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Hollie Von Erich recently appeared on Sportskeeda Wrestling's UnSKripted and opened up about the struggles her father, Kerry Von Erich, faced after his unfortunate motorcycle accident.
Kerry Von Erich is one of professional wrestling's forgotten legends whose name isn't talked about enough these days. The former Intercontinental Champion met with a near-fatal accident in 1986, eventually leading to his foot amputation.
Von Erich continued to wrestle with the prosthesis but saw his life spiral out of control due to his addiction to drugs and painkillers.
The WWE Hall of Famer experienced a drastic decline in his mental health as Hollie Von Erich recalled that her father hallucinated before his death. Kerry Von Erich was only 33 years old when he shot himself in the chest with a pistol on February 18th, 1993.
Hollie Von Erich luckily spent some valuable time with her father during his final days, and she revealed details of the heartbreaking phase on this week's UnSKripted:
"Daddy started thinking he had spiders in his arms. I don't know if I should get into all that, but, you know, kind of hallucinating, and so, he was digging in his arms, and he would be like, Baby, do you see that. Do you see it moving?' That was like towards the end when I was much older," revealed Hollie. "So I saw things like that, but yeah, my mom always said, 'Your dad is sick.' And it was so hard for her to let us go with him when it was his time, but she knew that was important, and you know, I'm sure he would have not taken no for an answer, but yeah, he was sick, that's what my mom always used to say." [From 19:52 to 21:00]
Hollie Von Erich says Kerry Von Erich was a loving father before the accident changed him
Hollie Von Erich noted that before the motorcycle mishap, Kerry Von Erich was a great father who enjoyed a healthy marriage for several years. However, the former NWA World Champion was never the same after that fateful day in 1986 as he battled "inner turmoil" for the rest of his life, according to his daughter.
Kerry Von Erich also allegedly felt like a fraud as wrestlers and fans didn't know he was wrestling with a prosthetic leg until his demise.
"Well, I saw, and this is not the foundation of my dad," Hollie continued. "He was a loving father. He was a loving person, but he had; I know that after his motorcycle accident, there was a lot of inner turmoil, just kind of feeling like a fraud. So, you can only imagine what that might do to someone because you're hiding something, and you can't be your true self. That was the big deal." [From 17:00 to 17:40]
Hollie admitted that while her mother and Kerry Von Erich were madly in love, the couple had no option but to divorce in 1992 as he genuinely needed professional help.
Kerry Von Erich also physically abused his ex-wife, but Hollie clarified that it was the outcome of his deteriorating mental health.
"That was hard to see and be away from my dad. I do remember physical abuse. Not a lot, never towards my sister or I, mostly just towards my mom. She was smart. She did what she had to do. She got out hoping daddy would get better, and you know they could work it out." [From 18:57 to 19:20]
What are your memories of Kerry Von Erich? Share them in the comments section below.
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