Hometown: Denton, Texas
Height/Weight: 6’2/235
Signature Moves: Iron Claw, leg scissors, dropkick, flying body press
WCCW Titles Held: WCWA World Heavyweight Title (twice); NWA American Heavyweight Title (five times); WCCW Texas Heavyweight Title (twice); WCCW World Tag Team Title (three times with Kerry Von Erich); WCCW American Tag Team Titles (twice with Kerry Von Erich, once with El Halcon, once with David Von Erich); WCCW Texas Tag Team Titles (twice with David Von Erich); WCCW Six-Man Tag Team Titles (twice with David and Kerry Von Erich, three times with Kerry and Mike Von Erich, once with Kerry Von Erich and Brian Adias, once with Kerry and Lance Von Erich, once with Kerry Von Erich and Michael Hayes, once with Steve Simpson and Chris Adams); WCCW Television Title
Notable WCCW Feuds: Great Kabuki, Fabulous Freebirds, Chris Adams, Gino Hernandez, Brian Adias, Al Madril and Super Black Ninja.
Need to Know Facts: Born May 15, 1957, Kevin lettered in football at North Texas State University where he was considered a standout fullback. Knee injuries ended Kevin’s promising football career, and during his junior year he dropped out of college to pursue a career in professional wrestling.
Kevin held the NWA American title (which eventually became the WCWA World Heavyweight championship) on several occasions; his first reign occurred on December 25, 1978, only two years into his career. Kevin also found early success in the tag team ranks with his younger brother David. The brothers held the WCCW tag team titles, and WCCW’s version of the All-Asian titles.
Often referred to as either “high-flying” or “the Golden Warrior” throughout his career, Kevin demonstrated aerial moves early on that have since become commonplace in today’s pro wrestling industry. During the early 1980’s, only Jim Brunzell might have rivaled Kevin as having the best looking dropkick of a North American wrestler. When he entered an arena to the tune of Ted Nugent’s “Stranglehold”, the crowd became electrified, a scene reminiscent of the days of Beatlemania.
Kevin joined his brothers David and Kerry (and later Mike) in their war against the Fabulous Freebirds, electrifying crowds throughout the Southwest region of the U.S. with both teams catapulting both venue ticket sales and television viewership to then unheard-of numbers.
The Kevin-Adams feud was every bit as intense as the then-recent rivalry between the Von Erichs and Freebirds, with Adams actually busting Kevin’s head open with a wooden chair after their Cotton Bowl matchup in October 1984.
In later years, Kevin would feel the heavy burden of being the lone Von Erich in a promotion that made the family famous beyond comprehension. With the deaths of David and Mike Von Erich, and the near-fatal motorcycle crash of Kerry in June 1986, Kevin quickly lost any passion he might have had for the industry that cherished the Von Erich name.
In recent years, Kevin became a first time grandfather, released a Best of the Von Erichs compilation DVD, and appeared on a live RAW telecast in October 2005 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, joining a number of other legends of the sport in a beatdown of loudmouthed WWE heel Rob Conway. In mid-2006, he finalized the sale of the WCCW tape library to WWE and announced plans to relocate his entire family, including his mother Doris, to Hawaii, bringing the Von Erich presence in Texas to a conclusion which, though bittersweet, was filled with the promise of peace and happiness.
