David Von Erich David Alan Adkisson ( July 22 , 1958 – February 10 , 1984 ) was an American professional wrestler who competed as " The Yellow Rose of Texas " David Von Erich ( of the Von Erich Family ) . He was the son of Fritz Von Erich and the brother of Jack Jr . , Kerry , Kevin , Mike and Chris . Early life . David was named after his mother Doris ' brother David , who had died only months before David Von Erich was born in 1958 . Doris ' brother David had died of a brain tumor . David , along with brothers Kevin and Kerry , loved to hunt and fish with their father ; Fritz . Hunting on the Von Erich ranch was quite an event . Many of their relatives and friends would join in and sometimes the hunting group would be 20 or more . WCCW Referee David Manning and WCCW Announcer Bill Mercer were quite often among the group . David ' s first love in life was raising horses , which turned out to be very profitable for him . He raised and sold quarter horses and horses for show and made his own fortune that way , apart from the family business of wrestling . Adkisson was a high school basketball star and a football player at Lake Dallas High School . He won a scholarship to North Texas State University to play basketball and football . David dropped out to pursue a wrestling career that he had started in June 1977 , adopting the name David Von Erich . Professional wrestling career . He was considered a breakout star of his family , as his fiery temper produced memorable interviews . His first major match was on August 15 , 1977 when he wrestled NWA World Heavyweight Champion Harley Race to a 30 - minute draw . David made his first appearance in Missouri in early 1979 and was an instant hit with the fans and the promoters . Due to his popularity at the time , on May 27 , 1979 , David wrestled NWA World Heavyweight Champion Harley Race in Missouri in a non - title match and defeated him with The Iron Claw . In November 1979 , David made his first and only appearance in the World Wrestling Federation ( WWF ) , competing on a card against Davey O ' Hannon at Madison Square Garden . In late 1981 , David left Texas and struck out on his own , heading to Florida and competing as a heel until July 1982 . In Florida , David was managed by James J . Dillon and was in the same stable as Kendo Nagasaki and Jimmy Garvin . David ' s mentor in Florida was Dory Funk , Jr . and those months saw David either teaming with Dory or Terry Funk or competing on his own . Memorable opponents in Florida that David had were Barry Windham , Mr . Wrestling II , Eric Embry , Sweet Brown Sugar , and Butch Reed . By July 1982 , David was back in Texas . Feud with Gorgeous Jimmy Garvin . During his stay in Florida , David met and became great friends with Gorgeous Jimmy Garvin , convincing Garvin to come to World Class Championship Wrestling ( WCCW ) in Texas in early 1983 and they created an angle for a feud between them , which culminated with David winning the held - up WCCW Texas State Title at The Tarrant County Convention Center on July 4 , 1983 . As a result of David ' s victory , Garvin and Sunshine were forced to serve as David ' s valets for one day , with the results of that day being broadcast on the WCCW weekly show . The whole angle was conceived by David and Jimmy . They traded the WCCW Texas Belt back and forth several times , then that belt was held up several times and when the feud reached its climax on July 4 , 1983 ; it was time for both men to move on to the next part in their career ( David continuing the Von Erich feud with The Freebirds and Garvin starting a feud with Chris Adams ) . Feud with The Freebirds . In the fall of 1982 , David was also working behind the scenes in WCCW and helped create several angles . He invited the Fabulous Freebirds to come to WCCW . Michael Hayes made his debut at the Sportatorium on Saturday , [ [ October 16 ] ] , 1982 and Terry Gordy made his debut at the Sportatorium two weeks later , on October 30 , 1982 . Buddy Roberts did not show up . The Freebirds were initially booked as faces in the run - up to the Christmas spectacular " Wrestling Star Wars " card at Reunion Arena on December 25 , 1982 . In the final match to crown the first - ever Six - Man Champions , David took Buddy Roberts ' place in the Freebirds against Tom Sharpe , Mike Sharpe & Ben Steel . It was David who won that match and the title , but in a ringside interview right after the bout , David gave his third of the title to Buddy Roberts . Later that evening , David ' s brother Kerry battled NWA World Champion Ric Flair in a Steel Cage with Michael Hayes and David Manning as the referees . During the match , Hayes knocked out Flair and attempted to hand the pin ( and World Title ) to Von Erich , but turned on Kerry when he refused the tainted victory and as Kerry tried to leave the cage , Gordy slammed the cage door on Kerry ' s head . Thus the Von Erich / Freebird feud was born . David took part in many matches against the Freebirds in 1983 and early 1984 . Notable bouts include David vs Terry Gordy in a Handcuff Match on April 1 , 1983 at " Wrestling Star Wars " , David , Kevin & Kerry defeating the Freebirds on July 4 , 1983 in Ft . Worth at " Star Wars " and what would be David ' s next - to - last match was against Terry Gordy on February 3 , 1984 . Feud with Ric Flair . David won the NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship from Ric Flair on September 16 , 1983 , holding the championship until losing it to Harley Race on January 6 , 1984 . Many within the industry believe that David ' s reign with the belt was his final step to winning the NWA World Heavyweight Championship , as the NWA Championship Committee supposedly voted in January 1984 for David to win it from Ric Flair in March or April of that year . An angle between David and Ric Flair was started when David battled Flair at Reunion Arena on December 25 , 1983 and Flair retained the NWA World Championship . Immediately afterward , on December 31 , 1983 , on the NWA television broadcast , Ric Flair did an interview where he commented on how Mike Von Erich was not a good wrestler and he could beat Mike in 60 seconds with one hand tied behind his back . In an interview in Ft . Worth on January 9 , 1984 , David did possibly his most intense interview ever , telling Flair that he had heard Flair ' s comments about Mike and that he had a proposition . Mike would wrestle Flair in a " 10 Minute Challenge Match " and if Flair beat Mike in that 10 minutes , David would never again ask for another shot at the NWA World title , but if Flair did not beat Mike in those 10 minutes , David would get to name the place , the time and every stipulation for his match against Ric Flair . The " 10 Minute Challenge match " between Ric Flair and Mike Von Erich was held at " WCCW Wrestling Star Wars " at the Tarrant County Convention Center in Ft . Worth , Texas on January 30 , 1984 . Flair was unable to pin Mike in the 10 minutes and as a result , David won the challenge . A week later on February 6 , 1984 in Ft . Worth , in what would turn out to be his last interview , David Von Erich expressed his happiness over Mike lasting 10 minutes with Ric Flair and said that now he ( David ) would get to name every single stipulation in David ' s return match with Flair . The big match was to be held sometime in about April 1984 , after David was to return to Texas at the end of February and he and Flair would have a chance to build the match up even more . Personal life . David was married on June 8 , 1982 to Patricia A . Matter , known as Tricia . The couple remained married until David ' s death . Tricia was interviewed for the June , 1984 edition of " The Wrestler " magazine , which was a tribute to David . She spoke of how she loved the fans , and thanked them for their support . Tricia has remained out of the public eye since that interview . David was previously married to Candy L . McLeod . The couple were wed on June 26 , 1978 in Denton , Texas . Together they had a daughter , Natosha Zoeanna Adkisson ( born October 19 , 1978 ) . She died as an infant on December 29 , 1978 and is buried beside her father in Grove Hill Memorial Park in Dallas . Soon after their daughter ' s death , David separated from his wife ; they were officially divorced on July 12 , 1979 . Death . David died during a tour with All Japan Pro Wrestling on February 10 , 1984 , with many theories about what caused his death being proposed for many years after . The most popular theory suggests that David died of a drug overdose , as Ric Flair had mentioned this theory in his autobiography , claiming that Bruiser Brody ( Von Erich ' s long - time friend ) removed the evidence . However Bill Irwin who was on that tour with David would say it was not drug related at all . The Von Erichs however claimed that David ' s death was a heart attack , caused by ruptured intestines resulting from acute enteritis . In the documentary " Heroes of World Class : The Story of the Von Erichs " and " The Triumph and Tragedy of World Class Championship Wrestling " , Kevin Von Erich and former referee David Manning both attested to the heart attack theory , as they claimed that the autopsy supported the myocardial infarction . Manning and Kevin also claimed that David had been complaining about a pain in his stomach prior to his excursion to Japan . David had been taken to the emergency room at Spohn Hospital in Corpus Christi , Texas less than two weeks before his ill fated trip to Japan . He had complained of dizziness and flu like symptoms and been put on an antibiotic at that time . David was buried at Grove Hill Memorial Park in Dallas . On May 6 , 1984 , David ' s brother Kerry defeated Flair to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at Texas Stadium . It was a tribute to David , who himself had been scheduled to win the NWA title at that particular showcase . For the match , Kerry wore a blue ring robe which had the quote " In Memory of David " on the back , but didn ' t wear it again after he lost the title . The NWA only allowed a brief title reign for Kerry , as he lost the title back to Flair 18 days later during an All Japan Pro Wrestling show in Yokosuka , Japan on May 24 , 1984 .