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The Viceland Wrestling Documentaries


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6 hours ago, Curt McGirt said:

 -- the anecdote about trying to steal the gun was the one that gut-punched me.

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Kevin not realizing Chris had shot himself until he STUCK HIS FINGER IN THE HOLE IN HIS HEAD HOLY FUCKING SHIT

 

I think it is actual irony that pro wrestling led to the deaths of all his brothers and somehow likely saved his. 

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The doc was a gut punch even to someone like me that knew most of the beats to the story, but I have to admit that I couldn't help but smile every time they showed Kevin living life on a beautiful island, climbing trees, drinking from coconuts, and smoking cigars, if only because there are so many other ways his story could - and maybe should - have ended.

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1 hour ago, odessasteps said:

Don’t know if they mentioned it, but Kevin had that in-ring incident when tommy Rogers gave him CPR. So he survived the business in more ways than one. 

This was not covered in the documentary though i wasnt too surprised by that, as i dont think Kevin has ever opened up about that.

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I just so happened to have watched the Von Erich and Brody episodes on the same day I listened to Nancy Benoit's sister on Jericho's podcast (it came on my youtube playlist when I was working and it was pretty fascinating so i kept listening). Not a good idea. Both of those things really made me question how I can really enjoy wrestling if this is the price people pay to do it. And I'm usually not "that guy" at all. It's hard to describe because it's not like I'm blind to the toll wrestling takes on real people as I've been a fan for over 35 years but just listening/watching those three things in a short time period really hit home to me. I guess I just think about stuff like that more now that I have a 2 year old.

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Quote

MAY 11, 1987. LESS THAN A month after his brother Mike killed himself because he felt he couldn't live up to the family name, Kevin Von Erich was working the main event in Fort Worth when something rare happened: a moment of spontaneous, unmediated terror. As the television cameras rolled, teenage girls squealed, and spectators shouted for blood, Kevin and his opponent crisscrossed off the ropes. No doubt they were setting up the usual wild finish - perhaps a variation on the patented Von Erich Iron Claw, or a violent collision followed by an out-of-control brawl outside the ring, or maybe a miscarriage of justice with the ref taking an accidental bump and failing to see the heel clobber the baby face with a foreign object.

We'll never know what the climax of this match was supposed to be. For suddenly, without being touched, Kevin Von Erich's abused body defied the script. Instead of snapping smartly off the ring's taut ropes, he sagged heavily against the strands. Recoiling, he wobbled toward the center of the canvas, then collapsed, torso convulsing, pupils rolled heavenward.

The fans in attendance at the Will Rogers Coliseum probably thought they were witnessing the first documented case of a professional wrestler falling into holy rapture. What they were actually seeing, though, was the champion of the World Class Wrestling Association simply passing out in the middle of the ring in the middle of a match.

No matter what those in legit sports and others of respectable breeding may think, wrestling is a subtle, extemporaneous art form; experienced pros pride themselves on their ability to salvage even the most sour finish. But Kevin Von Erich's swan dive supplied more grim reality than any ordinary eight-man tag-team match could bear. Chaos reigned at ringside. The bell rang. The TV cameras were switched off. Wrestler Tommy Rogers scrambled through the ropes and performed C.P.R. on his fallen partner, who was turning blue.

Later, after being released from Harris Methodist Fort Worth Hospital, Kevin explained on television how he'd nearly been killed by a dreaded new oriental neck punch, courtesy of his hated rival, Brian Adias. Kevin vowed to avenge the blow the next time they met, whether it be in Fort Worth or Dallas or Mesquite or Lubbock or ...

With the heady brew of half-truth and chutzpah that only the hypemeisters of wrestling could concoct, a genuine brush with mortality became just another angle to sell tickets.

That is from an old Irvin Muchnick article

http://www.hack-man.com/Wrestling/NewsArticles/20001019-VonErich.html

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And to follow up even more - in a shoot interview, Kevin said he remembers nothing from that night but did confirm it was shortly after Mike's death.

He said the doctor's "found nothing wrong" and attributed it to "stress"

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3 minutes ago, Curt McGirt said:

Ah yeah, I remember it being a seizure now. Fuck, could have been anything that did that. Them going carney with it though is pretty disgusting.

Par for the course. And yet, That might not even be in the top 5 most disgusting WCCW angles.

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1 minute ago, TheVileOne said:

If it's alright to do a little plug, I interviewed the creators today. They said they started work on a Dino Bravo episode that's "75% done" but didn't make it into the first season. They said it could be a part of season 2 if it gets picked up. 

I think that would be interesting.

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36 minutes ago, Curt McGirt said:

We should make that. Maybe crank it up to top ten? Anybody wanna try this?

In chronological order

1. Exploiting David’s death

2. Rushing back Mike after his illness

3. Chris blindness / Gino’s death

4. Kevin’s accident/illness

5. Fritz’s heart attack 

also ...

kerry’s Injury 

Kerry’s death

chris’ Death 

(not in the same class)

lance von erich

leaving the NWA

 

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Fuck, I forgot about the Fritz heart attack. I'm sorry but that seems to be a nadir right there. But then "exploiting David's death" falls under so many categories (including Lance and Mike AND Chris) that, well, nevermind. 

Even if Kevin can't reconcile his emotions Fritz was the fucking devil. It's like after Jackie died, he just said, "well you thought a Nazi was the worst person in the world! Doris, hold my beer."

Edited by Curt McGirt
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Kevin saying his father was a good man at the end hit me hard. Whether he genuinely believes that or just can't bring himself to admit his father was human garbage is unbelivably sad either way. I don't know what it's like to watch a loved one deteriorate mentally, but I certainly feel sympathy for him. I'm happy for Kevin that he didn't suffer the same fate as his brothers, got to have his own family, and see his sons grow up.

Edited by Nice Guy Eddie
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12 hours ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

Kevin saying his father was a good man at the end hit me hard. Whether he genuinely believes that or just can't bring himself to admit his father was human garbage is unbelivably sad either way. I don't know what it's like to watch a loved one deteriorate mentally, but I certainly feel sympathy for him. I'm happy for Kevin that he didn't suffer the same fate as his brothers, got to have his own family, and see his sons grow up.

Keep in mind, Kevin saw a side of Fritz that we didn't. Which does not excuse the things he did, but I think he has enough good memories to rationalize.

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13 hours ago, Curt McGirt said:

Fuck, I forgot about the Fritz heart attack. I'm sorry but that seems to be a nadir right there. But then "exploiting David's death" falls under so many categories (including Lance and Mike AND Chris) that, well, nevermind. 

Even if Kevin can't reconcile his emotions Fritz was the fucking devil. It's like after Jackie died, he just said, "well you thought a Nazi was the worst person in the world! Doris, hold my beer."

From what I have pieced together, it sounds like Fritz never recovered from his first child dying at seven. Kevin said being the second child, Fritz was abusive toward him while lionizing Kerry and David. That guilt probably lead to him being a poor disciplinarian and the boys becoming what they were as adults, decent guys with serious hang ups. I don't think wrestling killed them as much as fame and money did. Drugs only have two throttlers, money and connections. Which the boys had.

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Growing up here in the Dallas area during the heyday, I can swear the local media reported that Kerry got busted with dope coming back from Mexico on his honeymoon and the promotion tried to spin it as the Freebirds planting it on him at the airport.

Edited by The Great ML
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1 hour ago, The Great ML said:

Growing up here in the Dallas area during the heyday, I can swear the local media reported that Kerry got busted with dope coming back from Mexico on his honeymoon and the promotion tried to spin it as the Freebirds planting it on him at the airport.

https://www.wrestlingforum.com/classic-wrestling/1623066-meltzers-comprehensive-article-kerry-von-erichs-life-death.html#/topics/1623066

In June of 1983, Kerry was arrested at DFW Airport coming back from his honeymoon with Cathy in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Customs agents found him with 18 unmarked tablets in his right front packet. He was hiding nearly 300 assorted downers like Percodan and Codeine pills in a plastic bag in the crotch of his pants, had ten grams of Marijuana and 6.5 grams of an undetermined blue and white powder. The incident made the newspapers, with Kerry going on television begging fans not to believe what you read in the newspapers. The most hardcore Von Erich marks dismissed the story, believing Kerry's insidious enemy, Freebird Michael Hayes, must have planted the drugs on him. Not so surprisingly, the evidence somehow disappeared from the police station and all charges were dropped.
 

 

Edited by Nice Guy Eddie
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