10 Ways World Class Championship Wrestling Changed The Business

2. Tragedy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGJ_drL1eDU "David's been an integral part of our lives, no question about that. We loved him to death, his mother and I and his brothers. But David is gone and life does go on." €“ Fritz Von Erich In 1984, at the peak of WCCW's popularity, David Von Erich died of an intestinal disorder in Japan. There was a tribute show. Wrestlers paid their respects on camera, almost a dress rehearsal for the two-hour elegies of Owen Hart and Eddie Guerrero in later decades. Much like Vince McMahon, Fritz and the boys quickly adopted a "show must go on" mentality. The quote above comes from a vignette filmed on the Adkisson ranch. Fritz tells his sons that, in the face of their loss, they must concentrate on gaining the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. For the Fritz, it could have been a cathartic use of his art, the best way to get through this difficult period of his life. The result is oddly surreal, one of the few moments in wrestling where kayfabe and real life merged, albeit not without seams. David's death was only the beginning of a long list of tragic losses for WCCW and the wrestling world. Gino Hernandez, a talented heel poised for greatness, died of an apparent cocaine overdose in 1986, although some colleagues believe he was murdered. Mike Von Erich nearly died of toxic shock syndrome, and lived with severe brain damage until his suicide in 1987. Even after WCCW folded, the fallout continued. Chris Von Erich shot himself in 1991. Kerry Von Erich, who had wrestled with a prosthetic foot since a motorcycle accident in 1986, had made it to the WWF as the Texas Tornado, but depression, an addiction to painkillers and two arrests led him to shoot himself in 1993. Bruiser Brody was stabbed in Puerto Rico. Fritz Von Erich died of brain cancer in 1997. "Gentleman" Chris Adams was shot in 2001. The WCCW tragedies should have been a wake-up call to the entire wrestling world. No professional sport or entertainment has seen this level of untimely deaths. The fans of these amazing athletes have seen great losses, but that doesn't compare to the losses suffered by these wrestlers' friends and families.