaged so badly that they couldn't get the blood supply to it.
00:22:34It just wasn't healing like they hoped.
00:22:39They decided they needed to amputate the foot, which was really hard on Kerry emotionally.
00:22:51But he didn't want anybody to know about it, and he was fitted with a prosthesis he could wear under
00:22:56his boot.
00:22:56And so, for years, nobody actually knew that he didn't have a foot.
00:23:03Why hide it?
00:23:05The image, the Von Erich image.
00:23:11Is that Kerry's decision?
00:23:13No, it was his dad's decision.
00:23:17But Kerry did agree to that.
00:23:21To me, it would have been better to let the family talk about that, instead of just trying to keep
00:23:27it a secret.
00:23:28Like, no, he's still strong.
00:23:30No, but look how strong he is in his disability.
00:23:35Like, people could have learned from that, I think.
00:23:40Why'd you hide it, Fritz?
00:23:41Why didn't you just come out and say, yeah, he lost his foot?
00:23:44He didn't, because he didn't want to lose his company, because Kerry was his biggest star.
00:23:50He needed Kerry holding.
00:23:52People aren't going to come out and see a one-legged guy wrestle.
00:23:56You know what the worst thing about the leg was?
00:23:59Through all the pain and stuff, guess what?
00:24:01They're giving him drip.
00:24:02So they're feeding him the addiction he has.
00:24:06I had now two very young babies and a husband who needed rehabilitation, and he was in a lot of
00:24:13pain.
00:24:15And then the pain meds led to other horrible drugs, like cocaine.
00:24:21I asked Mr. Adkison for help with him, and we did a family intervention, and he went to kind of
00:24:28a rehab.
00:24:29But then I got a phone call from Mr. Adkison about three or four days into it,
00:24:33and it's like, the press is going to get a hold of this.
00:24:36I'm going to have to take him out.
00:24:38And my world crashed.
00:24:44Granddad, he loved his boys so much that he almost enabled them.
00:24:49Granddad bailed Uncle Kerry out of jail multiple times.
00:24:53And if anybody came to Granddad and said, I'm really worried about Kerry, or I'm really worried
00:24:57about Mike, Granddad's response was like, he's okay.
00:25:00I talked to him.
00:25:01He's okay.
00:25:01He loved them so much that he didn't want them to suffer.
00:25:06And if that meant going to rehab or going to jail, he wouldn't let that happen.
00:25:10He wouldn't have let any of his sons suffer.
00:25:15I'm sure it was a struggle for Mr. Adkison in so many ways, running a company as well
00:25:21as taking care of your boys.
00:25:23World Class is just doing all they can to tread water.
00:25:27And at the same time, the WWE is staging WrestleMania 3, breaking the attendance record that Fritz
00:25:35and World Class had previously held.
00:25:38And Fritz is trying to sort of balance these two things, the business and his family.
00:25:44It became whisperings of the domineering influence that Fritz had.
00:25:52All the boys looked up to their dad.
00:25:56But to Mike, he felt like he was going to be a failure by not becoming a really great Vaughn
00:26:03Eric.
00:26:03I tell you, I watched Mike last week, his timing's been a little bit off.
00:26:07You know, you can just see the termination in Mike's eyes.
00:26:12I saw a lot of depression in him because of that.
00:26:18Mike was in a bad way.
00:26:21He was going through these things of rage.
00:26:25He got out of his car and attacked his traffic light.
00:26:33And when you told him about it, he was so embarrassed.
00:26:36He hated that.
00:26:37He was not that way.
00:26:39The brain is so complicated.
00:26:41Now it dealt with heat.
00:26:43Where's the mom at?
00:26:45She's in the house.
00:26:46Where else?
00:26:47In here?
00:26:48Yeah.
00:26:49I guess not in this car.
00:26:51He had gone through so much to get where he was
00:26:53and was making improvements as time went on.
00:26:57I don't know if he ever realized how sick he really was, even though all of us told him that.
00:27:04I don't know that he saw the light at the end of the tunnel.
00:27:10He was doing some of the pharmaceutical stuff and had a deal where he wrecked several cars in a row.
00:27:21And Fritz had actually told him, I said, look, it's bad on our business.
00:27:26It's bad on our name.
00:27:28Don't come back to me with this anymore.
00:27:31He said, you're a grown man.
00:27:36We had decided to start a company called Vonert Bright Incorporated.
00:27:41We were going to have sponsors on world tours.
00:27:45Things were looking really good.
00:27:48But that was when Mike got caught with that joint.
00:27:53And in Mike's mind, he has just ruined my whole deal.
00:27:57He thought that he just, he loved me so much.
00:28:00But he thought he'd really let me down.
00:28:04Felt so bad.
00:28:05He, uh, he had shamed us.
00:28:15Dozens of searchers had been scouring Lake Louisville by ground and air since Wednesday night.
00:28:20After finding Von Erick's abandoned car yesterday in the same park.
00:28:24A family attorney had reported the wrestler missing on Monday.
00:28:27Two days after Von Erick's arrest on drunk driving and drug charges.
00:28:32Inside the car, investigators found an unsigned handwritten note.
00:28:36It said, Mom and Dad, I'm in a better place.
00:28:39I'll be watching.
00:28:45I remember all that just like it was yesterday.
00:28:48They found him over on the other side of the lake at a, it's called Pilot Knoll Park.
00:28:54He just wrote a note, took a bunch of Placidils and zipped himself up in a sleeping bag.
00:29:02Von Erick's mother, Doris Atkison, was at the park this morning when her 23-year-old son was found.
00:29:08Older brothers, Kevin and Carrie, arrived a short time later.
00:29:12Really tough.
00:29:12And so, we're going to be fine.
00:29:15Our family's, our family has had tough times before.
00:29:20And we're going to be all right.
00:29:22Man, he was such a, a good guy, but I mean, he just, I guess drugs.
00:29:32I didn't know Mike was really into drugs, but I guess he was.
00:29:37So, it had to be that because he had such good sense.
00:29:41He was too smart to kill himself.
00:29:44There's just, that's not Mike.
00:29:47Redication was by prescription, by the way, and, and, uh, he just took too much of it at one time,
00:29:53and apparently it was delivered.
00:29:57But just so I don't know what misunderstands about that, Mike was sick.
00:30:01He'd never recovered from Tosky's shock.
00:30:04It was just a big shock to me.
00:30:08I was devastated.
00:30:09You know, again, after an illness like this, I don't know that he fully recovered, you know, psychologically.
00:30:17Mike loved people.
00:30:19He was so considerate, loving, polite.
00:30:22He was for real.
00:30:24He was, I just can't believe your skull.
00:30:29My dad, he was strong, and he kept the family together, even though my mother, my mother had started to
00:30:36fall apart by then.
00:30:39She loved so deep and so hard that it took something out of her.
00:30:47It crushed her.
00:30:50Mimi and Granddad were going through a lot.
00:30:53They both had their ways of dealing with the grief, my Mimi and my Granddad, and she really wanted to
00:30:59stay in control.
00:31:02Mike and I had been together since third grade, and, you know, I loved him like a brother.
00:31:09Another devastating moment for Kerry, where you just see it getting deeper and deeper and darker for him.
00:31:17But Kerry pushed through anything that was difficult, keeping up with the image that was so important to the Von
00:31:26Erichs.
00:31:27Because we have Jesus Christ, it makes us strong, and it makes us able to withstand things that people who
00:31:32aren't Christians can normally not take.
00:31:35They don't know where to turn.
00:31:36We know where to turn, and we know it's in the Lord's plan for these things to happen, and the
00:31:40Von Erichs are strong.
00:31:43Uncle Mike was very generous.
00:31:47After Uncle Mike died, multiple people reached out and said, I'm so sorry for your loss, but by the way,
00:31:55Mike had been paying my rent.
00:31:57Like, do you think you guys can still help with that?
00:32:00He loved people.
00:32:04Good guys hurt worse.
00:32:09And Mike was disappointed with himself.
00:32:13There was a bond between Chris and Mike that was just undeniable.
00:32:18And with Mike taking his life, I saw Chris just going downhill.
00:32:30Those who followed Von Erich in the ring say his death at age 23 is a shock, but it's said
00:32:35his death reminds fans that even heroes are human.
00:32:39Right after Uncle Mike passed away, just literally two months after he passed away, we had our own traumatic event.
00:33:07Right after Uncle Mike passed away, I was six, my sister was two, and my dad was coming back from
00:33:17a show.
00:33:21We said, can we go say hi to daddy?
00:33:23And we ran outside.
00:33:29My dad pulled into the garage.
00:33:31I was holding Jill's hand, and I remember her pulling her hand right out of mine and walking behind the
00:33:41car.
00:33:42She wanted to get to the driver's door and see my dad first.
00:33:46And in the instant that she got behind the car, my dad backed up just two or three feet.
00:33:54As I backed out, Jill had come around behind the car, and that Lincoln Continental went right up on her
00:34:01little liver.
00:34:05And Kristen said, Daddy, you've run over Jill.
00:34:10And I put her in gear and just the grass and spun out on her.
00:34:18And he said, oh, Jesus, oh, Jesus, and he pulled forward, picked her up, and there was this tire track
00:34:25on her nightgown that I just, like, burned into my memory, like literally a black tire mark across her nightgown.
00:34:32And I remember him trying to stand her on the counter saying, you're okay, baby, you're okay, you're okay.
00:34:40And she looked gray, that gray look Dave had.
00:34:43And I, like, apologized to Pam, I said, she's okay, she's going to live, she's okay.
00:34:50And Pam said, she put her hand on me, she said, she's going to be all right.
00:34:56And I said, no, she's not.
00:35:02Jill's liver was ruptured, but the lining that holds it intact was the only thing holding it intact.
00:35:10There was no long-term damage other than that, which is just unbelievable.
00:35:16And I genuinely believe that was prayer, you know, in that instant, because it was just my mom praying her
00:35:25whole heart out.
00:35:26And my dad just, his prayers are just so real.
00:35:33I do remember bits and pieces of that.
00:35:37I remember the hospital visits.
00:35:41My dad just not eating at all, never leaving my side.
00:35:45And I just can't imagine him going through that after everything that he's been through.
00:35:52It's hard to look at him now.
00:35:53How much can one man handle?
00:35:57You can only imagine how that sort of could wreck a person, right?
00:36:01How that could, like, change the way that somebody thinks about life.
00:36:05I lost 35 pounds that month.
00:36:09It was hard for me.
00:36:10But I was so grateful that, you know, my kids were healthy, that I was, um, said, God, thank you
00:36:20for all this.
00:36:22I hate the devil.
00:36:23Let me fight him.
00:36:25All that grief, all that stress, groaning and being miserable.
00:36:32Let me fight the devil.
00:36:34I want to fight him.
00:36:35And I said, I hate you, devil.
00:36:37I want to fight you.
00:36:40Inside, I thought that I shouldn't have said that, you know.
00:36:43And then I thought, well, what's going to happen?
00:36:48The very next day, I was washing my dog down at the lake.
00:36:51I smelled blood and gunpowder.
00:36:56I felt weird inside.
00:36:58I felt like I was being watched.
00:37:01And I saw movement up on the shoreline.
00:37:04And I saw these black things coming toward me.
00:37:08And Pam didn't see them.
00:37:10I said, get in the car, get in the car.
00:37:12And so I bent down and got into a crouching position.
00:37:16And I was ready to fight.
00:37:18And the next thing I know, I'm waking up from a seizure.
00:37:27And there's blood all over my feet where I've been kicking and fighting.
00:37:32It's terrible.
00:37:32And I know that I went way too far.
00:37:35I'm a man.
00:37:35But these demons, Satan is so much smarter than we are, can trick us, can make fools of us.
00:37:42So my relationship with God is just one of intense, super gratitude.
00:37:50The Von Erich story is really just a sort of mythological tragedy.
00:37:54It's not just the tragic part, I guess, but also their ability to triumph over it.
00:37:59Kevin's daughter probably should have died when she was really young.
00:38:01Mike probably should have died when he was diagnosed with toxic shock.
00:38:05That Carrie probably should have died when he got into the wreck.
00:38:08You know, was God testing them in those moments?
00:38:12Maybe those are actually moments of good fortune.
00:38:15That they, like, didn't die in those moments.
00:38:18It's after all this family had been through that they got lucky in a weird way.
00:38:22Carrie had this catastrophic injury and somehow tightened up his boots and got back into the ring.
00:38:33This is Thursday night, September the 10th, 1987.
00:38:36Like the old Carrie.
00:38:38Wonderful.
00:38:38It really is, son.
00:38:40That's great.
00:38:42It's the first day, too.
00:38:46Carrie, I wish you wouldn't get too carried away this first time, son.
00:38:50Hold your hand up, Chris, over here.
00:38:51Let me step back to the doctor.
00:38:53No, son.
00:38:54Come on.
00:38:55Don't overdo this.
00:38:56Nothing different.
00:38:56Give me back your hands and say, yeah, yeah.
00:38:59It's a miracle already.
00:39:00Don't expect a bigger miracle.
00:39:01You already got it.
00:39:05Folks, I feel great.
00:39:06It's been a long time, a year and a half.
00:39:08You know, my dad and I were just talking.
00:39:09Way back about a year ago, he told me not to go on that ring.
00:39:13Well, I guess we all go through times when we don't listen to Mommy and Daddy.
00:39:16And I didn't listen to my dad that night.
00:39:18And I went to the ring and sure it set us back.
00:39:20You set him way back.
00:39:22You really did, folks.
00:39:23Now he's listening.
00:39:24And I'll tell you, folks, I've been, I guess, pushing my dad harder than anyone.
00:39:27I think this time even my dad feels that I'm ready.
00:39:29The greatest comeback in athletic history for tonight.
00:39:34We've got the return of the modern-day warrior, Harry Ballard.
00:39:41His first night back was Thanksgiving in 1987.
00:39:45And he and I wrestled at Reunion Arena.
00:39:47And it was packed.
00:39:48People were ready to see him again.
00:39:50Fans have come from all over this great nation to witness this historic event.
00:39:56Caravan Eric looking as good as new.
00:39:59Caravan Eric with the win.
00:40:01He came back.
00:40:02He started wrestling.
00:40:03I don't know how he did that.
00:40:06I wrestled with him.
00:40:07You couldn't tell that he didn't have half a foot.
00:40:11We did the same old we did.
00:40:13And it worked.
00:40:14Caravan Eric wants to use that hard quad.
00:40:18I'd rather die than let you folks down.
00:40:25I think deep down, Fritz would have loved to have all his boys in a power position.
00:40:32Taking over was always the plan.
00:40:36But it already had David's gone, Mike's gone, the glory days.
00:40:42They were over by that time.
00:40:44Fritz was weaning off of it.
00:40:47When I lost Mike in 87, that was my third son to lose.
00:40:54Something died with Mike that year, and I went out of wrestling.
00:40:57Not that I blamed wrestling for it, but I just wanted to lose.
00:41:02And by the end of 87, I was out.
00:41:05Sold everything I had.
00:41:07It was super devastating to Cary when his dad sold, and then they didn't get to have a
00:41:15part of that, because they helped build the dynasty.
00:41:20It's just so hard to believe that family and so much control of their destiny and of this
00:41:25company that had greatness right at the apex would go the opposite way completely.
00:41:31I hated to see what we'd built all just passed over and passed up and sold, but, I mean,
00:41:38God bless our fans.
00:41:39They'd suffered so much, but the Monarchs were kind of, got to be a sad story.
00:41:47We're entertainers, you know?
00:41:49We don't want to bum you out.
00:41:52And so, what's the end?
00:41:54World Class is over, as we knew it.
00:42:02World Class is over again.
00:42:08This is…
00:42:09It's just quality family time.
00:42:10Yeah, just family time.
00:42:12It's like the…
00:42:13It makes the best memory for the kids.
00:42:15And we used to do this when we were little with Mimi and Granddad and all of our uncles
00:42:19and cousins, and it's a great memory.
00:42:37It was just a really happy family, and it was just such a fun way to grow up.
00:42:50When I was small, wrestling had really taken off, and my dad was having a lot of success.
00:42:56My uncles were having a lot of success.
00:43:00We built a beautiful home, and we just had a really comfortable life.
00:43:06Some trees that Kevin planted.
00:43:07He planted this pine tree, peach tree.
00:43:12And that's a swing that Kevin built for Christian, look how neat.
00:43:16We had sort of idyllic, you know, upper-class childhood.
00:43:23But then, as his brother started to pass away, world-class wasn't as successful.
00:43:34With the deaths, world-class was, you know, going down fast.
00:43:41I think the fans got tired of being sad.
00:43:46Our attendance really started dropping off big.
00:43:51Wrestling sort of lost favor with its audience.
00:43:56It became really apparent in our home life.
00:44:01Our water had been cut off because we couldn't pay the bill.
00:44:05There was a Christmas that we were on the angel tree, my siblings and I.
00:44:09So people had to, you know, pick our names off of a tree and buy it.
00:44:13I think I got a coat and a set of jacks and a bike from Mimi and Granddad.
00:44:23At that point, we had our house foreclosed on, and Uncle Kerry lived two doors down, and their house was
00:44:30being foreclosed on as well.
00:44:32And we had to move back to my grandparents' property, and we're living in their little guest house trailer on
00:44:40the property.
00:44:41When we moved there, Uncle Chris had to move out.
00:44:44He had to move back into my grandparents' house, which was also on the property.
00:44:49So I feel like that was really humbling for him, and he was kind of upset deeply about that.
00:44:59But when we were all together, you'd never think that he wasn't happy.
00:45:06My Uncle Chris was like a big kid, you know, because he was so young.
00:45:11He was always working out with Daddy.
00:45:15They worked out a lot together in the barn, and he wanted to be just like my dad.
00:45:19He wanted to be a wrestler just like Daddy.
00:45:23I just remember him being really protective of us kids.
00:45:27Hello, Ollie.
00:45:30Our family is very close, and we look after each other, and we take care of each other.
00:45:36Hey, Gracie, wait for your camera.
00:45:38Look at me.
00:45:40Around that time, my brother Ross was born.
00:45:43He's a guy responsible for all of it.
00:45:46We were struggling, so I can't imagine having another child whenever you were going through something like that.
00:45:57My dad's still signing autographs for people.
00:45:59People still know who he is.
00:46:01People still recognize him.
00:46:03But fame doesn't put food on the table.
00:46:06Go!
00:46:06Go!
00:46:07Go!
00:46:08Go!
00:46:09Go!
00:46:10Go!
00:46:10Go!
00:46:12Go!
00:46:13Go!
00:46:13Go!
00:46:15Go!
00:46:18Go!
00:46:23Go!
00:46:25Go!
00:46:26gonna do that with the pain pills so I had to quit. I kind of scrambled you know
00:46:34to just make it all happen. Sold real estate, also sold insurance and a lot of
00:46:44prayer. Dear Lord, thank you for all of us being together. Help us to be a little bit more worthy.
00:46:50In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
00:46:53There's a lot of worry out there you know and a lot of times I've looked down and seen my
00:46:59woman asleep
00:46:59and my children asleep in my bed and you look at her little face and thinks she has all the
00:47:05faith
00:47:06in the world that I'm gonna pull this out. She knows I'm gonna do it. She knows I'm gonna save
00:47:11them even though I know how the heck am I gonna do that. We went through hard times but maybe
00:47:21I'm
00:47:21oblivious but I only remember good things and my dad was just very consistent so if
00:47:27we were going through anything like that I never experienced it.
00:47:41Dinner on the table every night and school the next day we had everything we needed. We never went without.
00:47:48We were always taken care of. That's the motive right there. They love you. They need you. And so
00:47:58you keep making it happen. You don't give up. That kept me going.
00:48:07That was really hard on my dad. I can't imagine the pressure that they felt as dads with kids. My
00:48:17dad and
00:48:18Uncle Kerry especially. It was hard and he did want the best for our family.
00:48:31He always took time for Lacey and I like to play with us.
00:48:43He loved being outside. He loved riding horses. He loved photography.
00:48:50Well I guess my weakness is this camera right here. I take pictures of everything.
00:48:56Everything they did I was kind of like a camera buff.
00:49:01He could have done so many other things but he was so great wrestling.
00:49:06Gary knows this crowd is behind him.
00:49:10It was a lot of fun seeing daddy. We were at the matches a ton. Get to play in the
00:49:16ring.
00:49:17I mean a little girl should not have been up that late but that was my special time with my
00:49:22dad.
00:49:22And who is this gorgeous young lady you got with you? Well this is my little girl Holly but you
00:49:26know I have such high expectations.
00:49:28I think he loved wrestling. I just think it got to a point with all of the other things with
00:49:33losing your brothers that it became less of something he probably loved and more of like a job maybe.
00:49:40And that's basically I believe when Kerry started to make the transition over to WWE which was really hard for
00:49:48him because you know he wanted to be with the family but it was more money.
00:49:55Right now here he comes in his debut his very first appearance in the World Wrestling Federation.
00:50:01They call him the Texas Tornado. Kerry Von Erich.
00:50:07When he came to the WWE the name along with the look the girls loved him.
00:50:14He had a great fan following. The kids loved him you know and he had that little spin and the
00:50:21punch.
00:50:21And oh well here it comes right now. Spinning lands with a big heart right to the side of the
00:50:27head.
00:50:28And he was a good worker in the rank. His potential was unlimited.
00:50:33You know if he could have walked straight and narrow I think he would have been a great champion for
00:50:37the WWE.
00:50:39He was great for a few months. But again something just grabs him that took him back down another rabbit
00:50:48hole.
00:50:54There's a totem pole. Come on out Chris do a little maybe a little rain dance. We sure need some
00:51:00rain.
00:51:01I'll come out flex for you. That'll be good. It's my place. It hurts.
00:51:07This is Chris's hill. And he and Mike do most of this stuff up here.
00:51:15My uncle Chris had a hill. It was such a special place to him. He was up there all the
00:51:21time. That was his space. It was a very sacred place to him.
00:51:26Yeah he was so loving and he did love nature. He always had a pet.
00:51:30A little baby rabbit's been born inside the peepee.
00:51:34Opened their eyes about two days ago. Just opened their eyes. Here they are down in here. There's one little
00:51:41male.
00:51:43Oh you know whether girls are boys yet already huh?
00:51:45Yes there are two males.
00:51:47He was secluded a lot. He seemed sad. He was just kind of disappointed in life in general.
00:51:59I always had a sympathy for Uncle Chris because he just was obviously not like my other uncles and he
00:52:09definitely felt it.
00:52:11But he was determined to be as much like his big brothers as possible.
00:52:33Chris was very sick with asthma.
00:52:36And unfortunately what Prednisone did to Chris was stunned at his growth.
00:52:42And so in that he was never going to be the size of his brothers.
00:52:48There were times when his dad would explain that to him.
00:52:53You know son you're just not built the way you need to be built to be in the ring.
00:52:57But you know if you want to try you can try.
00:53:01He worked hard. He worked as hard as Kerry did.
00:53:03But Kerry got the results and Chris didn't.
00:53:07And I'll tell you too as being his big brother it was hard for me because I'm telling him all
00:53:12this time.
00:53:13Chris if you put your whole heart into it you'll get as big as Kerry.
00:53:17But it just didn't seem like it was a fair game to Chris.
00:53:21Get a pose for me.
00:53:24He'd been taking this medicine since he was 12 years old.
00:53:29But it really changed whenever he had to take the higher dose of Prednisone.
00:53:34It changed his moods and he definitely became more withdrawn and more self focused.
00:53:44The younger brother wanted to wrestle and I think he was fixated.
00:53:48That was everything to him.
00:53:53The best gimmick I have is my brothers being who they are.
00:53:56I mean I'm just following behind.
00:53:58I'll just have this.
00:53:59I'll probably get a little bit of what Kev has in him.
00:54:01A little bit of what Kerry has in him.
00:54:03A little bit of what Mike has in him.
00:54:04And a little bit of what Dave has in him.
00:54:06And just mix it all together and see what we got.
00:54:09I think he tried really hard to be a wrestler.
00:54:12Chris Monerick into the ring.
00:54:16He draws Percy and nails him.
00:54:20Listen, my brother gave you a shot.
00:54:22He gave you the world.
00:54:23He gave you the Texas title.
00:54:24Gave you a shot at the world title.
00:54:26And I might add, you were beaten in record.
00:54:28Hey!
00:54:28Hey Matt, please!
00:54:30Wait a minute!
00:54:32His body wasn't made for it.
00:54:34His bones were brittle.
00:54:36And they break easy.
00:54:39This is not made for people with brittle bones.
00:54:43Chris worked so hard.
00:54:46Then he breaks his arm.
00:54:48And it's almost like start over.
00:54:51He couldn't deal with it.
00:54:53You could really see a difference in, you know, his zeal for life after that.
00:55:00I mean, even as a ten-year-old, I was so hyper aware of depression and of just, I didn't
00:55:08want the grown-ups around me to ever get too sad.
00:55:11I just felt like, you know, if they get really sad, they're going to commit suicide.
00:55:16It was just constantly on my mind.
00:55:18It felt like such a realistic possibility, especially with Uncle Chris, because I knew how he felt like he had
00:55:25been treated by the world.
00:55:31The doctor told him he just might never be able to go back to the wrestling.
00:55:34He just destroyed Chris.
00:55:40Chris went into the woods behind his family ranch, and just like his brother Mike, he took his life.
00:55:48Went up there, and he had just done it.
00:55:53It just happened.
00:55:55And so, when I get there, he's laying on the ground like this, and he's on...
00:56:02So, I thought, maybe he's choking on some pills or something.
00:56:07So, I put my arm around his arm, and this hand under his head to lean him up, sit up
00:56:13with me.
00:56:14And my thumb went in the spot.
00:56:17And that hot blood told me right off.
00:56:20It was...
00:56:21I told Mom he shot himself.
00:56:26I think to myself, like, why does this keep happening to this family?
00:56:32Was it the pressure of the wrestling business, the pressure of family, the pressure of the fans?
00:56:38Was it just, like, an issue of mental health struggles?
00:56:43Or was it just as simple as sometimes bad things happen to otherwise good people?
00:56:51That hit her so hard that my mother kind of changed.
00:56:56She loved so deep and so hard that it took something out of her.
00:57:03It crushed her.
00:57:06Her priorities changed.
00:57:09I walked over to my grandparents' house, and Mimi was outside, leaning against the column, and she just put her
00:57:17arm out.
00:57:19And she said, I'm gonna divorce your granddad.
00:57:24I'm gonna go find happiness for myself.
00:57:27You know, I'm sick of all this grief and trauma, and I'm gonna go be happy.
00:57:34Hey, Gil.
00:57:37Get your shot here.
00:57:39My mom flat out blamed him.
00:57:41I mean, right out.
00:57:42You did it.
00:57:43You know, with your, you know, pressure on football, pressure.
00:57:49Each of these boys and this women are gonna be World Heavyweight champions.
00:57:56My dad never pushed us into anything really like that.
00:57:59But my mother blamed him.
00:58:02And I blamed him for not being home.
00:58:05He's always on the road.
00:58:08But my dad knew that she was not herself.
00:58:11And dad would just take it.
00:58:13He just let her say anything.
00:58:16And I was so...
00:58:21It shouldn't have been like that.
00:58:23But she hated him.
00:58:29All she could think is getting us back.
00:58:31All she could think is, this world hates me and I hate it.
00:58:35It was just like, uh...
00:58:39So unbecoming of what she really was.
00:58:44And I've never told a soul this story.
00:58:46In the Bible it says, honor our father and mother.
00:58:51So I sure don't like telling that.
00:58:53But, uh...
00:58:53I want you to know that...
00:58:55My dad was a good man.
00:58:58Don't blame him for this stuff.
00:59:00My mom was weak.
00:59:04God bless her.
00:59:10From one of the greatest wrestling families in the history of wrestling, Kerry Von Erich.
00:59:15He looked like he was cut out of granite and looked like he was a superhero.
00:59:19He was the quintessential athlete for that era in WWE.
00:59:24Tremendous physique.
00:59:26Tremendous agility.
00:59:28Tremendous ability.
00:59:31He was making more money up there than he had ever made.
00:59:35And his popularity.
00:59:36I mean, they used him real well.
00:59:38He was an intercontinental champion.
00:59:40Oh, wow!
00:59:41One, two, three, four!
00:59:45We have a new champion!
00:59:51I love seeing Daddy on TV.
00:59:53I loved it.
00:59:54When I got to go with him, it was thrilling.
00:59:58We had so much fun together.
00:59:59Like, on the airplanes, he always had a Walkman.
01:00:02Daddy loved music.
01:00:03And, like, we'd share it and listen to songs together.
01:00:07There was a song called Skyline Pigeon by Elton John.
01:00:11And it was about this caged bird.
01:00:17And, um...
01:00:18Oh, gosh, sorry.
01:00:19I shouldn't have mentioned that one.
01:00:22Sorry.
01:00:23Sorry.
01:00:29There's this bird that just longs to be free.
01:00:31So, to me, I feel like Daddy may have felt caged at that time to his, maybe his career.
01:00:40Um, or maybe to his addiction.
01:00:42Maybe he just, you know, wanted to be free of this thing that held him captive.
01:00:49And then to also be separated from your kids and your wife, be on the road doing your job.
01:00:59These are my most prized possession.
01:01:02My notes and my postcards from my dad.
01:01:05There's lots of little bits of advice in here.
01:01:08Like, this one says,
01:01:10Hey, Hall, I know things are tough sometimes, but sometimes life ain't easy.
01:01:14And for things in life to be easy, something's gotta be hard.
01:01:17But one thing's for sure, your mom and dad will always love you more than anything.
01:01:22Remember, I'll be home soon.
01:01:24This show biz stuff is for the birds.
01:01:26And I feel like one cheap, cheap.
01:01:29I sure do miss you.
01:01:30And still fighting.
01:01:32Fighting to get home to you.
01:01:35He had to be on the road.
01:01:37You have to provide.
01:01:40There's an image he had to hold up.
01:01:42And then there's pressure to keep that name alive.
01:01:47Daddy was kind of alone at WWE.
01:01:52Grief works when you're alone.
01:01:54But when you're all together, it's easy to be happy and jovial.
01:01:58And Kerry was all about fun and loving each other and cracking you up.
01:02:02All he wanted to do was make you laugh.
01:02:06I know that it hurt so bad when he stepped on his bad leg.
01:02:10He said it was like a flash of light.
01:02:15Kerry was in a lot of pain.
01:02:17I mean, a lot of pain.
01:02:19And he would go out there and wrestle for however long you wanted him to.
01:02:23I mean, you talking about an athlete?
01:02:24I mean, he's a peg-legged guy out there.
01:02:27Look out!
01:02:28The whirling dermis spinning tornado!
01:02:31It's all over!
01:02:33Made it look easy!
01:02:34He continued to go out there and perform the way that he did.
01:02:38It's nothing short of amazing.
01:02:40That was crazy what he was doing.
01:02:42But Kerry was in a lot of pain.
01:02:45He was hurt, not only physically, but emotionally as well.
01:02:53Kerry was very particular in hiding it and protecting it.
01:02:59Kerry dressed separately from everybody else.
01:03:02And if you didn't know, you didn't know.
01:03:06Vince wanted to see it.
01:03:08And in seeing it, and seeing how well he moved and everything that he did, it was like, my God.
01:03:15You're a miracle.
01:03:17Let's tell this story.
01:03:20Kerry.
01:03:21And Kerry, I believe, was originally on board with that.
01:03:26And his father did not want that to happen.
01:03:32Kerry succumbed to his father's wishes and kept it a secret.
01:03:40We went to Japan a lot together.
01:03:42We were coming back from Japan.
01:03:43We decided to stop in Hawaii for a couple of days.
01:03:46He wanted to go diving with me.
01:03:49So we got with the company, and we went out and rented all the gear we needed.
01:03:53He got ready to go in.
01:03:54He had his jeans on.
01:03:55You can't go diving with a pair of jeans on and, you know, your boots on.
01:03:59You need flippers to move around.
01:04:01And, you know, I just don't want to take my jeans off.
01:04:04I'm embarrassed.
01:04:06Having that great of a body to be imperfect from his mind, not having that foot, not being a whole
01:04:13person again, or, I mean, it can weigh on you mentally, you know?
01:04:18He saw it as a sign of weakness.
01:04:21And so I think to avoid the scariness of all of that, he would take some pills to try and
01:04:30help him feel better through it.
01:04:32You talk yourself into so much stuff when you're making excuses of why you're getting high and why you're getting
01:04:38drunk.
01:04:39And they all work.
01:04:41I have to take this or I can't perform.
01:04:44If I can't perform, I don't get paid.
01:04:46If I don't get paid, we don't pay our bills.
01:04:48We don't have a house.
01:04:49We don't have a car.
01:04:51How's the kids going to get this or that?
01:04:55Unfortunately, I do remember times where he wasn't exactly sober.
01:05:01Like my mom, we were late to pick her up for the hairdresser.
01:05:04So we drove on the sidewalk all the way there because there was traffic.
01:05:07So you just go on the sidewalk, things like that that were very dangerous, let us drive in his lap
01:05:12on a highway going over 100 miles an hour.
01:05:15I remember when I was an adult, just looking back like, oh, yeah, you weren't sober.
01:05:22Got it.
01:05:25Daddy was visiting a friend that was a wrestler and the police came and raided his car and then took
01:05:32him to jail and then put me and Lacey in a different police car.
01:05:36That was pretty terrible.
01:05:40That one point, he was digging in his arms, looking for spiders and be like, baby girl, do you see
01:05:46it moving?
01:05:47And of course, I play into it and be like, yeah, daddy, I see it, you know?
01:05:58As a mom, when she comes home and tells me that, I'm like, you were where in a hotel room
01:06:02with your daddy and he thought he had spiders?
01:06:06They were so young, they didn't know that that's really not a good place for your children to be.
01:06:12Carrie threatened me with things like, I'm going to plant drugs on you, make you look like an unfit mom
01:06:18if you try to divorce me.
01:06:20And so there was that fear of, I'm going to look like the bad guy and be the bad mom
01:06:25because he's a Von Erich.
01:06:27So even the police would side with him if there was a domestic dispute.
01:06:33It's actually the first time I've ever spoken about my relationship with Carrie on camera, so it's very hard.
01:06:45I did try to get him back into rehab again.
01:06:48I had talking to Kevin and we did another intervention, but it just wasn't going to happen again in our
01:06:56time together.
01:06:59I had to leave the marriage and not because I didn't love him.
01:07:02It was hard for me to leave the marriage because of my faith as well.
01:07:07Of all the things I could handle, adultery was not one of them.
01:07:11And that was super hard on me.
01:07:16And I know he loved me. I know he did.
01:07:19He just wanted to have both lives.
01:07:23When he was working as Texas Tornado with WWE, I know they wanted him to go to Betty Ford.
01:07:30And he did. He went.
01:07:32I could see the struggle with Carrie really trying to come out of what he's already done to himself and
01:07:42come back to Carrie Atkinson.
01:07:47But it was just so far gone.
01:07:55People wanted to help Carrie.
01:07:58Everybody liked him so much.
01:08:01He was one of the most lovable.
01:08:03Just, God, man.
01:08:05The soul of Carrie Von Erich was just pure.
01:08:09So you wanted to help him.
01:08:12And it just became a problem.
01:08:15But that was ultimately what led to his demise was the substance abuse.
01:08:22So WWE let Carrie go.
01:08:30When I talk about Carrie's life, he's a 32-year-old and he's 30 of those years.
01:08:35He was a great guy.
01:08:38Just drugs did that to him.
01:08:41I thought if I could get him away from the drugs, we'd go up to the Northwest Territory up near
01:08:47Alaska.
01:08:48There are no drug dealers up there and we're going to go bear hunting.
01:08:56We didn't ever make it.
01:08:59As a matter of fact, Carrie had another arrest and was going to go to prison this time.
01:09:07He was already on felony probation when that happened, when he got busted for the cocaine there.
01:09:13I think it started going through his head.
01:09:15He's like, man, I'm going to go to prison and I'm going to have half my foot and everything.
01:09:24He asked me to go to lunch with him.
01:09:29He looked so broken when I saw him.
01:09:32And I could tell he had been on a binge because he just had that look, you know.
01:09:37And he asked me to put our family back together that day.
01:09:41We were already divorced.
01:09:44Ultimately, I reminded him of everything that we had been through.
01:09:48And his reaction was, today I will walk with, today I will walk with my brothers in heaven.
01:10:00I've heard him say little things like that before.
01:10:05And I reminded him of our girls.
01:10:08And I said, you know, they need you.
01:10:10And the last thing he said to me was, they're going to be better off without me.
01:10:17And I got up and went back to work.
01:10:20And within an hour, I got a call from Mr. Atkinson that he had done it.
01:10:27Maybe he had taken his life.
01:10:37News of Kerry's death seemed more than family members could take.
01:10:41Those close to him knew he had been despondent.
01:10:44He's had some more problems, which is no secret.
01:10:48And they just piled up to the point where he couldn't take it anymore.
01:10:53And he came out here about 1.30 this afternoon and said, Dad, I'd like to take the Jeep.
01:10:59And I'll just go back to a quiet spot for a while.
01:11:05And I should have realized then what he had in mind.
01:11:13Showed himself in the heart with that .44 Magnum.
01:11:16In the heart.
01:11:20It's just in the family dynamic.
01:11:24It's almost like if one commits suicide, it's almost like giving permission for the next one and the next one.
01:11:32It was just almost like, I don't want to say a need, but like, well, my brother did it.
01:11:39So, so can I, or so should I?
01:11:42I don't know.
01:11:43It was just, it was really hard.
01:11:47You see all the tragicness around their lives.
01:11:50And your heart hurts.
01:11:52And people started pointing fingers.
01:11:55Only those who know will ever know.
01:11:57But when you add it all up and you look at it as a whole, you start to think, could
01:12:03they have done something different?
01:12:06Just a lot of heartache.
01:12:07And my mom was really close to my Uncle Kerry too.
01:12:11I was like her best friend.
01:12:17Everybody loved him and he was so good inside.
01:12:22But, weak mind, drugs.
01:12:27Around that time, my brother Marsha was born.
01:12:32That was the hardest time that I saw in our lives was when my Uncle Kerry died.
01:12:40He had a deep, deep love.
01:12:44I'm going to say it's selfless.
01:12:46And it was.
01:12:47And, and I, I have to, I'm telling you this right now because I know when I say daddy had
01:12:52a selfless love for us.
01:12:53And then you think, well, then why did he kill himself and take himself away from you?
01:12:57But I, that was the drugs and the mental health disease.
01:13:00But I always knew his heart and that he loved us deeply.
01:13:06It's like you guys were having so much fun.
01:13:09I'll never find another one like her.
01:13:12Aw, see.
01:13:12That's so cute.
01:13:13That was nice.
01:13:14You love you so much.
01:13:15Look how pretty you all are.
01:13:18You're like, let me stare off into the distance for this one.
01:13:21But they're both so like, photogenic.
01:13:24I know.
01:13:25What a pretty couple.
01:13:26I like this one.
01:13:28Ain't we sweet?
01:13:30How do you feel looking back on this?
01:13:32I, I feel good about it.
01:13:34This was, this was the sweet daddy time.
01:13:36Look how sweet he is.
01:13:38Aw, I know.
01:13:39I remember those hands and how gentle they were.
01:13:41Yeah.
01:13:44I was in denial for so long.
01:13:46It was really a hard thing to deal with when you're so little and you love your dad so much.
01:13:51I couldn't hear his name.
01:13:53I couldn't smell his cologne.
01:13:56But then I became the pro wrestler when I got older.
01:14:01She was six when her daddy passed and she really wanted to understand his world.
01:14:07And no better way to understand the world than to get in it.
01:14:11And she didn't stay with it long.
01:14:14I got the healing and closure that I needed.
01:14:18But at the time I went to Uncle Kevin and Aunt Pam's house for that.
01:14:22My cousins, Kristen and Ross and Marshall and Jill were our best friends.
01:14:27And they were the only ones that understood the life that we lived.
01:14:33We were like sisters.
01:14:36And I just remember beautiful memories together with my cousins.
01:14:41And we had really good memories with my granddad.
01:14:45And then, you know, his health started to decline.
01:14:51They told him that he had really aggressive lung cancer that had spread and become brain cancer.
01:14:57And he had a very short time to live.
01:15:14Ready?
01:15:16Okay.
01:15:18The tree!
01:15:20Be careful.
01:15:21I'll protect you.
01:15:25I saved you.
01:15:28This is our childhood to a T.
01:15:33Just thinking about some of my favorite memories of daddy.
01:15:36And actually, whenever I went to buy this lake house and I walked out here,
01:15:42like the sound of it and the smell of it reminded me of like being at Mimi and Granddad's.
01:15:48Like all those great memories with our cousins.
01:15:52Well, that's great.
01:15:54I have a lot of good memories of Granddad.
01:15:56Look at me.
01:15:59I think that having us was like having his kids back.
01:16:04And I think it was his happy place if the grandkids were around.
01:16:08Let's see.
01:16:09Look at your granddaddy.
01:16:12He was like my best friend.
01:16:14I mean, I could not spend enough time with him.
01:16:17All right.
01:16:18Look up everybody.
01:16:19Okay, hold my hand.
01:16:21We had really good memories with my granddad.
01:16:23Oh my goodness.
01:16:25And then, you know, his health started to decline.
01:16:30When I was 17, Granddad started kind of losing his words.
01:16:37He would go out on the tractor for hours and just dig holes for no reason.
01:16:42And when he went to the doctor, they told him that he had really aggressive lung cancer that had spread
01:16:50and become brain cancer.
01:16:51And he had a very short time to live.
01:16:59When my granddad passed, that was hard for all of us.
01:17:02Because that was just, that was the last really, really hard hit.
01:17:10I loved him so much.
01:17:12I really did.
01:17:14But I got to tell you, when he died, that day he died, I was glad.
01:17:17I was glad it was over, his suffering.
01:17:21Go to Jesus where the reward is.
01:17:24I just know.
01:17:26The horns are honking and people are cheering when he got to heaven because I'm telling you, he was a
01:17:31good man.
01:17:32He really was.
01:17:38After my granddad died though, my, my dad, he was okay.
01:17:43You know, he had grieved, but he had Ross and Marshall.
01:17:53There was nothing like being a dad to two sons, especially what these boys were mine.
01:17:59They wanted to play football.
01:18:01And so for my dad, I was like, oh good, I got my brothers back.
01:18:08It's just like, uh, my life recycled itself, you know.
01:18:12You know, I've got all I had.
01:18:16And anything I do with these boys is just, whether we're fishing or hunting, it's just great.
01:18:26And we were all a big reason for my dad to keep going.
01:18:32But being in Texas was really hard and he did it as long as he could.
01:18:40He was everywhere I went, everything I saw, even the fields and the church bills and school bills, reminding my
01:18:50brothers, you know, everything.
01:18:55And, you know, loved it, but Texas had gotten to be quite a bit of a tight spot.
01:19:03It was a constant, constant reminder of what he didn't have anymore.
01:19:09And Mimi too. Mimi was still alive at the time and just so sad inside.
01:19:16We decided to move to Hawaii.
01:19:19We all felt like she just deserved this beautiful, peaceful place to live out her days.
01:19:28For the time, it was perfect for me.
01:19:31He always talked about moving to Hawaii.
01:19:34He's always loved the ocean and it was like slow paced.
01:19:39So that was like a perfect place for him.
01:19:44It was a fresh start in a lot of ways.
01:19:46We got to start over without that cloud of pity that people sort of look at you with.
01:19:54We were there 20 years and we came back to Texas.
01:19:59What I needed from Hawaii I got.
01:20:02This is kind of the end of the dream.
01:20:04You know, I wanted a rock house by a river.
01:20:08And I figured I could have that.
01:20:10I earned that.
01:20:12And now here is where I need to be, Texas.
01:20:15And my Guadalupe River.
01:20:18I could not be happier.
01:20:21Boom.
01:20:22Anybody ready for a good skip?
01:20:25Hey, Grandad.
01:20:26Yeah?
01:20:26Watch this.
01:20:31Here go, Colt.
01:20:36Oh my gosh.
01:20:38Hold your arms straight out like this where you go.
01:20:43Straight on.
01:20:45That a boy.
01:20:46Look, you did it.
01:20:48Ready, you guys?
01:20:49Let's launch.
01:20:51One, two, three, go.
01:20:55Watch this one, y'all.
01:20:56Mom, watch this run.
01:20:59Oh, wow.
01:21:05A lot of people feel sorry for me.
01:21:07I'd like them to know how happy I am.
01:21:10Good one.
01:21:10I like that one.
01:21:14Especially after watching that movie.
01:21:17Ever since I was a child, people said my family was cursed.
01:21:20Bad things kept happening.
01:21:26It was a big surprise when the movie came out.
01:21:32If you say it's based on a true story about the Von Erics, then people are going to think that's
01:21:36the story and that's where I had a problem with it.
01:21:39Because my dad's character and Grandad, my goodness, were just not the people I knew.
01:21:45You got to take it and get up.
01:21:48It was a really well done movie.
01:21:50I think it was a beautiful movie.
01:21:52Well, that doesn't mean that it was accurate.
01:21:56And my dad had a good point.
01:21:58He just said, maybe someone will see this movie and become curious and look us up.
01:22:05And they'll see that really what got me through is my faith.
01:22:12Thanks for your prayers because I think they did hold me up.
01:22:15I know a lot of my fans prayed and I thank all of you for it.
01:22:19Because here I am.
01:22:20I know I wouldn't have been there without his hand.
01:22:23So, thank you.
01:22:26Last question.
01:22:27What has this interview been like for you?
01:22:31Oh, okay.
01:22:36Well, it's like I want to be open when I talk.
01:22:44But it's been a long time and I think down inside some parts of my story I built little walls
01:22:51around, you know.
01:22:52I kind of feel safe like this and that.
01:22:55I don't know.
01:22:56Probably a survival instinct, I don't know.
01:22:59I'm not so tough that I'll figure that.
01:23:01If it was a weak way, I'd have probably taken it.
01:23:04I just didn't find it.
01:23:07So, but here I am.
01:23:08And I did struggle and I suffered.
01:23:10But I'm not the only one.
01:23:12We've all been like that.
01:23:15But I'll say this though, life is good.
01:23:17And I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me because I'm as happy as I could be.
01:23:22It's just a great life, you know.
01:23:26There's something magic with Kevin and I in that ring together.
01:23:28It was a family of superheroes.
01:23:31The roof is being blown off this part of Troy and by this crowd.
01:23:36I grew up idolizing those guys.
01:23:38I got to become friends with those guys.
01:23:40These are some of the best guys I've ever been around with in my life.
01:23:43Everybody was behind us.
01:23:44It's not just our win, it's all of our win.
01:23:48They just always like to have fun.
01:23:50And this stuff right here, I think I got it down.
01:23:52The boys had a really close bond together and it was infectious.
01:24:00Carrie, are you a good day to your kids?
01:24:05Starting all over.
01:24:06The one thing I'd like to do is raise those kids again.
01:24:10Most fun I've ever had in my life.
01:24:13My granddad was so joyful in those moments.
01:24:17And to see my dad get to have that now is so fulfilling.
01:24:23Now we have this ranch here and Holly brings her kids and Lacey brings her kids and Jill brings her
01:24:29kids and all that everybody can play and they can have a similar childhood experience to what we had with
01:24:35each other.
01:24:38I just love my family and I think that we're all still a very strong unit.
01:24:43I think whenever tragedy hits a family, the people that are still in the family even get closer.
01:24:50He's surrounded by love.
01:24:53And instead of it making him bitter for what he went through, it made him gentle and compassionate.
01:25:00And he values family more than anybody I've ever met because he's had it and he's lost it.
01:25:08And then to have it all again with all of his grandkids, it's such a blessing.
01:25:15The only thing that will last is love your family and almighty God.
01:25:22I'm just so grateful.
01:25:38You're so grateful.
01:25:38So thank you to all of your family, thank you so much, everyone.
01:25:39Thank you so much, everybody.
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