The Shocking True Story of the Von Erich Curse

Is the First Family of Texas Wrestling cursed? Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be discussing The Shocking True Story of the Von Erich Curse. The 2023 film “The Iron Claw” dramatized the lives and careers of The Von Erich Family, a name synonymous with professional wrestling in the 1970s and ‘80s. Our video takes a deep dive into the conjecture that that the family is cursed. Do you think the Von Erich family is cursed? Let us know in the comments!

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The voner family ascended to wrestling superstardom but just as quickly suffered Relentless personal tragedy welcome to watch Mojo and today we’re discussing the Shocking True Story of the von Eric curse it’s the only thing that matters to me the 2023 film The ironclaw dramatized the lives and careers of the von Eric

Family a name synonymous with professional wrestling in the 1970s and 80s however is there any basis to the conjecture that this first family of Texas wrestling was cursed people said my family was cursed the short answer to our first question is no at least according to the real life Kevin von

Eric what happened it’s just terrible just a terrible thing but no curse the last surviving von Eric brother told Vice as much during his appearance on the season 1 episode of dark side of the Ring titled tellingly the last of the Von Erics however this hasn’t stopped many wrestling fans and journalists from

Musing about how so much Misfortune and personal tragedy can afflict one Family Lines so deeply from a father to his sons it was a dynasty it was a family Dynasty Zack Efron’s portrayal of Kevin in the iron claw presents Aon Eric who lends more weight to the apparent curse

That seemed to follow his family since the days his father Jack Atkin changed his name to Fritz Von Eric the Elder adinon portrayed a heel or bad guy during his wrestling Heyday in the 1950s and 60s the name Fritz Von Eric was actually given to Jack by the patriarch

Of another famous wrestling family the hearts specifically it was Stuart who paired Jack as Fritz alongside wrestler Walter cber dubbed Waldo as the fictional villainous German von Eric Brothers he could create a lot of heat just coming across as the German hit the ring and was going to beat up all the

Americans Fritz Von Eric and his kayfabe AKA storyline brother Waldo were build as German Nationals with sympathies to that country’s historical connections to World War II thus Fritz became a feared heel in Stuart’s Canadian territory of Stampede Wrestling then known as Klondike wrestling it was the relatively

Early days of his career when Fritz would develop his feared ironclaw finishing maneuver oh did you see Fritz Bon ER the master of the iron claw catches Jo Blanchard coming off the rope and is applying the iron claw to him right now described simply it was when

He would grasp his opponent’s head in a vice likee grip and squeeze until his foes succumbed to the pressure after years and years of doing the claw you get scary crazy good at it the iron claw was passed down by Fritz to his sons as they too entered the wrestling business

The PowerHouse Trio of Kevin carry and David von Eric were the first to achieve stardom but they and the rest of the family were already no strangers to tragedy the ironclaw also touches upon the story of their older brother Jack adinon Jr who passed away following an accidental electrocution in 1959 they

Were all crying and Jackie had been electrocuted it was the loss of Jack Jr that that in part helped push Fritz to slow down his in- ring career in order to focus on promotion this would enable the Von Erics to establish Roots by a home and hopefully become more

Financially stable it would be in worldclass championship wrestling where the Von Eric’s Legacy as the first family of Texas wrestling would be forged the company was founded by Ed McLemore in 1966 but was run and operated by Fritz until he pass wccw to his sons Kevin and Cary in 1988 this was

During an age when professional wrestling was largely split into state-run territories that worked under the larger Banner of the national wrestling Alliance aka the NWA the Vagabond life of a traveling wrestler may have been over for Fritz but wcw’s television deal with ESPN as well as its array of impressive Talent enabled his

Sons to become Stars Kevin Carrey and David von Eric became household names in Texas gaining the love and respect of their fans while becoming celebrities in the process Fritz’s children worked as baby faces or good guys and exemplified the von Eric family’s cultivated public Persona of virtuous God-fearing Texans

Who fought for the straight and narrow coming off the rops up and over rolls him up this may be it in ring battles with high-profile names like Bruiser Brody gentleman Chris Adams Abdullah the Butcher and particularly The Fabulous Freebirds made the three von Eric Sons some of the most popular professional

Wrestlers full stop it will be David and Kevin both who come in and they’re going to have a triple truck of however the path of a professional wrestler at that time historically necessitated at least one trip to Japan it was here where one’s medal as a superstar could be tested new goals

Achieved and new legacies forged for that country’s rabid pro wrestling faithful unfortunately the journey East would prove fatal for David von Eric who died at only 25 years of age while working there in 1984 this voice says David Manning Joe huchi all Japan Pro Wrestling David V dead the official

Cause of death provided by the US Embassy in Japan was labeled as acute enteritis resulting in a ruptured appendix other theories abound however including one by Ric Flair that alleges his overuse of painkillers another backed by both Kevin von Eric and family friend David Manning surmises that it

Was perhaps a heart attack that felled the Yellow Rose of Texas Texas got hurt that day the story of the von Eric family doesn’t get any easier at this point because no fewer than three other of Fritz’s Sons would die by their own hand in the following years the first

Would be Mike von Eric who was thrust into the pro wrestling Spotlight as a replacement for David the iron claw highlights the younger Von Eric’s preferential desire to work behind the scenes in wccw as opposed to in the ring the film also leans into Mike’s interest in music and songwriting yet Mike von

Eric debuted in 1983 for wccw and even embarked upon a semi-successful tour of Japan in 1987 near the end of his career fing body slam one two three and Mike got Eric prior to this a 1985 trip to Tel Aviv Israel would result in an in ring shoulder injury only a year after

David’s death Mike dislocates his shoulder in the ring the surgery to repair this injury took a turn for the worse and Mike suffered toxic shock syndrome as well as some brain damage he did return to the ring however a feet not showcased in the iron claw still the

Shadow of David von Eric loomed large over Mike’s career and a number of personal setbacks including a car accident and an arrest for DUI pushed the young man to a dark place in the spring of 1987 the von Eric family attorney assisted Mike during his release from jail he would be the last

Person to see him alive Mike von Eric was only 23 when he intentionally mixed a combination of alcohol and an excess amount of plail a sleeping medication everybody was just so sad be Dave and now Mike Chris von Eric was even younger than Mike just 21 when he tragically

Took his own life on September 12th 1991 the smallest von Eric brother had followed a similar path to his brother Mike although by all accounts Chris von Eric did Harbor a deep desire to become a professional wrestler unfortunately the young man’s asthma and comparatively diminutive stature made acclimating to

Wrestling difficult he had brittle bones because of the asthma medication that he took the portrayal of Mike von Eric in the iron claw seems to be an amalgamation of both brothers since a training sequence underlines the younger Von Eric’s struggles during training Chris Von Eric’s in ring career lasted

Barely a year before his struggles with depression became fatal if Mike and Chris struggled to find their footing in professional wrestling then it’s perhaps Carrie von Eric that saw the highest profile and the most success a one-time Olympic hopeful Carrie would see his career blossom into a tenure in the WWF

After leaving his father’s company in 1990 right into the head to ke there it is that spinning Hammer move it’s all over but the shouting brain Champion car’s time working for Vince McMahon would be shortlived however and it was during this time when the struggles of Von Eric’s personal life including

Arrests a divorce and substance use would eventually come to a head amazingly Carrie was still able to wrestle at this Elite level despite enduring a 1986 motorcycle accident that resulted in the amputation of his foot when they made the decision to amputate I would have never ever thought it could

Be kept secret still Carrie Von Eric’s frustration with his career setbacks and personal challenges proved to be too much for the young man to Bear Carrie von Eric died on February 18th 1993 industry folks such as Brett Hart claimed to have had conversations with Carrie where vanon Eric expressed admiration for the self-destructive

Actions of his brothers and expressed a desire to follow down their path dad found him and he said he’d never seen such a peaceful look on K’s face Kevin von Eric echoed these sentiments during his appearance on Dark Side of the Ring even mentioning how his father Fritz

Once threatened to do the same Kevin tells the story of an armed Fritz then suffering from severe brain and lung cancer admonishing his son for not having quote the guts to follow in his brother’s footsteps Fritz Von Eric would eventually succumb to his cancer on September 10th 1997 Kevin meanwhile is the last

Surviving original von Eric the pro wrestling Legend credits family with keeping him grounded amidst that industry’s often tumultuous world the image presented during his dark side of the Ring appearance paints a portrait of a grateful man who doesn’t take his success for granted I’m lucky in the way

That I found that the only thing that lasts is family the relationship between Fritz and his sons is also not painted with as many heavy dramatic Strokes as in the iron claw Kevin by all accounts paints Fritz Von Eric as a man haunted by the death of his firstborn Jack Jr he

Had seen himself for too much what a good man he was before we continue be sure to subscribe to our Channel and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos you have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them if you’re on your phone make sure

You go into your settings and switch on notifications Fritz according to Kevin was a man who quote was at war with the world and in deep personal pain unfortunately there’s no way to go back and paint the von Eric Story with any colorful brushes we need to look at the

Present and perhaps the future to see how Kevin’s connection to religion and family have borne fruit and brought peace Kevin’s Sons entered the business and currently wrestle under the names Ross and Marshall von Eric Carrie Von Eric’s daughter Lacy also wrestled for the WWE and TNA until retiring in 2010

So is the von Eric family cursed no but their legacy within the professional wrestling industry is one of public success and private pain it’s a Bittersweet tragedy that’s gone on to both Inspire others in its wake while also serving as a cautionary tale for surviving professional wrestling’s of a

Kind way of life hey who knows maybe the story will continue