Kevin Von Erich: I Just Didn’t Want To Go To WWE

TRIGGER WARNING

Kevin Von Erich discusses whether or not he was ever offered a spot in WWE and whether or not he wanted the spot. 

Kevin Von Erich and the Von Erich Dynasty were huge territory wrestlers but in 1990, it was Kerry Von Erich who made the jump to WWE, becoming the Texas tornado and almost immediately capturing the WWE Intercontinental Championship from Mr Perfect at WWE SummerSlam. 

During a recent appearance on The A2theK Wrestling Show, Kevin Von Erich opened up about whether or not he had wanted to go to WWE, discussing the different philosophies between himself and his brother, Kerry. 

“Actually, I can go ahead and tell the truth about this now. I kind of have different values. Kerry and I were different in that way. He would work out in the gym for four hours a day, every day. I would work out an hour and a half tops. Then I did a lot of track work and swimming stuff. I just never understood…for me, I lifted weights, but it was because I wanted to be a better wrestler so I could do what I wanted to do. That’s why I lifted weights. Kerry wanted the bodybuilding thing. He wanted to look great. It’s the kind of mindset that I don’t have,” said Kevin. “Take that, and think, when he had that wreck and cut his foot off, he still had his heel, but not the end of his foot. To Kerry, he was a cripple and a freak. He was completely crushed inside about what he had done. The drugs that he had done. Kerry was like a wide-open Harley Davidson flying down the highway. He loved to have fun. He didn’t hurt anybody else, but he did hurt himself. He felt so bad and so down, the reason Kerry killed himself is because of that. He felt hopeless and he felt like he let us all down, all of his brothers.” 

Kevin also spoke about the difference in philosophy between WCCW and the WWE and said he did get the call to go to WWE, but ultimately, he just did not want to go. 

“We decided to come up with a wrestling show that was like pro football. Slow motion, collisions, and rock concerts with lasers and sound effects. We wanted to make a beautiful wrestling show like that, that had all of our stuff. We were boys when our dad did it and it’s all we know. We wanted to improve it,” said Kevin. “We thought we won’t have 30-minute to one-hour matches, we would have 15 to 20-minute matches filled with action. Kerry was thinking he would take that formula, go to New York, and take New York over, and ‘I’ll call you.’ ‘Kerry, I don’t want to go to New York. I’m a father and I have children and I want to be home as much as I can. If I can make the same money as New York in Texas, where I can do my real estate too, then I’m a happy man.’ I really never wanted to go to New York. It wasn’t Vince’s fault, it wasn’t anyone’s fault. They did ask me, I just didn’t want to. I wrestled all those guys anyway and by that time, I was at the end of my career. I didn’t plan on getting old in the ring. When men get old in the ring, it’s a sad thing, I didn’t want to be like that.” 

The story of the Von Erich family was recently chronicled in the A24 film “Iron Claw.” The movie is now available for purchase digitally and will eventually be available for streaming on Max. 

Fans can learn about what Zac Efron, who portrayed Kevin Von Erich in the film, had to say about the experience here.

If you use any of the quotes above, please credit the original source with an H/T and link back to Fightful for the transcription.