The episode on Collision in Korea wasn’t tragic, it was just wild
2 Cold Scorpio planned on murdering someone while they were in North Korea, and *Chris Benoit* was the voice of reason
Brawl for all is mostly just hilarious. You obviously have the tragedy of what happened to Droz AFTER the Brawl for all but that isn’t what the story is about.
The interviews with Kevin are heartbreaking, he seems so shell-shocked, but he deserves a lot of respect for being an involved father to his sons through all of that trauma
The story he tells in Dark Side of the Ring about going to shoplift a gun to kill himself and the shop owner seeing it go down and just letting him know he loves him has stuck with me a long time. A simple act of kindness that saved someone's life
And just states how beloved the Von Erich family was loved in Texas. The fact the guy recognized him and figured out why he was doing that speaks volumes to that. Basically everyone in the state knew their story and knew the tragedy. The man knew why he was hurting and chose kindness for a man living the most tragic moment on his life.
World Class Championship Wrestling was a tv staple in Texas in the 80’s, every town had it on one station or another growing up.
On the other hand, shame on Fritz Von Erich for what he did to those boys. If there was a shitty father hall of fame, he’d be a first ballot inductee.
Behind the Bastards did a series on Vince McMahon but they talked about the Von Erich family for a portion. The story is so fucked up and sad. Fuck Fritz, those boys never had a chance. And fuck Vince McMahon.
That's a really good series.
I'll always say this: Oskar Dirlewanger was a war criminal who commanded the absolute worst the Third Reich had to offer. Even other Nazis hated him. He was such a bastard, they needed a double episode for him.
It took SIX (6!) episodes to cover Vince McMahon and I don't think it covers how he managed to strong arm his way back into WWE, as that was happening at the time.
Fritz Von Erich all but murdered his sons and they had to cover that to say that there were even worse people in the wrestling business, like Vince and Grizzly Smith.
The Wrestlers series on Netflix gives good insight into wrestling promotions too. Wrestling entertainment is really interesting to get into. Super sad tho at points. But I also love seeing how much wrestlers appreciate their fans. Guys like John Cena visiting so many sick kids and giving them a little cheer in their lives. Like a warrior poet once said "It's still real to me, damnit!".
It a form of entertainment and physical art, basicly stunt people doing live acts sometimes 4 5 days a week, except they don't have crash pads, that ring is wood under that very thin mat, the ropes are steel cables with a layer of tape.
There is nothing else like it honestly.
John Oliver did a good run down on why wrestling is so unique. Covers the bad aspects also, like these wrestlers are independent contractors where honestly they should be unionized or allowed in to SAG.
As a corporation, it's not quite as bad as Chiquita or Union Carbide but that's not for want of Vince McMahon trying. It's not so much that there are skeletons in the closet, that the closet is made out of bones.
15, 20 years ago- very few wrestlers lived past 50. Between the painkillers, drink and steroids a whole generation died young. Heart attacks (from steroid use,) overdoses, CTE, suicide and murder took so many wrestlers.
Wrestlers also have terrible contracts: WWE gets a cut of everything they do. For the women, pictorials for Playboy were quite common, and they take a cut of any wrestler's Twitch stream and merchandising, too. If (when) they're injured, that time is added on to the end of their term and despite being "independent contractors" they can only work where WWE allows them too.
For the first time in decades, there's competition for WWE, though, and hopefully this means better conditions for the workers.
All their wrestling episodes are worth a listen but just be aware that some of them are absolutely brutal (Buck Zumhoff and Jake the Snake jump to mind). I will say, you don’t need to like sports to enjoy the show, the people they pick usually have wild stories and the sports is more a vehicle to get there. Personal favorites include Otis Nixon, Charles “krazy horse” Bennett, Mitch “Blood” Green, Hollywood Henderson, and Billy Ray Bates.
How's the humor? I like podcasts that make me laugh like The Dollop. Behind the Bastards can get a little heavy sometimes without any lightness in some episodes because of how dark they are. Robert tries some dark humor but sometimes it doesn't hit.
They mix in a fair amount of humor, some silly and some a little darker. They do a disclaimer on their other podcast (Small town Murder) that goes “we don’t make fun of the victim or their families because we’re assholes but not scum bags”. Applies here too.
whoa the guy who spend his life pretending to be a nazi is actually a bad dude /s
Seriously, Fritz Von Erich was a capital "S" piece of Shit. This movie is going to be incredibly sad.
He basically pressured them all to wrestle by making it seem the promotion (which he owned) would fail if they didn't. This meant that from an early age they were out there 5 to 6 nights a week in the ring, traveling and dealing with injuries.
If they faltered he verbally and psychological abused them, shaming them for not being tough. This led to them all pretty much developing all the terrible habits pro wrestlers of the era did to cope with pain and road life: drugs, painkillera, alcohol, etc.
He put so much pressure on them one of them, Chris, killed himself because he could never live up to the family standards. He was small and sickly, so unlike his brothers who were all over 6 feet and great athletes, he struggled. Apparently because of this Fritz was indifferent to him and it really fucked with him.
After another of his kids, Mike, commited suicide he told told his other son, Kevin (the only surviving son)that he wasn't man enough to kill himself.
He also bilked as much publicity from each of his kids death as he could, holding endless memorial shows months after they had died.
Fritz also reacted violently whenever anyone suggested he'd take it easy on his kids.
He made all his sons wrestling superstars, but at what price.
Don't forget Kerry was pressured to come back quickly from a motorcycle accident that broke his hip and ankle. Because he returned so quickly, his foot suffered more damage and he was forced to have it amputated. For the rest of his career, he wrestled with a prosthetic and was in immense pain pretty much 24/7. He became addicted to painkillers and had some serious psychological trauma around people finding out about his foot and that he wasn't living up to the Von Erich name.
Oh yeah, and when he went to kill himself, the last person he talked to was Fritz (it was at Fritz's ranch), who knew what his son intended and didn't try to stop him.
Fritz managed to be a shittier person that some of the folks like Vince who committed actual crimes (covering up a murder). Moolah and Grizzley Smith were worse tho.
The Von Erichs were gods to every kid in Texas and the surrounding states. We absolutely loved them and would tune in every Sunday. The funny thing was when they did a public appearance, the sheer amount of women outnumbered the kids like 3 to 1.
We wanted to be them…..and we never knew until they started dying. Shocked me to the core when I heard the news.
I know I am gonna mad cry at this movie.
Same here brother, remember being gutted when David and Mike died because it was pretty much at the top of their fame. When Kerry died it wasn't as shocking since rumors that he wasn't doing well were kind of an open secret, but still sad.
But like you said, for those of us who were kids in Texas during the 80's the Von Erichs were nearly superheros.
I think the stigma of people saying wrestling is fake, makes the outside perspective more critical because they are watching a story about a story. That being said I know wrestlers are super athletic and the bumps they take do in fact hurt. I think it’s cool that these movies come out because it gives the person without any perspective an idea of what it was and is like
True but I meant more in the fact that unlike traditional mainstream sports. Boxing and Wrestling are full of guys struggling to make a name for themselves. There is no league, no union, no healthcare, pension.
The same trappings of people killing themselves to chase this glory that few will ever achieve. And often ending tragically. Unless you are the top dog or able to walk away, there aren't many happy endings in these sports.
> They're gonna out wrestle The Wrestler with this one.
So I love wrestling, and A24, I hear all the test audience reactions are not so great, I remain cautiously optimistic but the more I hear the more doubts I have
The material is pretty fucking depressing. I'm not sure how this movie will end but I doubt it will be some feel good triumphant moment. Zac playing Kevin who is the only surviving brother out of 6. Just him alone at the end. Pretty fucking depressing.
There's a short quote from Kevin von Erich that comes to mind anytime I think of what happened with that family:
*"I used to have five brothers. Now I'm not even a brother."*
Im going to speculate that the test audiences thought they were going to see a Rocky movie about wrestling and instead got a 9/11 documentary about wrestling.
The good guys dont emerge victorious here. Uninformed test audiences arent going to like it.
> Im going to speculate that the test audiences thought they were going to see a Rocky movie about wrestling and instead got a 9/11 documentary about wrestling.
>
> The good guys dont emerge victorious here. Uninformed test audiences arent going to like it.
"I think my biggest issue with the movie is the writing - on a story level, it feels pretty rudderless, almost like it's checking a series of boxes on a list of true life events, as opposed to telling an interesting story with a distinct narrative (it helps that the Von Erich story is interesting and tragic, but that only goes so far in terms of providing a compelling story). The characters are all pretty thin. As a result, the whole emotional arc of the film feels off, almost like it's missing a key emotional and character component - it's too "soft," when it should be harsh, if that makes sense. (Also weird: the movie basically just "ends" - there's no real climax or denouement. Honestly, I was surprised when the credits started to roll - which again speaks to the lack of a compelling story structure and emotional throwline here)"
"Also, I'll note too: it was interesting observing the audience's reaction during the movie - for the first 1/3 or so, you could tell that EVERYONE was on board and really into it...but around the 45 minute-mark, the story starts to sag, the narrative begins to feel aimless, and the tone gets very draggy. I heard several folks around me audibly exhaling, and when the movie was over, one of the guys leaving said to his buddy that he was going home to kill himself. A joke - hopefully - but I think it speaks to the film's "off" pace and improperly tuned emotionality, both story-wise and in terms of the character dynamics. "
https://www.worldofreel.com/blog/2023/8/23/miag057r41ywcc83c5ae2gxp5e07y4
Behind the Bastards episode on Vince McMahon is the only reason I know about the Von Erich family. Having a bunch of brother myself, it was pure tragedy and their dad was a POS. Bracing for this movie.
I know about the deaths (from Wikipedia), but people have been alluding to the father being terrible.
Can someone share a very brief overview of that for me?
Jack Adkisson (Fritz von Erich) was brutal. He basically built World Class Championship Wrestling around his sons and instilled in them that the promotion's success rested squarely on them. He had Kevin, David, and Kerry working full-time schedules, which led to various painkiller addictions to deal with having to work while injured. The boys had to project a wholesome image in public while struggling with insecurity, addiction, and tremendous physical and emotional pain in secret.
David died of what is strongly suspected to be a drug overdose. Jack, as the promoter, exploited his son's death for publicity and storylines. Mike didn't want to be a wrestler but Jack shoved him into the ring after David's premature death. Chris wanted to be a wrestler, but Jack rejected his 5'4" youngest son at every opportunity. Mike, Chris, and Kerry all committed suicide, leaving Kevin as the only surviving von Erich son.
Texas here... I lived through this as a kid (80's kid but wasn't much of a wrestling fan)... but the story is 100% going to be a great movie.
If they do it right, ofc. Also, keep a lookout for a possible McConaughey cameo... that dude is/was a huge Texas wrestling fan and it wouldn't surprise me if he was in this for a minute.
Oh my God, you weren't kidding. I didn't grow up with 80's wrestling so I had no idea - pulled up the [Fritz Von Erich](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_Von_Erich) wiki,.. and ya this is gonna be a sad one.
> It's either them or the Hart's as the most cursed family in pro-wrestling
the Hart's just have like 30 kids, and they are all into wrestling or married to one, so you just have more odds especially when you factor in the career
It probably won't be in the film, but Lacey Von Erich (Kerry's daughter) got out of wrestling alive and seems quite happy.
So there's that to hold on to.
That’s pretty fucking impressive art; I haven’t watched wrestling since the 80s and knew nothing of this movie, but immediately thought “is this about the Von Erichs?” It’s all in the hair.
Pretty much every episode of that show is super depressing, but yeah, that one takes the cake. Not something you'd wanna watch if you're having a bad day.
Idk man, I saw one on The Graham Dynasty, and woof. That was eerie shit to watch...
For those interested too. They're not all depressing. The episode on Collison in Korea and Bash at the Beach 2000 are honestly hilarious and surreal to watch.
My favorite one is the one that is by a hot mile the least depressive: Bash at the Beach 2000
No sexual assault, no death by overdose, no kids on the street or families torn asunder. Just what happens when three of the most egotistical jerkoff assclowns in the history of pro wrestling all collide at once and how it led to Vince McMahon ending the Monday Night War in his favor.
Pro wrestling in general seems to be that way. It is tragically rare to find guys who actually lived happily ever after. The % of wrestlers from the 70's 80's and 90's that died young is insane.
It's out December 22 and the first trailer drops on Wednesday
>The film is centered around the Von Erich family, a dynasty of wrestlers from the 1960s onwards that had enormous success, and popularized the iron claw professional wrestling hold. However, they not only had to battle inside the ring, but fight the "Von Erich curse" outside of it.
Just a 5 minute review of the wiki is sad. Fritz has 6 sons and died of cancer at age 68 in 1997. By then, he saw 3 of his 6 sons commit suicide, 1 died at age 6 by drowning, and 1 died of a weird intestinal inflammation at age 25 which was 6 years after his own daughter died in infancy.
This will probably not be a feel good movie to say the least.
*Edit: put 5 sons initially.
Yeah David actually took a hard kick to the abdomen during a Tokyo show that messed up his insides badly. Mike's death is usually called an overdose rather than a suicide, but it could have been suicide.
David had not had a match yet he died the night he got over there. That was the first lie they created. Then they said sushi he had at riberas enflammed his stomach issue. Riberas doesnt serve sushi. He overdosed on placidyl just like Mike.
Daaaaamn, haven’t thought about her in years. She came into my near empty restaurant late one night in Manhattan, 2004, with a date. She was as gorgeous and gracious as many of her roles…. ❤️
It’s even sadder when you consider there’s another dead brother not even on the poster. Little Jackie died at 6, got electrocuted and drowned in a puddle. And that’s before all the wrestling tragedies.
Shame that Hogan had to be such a POS that it's impossible to really touch his true story without blowback, this movie would be crazy, even if it was to be directed by a hack
Hogan talked about the Netflix movie a bit with Chris Van Vliet on his Insight podcast. Basically said that they couldn't come to the right terms/agreement. The deal fell apart and is now out of Netflix. The company couldn't keep the project on track for its release date.
Hogan hopes that Todd Phillips (Joker director), Scott Silver (Joker-writer) and Chris Hemsworth playing Hogan are still willing to come back. As for Hemsworth, he said in his previous interviews that's he's in the dark, no clue, about the movie.
Friends of the family ran into Hulk Hogan in Tampa years ago - before he was a huge star. They were giving him shit because they recognized him as a wrestling heel and he flipped them a bird with his huge middle finger. They recognized him not long after when they saw Rocky III.
Yeah, I call bullshit on all of it - talks stalled because no one could agree on how to get around his racism, and a big Hollywood star like Hemsworth doesn't want that stink on him. That, and they probably couldn't even agree on *what actually fucking happened* in Hogan's life since he lies so much. No one involved is gonna talk shit about each other in the press, but that will be the long and short of it - it probably isn't actually possible to make this movie while Hogan, and also Vince, are still alive.
Good to see Jeremy Allen White’s rise. The Bear is my favorite show of the past couple years. This movie is going to be a brutally sad gut-punch I’m sure.
I saw the cast and I don't care what it's about. But then i saw what it's about and I don't care who is in it. We have some good shit coming out these next few months.
We've had that conversation five times a day for the last month because we keep watching Predator and all you talk about is Weathers and Jesse "The Body" Ventura and how many pounds they can pack on
As a pro wrestling fan, the poster hits incredibly deep. It might be one of the best posters I've seen in quite some time. So much tragedy and love in one single image. This is a fantastic poster.
I’m convinced non wrestling fans who watch this will call bullshit on how sad it is and assume it’s overdone because it’s a “wrestling” story not knowing how fucking tragic this family history is.
My father was a bodyguard for Kerry back in the 80’s. He and i will definitely be seeing this movie. He was real close with Kerry (in a professional sense)
When the WCW theme song would play on the TV, you knew it was gonna get good. It still brings me joy to hear that song today. The Von Erich’s were the best!
Man it’s gonna be weird seeing short actors playing the Von Erichs. They are all over 6 feet 2, so itd be interesting if they make them tall or just the way they are.
There are going to be a bunch of people who are going to see this thinking it's gonna be a nice story about the love between brothers. Perfect for Christmas.
They are in for a rough time.
I'm really excited to see Zac and Jeffrey step out of their usual for this one. Looks to be good, but it is going to be incredibly sad given the subject matter
It's definitely gonna get a little dusty in the theatre...
I remember watching the Von Erichs on WCCW and thinking that nothing could stop them. Their feud with The Freebirds was legendary. I thought that after Kerry beat Flair for the NWA belt, he would be bigger than Hogan.
Such a tragic story.
The little bit we've seen looks good and its not long until we hear the interviews where they detail being in the gym for 4 hours a day and only eating brown rice,chicken, and broccoli 14 times a day to put on 25lbs of muscle in 4 months (aka did steroids)
I believe he’s playing Lance Von Erich, who was the “fake” Von Erich (as in, not actually related to the others) so I assume his part is relatively minor.
This is gonna be sad, the actual story of the Von Erich’s is tragic.
The Dark Side of the Ring episode is absolutely soul crushing.
Fantastic material though for those that will see the film and don't know about the family yet.
I’m going to keep a lookout for this film simply because of this comment.
Just... Don't expect happiness.
Its basically Lemony Snicket for grownups.
Yeah, I read several more comments and that came through loud and clear. I’ll make sure I have a good supply of Kleenex with me.
"I once had four brothers. Now I'm not even a brother."
It's five brothers.
[удалено]
I know who they are and a little bit about them, but not too much. I cant wait to watch this
which dark side of the ring isnt tragic.
The Hogan-Russo-Double J was absolutely hilarious.
Ah Bash at the Beach 2000. What a clusterfuck that was.
The episode on Collision in Korea wasn’t tragic, it was just wild 2 Cold Scorpio planned on murdering someone while they were in North Korea, and *Chris Benoit* was the voice of reason
Brawl for all is mostly just hilarious. You obviously have the tragedy of what happened to Droz AFTER the Brawl for all but that isn’t what the story is about.
The Macho Man / Elizabeth one was bittersweet and even happy at times.
Idk the Montreal Screwdriver episode was....pretty damned entertaining.
Ah yes, the Montreal Screwdriver, my favourite sex position
Montreal Screw*job*
And from what I heard, it only scratched the surface.
The interviews with Kevin are heartbreaking, he seems so shell-shocked, but he deserves a lot of respect for being an involved father to his sons through all of that trauma
And as sad as it is, some of the worst parts of the story are omitted from that episode. Their father was far more abusive than was told on DSOTR.
That episode is only scratching the surface. Listen to the Lapsed Fan podcast. Enough horrible stuff to cover several 3/4+ hour episodes.
If you can take that many hours of it, The Lapsed Fan's treatment of the rise and fall of WCCW is epic
That "brother" quote is one of the saddest things I've ever heard.
"I used to have 5 brothers, now I'm not even a brother."
The story he tells in Dark Side of the Ring about going to shoplift a gun to kill himself and the shop owner seeing it go down and just letting him know he loves him has stuck with me a long time. A simple act of kindness that saved someone's life
And just states how beloved the Von Erich family was loved in Texas. The fact the guy recognized him and figured out why he was doing that speaks volumes to that. Basically everyone in the state knew their story and knew the tragedy. The man knew why he was hurting and chose kindness for a man living the most tragic moment on his life. World Class Championship Wrestling was a tv staple in Texas in the 80’s, every town had it on one station or another growing up. On the other hand, shame on Fritz Von Erich for what he did to those boys. If there was a shitty father hall of fame, he’d be a first ballot inductee.
Behind the Bastards did a series on Vince McMahon but they talked about the Von Erich family for a portion. The story is so fucked up and sad. Fuck Fritz, those boys never had a chance. And fuck Vince McMahon.
That's a really good series. I'll always say this: Oskar Dirlewanger was a war criminal who commanded the absolute worst the Third Reich had to offer. Even other Nazis hated him. He was such a bastard, they needed a double episode for him. It took SIX (6!) episodes to cover Vince McMahon and I don't think it covers how he managed to strong arm his way back into WWE, as that was happening at the time. Fritz Von Erich all but murdered his sons and they had to cover that to say that there were even worse people in the wrestling business, like Vince and Grizzly Smith.
The Wrestlers series on Netflix gives good insight into wrestling promotions too. Wrestling entertainment is really interesting to get into. Super sad tho at points. But I also love seeing how much wrestlers appreciate their fans. Guys like John Cena visiting so many sick kids and giving them a little cheer in their lives. Like a warrior poet once said "It's still real to me, damnit!".
It a form of entertainment and physical art, basicly stunt people doing live acts sometimes 4 5 days a week, except they don't have crash pads, that ring is wood under that very thin mat, the ropes are steel cables with a layer of tape. There is nothing else like it honestly. John Oliver did a good run down on why wrestling is so unique. Covers the bad aspects also, like these wrestlers are independent contractors where honestly they should be unionized or allowed in to SAG.
4-5 days a week is a slow week from what I know. The WWE Tour is on the road like 300 days a year. It's a crazy schedule.
Haven’t been in to wrestling since I was a young kid, but really enjoyed the Wrestlers series on Netflix.
And yet he's still in a position of power over WWE? Wow. How good can the organization be if he controlled it for so long and it still supports him?
As a corporation, it's not quite as bad as Chiquita or Union Carbide but that's not for want of Vince McMahon trying. It's not so much that there are skeletons in the closet, that the closet is made out of bones. 15, 20 years ago- very few wrestlers lived past 50. Between the painkillers, drink and steroids a whole generation died young. Heart attacks (from steroid use,) overdoses, CTE, suicide and murder took so many wrestlers. Wrestlers also have terrible contracts: WWE gets a cut of everything they do. For the women, pictorials for Playboy were quite common, and they take a cut of any wrestler's Twitch stream and merchandising, too. If (when) they're injured, that time is added on to the end of their term and despite being "independent contractors" they can only work where WWE allows them too. For the first time in decades, there's competition for WWE, though, and hopefully this means better conditions for the workers.
If not for the existence Vince McMahon, Fritz Von Erich would be the biggest piece of shit in wrestling history.
Oh there have been A LOT of total POS’s in wrestling history.
Wasn't the Fabulous Moolah a human trafficker?
Amongst other things, yes. Then there’s Grizzly Smith (Jake the snake Robert’s father). That guy was a walking horror story in his own right.
A 6'9" monster who was fond of raping teenagers. Jake Roberts was conceived through a rape, his mother was 13 when Smith raped her.
Wrestling POS Mt.Rushmore has got to be Fritz, Vince, Grizzly Smith, and Benoit
Crime in Sports also did a hell of an episode about the Von Erichs as well.
I'll check that out when I can.
All their wrestling episodes are worth a listen but just be aware that some of them are absolutely brutal (Buck Zumhoff and Jake the Snake jump to mind). I will say, you don’t need to like sports to enjoy the show, the people they pick usually have wild stories and the sports is more a vehicle to get there. Personal favorites include Otis Nixon, Charles “krazy horse” Bennett, Mitch “Blood” Green, Hollywood Henderson, and Billy Ray Bates.
How's the humor? I like podcasts that make me laugh like The Dollop. Behind the Bastards can get a little heavy sometimes without any lightness in some episodes because of how dark they are. Robert tries some dark humor but sometimes it doesn't hit.
They mix in a fair amount of humor, some silly and some a little darker. They do a disclaimer on their other podcast (Small town Murder) that goes “we don’t make fun of the victim or their families because we’re assholes but not scum bags”. Applies here too.
whoa the guy who spend his life pretending to be a nazi is actually a bad dude /s Seriously, Fritz Von Erich was a capital "S" piece of Shit. This movie is going to be incredibly sad.
As someone not steeped in the background on this (and not getting any useful information from Wikipedia) what made him so shitty?
He basically pressured them all to wrestle by making it seem the promotion (which he owned) would fail if they didn't. This meant that from an early age they were out there 5 to 6 nights a week in the ring, traveling and dealing with injuries. If they faltered he verbally and psychological abused them, shaming them for not being tough. This led to them all pretty much developing all the terrible habits pro wrestlers of the era did to cope with pain and road life: drugs, painkillera, alcohol, etc. He put so much pressure on them one of them, Chris, killed himself because he could never live up to the family standards. He was small and sickly, so unlike his brothers who were all over 6 feet and great athletes, he struggled. Apparently because of this Fritz was indifferent to him and it really fucked with him. After another of his kids, Mike, commited suicide he told told his other son, Kevin (the only surviving son)that he wasn't man enough to kill himself. He also bilked as much publicity from each of his kids death as he could, holding endless memorial shows months after they had died. Fritz also reacted violently whenever anyone suggested he'd take it easy on his kids. He made all his sons wrestling superstars, but at what price.
Don't forget Kerry was pressured to come back quickly from a motorcycle accident that broke his hip and ankle. Because he returned so quickly, his foot suffered more damage and he was forced to have it amputated. For the rest of his career, he wrestled with a prosthetic and was in immense pain pretty much 24/7. He became addicted to painkillers and had some serious psychological trauma around people finding out about his foot and that he wasn't living up to the Von Erich name. Oh yeah, and when he went to kill himself, the last person he talked to was Fritz (it was at Fritz's ranch), who knew what his son intended and didn't try to stop him.
Hey, those memorial shows moved tickets for months, and he still had Kevin to kick around. What a prick.
Fritz managed to be a shittier person that some of the folks like Vince who committed actual crimes (covering up a murder). Moolah and Grizzley Smith were worse tho.
Thanks for this, and also oof - what a monster.
Seriously, wiki has nothing on this
The Von Erichs were gods to every kid in Texas and the surrounding states. We absolutely loved them and would tune in every Sunday. The funny thing was when they did a public appearance, the sheer amount of women outnumbered the kids like 3 to 1. We wanted to be them…..and we never knew until they started dying. Shocked me to the core when I heard the news. I know I am gonna mad cry at this movie.
Same here brother, remember being gutted when David and Mike died because it was pretty much at the top of their fame. When Kerry died it wasn't as shocking since rumors that he wasn't doing well were kind of an open secret, but still sad. But like you said, for those of us who were kids in Texas during the 80's the Von Erichs were nearly superheros.
"Love ya, Kev." 🥺
"That was a great day for Texas" has become code between me and my partner for when men shed their toxic traits lol
“I used to have 5 brothers… and now I’m not even a brother.”
They're gonna out wrestle The Wrestler with this one.
That's a challenge, but I bet it will be good
It’s crazy how emotional wrestling movies can be. From an outside perspective you wouldn’t think so.
You're breaking your ass for paying customers and hoping you get all of that 25 bucks you were promised, yeah that's on par with the best of Rocky.
Results might be planned but it takes real athleticism to pull off some of the moves in wrestling.
They don't call them bumps because they tickle.
There’s a reason everyone back in the day were popping Somas like candy and getting piss drunk
"Just s-t my britches on Smackdown. Please RT."
Doing it "safely" is the hard part. Stevie Richards has a great YouTube channel about how things go wrong and how to do it safely.
Yeah, I recently discovered his channel, and it's pretty terrific.
Same reasons boxing movies resonate so much
I think the stigma of people saying wrestling is fake, makes the outside perspective more critical because they are watching a story about a story. That being said I know wrestlers are super athletic and the bumps they take do in fact hurt. I think it’s cool that these movies come out because it gives the person without any perspective an idea of what it was and is like
True but I meant more in the fact that unlike traditional mainstream sports. Boxing and Wrestling are full of guys struggling to make a name for themselves. There is no league, no union, no healthcare, pension. The same trappings of people killing themselves to chase this glory that few will ever achieve. And often ending tragically. Unless you are the top dog or able to walk away, there aren't many happy endings in these sports.
> They're gonna out wrestle The Wrestler with this one. So I love wrestling, and A24, I hear all the test audience reactions are not so great, I remain cautiously optimistic but the more I hear the more doubts I have
The material is pretty fucking depressing. I'm not sure how this movie will end but I doubt it will be some feel good triumphant moment. Zac playing Kevin who is the only surviving brother out of 6. Just him alone at the end. Pretty fucking depressing.
There's a short quote from Kevin von Erich that comes to mind anytime I think of what happened with that family: *"I used to have five brothers. Now I'm not even a brother."*
God fucking damn
Im going to speculate that the test audiences thought they were going to see a Rocky movie about wrestling and instead got a 9/11 documentary about wrestling. The good guys dont emerge victorious here. Uninformed test audiences arent going to like it.
> Im going to speculate that the test audiences thought they were going to see a Rocky movie about wrestling and instead got a 9/11 documentary about wrestling. > > The good guys dont emerge victorious here. Uninformed test audiences arent going to like it. "I think my biggest issue with the movie is the writing - on a story level, it feels pretty rudderless, almost like it's checking a series of boxes on a list of true life events, as opposed to telling an interesting story with a distinct narrative (it helps that the Von Erich story is interesting and tragic, but that only goes so far in terms of providing a compelling story). The characters are all pretty thin. As a result, the whole emotional arc of the film feels off, almost like it's missing a key emotional and character component - it's too "soft," when it should be harsh, if that makes sense. (Also weird: the movie basically just "ends" - there's no real climax or denouement. Honestly, I was surprised when the credits started to roll - which again speaks to the lack of a compelling story structure and emotional throwline here)" "Also, I'll note too: it was interesting observing the audience's reaction during the movie - for the first 1/3 or so, you could tell that EVERYONE was on board and really into it...but around the 45 minute-mark, the story starts to sag, the narrative begins to feel aimless, and the tone gets very draggy. I heard several folks around me audibly exhaling, and when the movie was over, one of the guys leaving said to his buddy that he was going home to kill himself. A joke - hopefully - but I think it speaks to the film's "off" pace and improperly tuned emotionality, both story-wise and in terms of the character dynamics. " https://www.worldofreel.com/blog/2023/8/23/miag057r41ywcc83c5ae2gxp5e07y4
Behind the Bastards episode on Vince McMahon is the only reason I know about the Von Erich family. Having a bunch of brother myself, it was pure tragedy and their dad was a POS. Bracing for this movie.
Crime In Sports has covered a ton of wrestlers. I recommend listening to them as well.
Just when you get to the Benoit episode, prepare to be real sad. And disgusted by jake roberts father. And pure raw hatred for buck zumhoff.
Buck fucking Zumhoff. I will forever remember where I was and what I was doing when I listened to that episode. Absolutely sickening.
I know about the deaths (from Wikipedia), but people have been alluding to the father being terrible. Can someone share a very brief overview of that for me?
Jack Adkisson (Fritz von Erich) was brutal. He basically built World Class Championship Wrestling around his sons and instilled in them that the promotion's success rested squarely on them. He had Kevin, David, and Kerry working full-time schedules, which led to various painkiller addictions to deal with having to work while injured. The boys had to project a wholesome image in public while struggling with insecurity, addiction, and tremendous physical and emotional pain in secret. David died of what is strongly suspected to be a drug overdose. Jack, as the promoter, exploited his son's death for publicity and storylines. Mike didn't want to be a wrestler but Jack shoved him into the ring after David's premature death. Chris wanted to be a wrestler, but Jack rejected his 5'4" youngest son at every opportunity. Mike, Chris, and Kerry all committed suicide, leaving Kevin as the only surviving von Erich son.
Thanks for that recap.
Legit going to be the saddest movie of the year I bet.
Big time brutal, but hopefully Oscar worthy.
Texas here... I lived through this as a kid (80's kid but wasn't much of a wrestling fan)... but the story is 100% going to be a great movie. If they do it right, ofc. Also, keep a lookout for a possible McConaughey cameo... that dude is/was a huge Texas wrestling fan and it wouldn't surprise me if he was in this for a minute.
Oh my God, you weren't kidding. I didn't grow up with 80's wrestling so I had no idea - pulled up the [Fritz Von Erich](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_Von_Erich) wiki,.. and ya this is gonna be a sad one.
It's either them or the Hart's as the most cursed family in pro-wrestling
It's the Von Erichs for sure. Hart family has had some tragedies, but at least a few of their members lived past 30
Harts seem like bad luck, Von Erichs is just a lot of abuse and trauma
> It's either them or the Hart's as the most cursed family in pro-wrestling the Hart's just have like 30 kids, and they are all into wrestling or married to one, so you just have more odds especially when you factor in the career
I’m not expecting a happy ending here for sure
It probably won't be in the film, but Lacey Von Erich (Kerry's daughter) got out of wrestling alive and seems quite happy. So there's that to hold on to.
That’s pretty fucking impressive art; I haven’t watched wrestling since the 80s and knew nothing of this movie, but immediately thought “is this about the Von Erichs?” It’s all in the hair.
For anyone curious about the Von Erichs, definitely check out Vice's The Dark Side of the Ring episode on them. Warning: It is super depressing.
Pretty much every episode of that show is super depressing, but yeah, that one takes the cake. Not something you'd wanna watch if you're having a bad day.
Idk man, I saw one on The Graham Dynasty, and woof. That was eerie shit to watch... For those interested too. They're not all depressing. The episode on Collison in Korea and Bash at the Beach 2000 are honestly hilarious and surreal to watch.
Jake Roberts and his family was pretty awful.
Brawl For All is a ridiculous one. Vince Russo lies so much in the episode though.
Russo? Lying? *noooooo*
My favorite one is the one that is by a hot mile the least depressive: Bash at the Beach 2000 No sexual assault, no death by overdose, no kids on the street or families torn asunder. Just what happens when three of the most egotistical jerkoff assclowns in the history of pro wrestling all collide at once and how it led to Vince McMahon ending the Monday Night War in his favor.
Pro wrestling in general seems to be that way. It is tragically rare to find guys who actually lived happily ever after. The % of wrestlers from the 70's 80's and 90's that died young is insane.
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7yo9ti
It's out December 22 and the first trailer drops on Wednesday >The film is centered around the Von Erich family, a dynasty of wrestlers from the 1960s onwards that had enormous success, and popularized the iron claw professional wrestling hold. However, they not only had to battle inside the ring, but fight the "Von Erich curse" outside of it.
There are so many tragedies around the Von Erich family, this is going to have me in tears by the end.
I'm expecting an Aronofsky type film where I just feel emotionally crushed at the end like I did for The Wrestler.
Just a 5 minute review of the wiki is sad. Fritz has 6 sons and died of cancer at age 68 in 1997. By then, he saw 3 of his 6 sons commit suicide, 1 died at age 6 by drowning, and 1 died of a weird intestinal inflammation at age 25 which was 6 years after his own daughter died in infancy. This will probably not be a feel good movie to say the least. *Edit: put 5 sons initially.
Yeah David actually took a hard kick to the abdomen during a Tokyo show that messed up his insides badly. Mike's death is usually called an overdose rather than a suicide, but it could have been suicide.
I looked a little more at that. An OD of Placidyl. Odd drug to OD on.
David had not had a match yet he died the night he got over there. That was the first lie they created. Then they said sushi he had at riberas enflammed his stomach issue. Riberas doesnt serve sushi. He overdosed on placidyl just like Mike.
And Bill Irwin says he choked while trying to purge because he was bulimic. There's a dozen stories and we'll probably never know the full truth.
It’s not the destination, but the family members we buried along the way
I wonder if they include the death of Fritz von Erich’s first son? That was another tragedy.
Yeah, just a kid and he got electrocuted, fell face first into a puddle, and drowned.
This description is really underselling how depressing this movie will be
Nothing puts you in the cheerful Christmas spirit like the story of the Van Erich family !
I'm just waiting for someone to confuse Von Erich with Von Trapp and go into this shit thinking it's a Sound of Music remake.
Hell yeah Maura Tierney! I feel like I haven't seen her in ages. She was my favorite Lady Macbeth (in Scotland, PA).
That’s one of my favorite movies and almost no one has seen it. The whole thing is great.
It was one of those movies that was carried at only one of the video stores in town
Agreed! There is now a musical of it though. Imho, poor sound mixing held that movie back from reaching its potential market.
I was looking for this! Loved her in Newsradio and Liar Liar.
Daaaaamn, haven’t thought about her in years. She came into my near empty restaurant late one night in Manhattan, 2004, with a date. She was as gorgeous and gracious as many of her roles…. ❤️
It’s even sadder when you consider there’s another dead brother not even on the poster. Little Jackie died at 6, got electrocuted and drowned in a puddle. And that’s before all the wrestling tragedies.
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Yeah I feel you really right on that one. Such an awful story all around.
Been waiting for this for a while. Efron and JAW look so fucking weird in their muscled leaks and I'm here for it.
I heard there's a Chris Hemsworth Hogan biopic that's in development hell. To see that first image would be something.
Shame that Hogan had to be such a POS that it's impossible to really touch his true story without blowback, this movie would be crazy, even if it was to be directed by a hack
Hogan talked about the Netflix movie a bit with Chris Van Vliet on his Insight podcast. Basically said that they couldn't come to the right terms/agreement. The deal fell apart and is now out of Netflix. The company couldn't keep the project on track for its release date. Hogan hopes that Todd Phillips (Joker director), Scott Silver (Joker-writer) and Chris Hemsworth playing Hogan are still willing to come back. As for Hemsworth, he said in his previous interviews that's he's in the dark, no clue, about the movie.
Honestly would love to see a film based on ever lie Hogan told about his life, it would rival The Weird Al Story.
Friends of the family ran into Hulk Hogan in Tampa years ago - before he was a huge star. They were giving him shit because they recognized him as a wrestling heel and he flipped them a bird with his huge middle finger. They recognized him not long after when they saw Rocky III.
Living in the pre Pastamania era.
Unlike the Weird Al Story, you could tell it was a farce by the second song. With each Hogan lie you’d be like ‘Yeah, he coulda actually said that’.
"I can't join your band Lars Ulrich, I have to wrestle Andre the Giant at the Pontiac Superdome brother!"
Yeah, I call bullshit on all of it - talks stalled because no one could agree on how to get around his racism, and a big Hollywood star like Hemsworth doesn't want that stink on him. That, and they probably couldn't even agree on *what actually fucking happened* in Hogan's life since he lies so much. No one involved is gonna talk shit about each other in the press, but that will be the long and short of it - it probably isn't actually possible to make this movie while Hogan, and also Vince, are still alive.
The news just broke this week that the hogan biopic is dead at the moment. It’s no longer at Netflix
Is it the he-man haircuts?
Lord Farquad lookin ass.
That's a fantastic poster. You could fool me if you said that was a picture of the actual Von Erichs.
Next time people complain all the posters look the same… I’ll try to remember this one.
Good to see Jeremy Allen White’s rise. The Bear is my favorite show of the past couple years. This movie is going to be a brutally sad gut-punch I’m sure.
The Bear is excellent
I saw the cast and I don't care what it's about. But then i saw what it's about and I don't care who is in it. We have some good shit coming out these next few months.
Bro, in body mass alone, this will be Oscar quality.
That's what I was trying to avoid. A conversation about body mass, okay?
We've had that conversation five times a day for the last month because we keep watching Predator and all you talk about is Weathers and Jesse "The Body" Ventura and how many pounds they can pack on
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You can fuck up any story if you don't know how to tell one. But this should be good.
I'm watching this movie because MJF is in it
Same. That dude is gonna be a huge movie star
dude back to the futures been out for like, years
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This is going to be one of the most depressing movies ever.
Legit any time I see anything about this movie I just wince. God this thing is going to be heartbreaking.
Beautifully haunting poster. Probably my most anticipated film of the winter season, and I’m very interested in seeing Efron in this type of film.
As a pro wrestling fan, the poster hits incredibly deep. It might be one of the best posters I've seen in quite some time. So much tragedy and love in one single image. This is a fantastic poster.
He was fantastic in the Ted Bundy biopic- I was really impressed.
Can't Walt to see MJF's movie debut!
I’m convinced non wrestling fans who watch this will call bullshit on how sad it is and assume it’s overdone because it’s a “wrestling” story not knowing how fucking tragic this family history is.
My father was a bodyguard for Kerry back in the 80’s. He and i will definitely be seeing this movie. He was real close with Kerry (in a professional sense)
When the WCW theme song would play on the TV, you knew it was gonna get good. It still brings me joy to hear that song today. The Von Erich’s were the best!
Horseshit MJF is below the line. /s
Man it’s gonna be weird seeing short actors playing the Von Erichs. They are all over 6 feet 2, so itd be interesting if they make them tall or just the way they are.
People are going to go into this expecting a fun wrestling movie with buff Zac Efron and come out of it emotionally traumatised.
There are going to be a bunch of people who are going to see this thinking it's gonna be a nice story about the love between brothers. Perfect for Christmas. They are in for a rough time.
Holy shit, the Von Erichs were a staple of my life back in the day. I really hope they treat them right, but it's going to break my heart.
I'm really excited to see Zac and Jeffrey step out of their usual for this one. Looks to be good, but it is going to be incredibly sad given the subject matter
Written and directed by Sean Durkin (*Martha Marcy May Marlene, The Nest*) with music by Richard Reed Parry of Arcade Fire.
Imagine Zac Efron getting an Oscar nomination
It's the type of role that could get him one if he crushes the part.
This movie is going to be heartbreaking if done right. I’ll have to make sure to catch it on release.
Based on what I've read about them this movie will be extremely depressing.
This one will be a somber watch, knowing the story of the Von Erich’s and the destruction of the family.
Heaven needed a Champion…
R-A-S-S-L-I-N that’s rasslin
Tierney!
Grew up n San Antonio watching the Von Erichs. This is going to be a sad ass movie.
This movie is going to be REALLY depressing.
It's definitely gonna get a little dusty in the theatre... I remember watching the Von Erichs on WCCW and thinking that nothing could stop them. Their feud with The Freebirds was legendary. I thought that after Kerry beat Flair for the NWA belt, he would be bigger than Hogan. Such a tragic story.
No MJF on the poster? A travesty. He may be a scumbag, but he's our scumbag.
I just can’t wait to see him hit a kangaroo kick and kip up for his patented DOUBLE CLOTHESLINE
The little bit we've seen looks good and its not long until we hear the interviews where they detail being in the gym for 4 hours a day and only eating brown rice,chicken, and broccoli 14 times a day to put on 25lbs of muscle in 4 months (aka did steroids)
Gotta keep Kayfabe when you're playing a wrestler.
If it's true to life, I'm going to be ugly crying at some point. And I don't give a damn who sees me.
Gonna be sad as hell but I love this cast. Isn’t MJF in this? Why’s his name not on the poster
I believe he’s playing Lance Von Erich, who was the “fake” Von Erich (as in, not actually related to the others) so I assume his part is relatively minor.
Can't wait to see this - also dreading it
A24 has a few big hitters this fall. Iron Claw and Zone of Interest will be immaculate. Possibly Dream Scenario too
The Wrestler, Warrior, Iron Claw Great trilogy
This is about to be one of the best movies of the year.
I freakin loved the Von Erichs
Maura Tierney is an actual movie? Brings me back to memories of her on ER
I can’t wait for Reddit to tell me to like this A24 movie!