Kevin Von Erich is a son of Fritz and one of the famous Von Erich Brothers.  He made his
highly anticipated wrestling debut on August 10, 1976.  It wasn’t before long that Kevin was
rising up the ladder and challenging for the territory’s top prize.  He wrestled Bruiser Brody
on Christmas 1978 in Fort Worth.  Kevin beat his opponent and captured the NWA
American Heavyweight Title.  He only had a little over than two years in the business.  Von
Erich ventured out of Texas and signed on to wrestle for Sam Muchnick in St. Louis.

On November 23, 1979, Von Erich beat the tough Dick Murdoch in his first trip outside of
his home state.  The prize was the Missouri State Heavyweight Championship.  In January
1980, Von Erich beat Ox Baker in Dallas and took the American Heavyweight Title.  Kevin
was a duel champion in two major NWA Territories.  He lost the American Title to Toru
Tanaka on April 20th in Dallas.  On the 25th of that month, Von Erich dropped the Missouri
Title in St. Louis to Ken Patera.

Kevin took his third American Title victory on April 28th in Fort Worth.  Von Erich gained
revenge on Tanaka.  Gino Hernandez beat Kevin in Fort Worth on May 25th, taking the
American Title.  He began to chase Hernandez for title shots throughout Texas.  The title
was held-up on December 20th after a match between the two contestants.  Von Erich was
unable to compete in the rematch on December 28th, but his younger brother, Kerry took
his place.  His brother beat Hernandez for the belt.  In early 1981, Kevin defeated
Hernandez in a special grudge match, and thus, Hernandez’s manager, Gary Hart had his
head shaved bald.

Shocking news came from Tokyo on February 10, 1984.  Kevin’s brother David had
recently left Texas for a tour of the Orient to defend his NWA International Championship.  
Shortly after his arrival, David Von Erich died in his hotel room at the age of 25.  Fritz Von
Erich held a memorial event in honor of his son on May 6th in Irving at Texas Stadium.  An
estimated 40,000 fans went to watch the show.  And they were glad they did.  Kerry Von
Erich pinned Ric Flair and captured the NWA World Title.  Kevin teamed with his father and
Mike Von Erich to beat the Fabulous Freebirds, Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy and Buddy
Roberts, to capture the World Class World Six-Man Tag Team Title.

In May 1985 at the second annual David Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions, Kevin
faced the NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Ric Flair in Dallas.  The match ended in a
double-countout.  He suffered the loss of his brother Mike in April 1987.  A month later,
one of recent times’ scariest in-ring moments occurred on May 11, 1987 when Kevin
collapsed during an eight-man tag team contest.  Tommy Rogers, one-half of the
Fantastics, ran to his side as fans watched in horror, and performed immediate medical
resuscitation.  Kevin had been teaming with both Fantastics and Bruiser Brody against
Black Bart, Brian Adias, Al Madril and Al Perez.  The incident was as serious as it seemed
life-threatening.

In September 1988, Kevin began experiencing ringing in his ears as a result of a ring
injury.  He took time off away from the ring to recuperate.  Von Erich returned to save
Kerry from a three-way attack from Brickhouse Brown, Harold T. Harris and Iceman
Parsons on June 9, 1989.  In September 1991, Kevin suffered another loss when his 22-
year old brother, Chris ended his own life.  The Von Erich Family faced yet another loss in
February 1993 when Kerry Von Erich took his own life in Texas.  Kevin continued to
wrestle, but due to injuries, his schedule was cut massively.

Professional wrestling in Texas away from the WWF and WCW seemed to diminish almost
completely by 1993, but numerous promoters and even Kevin himself attempted to revive
the local business.  World Class returned and even the NWA began running shows out of
Dallas.  Von Erich was billed as Heavyweight Champion of World Class Wrestling in
November 1993.  He beat Rod Price in Quitman, Texas in defense of his title on the 18th of
that month.  Von Erich also held the NWA North American Championship in 1994 and
1995.  On January 1, 1995, Kevin defeated Greg Valentine by disqualification in a defense
of the North American Title in Dallas on an NWA Card at the Sportatorium.  He retired soon
after.  In 1997, Fritz Von Erich died of cancer.  

A website is dedicated to the Von Erich Family, www.vonerich.com.  Their importance in
pro-wrestling must be known by all who watch the sport on television today.  The Adkisson
Family devoted a lifetime to wrestling.

TITLE HISTORY:
-A three-time co-holder of the NWA American Tag Team Title
        w/ David Von Erich (1978-’79)
        w/ Kerry Von Erich (1982)
        w/ Kerry Von Erich (1985)
-NWA Missouri State Heavyweight Title (1979-’80) defeated Dick Murdoch
-A five-time NWA American Heavyweight Champion
        -Defeated Bruiser Brody (1978)
        -Defeated Ox Baker (1980)
        -Defeated Toru Tanaka (1980)
        -Defeated King Kong Bundy (1982)
        -Defeated Terry Gordy (1983)
-An eleven-time co-holder of the NWA/ WCCW World Six-Man Tag Team Title
        w/ David Von Erich and Kerry Von Erich (1983) defeated The Fabulous Freebirds
        w/ David Von Erich and Kerry Von Erich (1983-’84) defeated R. Flair, T. Gordy,
                 B. Roberts
        w/ Fritz Von Erich and Mike Von Erich (1984) defeated The Fabulous Freebirds
        w/ Kerry Von Erich and Mike Von Erich (1984) Kerry Von Erich replaced Fritz        
                Von Erich
        w/ Kerry Von Erich and Mike Von Erich (1984) defeated The Fabulous Freebirds
        w/ Kerry Von Erich and Mike Von Erich (1984) defeated C. Adams, G.
                Hernandez, J. Roberts
        w/ Brian Adias and Kerry Von Erich (1985) defeated T. Brooks, M. Lewin, One
                Man Gang
        w/ Kerry Von Erich and Lance Von Erich (1986) defeated The Fabulous
                Freebirds
        w/ Mike Von Erich and Lance Von Erich (1986) Mike Von Erich replaced Kerry
                Von Erich
        w/ Chris Adams and Steve Simpson (1987) defeated T. Gordy, I. Parsons, B.
                Roberts
        w/ Michael Hayes and Kerry Von Erich (1988) defeated Kamala, I. Parsons, B.
                Roberts
-A two-time WCCW World Heavyweight Champion
        -Defeated Black Bart (1986)
        -Awarded (1991)
-A three-time co-holder of the WCCW World Tag Team Title
        w/ Kerry Von Erich (1987) defeated Brian Adias and Frank Lancaster
        w/ Kerry Von Erich (1988) defeated Iceman Parsons and Terry Taylor
        w/ Kerry Von Erich (1989) defeated The Samoan Swat Team


Research by Tim Hornbaker
Kevin Von Erich Wrestling History
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