8 Wrestling Shows With EMBARRASSING Attendances
1. WCCW 4th Von Erich Memorial Parade Of Champions
On 10 February 1984, David von Erich died whilst on tour with All Japan Pro Wrestling, the cause of which has been disputed and speculated over ever since. The official line given by his family was a ruptured intestine, caused by enteritis. A more commonly touted theory is an opioid overdose.
In an instant, the heart of his father Fritz's World Class Championship Wrestling was ripped out, though the outpouring of grief perversely kept the company's attendances high for a period. Four months after David's death, WCCW established the annual Parade of Champions in his honour, the card headlined by an emotional encounter between brother Kerry and Ric Flair attracting 50,123 fans to Irving's Texas Stadium.
Nevertheless, the twin devils of the Von Erich curse and Vince McMahon's rapid North American expansion meant WCCW couldn't sustain interest - even on the mourning dollar. The next two years saw the tribute show's attendance slashed in half, as further devastation struck the promotion. Gino Hernandez died of a cocaine overdose at the beginning of 1986. In April 1987, Fritz lost a third son when Mike von Erich, unable to cope with the pressure mounted on his shoulders, took his own life.
By this point, tragedy was proving a turnoff - audiences simply couldn't stomach the mental turmoil. The 4th Annual Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions - now in honour of both David and Mike - attracted just 5,900 spectators to the cavernous Texas Stadium. With all of WCCW's star attractions either departed or deceased, the event was headlined by a six-woman mud pit match. It's what David and Mike would have wanted.