I had stopped watching wrestling by the time Kerry came around. I forgot he even went to wwf. I must say I kinda wish I didn’t go back & watch him cause it makes me really upset!! Seeing him take the time to really interact with the fans hurts to see. He’s wasn’t doing it to look good, he genuinely wanted to connect with them. It may sound dumb but I’ve honestly choked up a few times watching him. Im a performer, music & I’m the same way as he was with people. It’s very important to me. You can either ignore & hurt people acting like your to good for them or you can reach their heart by just stopping & treating them as an equal, WHICH THEY ARE!!! Im rambling sorry…RIP to him & his family 😢
@@thetruth72667 No, sir, it's understandable. It was saddening to hear of Kerry's suicide😕 I saw him wrestle once at The Spectrum in Philly when he was I-C Champ in November of '90?? I had an ailse seat next to my late uncle who was a big WWF fan at the time. Kerry came down during his intro and shook my hand as he passed by. I'll never forget it or how the place erupted when he made his entrance🙂 R.I.P. 'Texas Tornado' Kerry von Erich😇 Never forgotten
Also, Houston promoter Paul Boesch introduced Stu Hart to Helen. That doesn't really have anything to do with the Von Erichs, except Paul often brought Fritz' boys into Houston for big shows.
Chris Orosco To be fair I think all the Von Erich boys were nice guys with good hearts based on fan interaction and how highly the other wrestlers spoke of them. I felt so bad for Kevin during the WCCW documentary did WWE did a while back when he was talking about their deaths. I can't imagine how hard it would be to talk about the passing of so many siblings.
Shame things went down the way they did for Kerry. He could have been a big time player during the new generation era right up there with Bret, Shawn and Taker. Easily could have been WWF Champion.
I only got to see Kerry wrestle a few times; as I'd met Bret Hart who proved to me to be a genuine, caring person, I have no doubt that not only is he praising Kerry, he's speaking truthfully of him. In Bret's book, "My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling," Bret mentions of Kerry expressing wanting to kill himself and trying to talk him out of it--"Your children will always need you...you have to think of your children." As a survivor of suicide, the "warning flag" should have gone up with the 1st suicide--it's been proven that if a sibling commits suicide, the survivor is more likely to attempt it. My guess is that because the Von Erichs were in the public eye--and from interviews, I guessed that Fritz was rather pig-headed--the idea of therapy would not cross their minds. RIP Kerry...and great words from Bret!
I used to go to the sportatorium back then too, Kerry more than anyone was always doing extra stuff for kids (Rick Rude too despite being a heel nicest guy ever) sadly people like that seem to help others and never themselves
One thing I do find a bit peculiar? Kerry was the only member of the family who was very physically imposing. I mean, I know he wasn’t huge. But size up Kerry beside the ultimate warrior. Jim helwig was usually listed as six feet six and two hundred eighty pounds. Look at a promo of the new age warriors together in a video. Kerry’s basically the same size . If I recall correctly? I believe he was listed at six feet four inches in height and 275 pounds when wrestling as a team with the ultimate warrior. That’s kind of fair size. Even for wrestling. None of his many brothers or fritz were anywhere as big. That’s a little weird. Perhaps kerrys mother had an affair? I’m not saying it’s impossible fritz is the father of Kerry. Anything’s possible. I’m just saying ‘’’that’s a little strange? That’s just my opinion.
@@vinnievenus3570 You're wrong about multiple things. First, Kerry was not the biggest Von Erich brother. That was David. David was 6'7". Kerry was the most muscular but not the tallest or the biggest. Second, during his prime Fritz was bigger than all of his sons including David. David was taller than his father, but Fritz was close to 300 pounds during his prime. David was built like a basketball player. Kerry was built like a bodybuilder. Third, Warrior/Helwig was never listed as 6'6". He was listed as 6'2" and Kerry was close to the same height. So you're right about Kerry and Warrior being very close in size but everything else is extremely wrong.
@@haljordan777 Multiple things? Eh? Your a contentious person. Aren’t you? Multiple? How many? Multiple things? Ten billion? I’m completely right in everything I said. Buddy. How? Here’s how. Let me explain. But first off let me say this. Your violent in your words. Sir. That’s not wise talking that way to someone. Talk calmly. Man. Ya know? Taking a violent writing style for no rational reason immediately with me is not endearing me to you. Now,,, For the record ? Kerry is clearly the most muscular and most talented Attchisson. Alias Von Erich. You know it and I know it. So, Even if what you say in contentious violent words is partially true? Which I very much doubt… By the way? But Even if it is true? Buddy? Note this. The words you just wrote? To me? They dont alter alter the obvious fact that everything I just wrote here is still true. In summary. What do I mean by that? Simply this. Kerry was the most muscular and most talented and most famous bon Erich. By far. That’s obvious,,, So I’m clearly not wrong in what I said. Here. At all. Regarding Kerry. Generally speaking. Why? Because that’s obviously what I was generally referring to in the statements I made here. The fame Kerry had compared with his brothers and father. But you know what? Okay. I’ll check and see if Fritz’ was bigger then Kerry. In weight. In his early career. And despite the fact I was referring to Kerry’s muscular build and size and weight , which also was around Jim helwigssize , I’ll still check to see if David was taller. Why not? I’ll do that right now. Just for the record. Jim helwig was usually listed six feet six. If you don’t think so then check the records closely.
@@haljordan777 okay. Sir. For the record I never noticed how tall fritz was during his wrestling career. Probably because I never saw fritz wrestle. I was too young. So I never got a chance ultimately. And I never got the oppunrtunity to see David von Erich wrestle either. My misfortune. O well. So, your right. I admit it. In the column of height. At least. Regarding the von Erich’s at least. Two things. I apologize. But you said I was massively gloriously amazingly wrong about almost everything. When it’s obvious I was only wrong about those two things. And for good reasons on my part. Which I just listed in writing. Yet you said I was basically gloriously wrong in multiple ways. Regarding this subject. In that your the one whose wrong. Sir. In your words and statements to me. That’s obvious. Please note that obvious truth? Sir? Thank you.
Kerry and his doctors tried for a year to get his foot to heal after his motorcycle accident but it started dying nd had to be amputated. Then the man wrestled with a prosthetic and a metal brace and was still lifting mountains of men over his head while that brace dug into his leg causing him more pain so interviewers please stop asking about his "drug problems!" The man was most likely in constant physical pain so I'm alright with him needing pain killers and I know I'm not the only one! Let the man rest in peace!
The person Bret might despise the most is Vince due to him treating his family outside him being the face of the company like nothing and for killing his younger brother Owen
Butthurt people confuse not liking others with being brutally honest and most brain dead simpletons can’t seem to be able to differentiate the difference between the two
He was a great athlete and someone to admire! My childhood hero! His whole family was. And dedicated their whole life to entertain us! Miss all of them!
Not somebody to admire are you crazy? He is the perfect example of somebody not to admire because he burned himself up under the influence of drugs man. You do not admire people destroying their lives. Kerry had the look and charisma of a wrestler, but was a basket case of emotional trauma. I do not admire much from those days of wrestling after learning the ins and out of wrestling, but I did learn their are better guys to admire like the guys who never allowed themselves to become controlled by drugs like Ax or Demolition, Honky Tonk Man, Greg Valentine those were guys to admire as they played heels mostly, but vowed to never get sucked into the drug culture. That is why they are still here and alive today!. I loved the Von Erics as much as anybody, but I am not going to look the other way because I loved the group and enjoyed watching them perform.
Strong Style JEEZUS Absolutely. Great observation. Watching him in the World Class days, he was closer to a Jon Bon Jovi than a George Strait. All the boys were legit rock stars without so much as strumming a guitar.
Bret said in his book that just before the oldest Adkisson boy, little Jackie, was electrocuted at the trailer park, Fritz had worked for Stu and Jackie had played with Smith and Bruce Hart. I think he bonded with Kerry because if anyone could sympathize with being part of a tragic wrestling family Bret Hart could.
Kerry could've been the next big thing in the WWF if it weren't for his demons. I remember watching his matches in WCCW and USWA growing up and he definitely had the it factor (so did Kevin for that matter).
But sadly after WCCW became USWA Kerry since that moment was either Jobbing or pushed down the card causing him stress that he might not be in the spotlights anymore especially him being Father Fritz favorite Kid even had to deal with caring for two Daughters by the time he passed
Apparently when Vince was getting ready to take over the world he had 3 guys in mind: Hulk hogan, Kerry, and Dusty rhodes, granted this all speculation but they were the biggest things in Wrestling but Kerry was often a soft spoken giant and didn't have as much to go on as far as charisma but I feel like Roddy and him would've had great matches still
@@tyhronnasbury3332 Kerry and curt did have a great match. It was on a pay-per-view. I believe it was SummerSlam in 1990 Kerry had an incredible match and won the Intercontinental title from curt
I met Kerry and Kevin Kerry had such a loving spirit , Kevin wasn't easy to figure out,but Kerry you could feel the love in his heart he really Loved who he would meet bless them all there father had to have been a knight mare to work under.
The HARTS and VON ERICHS go back a long ways. Stu trained Fritz and I heard that the hart kids and von Erich kids used to play together when they were little
I met Brett in the eighties when the then WWF came to Oakland, we had a couple of drinks and he was kind enough to answer a lot of my questions about the Von Eric’s. We talked for about an hour. Brett is a super nice guy and many of my questions were answered, especially about Kerry and David’s death cause
@@martyswild I meant what I wrote lol. Warrior spoke kindly of Kerry in his shoot interview. He didn't have nice things to say about many people. And very few people liked Warrior.
I only knew of Kerry Von Erich as The Texas Tornado during his WWF run. What amazed me about him during that time was he was able to keep himself in excellent shape, have good matches, get over as a face and have an Intercontinental Title reign with a prosthetic foot. He was able to hang in the ring with Curt Hennig at that time who was one of the best, definitely something to tip your cap to. It sucks that his demons became too much, from what I saw and what others in the business have said about him, he was a good guy and phenomenal talent. My condolences to his family and friends. RIP Kerry Von Erich, thank you for the good memories.
Even as a kid when i seen Kerry I knew he was special and was a great talent. Drugs can take anyone down. But honestly it sounds like the dad Fritz is more responsible for how his boys turned out than anything. Boys have to be taught they just don’t roll out of bed as adults and figure out the real world. Bret was point on, Kerry was hard not to like
This is a reference about the dangers of being in the wrestling business when you want be or stay on top even at least stay with the company for a long time even fellow pro wrestlers like chris Benoit had similar issues to the von Erich family too with stress with how much are they going to be paid a year or hour so it leads to alcohol and drug issues until lead to deaths by suicide in most cases
Bret's dad and Kevin's Dad used to trade talent between WCCW and Stampede... Fritz and Stu were friends.....And Fritz was also pretty well known in Japan so he would trade talent there as well
I feel like Bret looked up to Kerry a little bit. Both were sons of wrestlers/promoters and their brothers were workers too. I’ve yet to hear someone go into detail about Kerry’s problems without mentioning how much they liked him. I’ve also never heard someone bury Kerry with hatred toward him.
I actually got to see Kerry wrestle live in wwe. I didn't even know he worked for them until he came to the ring. He was billed as THE TEXAS TORNADO and he just started with them. Really good card because it was on TV. Wrestling challenge and superstars both being filmed. A lot of great talent that night. Kerry ,Hogan, warrior,Bret, the road warriors, bulldog, the rockers, Bobby heenan, dusty rhodes,jake the snake,mr perfect and so many more.it was awesome because I only been to house shows before that. The barbershop was being filmed too. Tickets were 20 a piece back then for good seats
Kerry was a great wrestler and inspiration to a younger Jim hellwig, who went on to be ultimate warrior. Kerry was the one and only modern day warrior. Nuff said '
Yeah, Hellwig was in the WCCW in its height of its popularity, as a top Heel. He was The Dingo Warrior. Hellwig's enormous ego would have never looked up to anyone, I don't know where you got that.
He was a huge star, not on the level of Hogan for example, but from 1982 to 92 he lived like a rock star and was a big name in the business. He definitely left his mark on the industry.
You are 100% wrong. Only 2 out of the 12 Hart siblings passed away tragically while they were young (Dean in 1990 and Owen in 99), it's sad but out of 12 kids it's bound to happen. It's definitely not the same situation that Kevin Von Erich went through with his brothers, far from it.
It always seemed to me that Kerry and David loved the business. As for Kevin, he had love/hate relationship with it. Kevin was always the more cerebral of the boys.
I'd say David was the best worker/ring general and Kevin was the most athletic, but the one that had the most star power and overall the best skills was Kerry.
I can only imagine the load those brothers carried all those years. Kerry lost David, Mike and Chris in a seven year span. Plus he was born months after the first born Jack Jr. died as a kid. It's easy to just dismiss him as a junkie, but that's a lot of shit to cope with.
Manu Ginobilis Bald Spot alot of shit to cope with??!!! Nyggah y'all gots to come much stronger than that! Much to cope with is ALL those children dealing with cancer and the chemo they must endure, @ St. Jude's Children's Hospital. NOT some clown'd 🃏 Joker, who was blessed as well as gifted with being over 6 feet, incredible genetics, long hair, great looking to the lovely Ladies, and an 'hero' to his male fans. All this and more. And he knew the Lord Christ on a personal level. All this and he decided it wasn't even close to enough. Kerry Von Erich shit on all those physical attributes, love and adoration from family and fans alike, fame, and much bank did not make him happy. What a real tremendous waste of talent and overall a complete, utter waste of Life itself. For a guy like Kerry Von Erich, who basically was blessed incredibly by the Lord God Almighty, I feel NO compassion whatsoever...................................... For God cannot be mocked, for whatever man sows, this too he shall reap. If you sow to the natural body, he shall reap destruction and death, if ye shall sow to the Spirit, ye shall reap Eternal Life. Can't or refuse to cope??? My answer is found in, (get yourself a Bible!) 1st Corinthians Chapter 10, Verse 13.
Richie Petranico You are an idiot. Many - including William Styron, Myrna Loy - have written about the long term effects of grief. Decades later she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, he self-medicated with alcohol, plunged into depression when he stopped. Kerry's home & work situations were not easy, he must have been very strong to last as long as he did. Your opinion about someone else's life is irrelevant, you are in NO way qualified as a diagnostician. And your trite cliches only insult his survivors who love him & miss him every day.
Seriously? Grief is a real emotion, and there is no time limit on it....Kerry was extremely close to his brothers and had said that all he wanted was to walk with them....which is what he's doing right now....the world lost a great human being and fantastic athlete R.I.P Kerry
I knew Kerry very well and spent time with him and his family. Unless you KNOW from experience what they have been thru all assumptions need not be spoke
I expected him to be the strong one that wouldn't follow his brothers. He was the most gifted. Mike killed himself over the pressure by Fritz of having to fill David's shoes and Chris killed himself because he felt physically inferior, being only 5' 5". Kerry should have been like "My family has been through enough shit. I love my brothers but I'm not going to follow them. I am going to preserve the Von Erich name and make it mean more on the main event card than on a gravestone. This cycle ends now".
Actually, Mike killed himself due to not being able to physically recover from the toxic shock syndrome he got from surgery. He had a very very high fever and it basically fried his brain.
He should've toughed out his problems. Definitely think of his daughters who were still little girls when he took his own life. Furthermore was it the end of the world for him when his marriage ended? Happiness is simply by choices anyone makes in life.
I still don't see how he could maintain that physique if he was so messed up? I've been working out for over 20 years and even with steroid abuse you still have to have the gym time. The stories are either overblown or he would get fucked up before the matches.
Knowing the Von Erich's personally I can assure you Kerry loved his fans and considered them family. He died of a broken heart bc he felt he had disappointed and hurt everyone. And the DA threatening to bury him under the jail did not help.
I've heard he STAYED in the gym A LOT! That he benched 500lbs( or something like that)So possibly he got coked up to workout?? Who knows? Especially considering his brother claimed after he lost his foot he felt half the man..so maybe excessive time in the gym made up for it?? Either way he's always had muscles even during his "skinny days" when he first started. He was supposed to go to the Olympics too so yeah he was always in shape.
The only bad thing I can say about kerry was he abandoned his two little girls instead of doing his time and getting clean. He could've been a booker or onscreen manager, his career wasn't over just because of his foot. Kerry had personal demons. The past few years of his life he made comments about hearing his dead brothers calling him to join them in heaven
It puzzles me, since a week ago from feb 8(jan 30) when he "showed his true colors" against Rick Martel in Madison square garden(I still liked the match). Seems Vince had enough and threw him under the bus? I will never know "but" he did went to rehab but still outcast as a worker til the end of his contract. RIP Kerry
again thank you...hey since you gave me a hook up here,s a hook up for you.....Ultimate Warrior & Jake Roberts @ Gottschalk (german tv, '93 ]......it,s rare and weird...lol...warrior is on a german talk show and is walking around with a sword ...wtf ???.....lol....enjoy
@@mab1959 you'd think but I've seen shoot interviews where someone is asked about information that seems pretty common knowledge in the community but is something they'd never heard before. Seems like a lot of guys totally disconnect because they weren't big marks to begin with
I was disappointed that Kerry didn't stay in the WWF for long. But if I think about how much the WWF had to offer versus staying In the smaller promotions, then I'm sure that Kerry would have destroyed himself sooner.
mean gene told a story in a shoot about kerry,s drug problem....he and kerry went to dinner to try to land a deal for WWF with some business guys...kerry was so drugged up that he would put food in his mouth and it came spilling out in front of everyone...sad.
it was a RF shoot interview....i saw it a couple of years ago on youtube, i checked it,s not on here now....if you type in your search elsewhere you could find it
the mean gene shoot on kerry von eric is now on youtube...just type in your youtube seach....mean gene okerland shoots on kerry von eric, drugs and alcohol...enjoy
@@YourEyesTheyLie Not quite…Vince didn’t want him billed as a Von Erich..weird competition deal he has. whatculture.com/wwe/10-wwe-gimmicks-changes-failed-dismally?page=4
@@mab1959 I grew up watching it and there are videos/clips where they call him by his known name in the WWF. As much as Vince tried, couldn't hide his background.
Friday ,1/31/1992 ( WWF ) New York City, NY: Madison Square Garden: Texas Tornado ( Kerry Von Erich -on drugs- pilled up High as Hell ) vs Rick The Model Martell shown I think live & on WWF Prime Time Wrestling on USA Network Cable. 2/ ? /1992
Weird to see Bret complimenting someone without an underhanded dig or jab. Tho on the roundtable discussion, he did compare himself and his family and their popularity during their Stampede days to the popularity of the Von Erichs in Texas when in reality, it wasn't remotely close.
Wow, so this is what you do then, just look up every Bret Hart RU-vid video you can find and bring in your negative bullshit? You're gonna dictate reality too then? What the fuck do you know about anything Hogan mark? You wanna see bitter, take a look in the mirror everyday
+StuUngar Bret is brutally honest about alot of people. Also too, people how have had brain injuries, often lose the inhibition part of the brain resulting in just saying fully what's on their mind. He's more critical of people who he's had actual deal-ins with. A guy he's universally positive about is Stone Cold, but that might also be because Stone Cold put him over big time (2 PPV losses? That's crazy!) Bret also obviously has a centric view of where he came from, what his family contributed. But also because he lived it all through his life, probably felt it was much bigger than it was.
