20 Greatest Wrestling Documentaries Ever
17. The Triumph & Tragedy Of WCCW (2007)
Suicides, heartache and success are rarely words that go hand-in-hand, but all are applicable when exploring World Class Championship Wrestling. Run by The Von Erich family, World Class was at one point the premier promotion operating out of Texas.
Nowadays their entire tape library is owned by WWE, which led to the release of this documentary in 2007.
The bulk of the talking is done by Kevin Von Erich, the last surviving son of father Fritz. Along the way, Kevin discusses what it was like to be a genuine local celebrity at the height of WCCW's popularity in the 1980's, feuding with The Fabulous Freebirds and selling out arenas every night.
That success was later mired by tragedy. All four of Kevin's wrestling brothers died young, with Kerry, Mike and Chris all committing suicide. Earlier, David had died from an apparent drug overdose. This had an unbelievable toll on the family, and has been the subject of any discussions about World Class ever since.
Kevin doesn't shy away from the emotion of the situation, which gives this one a heartfelt atmosphere. It's somber and sometimes depressing, no doubt, but WWE do a nice job of showing the good times the Von Erichs experienced too.