Kerry Von Erich Kerry Gene Adkisson ( February 3 , 1960 – February 18 , 1993 ) was an American professional wrestler under the ring name s Kerry Von Erich , The Modern Day Warrior , and The Texas Tornado and was part of the Von Erich family of professional wrestlers . He is best known for his time with his father ' s promotion World Class Championship Wrestling ( WCCW ) , where he spent eleven years of his career , and his time in World Wrestling Federation ( WWF ) . Adkisson held forty championships in various promotions during his career . Among other accolades , he was a five - time world champion : a four - time WCWA World Heavyweight Champion and one - time NWA World Heavyweight Champion , and a one - time WWF Intercontinental Champion . Professional wrestling career . NWA Texas ( 1979 – 1980 ) . Kerry was the son of wrestler Fritz Von Erich . His brothers , David , Kevin , Mike , and Chris , were also wrestlers . Kerry was also a standout in high school track and field and possessed a record - breaking discus throw . He debuted in his father ' s promotion , NWA Texas / Big Time Wrestling on June 17 , 1979 against Gary Hart . In Big Time Wrestling , he held many Texas Tag Team and American Tag Team titles . World Class Championship Wrestling ( 1980 – 1982 ) . Most of Kerry ' s fame was made in Texas ' World Class Championship Wrestling ( WCCW ) , where he was nicknamed " The Modern Day Warrior . " On December 28 , 1980 , his first NWA American Heavyweight Championship reign came after he defeated Gino Hernandez for the vacant title . He lost the title to Ken Patera before winning his second NWA American Heavyweight Championship from The Masked Superstar . In May and June 1981 , Kerry exchanged the NWA American Heavyweight Championship with Ernie Ladd . On October 25 , he teamed with Terry Orndorff and they defeated The Great Kabuki and Chan Chung to win the NWA American Tag Team Championship . After having short angles as a singles wrestler , he began teaming with his brother Kevin . On March 15 , 1982 , the two brothers wrestled Gary Hart and King Kong Bundy to a double disqualification . On June 4 , Von Erich defeated former NWA World Heavyweight Champion Harley Race , elevating him to main event status . Kerry started feud ing with the NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair . On August 15 , he got his very first shot at the NWA title against Flair in a two out of three falls match , which Flair won to retain the title . On December 25 , Kerry got his next title shot against Flair in a no disqualification steel cage match , with Michael " P . S . " Hayes , as the special guest referee . The Fabulous Freebirds helped Kerry to win the match , but he refused to take their help and said that he didn ' t want to win by cheating . Terry Gordy slammed the cage door on Kerry ' s head , which led to Flair winning the match and retaining the title . This culminated in a historic feud between the Von Erichs and the Freebirds that lasted for over five years . St . Louis Wrestling Club ( 1983 ) . He also worked for St . Louis Wrestling Club in 1983 , where he once held the NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship . World Class Championship Wrestling ( 1983 – 1989 ) . Feud with the Fabulous Freebirds ( 1983 – 1984 ) . On June 17 , 1983 , he teamed with Bruiser Brody to defeat the Fabulous Freebirds for the NWA American Tag Team Championship . On July 4 , Kerry and his elder brothers Kevin and David defeated the Fabulous Freebirds in a two out of three falls match to win the NWA Texas Six - Man Tag Team Championship . They lost the titles back to the Freebirds on August 12 . On September 5 , the brothers took on the Fabulous Freebirds in a rematch for the titles ; the Freebirds retained their titles by pinning Kerry . On November 24 , Kerry defeated Michael Hayes in a loser leaves Texas steel cage match . On December 2 , the Von Erichs defeated the Freebirds for their second NWA Six - Man Tag Team Championship . On December 25 , Kerry defeated Kamala by disqualification . On January 30 , 1984 , he teamed up with his brothers Mike and David against the Fabulous Freebirds in a six - man tag team match , which the Von Erichs lost by disqualification . Kerry ' s biggest career highlight was on May 6 , 1984 , when he beat " Nature Boy " Ric Flair in a historic match , in front of over 45 , 000 fans at Texas Stadium to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship . Kerry ' s victory was a tribute to his brother David , who had died three months earlier and for whom the event , the David Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions , was named . He lost the belt 18 days later in Yokosuka , Japan , back to Flair in a bout that was marred by controversy : Von Erich ' s feet were on the bottom rope following a reversed rollup , but the referee ignored this and made the count . Kerry has the 12th shortest NWA World title reign in history . In reality , the NWA only allowed Kerry a short reign due to his substance abuse , and he was told to drop the belt to Flair before the May 29 encounter between Flair and Ricky Steamboat . On July 4 , the Von Erichs lost the six man tag title to the Fabulous Freebirds . The title was held up due to the Freebirds winning after interference by Killer Khan . On September 3 , they defeated the Freebirds in a handicap steel cage Loser Leaves Texas match for his fourth six man tag title reign . Later feuds ; amputation ( 1984 – 1989 ) . After ending their rivalry with the Fabulous Freebirds , Von Erich brothers next feuded with Gino Hernandez , Chris Adams , and Jake Roberts . Kerry ' s angle with Adams was born out of Adams ' angle with his brother Kevin , which began on September 28 , 1984 ( when Adams turned heel against Kevin following a tag team loss ) . In order to remain on kayfabe terms , Adams and Kerry wrestled as a tag team two days later in San Antonio , since the heel turn had not aired on television yet . On October 27 , 1984 , Hernandez , Adams , and Roberts defeated the Von Erichs to win the Six Man Tag Title in a match that saw Bobby Fulton substitute for an injured Kevin . On October 29 , he defeated Gino Hernandez for his fifth NWA American Heavyweight Championship . On November 22 , he teamed with Iceman Parsons to defeat Jake Roberts and Kelly Kiniski . He later refereed a Texas Deathmatch between longtime rival Terry Gordy and Killer Khan , which Gordy won , via Kerry ' s decision . On December 25 , Kerry again got a shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship , a title he had lost many months ago . The champion Ric Flair intentionally got disqualified to retain the title . On December 31 , the Von Erichs defeated Hernandez , Roberts , and Adams to regain their NWA Six - Man Tag Team Title . On June 4 , 1986 , Kerry was in a motorcycle accident that nearly ended his life and left him with a dislocated hip and a badly injured right leg . Doctors eventually had to amputate his right foot . According to brother Kevin , Kerry injured the foot following surgery by attempting to walk on it prematurely , crushing the bones beyond repair and thus forcing the doctors to amputate it . He was able to continue wrestling after the accident with a fused ankle . Kerry was able to keep his amputation secret for a while . However , during a match on an AWA card in Las Vegas against Colonel DeBeers , Kerry ' s secret was exposed . During the bout , DeBeers ended up on the outside , but he grabbed Kerry ' s foot and tried to pull him out of the ring . However , he ended up pulling off Kerry ' s boot with the prosthetic foot attached . During his last days in WCCW , Kerry Von Erich would be embroiled in a feud with Jerry " The King " Lawler ( AWA World Heavyweight Champion ) over who would be the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion . Kerry was then the WCWA ( World Class Wrestling Association ( World Class ' final used name before the USWA days ) Heavyweight Champion . They would meet at an interpromotional event called SuperClash III to settle the dispute . Prior to this match , Kerry accidentally cut his arm causing it to bleed . During the match , he also received a cut to the head . When he later had Lawler in a clawhold on the mat with Lawler ' s shoulders down , the referee saw the blood on Kerry ' s head , thought it was excessive , and stopped the match . The crowd thought Kerry won by submission but instead " due to excessive bleeding " the referee stopped the match and awarded the decision and the WCWA Championship to Jerry Lawler . This would mark the end of Kerry ' s WCWA run . United States Wrestling Association ( 1989 - 1990 ) . Kerry did continue to wrestle at the Dallas Sportatorium under the USWA banner , which acquired World Class in early - 1989 . He formed a tag team with Jeff Jarrett , and won the Texas heavyweight title twice . In 1990 , Kerry feuded violently with Matt Borne , who turned heel during a ringside interview ; during one match , the two battled outside the Sportatorium into the parking lot during a thunderstorm . Manager Percy Pringle also turned heel , and began feuding with Kerry . During the height of their angle , Kerry abruptly left the USWA / World Class and joined the WWF , billed as " The Texas Tornado " , leaving the Von Erich tradition to older brother Kevin ( who was considered semi - active ) and Chris . Honorary Von Erich " Gentleman " Chris Adams then became the Sportatorium ' s main headliner , feuding with Pringle , Steve Austin , and Jeannie Clark . World Class withdrew from the USWA soon thereafter , but without Kerry , manager Gary Hart , and lack of television and revenues , World Class ceased operations three months later . World Wrestling Federation ( 1990 – 1992 ) . In the summer of 1990 , he signed a contract with Vince McMahon ' s World Wrestling Federation ( WWF ) and debuted on the July 28 , 1990 edition of " Saturday Night ' s Main Event " as a babyface named The Texas Tornado , defeating Buddy Rose , who coincidentally was older brother Kevin ' s opponent when he made his wrestling debut in 1976 . At SummerSlam , Tornado substituted for the injured Brutus Beefcake and defeated Mr . Perfect ( Curt Hennig ) to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship . After he became Champion , Tornado defended the title for three months including a match against Haku on the October 13 edition of " Saturday Night ' s Main Event " before losing the title back to former champion Mr . Perfect in a rematch on the December 15 ( taped November 19 ) edition of " Superstars " . Kerry lost this match , and the title to Perfect due to interference from " Million Dollar Man " Ted DiBiase . At Survivor Series in 1990 , while still Intercontinental champion , he wrestled in a Survivor Series match where he teamed with the WWF Champion The Ultimate Warrior ( formerly The Dingo Warrior in World Class ) and the Legion of Doom ( Hawk and Animal ) . He was eliminated by long - time rival Mr . Perfect but his team won the match . At the Royal Rumble , he participated in the Royal Rumble match where he entered fifth and was eliminated by The Undertaker after lasting nearly half an hour . He made his WrestleMania debut at WrestleMania VII , defeating Dino Bravo following a Tornado Punch . At SummerSlam , he teamed with the British Bulldog and Ricky Steamboat in a six - man tag team match to defeat the team of The Warlord and Power and Glory ( Paul Roma and Hercules ) . At Survivor Series , he teamed with Sgt . Slaughter , Jim Duggan , and Tito Santana against Colonel Mustafa , The Berzerker , Skinner , and Hercules . He did not eliminate anyone , but his entire team survived . He made his last pay - per - view ( PPV ) appearance at the Royal Rumble in 1992 ; he participated in the Royal Rumble match for the vacant WWF World Title . He was eliminated by the eventual winner Ric Flair , the man Von Erich beat eight years before for the NWA World Heavyweight Title . Kerry ' s push eventually ended as he was relegated to jobber to the stars status . He left the WWF in the summer of 1992 . He then had a brief run with ECW . United States Wrestling Federation and Global Wrestling Federation ( 1992 – 1993 ) . Kerry returned to Texas and claimed the USWF Texas Heavyweight Championship , which he lost to Dynamite Dixon in November . This would be Kerry ' s last championship belt . Kerry returned to Dallas to compete in the Global Wrestling Federation ( GWF ) , where he began teaming with former arch - rival Chris Adams . Kerry ' s final match took place on February 12 , 1993 . It was a tag team match in the GWF at the Sportatorium on which Kerry and Chris Adams lost via DQ to Johnny Mantell and Black Bart . On March 16 , 2009 , WWE . com announced that the Von Erich family would be inducted into the 2009 class of the WWE Hall of Fame by longtime rival , Michael Hayes . Fritz , Kevin , Dave , Kerry , Mike and Chris Von Erich were the members of the family that were inducted . Kevin received rings for his father , Fritz , as well as each of his brothers . WWE made two hall of fame rings with the name " Kerry Von Erich " inscribed on the inside . Both Hollie and Lacey along with their mother Cathy ( Cathy and Kerry were divorced at the time of his death ) attended the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony at the Toyota Center in Houston , Texas on April 4 , 2009 . Kevin gave Hollie and Lacey each a ring with Kerry ' s name inscribed inside . Personal life . Kerry was married on June 18 , 1983 to Catherine M . Murray . They had two daughters , Hollie Brooke ( born September 19 , 1984 ) and Lacey ( born July 17 , 1986 ) . The couple divorced on April 22 , 1992 . Kerry had a history of drug problems , and drugs may have been a factor in the motorcycle crash in 1986 that cost him his right foot . Kerry committed suicide by shooting himself with a magnum revolver in the chest , at his father ' s ranch in Denton , Texas , on February 18 , 1993 . Kerry drove a Jeep over a steep embankment at the time he shot himself . It was only one day after being indicted on a drug charge . Kerry was facing jail time for a pending prescription forgery charge . A memorial service for Kerry was held at the Dallas Sportatorium the day after his suicide , with both Chris Adams and Marc Lowrance delivering emotional speeches to the crowd . Two months later , a memorial wrestling card in his honor was held at the Sportatorium , which featured the last - ever match between the Freebirds and the Von Erichs . The funeral for Kerry Von Erich was held at the First Baptist Church in downtown Dallas . The Reverend W . A . Criswell officiated and reduced himself to tears as he described his " anger " over Kerry ' s death . His former wife , Cathy , attended with the couples ' two daughters , Hollie and Lacey . Although already divorced and therefore not his widow , Cathy wore a black mourning suit complete with black hat and veil . Others , including Fritz , Kevin , Adams , Lowrance , Bill Mercer , Bronko Lubich , David Manning , Gary Hart , and bodyguard Bill Colville attended . When his father , Fritz Von Erich , died in 1997 he was cremated and his ashes interred in the same plot as Kerry . David Von Erich , Mike Von Erich , Chris Von Erich , and Natasha Adkisson ( Natasha is the infant daughter of David Von Erich and his first wife Candy ) are all buried in Grove Hill Memorial Park as well and are all buried next to each other . The grave with Kerry ' s body and Fritz ' ashes is not immediately adjacent to the other members of the family , but is close by . He was close friends with Brian Adias and The Ultimate Warrior .