Kerry Von Erich
Kerry Von Erich | |
---|---|
Suicide by gunshot | |
Spouse(s) |
Catherine Murray
(m. 1983; div. 1992) |
Children | 2, including Lacey Von Erich |
Family | Von Erich |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Cosmic Cowboy #2 Kerry Von Erich The Modern Day Warrior[1][2] The Texas Tornado[1][2] |
Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)[1][2] |
Billed weight | 254 lb (115 kg)[1][2] |
Billed from | Denton, Texas[4] |
Trained by | Fritz Von Erich[1] |
Debut | May 7, 1978[1][5] |
Kerry Gene Adkisson (February 3, 1960 – February 18, 1993),
Early life
Kerry was the son of wrestler and wrestling promoter Fritz Von Erich. His brothers, David, Kevin, Mike, and Chris, were also wrestlers. Kerry was also a standout in high school track and field and possessed a record-breaking discus throw.[6][10] Later during his tenure in the WWE, his finishing move would be a spinning discus punch. He trained to compete in the 1980 Summer Olympics, but was unable to attend because of the boycott imposed by U.S. President Jimmy Carter.[11]
Professional wrestling career
NWA Texas / World Class Championship Wrestling (1978–1989)
Debut (1978–1979)
Kerry debuted in his father's
He defeated
Kerry started
NWA World Heavyweight Champion and feud with The Fabulous Freebirds (1983–1984)
On June 17, 1983, he teamed with Bruiser Brody to defeat the Fabulous Freebirds for the NWA American Tag Team Championship.[15][21] On July 4, Kerry and his elder brothers Kevin and David defeated the Fabulous Freebirds in a two out of three falls match to win the NWA Texas Six-Man Tag Team Championship.[22][23] They lost the titles back to the Freebirds on August 12.[24] On September 5, the brothers took on the Fabulous Freebirds in a rematch for the titles; the Freebirds retained their titles by pinning Kerry.[25] On November 24, Kerry defeated Michael Hayes in a loser leaves Texas steel cage match.[26]
On December 2, the Von Erichs defeated the Freebirds for their second NWA Six-Man Tag Team Championship.[22][27] On December 25, Kerry defeated Kamala by disqualification. On January 30, 1984, he teamed up with his brothers Mike and David against the Fabulous Freebirds in a six-man tag team match, which the Von Erichs lost by disqualification.[28]
Kerry's biggest career highlight was on May 6, 1984, when he beat "Nature Boy"
On July 4, the Von Erichs lost the six-man tag title to the Fabulous Freebirds.[31] The title was held up due to the Freebirds winning after interference by Killer Khan. On September 3, they defeated the Freebirds in a handicap steel cage Loser Leaves Texas match for his fourth six-man tag title reign.[22][32]
Later feuds (1984–1989)
After ending their rivalry with the Fabulous Freebirds, Von Erich brothers next feuded with Gino Hernandez, Chris Adams, and Jake Roberts. Kerry's angle with Adams was born out of Adams' angle with his brother Kevin, which began on September 28, 1984 (when Adams turned heel against Kevin following a tag team loss). In order to remain on kayfabe terms, Adams and Kerry wrestled as a tag team two days later in San Antonio, since the heel turn had not aired on television yet. On October 27, 1984, Hernandez, Adams, and Roberts defeated the Von Erichs to win the Six Man Tag Title in a match that saw Bobby Fulton substitute for an injured Kevin.[33] On October 29, he defeated Gino Hernandez for his fifth NWA American Heavyweight Championship.[12][34] On November 22, he teamed with Iceman Parsons to defeat Jake Roberts and Kelly Kiniski.[35] He later refereed a Texas Deathmatch between longtime rival Terry Gordy and Killer Khan, which Gordy won, via Kerry's decision. On December 25, Kerry again got a shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, a title he had lost many months ago. The champion Ric Flair intentionally got disqualified to retain the title.[36] On December 31, the Von Erichs defeated Hernandez, Roberts, and Adams to regain their NWA Six-Man Tag Team Title.[22][37] During his last days in WCCW, Kerry Von Erich would be embroiled in a feud with Jerry "The King" Lawler (AWA World Heavyweight Champion) over who would be the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion. Kerry was then the WCWA (World Class Wrestling Association (World Class' final used name before the USWA days) Heavyweight Champion.[8] They would meet at an interpromotional event called SuperClash III to settle the dispute. Prior to this match, Kerry accidentally cut his arm causing it to bleed. During the match, he also received a cut to the head. When he later had Lawler in a clawhold on the mat with Lawler's shoulders down, the referee saw the blood on Kerry's head, thought it was excessive, and stopped the match. The crowd thought Kerry won by submission but instead "due to excessive bleeding" the referee stopped the match and awarded the decision and the WCWA Championship to Jerry Lawler.[38] This would mark the end of Kerry's WCWA run.
Various promotions (1979–1988)
Von Erich worked for various promotions working for
United States Wrestling Association (1989–1990)
Kerry did continue to wrestle at the
World Wrestling Federation (1990–1992)
Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship and various feuds (1990–1991)
In June 1990, Von Erich signed a contract with
At
At the
Final storylines and departure (1991–1992)
In October 1991, Von Erich renewed his old rivalry with Ric Flair, being among the first names to face him in the ring after the NWA World Champion joined the WWF that August. Flair defeated Von Erich multiple times during the WWF's October tour of the UK.[52] The following month, "The Texas Tornado" suffered his first lopsided loss when he was squashed by The Undertaker in less than four minutes on the November 10, 1991, episode of Wrestling Challenge.[52] At Survivor Series, he teamed with Sgt. Slaughter, Jim Duggan, and Tito Santana against Colonel Mustafa, The Berzerker, Skinner, and Hercules. He did not eliminate anyone, but his entire team survived.[53] He made his last pay-per-view (PPV) appearance at the Royal Rumble in 1992; he participated in the Royal Rumble match for the vacant WWF World Heavyweight Championship. He was eliminated by the eventual winner Ric Flair, the man Von Erich beat eight years before for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.[7][54] Kerry's push continued to subside in early 1992. He was relegated to a house show feud with Skinner in which he came out victorious; in February he began a house show series with Rick Martel and was winless.
After an absence of two months following the real life breakdown of his marriage and subsequent divorce, Von Erich returned to action following WrestleMania VIII and defeated Marc Roberts on the April 18, 1992, episode of Superstars. However he now found himself as an opening card act programmed against low level competition like
Last years (1992–1993)
Kerry returned to Texas and claimed the USWF Texas Heavyweight Championship, which he lost to Dynamite Dixon in November 1992. This would be Kerry's last championship belt. He made an appearance for
Motorcycle accident and suicide
On June 4, 1986, Kerry was in a motorcycle accident that nearly ended his life. He suffered a dislocated hip and a badly injured right leg. Doctors were unable to save his right foot, eventually amputating it. According to his brother Kevin, Kerry reinjured the foot following surgery by attempting to walk on it prematurely, thus forcing the doctors to amputate it. He continued wrestling after the accident with a prosthesis and kept the amputation secret to the majority of fans and fellow wrestlers, even going to the extreme of showering with his boots on. His amputation was kept secret from the public until after his death.[57] However, Roddy Piper stated in his autobiography: "We were the best of friends. In fact, he felt comfortable enough to sit with me in a hotel and shoot the breeze with his prosthetic off".[58]
After the amputation of his foot, Kerry became addicted to pain killers, followed by several drug problems. Among the many of them were two arrests, the first of which resulted in probation. One day after being indicted for the second charge, which likely would have resulted in extensive jail time (being a violation of his probation),[59] Kerry died by suicide with a single gunshot to the heart with a .44 caliber pistol on February 18, 1993, on his father's ranch in Denton County, Texas, just 15 days after his 33rd birthday. He was found by his father Fritz, who stated that his last words to him were "Dad, I love you", before hugging him and going to the woods to take his own life.[3]
Bret Hart states in his autobiography, My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling, that while he and Kerry were on the road to Fort Wayne, Indiana, on October 29, 1990, Kerry had told him that he had decided to join his late brothers in heaven, and was waiting for God to tell him when. Bret told Kerry that his living daughters would need him more than his late brothers. Kerry mostly convinced Bret that he had changed his mind, but Bret feared that it was only words. Kerry told Bret again in the summer of 1992 that he wanted to follow his three late brothers David, Mike and Chris (the latter two of whom had died by suicide), and that they were calling him. Kerry's marriage had fallen apart earlier in 1992 and according to Hart, Kerry believed that his death was inevitable.
Posthumous induction in WWE Hall of Fame (2009)
On March 16, 2009, WWE.com announced that the Von Erich family would be inducted into the 2009 class of the
In other media
Kerry Von Erich posthumously appears in Dark Side of the Ring (season 1 episode 4) and the video games Legends of Wrestling, Legends of Wrestling II, Showdown: Legends of Wrestling, WWE 2K17, and WWE 2K18. He appeared briefly as a prisoner in Problem Child.
He is portrayed by Jeremy Allen White in the A24 movie The Iron Claw, based on the life of Kerry and The Von Erich family.
Personal life
Kerry was married on June 18, 1983, to Catherine M. Murray.[61] They had two daughters, Hollie Brooke (born September 19, 1984) and Lacey Dawn (born July 17, 1986). Lacey wrestled for several years, most notably with TNA as Lacey Von Erich, before leaving the wrestling business in 2010. Kerry and Catherine divorced on April 22, 1992.[61]
Championships and accomplishments
- Memphis Wrestling Hall of Fame
- Class of 2022
- NWA Big Time Wrestling / World Class Championship Wrestling / World Class Wrestling Association
- NWA American Heavyweight Championship (5 times)[12][62]
- NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship (3 times)[64][42]
- NWA Texas Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Bruiser Brody (1), Skip Young (1), and Tiger Conway Jr. (1)[65][66]
- NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship (Texas version) (6 times) – with David and Kevin Von Erich (2), Kevin and Mike Von Erich (3), Kevin Von Erich and Brian Adias (1), Lance and Kevin Von Erich (1), Kevin Von Erich and Michael Hayes (1)[22]
- Al Madril (1) and Terry Orndorff (2)[67]
- WCWA World Heavyweight Championship (4 times)[8][68]
- WCWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Kevin Von Erich and Lance Von Erich (1), Kevin Von Erich and Michael Hayes (1)[22]
- WCWA World Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Kevin Von Erich (3) and Jeff Jarrett (1)[41]
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI Match of the Year (1984) vs. Ric Flair at Parade of Champions 1on May 6
- PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year(1984)
- PWI ranked him #40 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1991[69]
- PWI ranked him #24 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003[70]
- PWI ranked him #23 of the top 100 tag teams of the "PWI Years" with David, Mike, and Kevin Von Erich in 2003[70]
- St. Louis Wrestling Club
- St. Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame
- Class of 2016
- Texas Wrestling Federation
- TWF Texas Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[72]
- United States Wrestling Federation
- USWF Texas Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[72]
- World Wide Wrestling Alliance
- WWWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[72]
- World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment
- WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[9]
- WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2009)
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Match of the Year (1984) with Kevin and Mike Von Erich vs. the Fabulous Freebirds (Buddy Roberts, Michael Hayes, and Terry Gordy) in an Anything Goes match on July 4
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Kerry Von Erich Profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved March 5, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Kerry Von Erich Bio". Accelerator 3359. Retrieved March 5, 2008.
- ^ a b "Power Slam". This Month in History: February. SW Publishing. January 1999. p. 28. 55.
- ISBN 978-0-7566-4190-0.
- ^ a b "Wrestling 85: Interview 85:Kerry Von Erich". Stanley Weston. Spring 1985. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
- ^ a b "Von Erich Family Profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved March 5, 2008.
- ^ a b c d "N.W.A. World Heavyweight Title". The Great Hisa's Puroresu Club. Retrieved March 12, 2008.
- ^ ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- ^ a b "WWE Intercontinental Championship official title history". WWE. Retrieved May 8, 2008.
- ISBN 0-06-039299-1.
- ^ "Kerry Von Erich". www.accelerator3359.com. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
- ^ ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- ^ Dananay, John (December 28, 1980). "WCCW Results". World Class Memories. Retrieved May 8, 2008.
- ^ "Wrestling Star Wars 6/81 results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved May 7, 2008.
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- ^ "Christmas Star Wars 1982 results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved May 7, 2008.
- ^ "Wrestling Star Wars 06/83 results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved May 7, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f World 6-Man Tag Team Title (Texas) history At wrestling-titles.com
- ^ "Independence Day Star Wars 1983 results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved May 7, 2008.
- ^ Dananay, John (August 12, 1983). "WCCW Results". World Class Memories. Retrieved May 8, 2008.
- ^ Dananay, John (September 5, 1983). "WCCW Results". World Class Memories. Retrieved May 8, 2008.
- ^ Dananay, John (November 24, 1983). "WCCW Results". World Class Memories. Retrieved May 8, 2008.
- ^ Dananay, John (December 2, 1983). "WCCW Results". World Class Memories. Retrieved May 8, 2008.
- ^ Dananay, John (January 30, 1984). "WCCW Results". World Class Memories. Retrieved May 8, 2008.
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- ^ Dananay, John (October 27, 1984). "WCCW Results". World Class Memories. Retrieved May 8, 2008.
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- ^ Dananay, John (November 22, 1984). "WCCW Results". World Class Memories. Retrieved May 8, 2008.
- ^ Dananay, John (December 25, 1984). "WCCW Results". World Class Memories. Retrieved May 8, 2008.
- ^ Dananay, John (December 31, 1984). "WCCW Results". World Class Memories. Retrieved May 8, 2008.
- ^ "SuperClash III results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved May 15, 2008.
- ^ a b "NWA Missouri Heavyweight Title". wrestling-titles.com. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
- ^ "Matches - Kerry Von Erich". Cage Match. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
- ^ a b World Class Wrestling Association World Tag Team Title history At wrestling-titles.com
- ^ a b "NWA Texas Heavyweight Title". Wrestling-Titles. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
- ^ "Saturday Night's Main Event results – July 28, 1990". WWE. July 28, 1990. Retrieved May 15, 2008.
- ^ "SummerSlam 1990 official results". WWE. Archived from the original on September 8, 2008. Retrieved May 15, 2008.
- ^ "Texas Tornado's first Intercontinental Championship reign". WWE. Archived from the original on April 23, 2007. Retrieved May 15, 2008.
- ^ "Saturday Night's Main Event results – October 13, 1990". WWE. October 13, 1990. Retrieved May 15, 2008.
- ^ a b "WWF Superstars Results (1986–1997)". Angelfire. Archived from the original on April 29, 2008. Retrieved May 15, 2008.
- ^ "Survivor Series 1990 official results". WWE. Retrieved May 15, 2008.
- ^ "Hulk Hogan (spot No. 24) wins the Royal Rumble Match". WWE. Retrieved May 15, 2008.
- ^ "WrestleMania VII official results". WWE. Archived from the original on March 15, 2009. Retrieved May 15, 2008.
- ^ "SummerSlam 1991 official results". WWE. Archived from the original on July 28, 2008. Retrieved May 15, 2008.
- ^ a b "1991". thehistoryofwwe.com.
- ^ "Survivor Series 1991 official results". WWE. Retrieved May 15, 2008.
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- ^ "92". History of WWE. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
- ^ "RCS Exclusive: Texas Tornado promo facing Papa Shango at Summer Slam 92". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
- ^ Guerrasio, Jason. "Jeremy Allen White's character in 'The Iron Claw,' Kerry Von Erich, really wrestled his entire WWE career with only one foot, and never told anyone about it". Business Insider. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
- ISBN 0-425-18721-7.
- ^ "Kerry Von Erich Warrant". The Marshall News Messenger. February 18, 1993. p. 9. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
- World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved April 11, 2017.
- ^ a b "Free Family Tree, Genealogy, Family History, and DNA Testing". www.myheritage.com. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
- ^ "NWA United States Heavyweight Title (1967-1968/05) - American Heavyweight Title (1968/05-1986/02)". Wrestling-Titles. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
- ^ "N.W.A. American Tag Team Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
- ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- ^ "NWA Texas Tag Team Title [E. Texas]". wrestling-titles.com. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
- ^ National Wrestling Alliance World Tag Team Title (Texas) history At wrestling-titles.com
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- ^ "PWI 500 1991". The Turnbuckle Post. Archived from the original on July 25, 2012. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
- ^ a b "PWI 500 of the PWI Years". Willy Wrestlefest. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
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- ^ ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
External links
- Kerry Von Erich at Find a Grave
- World Class Memories
- "Wrestling Museum": The Von Erich Family
- Kerry Von Erich's profile at Cagematch.net , Wrestlingdata.com , Internet Wrestling Database