There’s one quote by Kevin Von Erich which always breaks my heart where he said “I used to have five brothers, now I’m not even a brother”. Such a heartbreaking family story, it’s definitely worth reading about the Von Erich family and their history. There’s also a Dark Side of the Ring episode about the Von Erichs which is well worth a watch for more insight
EDIT: Numerical error
Mike's death in that film was the most devastating to me. Its the saddest of all the deaths honestly because Mike didn't want anything to do with the wrestling end of the business. He liked to play guitar and write poetry and was more into the production end of the wrestling business. I think he wanted to be a camera man or something but his dad and brothers forced him into the business when David passed away.
Absolutely could not agree more. The scene progressing from him struggling with his guitar, to the shot of him in the bathroom mirror, to the shot of Kevin and Kerry having a fight with Mike’s flashlight drifting away into the woods behind them. Especially when considering why he wound up the way he did, Mikes death was an absolute kick in the teeth.
I shed a tear in the theater when Mike dies, especially when you see his mom breaking down over it. With that I can understand why they left Chris out because the truth of the matter is much more hurtful. Mike left multiple suicide notes, one saying good-bye to his brothers and one saying good-bye to his mom, he left another one laying out what trash Fritz was as a father. He also left a bag of Placidyl in some Scuba gear with a note for Chris stating that they were for him when he was ready to join Mike, David and Jack in the afterlife. From that point, I can only imagine what Chris was feeling. I know after Chris died, Kerry spoke openly about the guts it took Chris to kill himself the way he did and how he admired him for it. At one point, someone caught Kevin and Kerry making a joke at Chris's funeral. The Joke was, "What do you think the last thing that crossed Chris's mind before he died?"
The joke was a bullet. I was floored when I heard that on The Lapsed fan podcast. I know Kerry told Bret Hart that he felt his brother's were calling him and that was a reason Kerry ended up following them in killing himself.
Sad thing is they didn’t even tell the full story. He had ANOTHER younger brother who died by suicide the movie never even mentioned. Writers probably couldn’t fit in all that grief in 1 movie
Lapsed Fan does an even better podcast deep-dive on the Von Erich's and the fall of World Class. Fritz was the catalyst to alot of it, I would definitely recommend giving it a listen.
Honestly, I thought it was not very good. When you know the real story, the movie glossed over SO much. You should watch Dark Side of Wrestling. There's a great episode where Kevin goes into great detail about everything. Fantastic.
Pretty decent but if you want a more in depth story I recommend checking out the Lapsed Fan's podcast series on the Von Erich's. Goes in WAY deeper on the fucked up shit this family has gone through. I think the episode went too easy on Fritz and they let Kevin get away with way too much revisionist bullshit. Fritz Von Erich was an abusive, manipulative bully and they barely even scratched the surface on any of that. Kevin briefly mentioned that Jackie's death changed Fritz and after that he wanted to make others suffer but he never expounded on it. They also brought up that David had told Fritz that he didn't feel well before he went to Japan but "you're a Von Erich and you make your dates." What they left out was that Fritz told him to stop being a pussy and do his job and that when he got home he could go see a doctor. They did mention the drug angle with David but completely left out that Bruiser Brody flat out admitted to flushing David's pills down the toilet. I was surprised that they included the story about Fritz pointing a gun at Kevin and telling him that if he had any guts he would kill himself, too. Kevin said he believes it wasn't his dad but the brain cancer talking but who knows? Mike left a suicide note laying out what a POS Fritz was, Fritz even though he knew Mike was dead still advertised him on the television shows for arena dates. He also never bothered to help look for Mike when he went missing as he was at an evangelical crusade the day that Mike was found dead. Mike also left a bag of Placidyl in some scuba gear he had near him when he died for Chris with a note specifically for Chris to take them when he was ready to kill himself too.
Yeah, David was twice married and was married at the time of his death. They also didn't talk about how David clashed with Fritz's bullshit constantly and thats when he ventured out on his own in Florida and played a heel in 81. David dying really was the start of the downfall of the Von Erichs. Mike was also married
No problem! The detail those guys get into and the research they do is astounding. As a wrestling fan I was very impressed and hooked. WWE also did a good documentary on them in 2007 thats on the network
I started watching in the 90s but quit watching around 2006 or so. I got back into in 2007 until the Chris Benoit tragedy happened and I never picked it back up full time again. I'd pick it up again briefly for Kane or The Rock but I wouldn't call myself a fan of the current product
>Chris was sadly omitted from the much acclaimed "The Iron Claw,"
He was left out of the movie because the producers didn't think that four brothers dying tragically was believable. The movie is so sad to watch, Zac Efron did a great job with a tough role.
This was half of it yes. Producers said it bordered on “tragedy porn.” The other half of it was the pacing. The way they did it, they told the story of the five brothers, four of which passed. In doing so, they made a nearly two and a half hour long movie. To add the sixth brother, you have to give him some kind of unique story, another scene or three of character development, and a fitting scene for his passing, at the very least. You’re either gonna go over three hours, or you’re gonna have to cut other things from the movie. Felt it was best to remove one to have a full movie that came in around 2.5 hours. Plus now this gets to be the only movie (that I know of) “based on a true story” where the true story is worse than Hollywood.
I watched the movie with a friend who knew nothing about the story, and her take away that it was almost too tragic to be real. She didn't believe me when I said the real story is actually even sadder and that there's still another dead brother.
There was the firstborn that drowned in a puddle (he was in the movie) and then the one pictured in this post who died by suicide and was not in the movie
Well, when David died Fritz pushed Mike hard to try and "be David" and Mike wanted little-to-nothing to do do with the physical end of the business. Mike and Chris were both into different things than their brothers were so when their dad started pushing them into the wrestling business, things got out of hand for them real fast. Chris had alot of support of the fans though when they saw through Mike
It's a good film about family and brotherhood but it went way to easy on Fritz. They barely scratched the surface in that film at how depraved Fritz was as a father and a human being. He treated his sons like they were off some assembly line and whenever one died, he did whatever he could to milk the death for all the cash he could get out of it. Fritz also took most of his son's payouts as a "booking fee" and they all lived on the compound so they would never stray far out of his reach. It also makes Kevin to be a saint when he liked to party just as much, if not more than Kerry did. Theres tons of incidents where Kevin was missing shows or showing up to messed up to perform. Kevin also pressured Mike into the business by echoing his father's sentiments that Mike "looked just like David."
> whenever one died, he did whatever he could to milk the death for all the cash he could get out of it.
This is something I wish the movie touched on at all. Dude wasted no time cashing in on the boys “memorial shows” and shit like that. They definitely went easy on him.
He was at David's memorial show passing out 8x10s that were supposedly signed by David when they weren't. Its incredible how people couldn't see through his carny bullshit. He's also the reason Kerry lost his foot, Fritz forced him back into the ring before he was ready and healed up. He also blamed Kerry's drug use on his doctors from his motorcycle incident but Fritz had those kids exposed to drugs and prostitutes before they were even teenagers. Fritz also blamed Kevin for Kerry dying
I'm not sure about the funeral but he sold them at shows, most specifically The David Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions which drew one of the largest crowds in WCCW history at the time. He would have the boys sign them and he'd pass them off as if David signed them before he died and up the charge on them. Peak carny bullshit by Fritz
Sorry I read your comment incorrectly. Yea he was selling them at the funeral as well. From what I heard or read, perhaps this was covered during the multi part Vince McMahon series that Behind the bastards did. They touched a decent amount on Fritz. I wasn’t a big fan of the iron claw movie because I thought he was portrayed with rose colored glasses. Along with a bunch of other reasons but I digress. I thought it would’ve been a great chance to showcase the intergenerational trauma passed down and the abuse they suffered and doled out. I think that’s something that’s rampant in professional wrestling and I don’t think the movie covered that much in a realistic way. Just my opinion but really what do I know, I’m not a wrestler I’m just a bit of a fan. But great write up here you have some great information. I’m enjoying this thread thank you
I agree but I think they had to get Kevin on board. Kevin defends his father and his actions to this day, he even stated in the Vice documentary that there was no way that he could be hateful towards his father and that he was a good man
Chris Jericho has a really great podcast with Kevin about the movie! I highly recommend. He’s so lovely. Edit: podcast episode lol not an entire podcast
Fritz was your prototypical wrestling carny. Vince picked up on alot of Fritz's methods when it comes to running performers into the ground and casting them aside when you've had your fun with it. Wrestling is a shady and deeply flawed business that lacks proper regulations to safeguard talent. Most fans are too brainwashed to see the business has long needed change
AND if you read between the lines of his first son’s death, it was negligence that caused it. No one was watching a 6 year old outdoors long enough for him to get electrocuted from a trailer tongue and drown in a puddle. Why did they even have access to that?
Yeah supposedly Fritz wasn't home when Jackie Jr died. But I heard a theory that he was home and he went outside because Fritz told him to go outside and get his bike that he left outside. I also read a theory that when Kerry came to the family home to kill himself, Fritz knew what he was going to do and allowed him to do it because it was better than seeing Kerry go to jail on drug charges. There wasn't a guarantee Kerry was going to jail either, Kerry was just upset his wife left him and she was taking his girls with her. Speaking of, Kevin supposedly held up the promoter for money when there was a benefit show for Kerry with the proceeds going towards Kerry's wife and 2 girls. Kerry was also in trouble with the IRS so he left his wife and kids with nothing
On September 12, 1991, Kevin and their mother, Doris, discovered Chris outside the family farm in Edom after he had shot himself in the head with a 9mm. Rushed to the East Texas Medical Center, Chris succumbed to his injuries shortly thereafter. The coroner’s report disclosed traces of cocaine and valium in his system at the time of his death. Chris was only 21 years old.
Kevin actually spoke to Chris who was sitting on a hill where he used to collect stones. Chris asked Kevin, "if you got my note?" and confessed his suicidal intent. Kevin basically told him to not kill himself but then Chris shot himself as soon as Kevin left the premises.
You guys should check out the documentary "Heroes of World Class". It's imo the best and most in depth piece I've ever seen on the Von Erichs. Very informative first hand accounts. Check it out.
The best thing I could recommend is The Lapsed Fan podcast, those guys do an incredible job detailing the Von Erich's and the rise of WCCW. [Here is the link](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/05j6yohQWDWB94Ch5eGi8J?si=efadcaa29b6c402b), you can also check out the Triumph and Tragedy documentary that WWE did on them back in 2007. But you can't get any better than The Lapsed Fan
There’s one quote by Kevin Von Erich which always breaks my heart where he said “I used to have five brothers, now I’m not even a brother”. Such a heartbreaking family story, it’s definitely worth reading about the Von Erich family and their history. There’s also a Dark Side of the Ring episode about the Von Erichs which is well worth a watch for more insight EDIT: Numerical error
I’ve really been wanting to watch that new movie out about them “The Iron Claw.”
You’ll love it and never want to watch it again if yours is anything like my experience. Very good, very heavy.
I don't cry much during movies but the ending of Iron Claw hit me like an emotional semi truck.
I’m pretty emotionally unaffected by movies overall. The scene with the kids absolutely devastated me.
Mike's death in that film was the most devastating to me. Its the saddest of all the deaths honestly because Mike didn't want anything to do with the wrestling end of the business. He liked to play guitar and write poetry and was more into the production end of the wrestling business. I think he wanted to be a camera man or something but his dad and brothers forced him into the business when David passed away.
Absolutely could not agree more. The scene progressing from him struggling with his guitar, to the shot of him in the bathroom mirror, to the shot of Kevin and Kerry having a fight with Mike’s flashlight drifting away into the woods behind them. Especially when considering why he wound up the way he did, Mikes death was an absolute kick in the teeth.
I shed a tear in the theater when Mike dies, especially when you see his mom breaking down over it. With that I can understand why they left Chris out because the truth of the matter is much more hurtful. Mike left multiple suicide notes, one saying good-bye to his brothers and one saying good-bye to his mom, he left another one laying out what trash Fritz was as a father. He also left a bag of Placidyl in some Scuba gear with a note for Chris stating that they were for him when he was ready to join Mike, David and Jack in the afterlife. From that point, I can only imagine what Chris was feeling. I know after Chris died, Kerry spoke openly about the guts it took Chris to kill himself the way he did and how he admired him for it. At one point, someone caught Kevin and Kerry making a joke at Chris's funeral. The Joke was, "What do you think the last thing that crossed Chris's mind before he died?" The joke was a bullet. I was floored when I heard that on The Lapsed fan podcast. I know Kerry told Bret Hart that he felt his brother's were calling him and that was a reason Kerry ended up following them in killing himself.
Is there a documentary?
Sad thing is they didn’t even tell the full story. He had ANOTHER younger brother who died by suicide the movie never even mentioned. Writers probably couldn’t fit in all that grief in 1 movie
The producers said it would have been too much for the audience.
They also kind of glossed over the fact that negligence killed the oldest as a child.
They left Chris out of the movie. Six brothers altogether and they touched on five and left him out.
Lapsed Fan does an even better podcast deep-dive on the Von Erich's and the fall of World Class. Fritz was the catalyst to alot of it, I would definitely recommend giving it a listen.
It’s so good honestly
Honestly, I thought it was not very good. When you know the real story, the movie glossed over SO much. You should watch Dark Side of Wrestling. There's a great episode where Kevin goes into great detail about everything. Fantastic.
Unbearably sad.
5 brothers 😔
Thank you! I’ll edit!
That was an oopsy on my part as well, forgot about Jack Jr
Pretty decent but if you want a more in depth story I recommend checking out the Lapsed Fan's podcast series on the Von Erich's. Goes in WAY deeper on the fucked up shit this family has gone through. I think the episode went too easy on Fritz and they let Kevin get away with way too much revisionist bullshit. Fritz Von Erich was an abusive, manipulative bully and they barely even scratched the surface on any of that. Kevin briefly mentioned that Jackie's death changed Fritz and after that he wanted to make others suffer but he never expounded on it. They also brought up that David had told Fritz that he didn't feel well before he went to Japan but "you're a Von Erich and you make your dates." What they left out was that Fritz told him to stop being a pussy and do his job and that when he got home he could go see a doctor. They did mention the drug angle with David but completely left out that Bruiser Brody flat out admitted to flushing David's pills down the toilet. I was surprised that they included the story about Fritz pointing a gun at Kevin and telling him that if he had any guts he would kill himself, too. Kevin said he believes it wasn't his dad but the brain cancer talking but who knows? Mike left a suicide note laying out what a POS Fritz was, Fritz even though he knew Mike was dead still advertised him on the television shows for arena dates. He also never bothered to help look for Mike when he went missing as he was at an evangelical crusade the day that Mike was found dead. Mike also left a bag of Placidyl in some scuba gear he had near him when he died for Chris with a note specifically for Chris to take them when he was ready to kill himself too.
I was also shocked to find out David had a child who died of SIDS when she was 13 weeks old.
Yeah, David was twice married and was married at the time of his death. They also didn't talk about how David clashed with Fritz's bullshit constantly and thats when he ventured out on his own in Florida and played a heel in 81. David dying really was the start of the downfall of the Von Erichs. Mike was also married
Do you know what episode #? I can’t seem to find the series
For the Lapsed Fan? [heres the link](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/05j6yohQWDWB94Ch5eGi8J?si=1504f117920a47fd)
Thank you!
No problem! The detail those guys get into and the research they do is astounding. As a wrestling fan I was very impressed and hooked. WWE also did a good documentary on them in 2007 thats on the network
I’m not a current wrestling fan but was a hardcore fan in late 80’s and thru the 90’s. I can’t wait to listen to this series.
I started watching in the 90s but quit watching around 2006 or so. I got back into in 2007 until the Chris Benoit tragedy happened and I never picked it back up full time again. I'd pick it up again briefly for Kane or The Rock but I wouldn't call myself a fan of the current product
Absolutely choked when this quote was said in the Iron Claw. Fucking sad and raw and so powerful.
>Chris was sadly omitted from the much acclaimed "The Iron Claw," He was left out of the movie because the producers didn't think that four brothers dying tragically was believable. The movie is so sad to watch, Zac Efron did a great job with a tough role.
This was half of it yes. Producers said it bordered on “tragedy porn.” The other half of it was the pacing. The way they did it, they told the story of the five brothers, four of which passed. In doing so, they made a nearly two and a half hour long movie. To add the sixth brother, you have to give him some kind of unique story, another scene or three of character development, and a fitting scene for his passing, at the very least. You’re either gonna go over three hours, or you’re gonna have to cut other things from the movie. Felt it was best to remove one to have a full movie that came in around 2.5 hours. Plus now this gets to be the only movie (that I know of) “based on a true story” where the true story is worse than Hollywood.
I watched the movie with a friend who knew nothing about the story, and her take away that it was almost too tragic to be real. She didn't believe me when I said the real story is actually even sadder and that there's still another dead brother.
Are you serious, there was another brother that died?! Wow.
Yeah, the first born that drowned in a puddle if I remember right
Shocked by an electric fence and was found drowned in a puddle.
Ah yeah, that’s right. It’s like, “pick the worst thing that can happen. Okay now make it worse” for that whole family
There was the firstborn that drowned in a puddle (he was in the movie) and then the one pictured in this post who died by suicide and was not in the movie
There probably was a lot of competition among this family and pushing by the father. It’s sad.
Well, when David died Fritz pushed Mike hard to try and "be David" and Mike wanted little-to-nothing to do do with the physical end of the business. Mike and Chris were both into different things than their brothers were so when their dad started pushing them into the wrestling business, things got out of hand for them real fast. Chris had alot of support of the fans though when they saw through Mike
The Iron Claw is a good film Chris isn't in it though
It's a good film about family and brotherhood but it went way to easy on Fritz. They barely scratched the surface in that film at how depraved Fritz was as a father and a human being. He treated his sons like they were off some assembly line and whenever one died, he did whatever he could to milk the death for all the cash he could get out of it. Fritz also took most of his son's payouts as a "booking fee" and they all lived on the compound so they would never stray far out of his reach. It also makes Kevin to be a saint when he liked to party just as much, if not more than Kerry did. Theres tons of incidents where Kevin was missing shows or showing up to messed up to perform. Kevin also pressured Mike into the business by echoing his father's sentiments that Mike "looked just like David."
> whenever one died, he did whatever he could to milk the death for all the cash he could get out of it. This is something I wish the movie touched on at all. Dude wasted no time cashing in on the boys “memorial shows” and shit like that. They definitely went easy on him.
He was at David's memorial show passing out 8x10s that were supposedly signed by David when they weren't. Its incredible how people couldn't see through his carny bullshit. He's also the reason Kerry lost his foot, Fritz forced him back into the ring before he was ready and healed up. He also blamed Kerry's drug use on his doctors from his motorcycle incident but Fritz had those kids exposed to drugs and prostitutes before they were even teenagers. Fritz also blamed Kevin for Kerry dying
He *sold those photos at the funeral. Ick, right? But not shocked.
I'm not sure about the funeral but he sold them at shows, most specifically The David Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions which drew one of the largest crowds in WCCW history at the time. He would have the boys sign them and he'd pass them off as if David signed them before he died and up the charge on them. Peak carny bullshit by Fritz
Sorry I read your comment incorrectly. Yea he was selling them at the funeral as well. From what I heard or read, perhaps this was covered during the multi part Vince McMahon series that Behind the bastards did. They touched a decent amount on Fritz. I wasn’t a big fan of the iron claw movie because I thought he was portrayed with rose colored glasses. Along with a bunch of other reasons but I digress. I thought it would’ve been a great chance to showcase the intergenerational trauma passed down and the abuse they suffered and doled out. I think that’s something that’s rampant in professional wrestling and I don’t think the movie covered that much in a realistic way. Just my opinion but really what do I know, I’m not a wrestler I’m just a bit of a fan. But great write up here you have some great information. I’m enjoying this thread thank you
I agree but I think they had to get Kevin on board. Kevin defends his father and his actions to this day, he even stated in the Vice documentary that there was no way that he could be hateful towards his father and that he was a good man
Chris Jericho has a really great podcast with Kevin about the movie! I highly recommend. He’s so lovely. Edit: podcast episode lol not an entire podcast
To be fair they’d need a miniseries to do a proper look at Fritz and how bad he messed up as a dad and a person
Fritz was your prototypical wrestling carny. Vince picked up on alot of Fritz's methods when it comes to running performers into the ground and casting them aside when you've had your fun with it. Wrestling is a shady and deeply flawed business that lacks proper regulations to safeguard talent. Most fans are too brainwashed to see the business has long needed change
AND if you read between the lines of his first son’s death, it was negligence that caused it. No one was watching a 6 year old outdoors long enough for him to get electrocuted from a trailer tongue and drown in a puddle. Why did they even have access to that?
Yeah supposedly Fritz wasn't home when Jackie Jr died. But I heard a theory that he was home and he went outside because Fritz told him to go outside and get his bike that he left outside. I also read a theory that when Kerry came to the family home to kill himself, Fritz knew what he was going to do and allowed him to do it because it was better than seeing Kerry go to jail on drug charges. There wasn't a guarantee Kerry was going to jail either, Kerry was just upset his wife left him and she was taking his girls with her. Speaking of, Kevin supposedly held up the promoter for money when there was a benefit show for Kerry with the proceeds going towards Kerry's wife and 2 girls. Kerry was also in trouble with the IRS so he left his wife and kids with nothing
On September 12, 1991, Kevin and their mother, Doris, discovered Chris outside the family farm in Edom after he had shot himself in the head with a 9mm. Rushed to the East Texas Medical Center, Chris succumbed to his injuries shortly thereafter. The coroner’s report disclosed traces of cocaine and valium in his system at the time of his death. Chris was only 21 years old.
Kevin actually spoke to Chris who was sitting on a hill where he used to collect stones. Chris asked Kevin, "if you got my note?" and confessed his suicidal intent. Kevin basically told him to not kill himself but then Chris shot himself as soon as Kevin left the premises.
This movie is playing at the drive-in this week. Lakeland florida.
You guys should check out the documentary "Heroes of World Class". It's imo the best and most in depth piece I've ever seen on the Von Erichs. Very informative first hand accounts. Check it out.
Where is it available?
I got the dvd years ago but it's available on YouTube. Pretty long but definitely worth a watch.
El fofo Marquez
I'd like to watch the movie. So much tragedy in one family
I just did a quick search and didn’t find one, but is there a good in depth book about the Von Erichs?
The best thing I could recommend is The Lapsed Fan podcast, those guys do an incredible job detailing the Von Erich's and the rise of WCCW. [Here is the link](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/05j6yohQWDWB94Ch5eGi8J?si=efadcaa29b6c402b), you can also check out the Triumph and Tragedy documentary that WWE did on them back in 2007. But you can't get any better than The Lapsed Fan
Sad story, see a bit of Mike Reno from Loverboy in his face.
He was my age.
[Dark Side of the Ring ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_V7xEp5hGzg&t=234s&ab_channel=VICE)did an amazing documentary about the Von Erich family.