American professional wrestler (1964?1987)
Michael Brett Adkisson
(March 2, 1964 ? April 12, 1987) was an American
professional wrestler
under the
ring name
Mike Von Erich
. His four brothers,
David
,
Kerry
,
Kevin
and
Chris
, also wrestled. He was the son of longtime Texas wrestler and wrestling promoter
Fritz Von Erich
and a member of the
Von Erich family
.
Early life
[
edit
]
Mike had five brothers:
David
,
Kerry
,
Kevin
, Jack and
Chris
.
[2]
His father, longtime Texas wrestler and wrestling promoter,
Fritz Von Erich
, trained all his sons in professional wrestling.
[2]
Several wrestlers associated with Mike, such as his brother Kevin,
King Kong Bundy
,
"Gentleman" Chris Adams
,
Gary Hart
and
Jake Roberts
, have all stated that he never wanted to be a wrestler. Instead, he wanted to work for his father's company,
World Class Championship Wrestling
(WCCW), as a cameraman. He played the guitar and wanted to be a
guitarist
.
[3]
Professional wrestling career
[
edit
]
World Class Championship Wrestling (1983?1987)
[
edit
]
Mike made his debut on November 24, 1983, winning a match against
Skandor Akbar
during "WCCW Wrestling Star Wars" at the Reunion Arena. He was then involved in several encounters with
The Freebirds
. Von Erich and
Michael Hayes
brawled on October 17, 1983, in Ft. Worth, after Hayes ripped a jacket given to Mike by his brother Kerry. Mike teamed up with his brother Kevin against
Terry Gordy
and
Buddy Roberts
on December 25, 1983. The only time Mike ever teamed up with his brother David was in January 1984 when, along with Kerry, they battled the Freebirds. Mike took David's place teaming with Kerry after David's death in February 1984.
WCCW tried to give Mike a feud of his own against Brian Adias in October 1986, since Kerry was out of wrestling with an ankle injury. Mike and Adias were to battle in a match at
Parade of Champions
on May 3, 1987, but Mike died on April 12 of that year. His final match took place at the Sportatorium on April 3, 1987, against Mike Williams.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1987)
[
edit
]
While wrestling for World Class, Mike ventured to Japan for the first and only time in his career, to wrestle for
New Japan Pro-Wrestling
in January 1987, during their
New Year Dash
series tour. Even though he didn't wrestle for very long on that tour, Mike had a strong encounter with then
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion
Shiro Koshinaka
, facing him on January 3, in a losing effort. He also teamed with fellow foreigners such as
Tony St. Clair
,
Black Bart
,
Konga The Barbarian
and
The Cuban Assassin
against the likes of
Antonio Inoki
,
Tatsumi Fujinami
,
Osamu Kido
and
Yoshiaki Fujiwara
. However, he also enjoyed some success in it, scoring victories against veteran
Kantaro Hoshino
, young lion
Shunji Kosugi
and South Korean wrestler Kim Su Hong. After wrestling for 10 days in their tour, Mike returned home to America.
Personal life
[
edit
]
Mike was married on February 14, 1985, to Shani Danette Garza.
[4]
Mike and Shani divorced later that same year.
[
citation needed
]
He was a born-again Christian.
[2]
He underwent shoulder surgery on August 22, 1985, due to an injury suffered during a wrestling tour of
Israel
.
[5]
He was released from the hospital but later he developed a fever of 107 °F (42 °C).
[2]
He was later diagnosed with
toxic shock syndrome
.
[2]
He suffered some
brain damage
as a result of his illness and lost a great deal of weight.
[6]
In 1986, he suffered head injuries from a car accident in which his vehicle overturned after he lost control. In addition, Kevin cited an incident in which Mike attacked a streetlight in frustration over his current condition. Kevin once said that Mike also suffered from the pressure of having to "be David" after his brother's death. Since the beginning of his career, Mike felt pressure to succeed on the same level as his brothers.
[2]
Death and legacy
[
edit
]
On April 12, 1987, Mike left a
suicide note
for his family, then went to
Lewisville Lake
, where he drank alcohol and overdosed on the sleeping aid
Placidyl
. A few days before his death, Mike had been arrested for
DUI
and
marijuana possession
.
[2]
[7]
His body was found four days later and buried at Grove Hill Memorial Park in Dallas.
Starting in 2001, Von Erich was part of the video game
Legends of Wrestling
series
, first appearing in
Legends of Wrestling
as an unlockable character and in
Legends of Wrestling II
(2002).
In 2009, he was inducted into the
WWE Hall of Fame
along with his family. He was inducted by Freebird
Michael Hayes
. It was accepted by his surviving brother Kevin.
In 2019, Mike's story was covered as part of the
Dark Side of the Ring
episode on the Von Erichs.
The 2023 film
The Iron Claw
depicts the Von Erich family story, with Mike being played by
Stanley Simons
.
Championships and accomplishments
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
"Mike Von Erich Online World of Wrestling"
.
onlineworldofwrestling.com
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
Hollandsworth, Skip.
"The Fall of the House of Von Erich (February 1988)"
. D Magazine
. Retrieved
December 28,
2017
.
- ^
says, Claudia Bacon-Tonihka (2017-10-13).
"Living in the Shadows: Life of Mike Von Erich"
.
Ron Mullinax
. Retrieved
2021-07-11
.
- ^
"Texas Marriages"
.
- ^
"Mike Adkisson, 21, Critical After Surgery : Wrestler Has Toxic Shock Syndrome"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Associated Press. August 30, 1985
. Retrieved
December 28,
2017
.
- ^
Heroes of World Class
(DVD).
- ^
Cohen, Eric.
"Who's who in the Von Erich Family?"
. Archived from
the original
on 2 March 2017
. Retrieved
19 April
2009
.
- ^
"Pro Wrestling Illustrated Award Winners Inspirational Wrestler of the Year"
. Wrestling Information Archive. Archived from
the original
on 2006-03-16
. Retrieved
2008-07-27
.
- ^
a
b
"PWI 500 of the PWI Years"
. Willy Wrestlefest
. Retrieved
2012-08-28
.
- ^
Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). "Texas: NWA / World Class American Heavyweight Title [Von Eric]".
Wrestling Title Histories
. Archeus Communications. pp. 265?266.
ISBN
0-9698161-5-4
.
- ^
"NWA United States Heavyweight Title (1967-1968/05) - American Heavyweight Title (1968/05-1986/02)"
.
Wrestling-Titles
. Retrieved
December 26,
2019
.
- ^
"Christmas Star Wars 1982"
. Pro Wrestling History. December 25, 1982
. Retrieved
November 23,
2016
.
- ^
Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). "(Texas) Dallas: World Class 6-Man Tag Team Title".
Wrestling Title Histories
(4th ed.). Archeus Communications. pp. 271?272.
ISBN
0-9698161-5-4
.
- ^
Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). "Texas: WCCW Middle Eastern Title".
Wrestling Title Histories
. Archeus Communications. p. 396.
ISBN
0-9698161-5-4
.
External links
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]
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First generation
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Second generation
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Third generation
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Storyline relatives
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Related articles
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