10 Second Generation Wrestlers That Should Have Known Better
2. Lacey, Ross & Marshall Von Erich
The death toll within the Von Erich family may be wrestling's most tragic tale. It subsequently beggars belief as to why the third generation would wish to enter in after the collected fates of the second.
Patriarch Jack Adkisson (as Fritz Von Erich) was a massive star for NWA territories and World Class Championship Wrestling in the 1960s and 1970s, but his fame and popularity would be dwarfed by the rockstar-like success of his children in the early-1980s.
Sadly, the story of nearly every one of his children ends in impossible tragedy. His first son Jack drowned in a puddle at only six years old after suffering an electric shock. His third son David was a prodigious in-ring talent, contesting legendary clashes with Harley Race and Ric Flair before passing away in Japan in 1984 from what most believe to be a drug overdose despite initial reports of fatal enteritis.
A hero in Texas, a tribute show in his name drew a huge crowd to see his younger brother Kerry defeat 'The Nature Boy' for the NWA Heavyweight Title. Kerry was a different proposition entirely between the ropes, but with good looks, a ripped physique and a intangible charisma, he advanced even beyond the brothers' World Class heydays to briefly electrify WWE fans with an Intercontinental Title victory over Mr Perfect at SummerSlam '90. Spiralling drug problems and impending impending criminal charges coaxed him into shooting himself in 1993.
He wasn't the first Von Erich to commit suicide. Fritz' fifth child Mike was forced into early retirement in 1985 due to suffering from Toxic Shock Syndrome. He overdosed on tranquillisers in 1987. Youngest son Chris followed suit in 1991, allegedly unable to get over the depression of losing Mike having failed himself to succeed in the wrestling business.
Only Fritz' second son Kevin remains, and does so with admirable positivity considering the hand life has dealt him.