In the 1980s, Texas was a wrestling hotbed. World Class Championship Wrestling was an innovative promotion, the first to use entrance music for wrestlers, and was broadcast in a huge number of countries around the world. The stars of the show were undoubtedly the Von Erich family, the sons of promoter Jack Adkisson, a.k.a. Fritz Von Erich. The top performer of all of the brothers was Kerry, and in 1984, in front of 45,000 fans in a sold out Texas Stadium, he won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship from Ric Flair. However, by 1990, World Class was on its last legs and Kerry jumped to the WWF who were only too happy to have such a well known name on their roster. Unfortunately, this was the era when the WWF like to pretend that they were the only show in town, and any accomplishments outside of the company were ignored. They even stripped him of his famous last name and billed him as simply The Texas Tornado. The reality was that, by the time Kerry came to the WWF, he was, to use boxing parlance, a shot fighter. He had been involved in a serious motorcycle accident four years previously which had resulted in him having his foot amputated and his ankle fused in a locked position. He also had a serious drug problem, including an addiction to painkillers, and it was reported that he was often incoherent in the dressing room, even when he was still in Texas. He started off very well, coming into SummerSlam 1990 as a late substitute for Brutus Beefcake and winning the Intercontinental title from Mr Perfect. Wrestling tradition dictates that late subs usually win so as to appease the crowd. Von Erich dropped the title back to Mr Perfect a few months later, leading to speculation over whether an IC title run was ever really in WWFs plans for him. By the turn of 1991, he was well and truly buried in the mid card. By taking on a wrestler who was not in an ideal state to compete, and taking away his history from casual fans, he was always running on empty. He left the WWF in 1992 after a succession of losses. Tragically, he committed suicide in February 1993, just before he was scheduled to stand trial on drug charges which were likely to have resulted in a prison sentence.
Dean Ayass is a well known name to British wrestling fans. A commentator, manager, booker and ring announcer who has been involved in the business since 1993, Dean's insight into the business is second to none.
