Tag Team:
The Von Erichs
The blood relatives of the Von Erich family have combined for 144 professional wrestling championships through the years. The following is a list of JUST tag titles that were held my some combination of the Von Erichs.
All Japan Pro Wrestling All Asia Tag Team Championship - held 2 times
- David (1x) and Kevin (1x)
Championship Wrestling from Florida
NWA North American Tag Team Championship (Florida version) - David
NWA American/WCCW American/WCWA World Tag Team Championship (a total
of 18 times) - Kevin (7x), David (1x) and Kerry (10x)
NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship (Texas version) (19 times) -
Kevin (7x), David (2x), Kerry (6x) and Mike (4x)
NWA World Tag Team Championship (Texas version) (4 times) - Kevin (1x),
David (1x) and Kerry (3x)
WCCW/WCWA Texas Tag Team Championship (5 times) - Kevin (2x), David (2x)
and Kerry (3x)
WCWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship (6 times) - Kevin (4x) and Kerry
(2x)
KEVIN VON ERICH
Real Name: Kevin Ross Adkisson
Birth Date: May 15, 1957
Birth Place: Belleville, IL
Kevin, like his brothers, excelled in many sports in college and high school. He received a football scholarship to North Texas State University (now University of North Texas) and played fullback until his junior season when he had to quit due to a knee injury. He soon realized that his plan of playing in the NFL would never be realized and he decided to join his father in the ring. Kevin wrestled for nearly 20 years. He retired in 1993 to spend more time with his wife and four children. Kevin and his family recently moved from the family ranch in Denton County, Texas, very close to the house where he and his brothers were raised. Kevin's family now resides on the north shore of the island of Kauai in Hawaii, where they run the family investment business. In his spare time he enjoys SCUBA diving, spearfishing and just spending time at the beach with his family. Kevin has been married for over 25 years. He has two daughters, Kristen and Jill, who are 26 and 22 years old. His two sons, Ross and Marshall, are 18 and 14. Kevin became a grandfather for the first time to Adeline Claire on September 22, 2004.
DAVID VON ERICH
Real Name: David Allen Adkisson
Birth Date: July 22, 1958
Birth Place: Dallas, TX
David Allen Adkisson was born July 22, 1958. David, as well as his brothers, had many fights growing up because of his fathers occupation. Having a wrestler as a father made the boys a t arget for bullies that wanted to say they beat up a wrestler's kid. This brought Kevin, David and Kerry closer together than most brothers and also helped them to develop the fighting skills that they would use in the ring later. David was always very tall for his age which did have its advantages. David became a great basketball player for Lake Dallas High School. He followed in his older brothers footsteps and received an athletic scholarship to North Texas State University for football and basketball. Following Davids college career he joined Kevin in the ring wrestling with his father in WCCW. Kerry soon joined them as well and they teamed up for many six man tag team matches. The most notable was against their rival the Fabulous Freebirds - a tag team consisting of Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy and Buddy Roberts. David was very successful wrestling in one-on-one matches as well. He had great interview skills and the fans quickly fell in love with the Yellow Rose of Texas. Davids career took him all over the United States and Japan. In February of 1984, David traveled to Japan for a three week tour. Before leaving, he complained to Kevin that his stomach had been hurting and that hed been very tired lately. Kevin urged David not to go, but the fact that hed already committed coupled with his love for authentic sushi persuaded him to make the trip. After his match, David returned to his room where he later passed away in his sleep. The cause of death was severe gastroenteritis, which can be serious when left uncured. Davids body was flown back to Texas where he was buried alongside his brother Jackie and his uncle David, his namesake. The funeral procession at David's funeral stretched five miles across Dallas. David will always be remembered by his family for his sense of humor and redhead's temper. He was a wonderful brother, son, and uncle.
KERRY VON ERICH
Real Name: Kerry Gene Adkisson
Birth Date: February 3, 1960
Birth Place: Niagara Falls, NY
Kerry was the fourth son of Jack and Doris Adkisson. He was born shortly after their first son, Jack Jr. (Jackie) was electrocuted in a tragic accident. Kerry was a great football player and excelled at throwing the discus. He broke records at many levels including his father's own junior world record. He received a scholarship to the University of Houston where the Olympic coach would be his trainer. Kerry qualified for the 1980 US Olympic team, but the games were boycotted that year. He then decided to join his brothers in the ring. Kerry was very charismatic and a great performer. In 1984, he became NWA World Heavyweight Champion and enjoyed years of success in the wrestling industry. Outside of the ring, Kerry was the joker of the family. He loved making people laugh and had a daredevil personality. Kerry lost his foot in a motorcycle accident in 1986. He returned to wrestling with a prosthetic foot, which was unkown to many fans. Kerry became addicted to the drugs that were originally prescribed for the pain from the surgery. In 1993, shortly after his marriage had ended, Kerry was arrested for possesing the painkillers without a prescription and faced prison time. Kerry committed suicide at the family ranch on February 18, 1993. He left behind two loving daughters, Hollie and Lacey, who are ages 22 and 20 today.
MIKE VON ERICH
Real Name: Michael Brent Adkisson
Birth Date: March 2, 1964
Birth Place: Dallas, TX
Mike was born in Dallas, TX after the family had settled in the North Texas area for good. He was the fifth of six brothers, although 4 years younger than his next older brother. Mike looked up to his older brother Kerry, much like David and Kerry looked up to Kevin. Mike found some success in high school sports, but his real love was music. He loved to play guitar and dreamed of a musical career. After high school he found it easier to enter the wrestling profession with his brothers. After the death of his older brother David, the spotlight was turned to Mike to become the next star. Mike found great success right away. His success took him on a tour to Israel in 1985 where Mike suffered a severe shoulder injury. He had a seemingly succesful surgery to repair his shoulder, but soon suffered from a fever that reached as high as 107 degrees. Mike was diagnosed with Toxic Shock Syndrome. He suffered through treatment and came very close to death. Miraculously Mike survived, but had lost most of his body mass. He tried to return to the ring but his body had suffered too much from the illness. Sadly, Mike ended his own life on April 12, 1987.
CHRIS VON ERICH
Real Name: Christopher Barton Adkisson
Birth Date: September 30, 1969
Birth Place: Dallas, TX
At only five and a half feet tall, Chris was the smallest and youngest of the Von Erich brothers. What he lacked in size he made up for in heart. Chris was an animal lover and living on a large ranch in East Texas gave him the opportunity to raise several types of animals including dogs, flying squirrels, quail, sugar gliders and others. He also had a love for art and Native American culture. He spent his days as a youth either working out, raising and breeding animals, creating art or searhcing the ranch for arrow heads and other Native American artifacts. Chris wanted to wrestle more than any of the five and worked for hours daily on his physique. Unfortunatley Chirs suffered from asthma and was required to take medicine that inhibited his growth and made his bones very brittle. By the time Chirs was old enough to enter the ring WCCW was no more and interest in the independent wrestling circuit had waned. He suffered from broken bones in the ring due to his medication and was never able to enjoy the fame of his older brothers. Chris became frustrated and depressed after losing his brothers and his failures in the ring. He ended his own life on September 12, 1991 shortly before his 22nd birthday.
Much info from http://www.vonerich.com
and compiled by Brett Schwan.
