Who did you like better, Kevin or Kerry Von Erich?

[mrhexum]

Pretty simple little question really (My apologies if this has been done before).

When I was younger it seemed (to me at least) that the Von Erich family was one of the bigger names in wrestling. Most of us who would post in this section I'm sure are aware of the Von Erich family history/tragedies.

In this thread I'd like to see which Von Erich you enjoyed watching the most. For obvious reasons, I've narrowed it down to Kevin and Kerry, but, feel free to discuss any other member of this legendary family if they were your favorite of the bunch.

For me, it's kind of hard to choose as Kevin and Kerry had different styles. Kevin was more of a high flyer and wrestled barefoot (like Snuka, who was awesome as well) and had a more laid back attitude. Kerry was a more of a powerhouse and looked more like the wrestlers you'd see in that time. Kerry also had a short NWA title reign, beating Ric Flair in a pretty awesome match,and had a good IC run in WWE.

If i had to pick, I would go with Kevin. He seemed more well rounded and didn't look like you're typical wrestler. I did enjoy Kerry's work as well.

So, have at it guys... what do you think?

 

[Poop Master Flex]

I always like Kerry loads more than Kevin (honestly I liked David the most but that's not the discussion) and here are the reasons why.

The biggest reason is simple, Kerry had a lot more charisma and showmanship than Kevin ever had. Kerry had the #1 thing you need to be a big superstar, the X-factor, that intangible that you don't really know what it is but when someone has it you know its there. Kevin was a good wrestler no doubt, but I felt he lacked the skills of David and the charisma of Kerry (although Kevin had charisma, no question). I feel Kerry was the best of both worlds, had the good looks of Kevin and had the many of the pure wrestling skills David possessed.

Other reason's were I thought his look overall was better, be was bigger, had more muscle and had the look of a Greek God or something, just unbelievably chiseled and looked primed. Kevin had a good build and look, but I don't think his look even compares to his younger brother Kerry.

Another reason is I felt Kerry had better and more high profile matches. I remember Kerry having great matches against a lot of people including Mr. Perfect, Jerry Lawler, and Ric Flair. Most of the matches I remember with Kevin were mostly his matches with the Freebird's, I saw some single matches of his and although some were very good I don't recall him having the epic encounters that Kerry had.

All in all I'm gonna say this, there is a reason why Kerry went to the WWE, was NWA champion and carried WCCW instead of Kevin, that's because he had more appeal and box office draw. I'm not saying Kerry was better in every aspect (frankly he sounded like a stupid mofo on the mic) but overall I liked him more and will always have much fonder memories with Kerry instead of Kevin.

 

[LMann17428]

Kerry was the standard bearer for the Von Erich Family even before David died. Anyone who watched would be able to tell Kerry was the heir apparent, it's just David (who was great) was older and therefore had the rite of passage. Kevin was real good, just nothing more than a real good mid-carder who couldn't carry a company like Kerry.

 

[steinerscrewdriver]

Im going to side with Kerry, mainly being more familair with him. I have watched the match with Lawler to unify the titles mulitple times and it is to this day one of my favorite matches of all time. Kerry also had a solid run as the IC champ and seeing him as the Texas Tornado when I was younger I was always a huge fan of his.

The amount of talent in that whole family was insane and it is so sad that we had to see so many of them leave this planet it so soon.

 

[BloodworkKP]

I was always a fan of Kerry even as The Texas Tornado which I felt bad for him having to do but Kerry just had the charisma factor that Kevin didn't

 

[wrestling fan 666]

Well, if I had to pick, I'm in the minority on this one, but I always thought from a pure wrestling aspect; Kevin. If you have seen the matches in the old WCCW, you'd notice that Kevin could rank up there with Melenko, Benoit, and Bret Hart as far as wrestling goes.

But for entertainment, Kerry has the lead. He had the "it" factor that Kevin lacked. He was more sports entertainment and that's why he clicked so much with the fans as well as why he received so many world title shots. The NWA knew that Kerry would put butts in the seats.

I understood the appeal with Kerry; but as far as wrestling, Kevin IMO. (like mentioned before, my favorite was David, but that is another discussion).

 

[oogieboogie]

I will say Kerry, only cos i got in to wrestling just after he had lost the intercontinental title in WWF as Texas Tornado. So i have seen him wrestle and heard his promos.

I do think when he beat Flair for the title (was only cos his bro who was meant to win it, had passed away), so they let Kerry have it. Then when he beat Mr Perfect for the title, wasn't that cos Brutus had his accident, so since he couldn't wrestle they gave the title to Kerry?

But to be honest i think he was selfish in committing suicide. I never understood that the fact that he had young kids, ah well.

 

[TheViper97]

My fave von erich would be none other than lacey von erich hot knows how to wrestler but put a stupid gimmick of dumb bonde

 

[mrhexum]

Hmm... Maybe I should have just made this thread about the Von Erichs in general. It just shows that the one guy I left out (David) seems to be the most liked here, which is awesome. As I said before, I was just trying to make it a more focused thread, but, if you'd like to talk about David or hell, even Fritz, please, feel free.

 

[boozinjedi]

Out of the lot,I think David was the best pure wrestler out of Fritz's kids.
Kevin was pretty good too,but Kerry had the look,
built like an adonis and had that"aw,shucks"texas southern boy charm to him.

It was a shame they didn't fully develop a feud between him and Mr. Perfect back in 1990,being as they were two 2nd generation wrestlers..it could've been dynamic.But if I remember when the story broke about Kerry's suicide,his dad said he had wrestled the last few years with a fake foot after losing one in a auto/motorcycle accident..so that might have hampered him somewhat.

and to oogieboogie,you're thinking of the time the warrior took brutus's place 2 years earlier.
I could see why you got confused...Kerry was at one time billed as the "modern day warrior"
In fact if I remember...he was on a Survivor Series team called the warriors(come out and play)that had:Ultimatwe Warrior,Texas Tornado,Hawk and Animal.

sorry about that one part..inside joke!

 

[Marzyk]

Some people just wanna be different or want to seem like a deeper fan by saying Kevin, I guess. It's pretty obvioius tht Kerry was the star of that family. I'm not one of those characters that think that my opinion is a fact either. I just cant logically see how someone can not notice that Kerry was the torch bearer in that fam.

 

[realoldskoolfan]

well because he wasn't. David was the true torch bearer of the family. He the better pedigree, the backstage knowledge and was just groomed from day one to be the World Champion. There is no doubt in my mind the man would have been the NWA Champion, probaly multiple times. He could work as a face or heel. Yes heel. He spent time in the Florida and Missouri territories as a heel, and had a keen mind for the business side. He would definitly be running a promotion today of still alive. The Von Erichs are one of the greatest stories and saddest stories at the same time.
I think its safe to say that both Mike and Chris had no business being in the ring. Mike never wanted it, and was somewhat forced into it because of 1. pressure to "be like his brothers" and 2. Davids death. Chris wanted nothing more than to be a wrestler, but because of his condition (asthma medication he had taken as an infant stunted his growth and hampered the development of his bones, causing them to break easily) was a medical liability stepping foot in the ring.
Funny nobodys mentioned Lance LOL!!!

 

[FlairFan2003]

Kerry had the look and way more charisma than Kevin. Kevin was athletic, but he didn't have Kerry's build, etc.

Kerry had some great matches in the early-mid 80's with Ric Flair and The Freebirds, he was still good but was just a shell of himself by time World Class folded and he went to WWE. The motorcycle accident in 86 that caused them to amputate part of his foot was a big reason, but Kerry long had drug and alcohol problems. There were stories that the NWA originally considered a long run as champ for Kerry but he was too unreliable, missing dates, wrestling poorly because he was messed up, in the end he was lucky to get a three week reign and not be forced to job the title back in Texas (he wins at Texas Stadium, over 43,000 fans in attendance, but loses cleanly in a best of 3 falls match three weeks later in Japan).

Both men had short careers but Kerry had more talent.

 

[realoldskoolfan]

Kerry had the look and way more charisma than Kevin. Kevin was athletic, but he didn't have Kerry's build, etc.

Kerry had some great matches in the early-mid 80's with Ric Flair and The Freebirds, he was still good but was just a shell of himself by time World Class folded and he went to WWE. The motorcycle accident in 86 that caused them to amputate part of his foot was a big reason, but Kerry long had drug and alcohol problems. There were stories that the NWA originally considered a long run as champ for Kerry but he was too unreliable, missing dates, wrestling poorly because he was messed up, in the end he was lucky to get a three week reign and not be forced to job the title back in Texas (he wins at Texas Stadium, over 43,000 fans in attendance, but loses cleanly in a best of 3 falls match three weeks later in Japan).

Both men had short careers but Kerry had more talent.

correct on all counts. Kerry was is and always will be my favorite wrestler, but I don't want to take anything away from Kevin. Kevin was the workhorse of the brothers. He did the dirty work.
The best way to settle this is to examine the events after Davids death in 1984. The match at Texas Stadium that year was scheduled to be David vs Flair with David going over and getting the belt. As both a favor to Fritz and a way to honor David's death, the NWA board agreed to let one of the Von Erichs win the title that day. They chose Kerry....that says it all right there.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Out of Kevin or Kerry, I go with Kevin easily. Personally, I think Kerry Von Erich is a bit overrated. I never really saw anything all that charismatic or overly dynamic about the guy. He just happened to have the more Herculean type of build than Kevin and was the physically stronger of the two.

From an all around perspective inside the ring, Kevin was far superior to Kerry. Kevin could do the high flying stuff really well, he had legit abilities on the mat and he was a surprisingly good brawler when he had to be. He was just a better all around athlete than Kerry and, for me, most of his matches were just a lot more entertaining to watch.

Even though he's not really a subject of this thread, David had both of them beat when it comes to charisma and general personality. David is really the only one that struck me with really having a great personality. He didn't have the great physiques and overall good looks & athleticism that Kevin & Kerry had but he knew how to tell a story inside the ring better than either one of them and he could connect with the Texas crowds in a different way. Kevin & Kerry looked like gymrats, which they kinda were. They spent much of their free time in the gym working out and all this while David came more across like the blue collar, hard working cowboy type. Outside of wrestling, he owned a ranch that he spent lots of time working on. I believe that he also had a successful horse breeding business. He looked and seemed like a guy that would sit down with you and have a few beers and some barbecue without worrying about his carb intake or how many miles he'd need to jog in order to burn it off.

 

[boomhauer20055]

I like Kevin. He hung in there and didn't take a cowards way out. His children grew up with a father while Kerry's didn't.