A hall of fame wrestler secretly spent his entire WWE career with only one foot before he tragically took his own life in one of the most tragic wrestling family stories.
Throughout the 1980s Kerry Von Erich was one of Texas’ biggest wrestling stars. Part of the cursed Von Erich family, Kerry made history with his brothers David and Kevin as they became one of the decade’s powerhouse wrestling families.
A-24’s biopic The Iron Claw recently thrust Kerry, played by ‘The Bear’ star Jeremy Allen White, and the Von Erich family back into the spotlight. The film documents tragic incidents the family went through as well as Kerry's downward spiral that ended with his suicide on February 18 in 1993.
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![Undated film still from The Iron Claw. Pictured: Harris Dickinson as David Von Erich. See PA Feature SHOWBIZ Film Reviews. WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature SHOWBIZ Film Reviews. PA Photo. Picture credit should read: House Claw LLC/Brian Roedel. All Rights Reserved. NOTE TO EDITORS: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature SHOWBIZ Film Reviews.](https://i2-prod.dailystar.co.uk/incoming/article32116583.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/1_ACR_080224Claw-_01.jpg)
The peak of Kerry’s career came when he defeated the Nature Boy Ric Flair in 1982 but he resisted a big move to the WWE until 1990. By then his career was on the way down after a motorbike accident in the mid-80s had led to the amputation of his right foot.
Throughout his entire WWE career, Kerry was able to conceal his missing foot by using a prosthetic limb with no one ever finding out about the shocking truth.
His lack of feet limited his abilities in the ring and Kerry became addicted to painkillers. This drug-addiction led to two drug-related arrests with the second leaving Kerry staring down the barrel of serious prison time.
Instead of going to jail, the broken wrestler went to his Dad's ranch, where he eventually died by suicide, firing one single bullet into his heart, according to The Baltimore Sun. With this Kerry joined his brothers David, Chris and Mike whose lives all ended abruptly and prematurely.
WWE star Bret Hart wrote in his book Hitman: "Kerry confided that he’d made up his mind to join his brothers in heaven.” Hart had tried to talk Kerry out of it, saying that Kerry's children would need their dad but it was no use.
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The bleak story of the Von Erich family starts with the father Fritz Von Erich, born Jack Adkisson, who became a huge wrestling star in the NWA and AWA wrestling promotions. In 1950, Fritz married his wife Doris and together welcomed six sons into the world. This sparked a saga of tragedy that only ended with Fritz's death from lung cancer in 1997.
The pain started early. Youngest son Jack died at the age of six after he was electrocuted in 1959 and subsequently drowned in a puddle in Niagara Falls, Canada. His death reportedly sent his father into a rage, where he violently started smashing windows in the family's house.
The other five kids all went on to become professional wrestlers, with the trio of Kerry, Kevin and David becoming stars of the industry. They all were all very talented, with each brother bringing something different to the table. In Kerry's case it was his physique and popularity with the fans, for David it was his understanding of technical wrestling and, for Kevin it was his mind blowing speed and agility.
![Undated film still from The Iron Claw Jeremy Allen White](https://i2-prod.dailystar.co.uk/incoming/article32116664.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/1_01HNW3VQ05A0AAH4DVV4KBSSDC.jpg)
The Von Erichs quickly became household names in the wrestling world and often graced TV screens and comic books alike. The trio even found themselves in commercials advertising Pizza Inn chains.
However, in 1984 with the untimely death of David at age 25, the family's dark days began. Considered the best "technical" wrestler of the trio, David was the reigning NWA United States champion when he was found dead in his hotel while on tour in Japan with the company.
Although rumours had it that David died of a drug overdose, it was later revealed that he died from acute enteritis, resulting in ruptured intestines filling his body with blood that led to a fatal heart attack.
Three years later, 23-year-old Mike Von Erich took his own life after contracting toxic shock syndrome. A shoulder injury had been preventing him from reaching the same heights as his older brothers and when his illness caused brain damage, on-screen wrestling performances started becoming uncomfortable viewing for fans.
![Harris Dickinson, Zac Efron, Stanley Simon and Jeremy Allen White](https://i2-prod.dailystar.co.uk/incoming/article32116693.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/3_01HNW3VSJ3PB3F8BJ09D5Q0H4S.jpg)
This all became too much for Mike who was found on April 12, 1987, dead in his sleep after overdosing from tranquilisers a short distance away from his childhood home.
The youngest of the Von Erichs, Chris, was constantly labouring under the shadow of his star brothers and began to buckle under the pressure. Despite this, by the early '90s, the baby-faced Von Erich was wrestling full time even if it was regularly alongside his brother Kevin to compensate for his limited abilities.
When Mike passed away, he was thrust into a deep depression and began taking drugs to dull the pain. This spiralled and in September 1991, Chris killed himself via a gunshot to the head.
When the hotly-tipped for stardom Kerry eventually took his life in 1993 a week after turning 33 to swerve prison time, it left Kevin Von Erich as the last brother left alive. Kevin has survived to this day and remains at ease with his family's torrid past.
After his family's biopic hit screens, he told the Guardian he did not “believe in a curse” about his family. He said: “I believe he’s a fair and loving God that has our best interests at heart.”
In 2009, the entire Von Erich family was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
The story of the Von Erich brothers, The Iron Claw, is currently in cinemas nationwide.
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