What happened to Kevin Von Erich and his wrestling family?

The Von Erich family is one of the biggest and most well-known wrestling families in history. Kevin Von Erich is the only one of six children Fritz Von Erich had who is still alive. Although most of them found success in the wrestling ring, the family is also remembered for the tragedy that dogged them.

The legacy of the Texas wrestling family began with Fritz Von Erich, born Jack Adkisson. He started wrestling in the 1950s. His first child, Jack Barton Adkisson Jr., was born in 1952. Unfortunately, in 1959, Jack passed away at the age of six, drowning in a puddle after being electrocuted accidentally.

Despite the death, Fritz moved forward and eventually rose to stardom in the 1960s. He was popular on promotions like NWA and became a big star in Japan. In the 1970s, he even briefly held the post of NWA President. He eventually found success in backstage roles as a booker and owned World Class Championship Wrestling, where most of his sons performed.

Fritz's second son, Kevin Von Erich, as mentioned earlier, is the only one to have survived his brothers. Born in 1957, The Golden Warrior started wrestling in 1976 at WCCW and became a big star due to his skills. In 1991, he wrestled with WWF but didn't spend as much time at the promotion as his other brother, Kerry Von Erich, did.

Kevin Von Erich retired in 2005 but made a brief comeback in 2017 at the age of 60. In 2009, he represented the Von Erich family, who were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

David Von Erich was Fritz's third son. Known as The Yellow Rose of Texas, he was born in 1958 and started his wrestling career in 1977. David only wrestled once in WCCW, mostly appearing on NWA where he even feuded against Ric Flair. He passed away in 1984 in a Tokyo hotel room due to acute enteritis, but his fellow wrestlers believed it was due to an overdose.

The fourth son was Kerry, born in 1960. He started wrestling in 1978 at NWA and even held numerous championships in the promotion. However, the most special one was possibly the NWA World Heavyweight Championship which he won in 1984 from The Nature Boy, in a tribute event dedicated to David.

Kerry eventually made his way to WWE in 1990, where he was also known as The Texas Tornado and even held the Intercontinental Championship before departing in 1992. The following year, Kerry, unfortunately, died by suicide with a gunshot to his heart.

Mike Von Erich, the fifth son, was born in 1964. He started wrestling in 1983 at WCCW, just like his brothers. During his time at the promotion, he faced The Freebirds and Brian Adias. Mike later went to Japan, venturing into NJPW in 1987. Ten days into the tour, he returned to the US. That same year, he passed away by overdosing on tranquilizers.

The last of Fritz's sons was Chris Von Erich, who was born in 1969 and became a full-fledged wrestler in 1990 after appearing on a couple of shows in WCCW. It was said that he wasn't as gifted as his brothers, which is why he didn't see the same success as them. In 1991, at the age of 21, he committed suicide with a gunshot to the head.

Fritz Von Erich passed away in 1997 due to cancer, tragically having witnessed the death of five of his six children.

Kevin Von Erich's and and Kerry's daughters also became wrestlers.

Hollywood actor set to play Kevin Von Erich in a film based on the Von Erich family

The legacy of Kevin Von Erich and the rest of the Von Erichs is truly one that needs to be honored and remembered. Soon, not only wrestling fans will get to witness this.

The first look at Zac Efron as Kevin Von Erich in The Iron Claw was recently released by A24. Besides Efron, Downton Abbey's Lily James also stars in the film, written and directed by Sean Durkin.

At the time of writing, there is no definite release date for the movie. However, it is likely that fans will get to see the film in 2023.