Von Erich family The Von Erich family is a wrestling family . Their actual birth names are " Adkisson " , but every member of the family that went into the wrestling business used the ring name " Von Erich " , after the family patriarch , Fritz ( real name - Jack ) . Patriarch Fritz lived until his natural death , but 4 of his sons died before him within a 9 - year span ( as well as his eldest son who was electrocuted as a child ) . David died in 1984 under circumstances that were disputed for years , while Michael , Kerry , and Chris all committed suicide in subsequent years . Kevin Von Erich is the sole survivor of the Von Erich sons . The third generation of Von Erichs are in the process of forming ; as Lacey Von Erich is now in the business , and Ross Von Erich ( Kevin ' s son ) is contemplating entering the squared circle himself . Members . Fritz Von Erich . Fritz Von Erich was born on August 16 , 1929 in Jewett , Texas . Standing 6 ' 4 " tall and weighing 240 lbs , Fritz was an imposing figure who quickly became a top heel in the wrestling business due , in no small part due to his devastating finishing maneuver , " The Iron Claw . " Originally trained by Stu Hart , Fritz became a top star in many National Wrestling Alliance promotions , most notably in St . Louis and in World Class Championship Wrestling . He held a variation of the AWA World Heavyweight Title at one time in the 1960s . Despite never winning the NWA World Heavyweight Championship , he maintained his presence within the Alliance , holding many other major belts . Fritz also served shortly as NWA President in the 1970s , as well as President of WCCW when it moved to Dallas , Texas . Fritz was also a major part of Japanese wrestling , where he was known as " Tetsu no Tsume " ( in English , " The Iron Claw " ) , and helped rebuild the business after the death of Rikidōzan . Fritz is the father of the other members of the Von Erich family , and the grandfather of Kevin ' s son , Ross ; and Kerry ' s daughters Lacey and Hollie . He died of lung cancer which spread to his brain in 1997 . Jack Adkisson , Jr . . Fritz Von Erich ' s first son died after accidentally being electrocuted and drowning in a puddle at the age of 7 in Niagara Falls , Ontario , as we learned in the Triumph and Tragedy of World Class Championship Wrestling DVD . Kevin Von Erich . Born May 15 , 1957 in Belleville , Illinois , " The Golden Warrior " Kevin Von Erich is the second oldest son of Fritz Von Erich . The majority of Kevin ' s career was spent working in World Class Championship Wrestling , where he had many memorable feuds against legendary wrestlers such as Chris Adams , The Fabulous Freebirds , and Ric Flair . It was there that Kevin became known for utilizing the body scissors and iron claw as his trademark manoeuvers , as well as wrestling barefoot . Kevin retired in 1995 and is now settled down with his family and working in real estate . He has been married for over twenty five years and has two daughters , two sons , and a grandchild . He occasionally makes appearances in wrestling shows , but never wrestles . He is the sole survivor of the sons of Fritz Von Erich . Though he remained in Texas for several years after his retirement , Kevin and his family eventually moved to Hawaii . In May 2006 , Kevin sold the World Class footage to Vince McMahon and World Wrestling Entertainment . By July 2006 , Kevin had made two brief appearances at WWE shows when they filmed in Dallas , one before the sale and one after . In his first appearance , at " WWE Homecoming " , he beat down Rob Conway with several other legends , even applying the legendary Von Erich Claw . He also made a brief appearance on the July 15 , 2006 episode of " WWE Saturday Night ' s Main Event " . Kevin still owns Southwest Sports Inc ( which distributed its syndicated World Class broadcasts as well as Championship Sports ) , which he renamed K . R . Adkisson Enterprises Inc . Kevin now hosts WWE 24 / 7 ' s show " History of WCCW " along with Michael Hayes . David Von Erich . " The Yellow Rose of Texas " David Von Erich is the third son of Fritz Von Erich . He was born on July 22 , 1958 in Dallas , Texas . David had many memorable feuds , mostly in Fritz ' s World Class Championship Wrestling promotion . It was there that he faced off with Harley Race and later Ric Flair several times for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship ( never winning ) , as well as teamed with brothers Kevin and Kerry against the Fabulous Freebirds . David also wrestled in Missouri , winning the Missouri Heavyweight Championship on a couple of occasions . David died in 1984 , reportedly shortly before he was booked to win the NWA World Heavyweight Title from Ric Flair . ( Although many insist that , before he died , David was scheduled to carry the NWA belt , there has never been anything concrete to substantiate this fact , nor have any NWA board members come out and confirmed this story . ) The official doctor ' s report states that he died of acute enteritis , but Ric Flair stated in his autobiography " To Be the Man " that " everyone in wrestling believes " it was a drug overdose that really killed him and that Bruiser Brody ( a fellow wrestler who found David ) disposed of the narcotics by flushing them down a toilet before the police arrived . Mick Foley also claims that he died from an apparent drug overdose . Brody , a close friend of Von Erich , would later admit that he overreacted in the moment of tragedy and flushed David ' s pain killers down the toilet . It has been confirmed that David Von Erich ' s official cause of death was a heart attack caused by ruptured intestines , which were the result of acute enteritis . A tribute show was held a couple of months later in his honor , during which his younger brother , Kerry Von Erich , won the NWA title from Ric Flair . Kerry Von Erich . Kerry Von Erich is the fourth son of Fritz Von Erich . He was born on February 3 , 1960 in Niagara Falls , New York . Known as " The Modern Day Warrior " and " The Texas Tornado , " Kerry was by far the best - known of the Von Erich Family . Much like his brothers , Kerry spent the majority of his career wrestling in World Class Championship Wrestling . Amongst the many major feuds he had were those against Gino Hernandez , Iceman Parsons , Chris Adams and The Fabulous Freebirds . Kerry became the most successful of the Von Erich family when he won the NWA World Heavyweight Title from Ric Flair at the David Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions , a tribute show to his deceased older brother . Kerry lost the belt three weeks later to Flair . Kerry also wrestled for several months in both the World Wrestling Federation ( where he won the WWF Intercontinental Championship at SummerSlam on August 27 , 1990 ) and Global Wrestling Federation , two national promotions that were rising to fame at the expense of regional promotions such as WCCW . On June 4 , 1986 , Kerry was in a motorcycle accident that nearly ended his life . With a dislocated hip and a badly injured right leg , Kerry was in bad shape . Doctors tried hard , but could not save his foot , eventually amputating it . According to brother Kevin , Kerry injured the foot following surgery by attempting to walk on it prematurely , thus forcing the doctors to amputate it . He was able to continue wrestling after the accident with a prosthesis and until his death kept the amputation secret to the majority of fans and even some fellow competitors . Kerry had a history of drug problems . Amongst the many of them were two arrests , the first of which resulted in probation . After the second , which violated the probation and likely would have resulted in extensive jail time , Kerry committed suicide by a shot to the heart in 1993 on his father ' s ranch . Mike Von Erich . Mike Von Erich , born March 2 , 1964 in Dallas , Texas , was the fifth son of Fritz Von Erich . Mike replaced David in the feud the Von Erichs had with the Fabulous Freebirds following David ' s death . According to the DVD " Heroes of World Class " , Mike wanted to work for World Class as a cameraman and had no interest in being in the ring , but Fritz forced him into the ring after David ' s death . After suffering a shoulder injury in 1985 on a tour of Israel , Mike was forced to have surgery . Shortly after , it was discovered that he suffered from Toxic shock syndrome , a rarity in men , and according to Ric Flair , was forced back into the ring by Fritz much too early . Eventually , Mike had to retire after not being able to return to the ring at full strength anymore . He committed suicide in 1987 by intentional overdose of a tranquilizer . Chris Von Erich . Born September 30 , 1969 in Dallas , Texas , Chris Von Erich was the youngest , shortest , and least athletic of the Von Erich family . He made many attempts to succeed in the squared circle due to an incredible love of wrestling that kept him going despite numerous injuries . He managed one major feud with Percy Pringle in the USWA / World Class , but his career didn ' t take off like the rest of the family ' s . After several years of not being able to succeed in the wrestling business , Chris became depressed and frustrated . He was also heartbroken over the loss of his brothers . He committed suicide in 1991 . Other members . Relatives . Ross Von Erich . Ross Von Erich is the stage name of David Ross Adkisson . He is the son of Kevin Von Erich and the grandson of Fritz Von Erich , and the heir to the Adkisson family name and Von Erich legacy . Ross , like his father before him is also a football player . He is also an alumnus of Billy Ryan High School in Denton , Texas . Ross returned to Texas to attend college in 2008 , according to the family website , and reportedly has wrestled a couple of times . Lacey Von Erich . Born July 17 , 1986 in Dallas , Texas , she is the daughter of Kerry Von Erich and the granddaughter of Fritz Von Erich . Lacey signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment on August 7 , 2007 . She was assigned to Florida Championship Wrestling in Tampa where she made her debut on September 15 , 2007 managing Billy Kidman . On September 25 , 2007 , Lacey then appeared as the valet for Ryan O ' Reilly along with Maryse . On October 9 , 2007 Lacey made her in - ring debut in a loss against Nattie Neidhart . She was released from her development contract in late 2007 , and concentrated solely on modeling . But on March 8 , 2008 , Lacey returned to the ring with Missy Hyatt in her corner in a match against Angel Orsini in Lake Hiawatha , New Jersey , located just west of Newark . Wrestling barefoot ( like her uncle Kevin ) , Lacey won the match by defeating Orsini with the Iron Claw . Orsini dominated most of the match until interference by Hyatt gave Lacey the chance to win . Lacey becomes one of the very few third generation female wrestlers in the business , following the footsteps of her father Kerry and grandfather Fritz . On March 28 , 2008 , Lacey made her debut in Professional Championship Wrestling in Arlington , TX . She teamed up with World Class legend , Action Jackson to defeat Mike Foxx & Claudia in a mixed tag team match . Posted on Pro Wrestling Revolution ' s website that she will join the company June 7 , 2008 . She is also competing in various NWA promotions , the first time a Von Erich has been a part of the NWA in 13 years . Lacey continues to train with various wrestling veterans , most notably Tom Prichard and Steve Keirn . Lacey in recent weeks began using the leg scissors , another trademark her uncle Kevin was famous for . Non - related Von Erichs . Waldo Von Erich . Waldo Von Erich was the stage name of Canadian professional wrestler Walter Sieber . Though billed as the brother of Fritz Von Erich when they teamed , he is not related to the Adkisson family . Waldo is retired and currently working in therapy . Lance Von Erich . Lance Von Erich was the stage name of Dallas - born professional wrestler William Kevin Vaughn . He was billed for a brief period of time in the 1980s as the son of Waldo Von Erich , but there was no biological relation between the two . Lance also has no biological relation to the Adkisson family . Afterward . Many people , in discussions about pro wrestling , including Rowdy Roddy Piper , ( in his own autobiography " " ) , have said that the Von Erich family , among numerous other wrestler deaths in the last several years , is a prime example of how the wrestling business is run and how promoters tend to treat wrestlers like a disposable resource . In his autobiography , " To Be the Man " , Ric Flair disagrees with Piper , saying that it was not wrestling that killed the Von Erichs , it was drugs . Flair also stated that he partially blames Fritz , because if Fritz had not lived in denial , and made his sons accountable for their behavior , they might well be alive today .