ESPN Is Giving The Von Erichs Their Own 30 For 30 Short

[Playboy]

Nice vid...love that claw / discus punch combo. Another guy who died way too young.

[Ronnie Rep]

Did this air yet? If not when will it? If anybody knows.

[polychronopolous]

Did this air yet? If not when will it? If anybody knows.

Here ya go broski 

[Ronnie Rep]

I Knew about the prosthetic foot story. My buddy used to write for Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer back then. I used to read every week for about three years.

[Ronnie Rep]

Thanks!

[polychronopolous]

I Knew about the prosthetic foot story. My buddy used to write for Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer back then. I used to read every week for about three years.

When I was about 7 years old I lived in the same neighborhood with a guy who worked ringside security for WCCW. He of course knew all the wrestlers, managers, announcers etc.

Him and my dad would talk occasionally so I'd get to go over and see the MASSIVE amount of WCCW memorabilia he had in one of his spare bedrooms.

For a little kid who loved pro wrestling that was very impressive!

[Ronnie Rep]

When I was about 7 years old I lived in the same neighborhood with a guy who worked ringside security for WCCW. He of course knew all the wrestlers, managers, announcers etc.

Him and my dad would talk occasionally so I'd get to go over and see the MASSIVE amount of WCCW memorabilia he had in one of his spare bedrooms.

For a little kid who loved pro wrestling that was very impressive!

[Montague]

When I was about 7 years old I lived in the same neighborhood with a guy who worked ringside security for WCCW. He of course knew all the wrestlers, managers, announcers etc.

Him and my dad would talk occasionally so I'd get to go over and see the MASSIVE amount of WCCW memorabilia he had in one of his spare bedrooms.

For a little kid who loved pro wrestling that was very impressive!

I think that is so cool!

Especially back then, guys were EXTREMELY protective of the business and not very accepting of outsiders navigating the locker room area.

[polychronopolous]

I think that is so cool!

Especially back then, guys were EXTREMELY protective of the business and not very accepting of outsiders navigating the locker room area.

Yeah you can still catch a glimpse of him in some of the old videos on youtube. He's one of the guys always wearing a cowboy hat who just kind of walked around the ring and kept a presence in between the audience and the wrestlers/managers.

I was so young at the time that I can't really remember anything he said specifically but there is no doubt he knew all the guys from the stuff I seen.

I would like to think even the non-talent crew would keep with the principle of kayfabe but who knows? Maybe after a few beers they would become loose lipped?

[Montague]

Yeah you can still catch a glimpse of him in some of the old videos on youtube. He's one of the guys always wearing a cowboy hat who just kind of walked around the ring and kept a presence in between the audience and the wrestlers/managers.

I was so young at the time that I can't really remember anything he said specifically but there is no doubt he knew all the guys from the stuff I seen.

I would like to think even the non-talent crew would keep with the principle of kayfabe but who knows? Maybe after a few beers they would become loose lipped?

It was sometimes a good idea to smarten up people like your friend so that they could better protect the workers. Now, it's not so much a problem, but up until maybe the early-80's, many fans in many towns took their pro-wrestling very seriously and would frequently engage in physical altercations over it.

[polychronopolous]

It was sometimes a good idea to smarten up people like your friend so that they could better protect the workers. Now, it's not so much a problem, but up until maybe the early-80's, many fans in many towns took their pro-wrestling very seriously and would frequently engage in physical altercations over it.

Oh yeah, I've listened to Michael Hayes on some of the podcasts.

He has some interesting stories concerning that same exact topic. 

[Ronnie Rep]

Monte do you know Meltzer?

[Montague]

Monte do you know Meltzer?

Not personally.

Why?

[Ronnie Rep]

Not personally.

Why?

Just curious, My buddy  used to write for the Observer when it was the shit in the late eighties. Just thought it was an amazing insider newsletter that had absolutely everything in it from the early days of MMA New Japan etc. Now with the internet it seems like nothing, but back then it was the shit! Dave was and I guess still is a good dude. Had a chance to hang out with him when he came to S. Fla for a visit with my buddy Back then he was also a bodybuilder and a Bodybuilding fan. This thread about the Von Erichs just got me nostalgic and made me long for the good old days.

[Montague]

Just curious, My buddy  used to write for the Observer when it was the shit in the late eighties. Just thought it was an amazing insider newsletter that had absolutely everything in it from the early days of MMA New Japan etc. Now with the internet it seems like nothing, but back then it was the shit! Dave was and I guess still is a good dude. Had a chance to hang out with him when he came to S. Fla for a visit with my buddy Back then he was also a bodybuilder and a Bodybuilding fan. This thread about the Von Erichs just got me nostalgic and made me long for the good old days.

Yes!! That was back in the days of the "dirt sheets!"

Guys would actually huddle around in the locker room to read what the sheets had to say. Ironically, Meltzer was somewhat resented within the industry. He was considered an outsider profiting from the sweat & pain of the wrestlers.

[gmflex]

The good old days..
I used to get the pro wrestling torch..
Had a yearly subscription during the Monday night wars..
It would arrive the old fashion way.. mailman would deliver it..
Lol.. I think the mail man was reading it.. it was always opened..
The tape would always be torn...

[Powerlift66]

Watched it on YouTube, thanks for the link. It was pretty good, but this one is much better:

[polychronopolous]

Watched it on YouTube, thanks for the link. It was pretty good, but this one is much better:

Yeah I think I seen that one on Netflix.

You are right, that was an excellent documentary. I think it was actually shot by someone in Kevin's inner circle or with more of Kevin's input rather than an ESPN production.

I just ran across this video on youtube. The commentators are poking alot of fun but you can clearly tell Kerry is spiraling out of control.

I think by this point he was well on his way out of WWF and about a year away from taking his own life.

[polychronopolous]

Watched it on YouTube, thanks for the link. It was pretty good, but this one is much better:

Here's a link to another really good one. It's around 2.5 hours. They filmed it right before the Dallas Sportatorium(where they wrestled) was torn down.

If you are a fan of Von Erichs/WCCW, this youtube channel has a TON of content on his channel and looks like he is uploading almost daily.

[Ronnie Rep]

Here's a link to another really good one. It's around 2.5 hours. They filmed it right before the Dallas Sportatorium(where they wrestled) was torn down.

If you are a fan of Von Erichs/WCCW, this youtube channel has a TON of content on his channel and looks like he is uploading almost daily.

Just finished watching it. It was great, thanks. I used to watch the WCCW on Saturday Nights on cable back then in S. FL. Remember seeing Dingo Warrior (Hellwig) and Jeep Swenson for the first time on there. What a great product. Fritz could have been McMahon but blew it. Fritz was one stubborn son of a bitch which caused him his family and his business.

[njflex]

Just finished watching it. It was great, thanks. I used to watch the WCCW on Saturday Nights on cable back then in S. FL. Remember seeing Dingo Warrior (Hellwig) and Jeep Swenson for the first time on there. What a great product. Fritz could have been McMahon but blew it. Fritz was one stubborn son of a bitch which caused him his family and his business.

teah,,,announcer mercer,u had gentleman chris adams and his famous kick,handsome half breed geno hernandez,gary hart I think,i know Percival  percy pringle lol was great prior to being takers mgr...one man gange,kamali went through there too I believe.

[polychronopolous]

teah,,,announcer mercer,u had gentleman chris adams and his famous kick,handsome half breed geno hernandez,gary hart I think,i know Percival  percy pringle lol was great prior to being takers mgr...one man gange,kamali went through there too I believe.

One of the true legends in the business.

A couple little known facts about Bill Mercer...

1. He called the legendary Ice Bowl (Dallas vs. Green Bay)

2. He was standing just a few short feet away speaking to Oswald just moments before he was shot by Ruby.

http://www.wncn.com/story/24048756/durham

Durham man came face to face with Lee Harvey Oswald

DURHAM, N.C. -
A man who now lives in Durham was working for a Dallas television station 50 years ago.

On Nov. 22, 1963, Bill Mercer was 37 and working for KRLD. He remembers the day President John F. Kennedy was killed as "chaotic" and "hectic."

Mercer was there as Lee Harvey Oswald was brought before the press at the Dallas police station.

In the brief press conference, Oswald said he had not been charged with killing the president but Mercer was one of the few people who knew official charges had been typed up.

Video shows Mercer telling Oswald, "You have been charged, sir." Oswald remained near emotionless after hearing the news.

"He just kind of had one of those Oswald no-expression faces and turned around and walked out."

Mercer said he was focused on the story and not the man who was he was talking to.

"When he was there, I mean, I was sitting right here looking at him. I didn't even think about what a nasty guy or, 'You're the killer.' All that," Mercer said.

The veteran journalist kept the details of his involvement on that fateful day to himself. He so rarely spoke of it that his family didn't know the full story until Mercer co-authored a book on the assassination.

"It's sort of like the war. You don't start talking about it until you're 60," Mercer said. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II.

The experience was so painful for Mercer that he moved to sports broadcasting two years later.

"I just decided, 'I don't want to do this. I don't want to cover shootings and all that,'" he said.

Mercer completed his career as a sports broadcaster and even taught broadcasting at the University of North Texas, retiring in 2007.

[polychronopolous]

Just finished watching it. It was great, thanks. I used to watch the WCCW on Saturday Nights on cable back then in S. FL. Remember seeing Dingo Warrior (Hellwig) and Jeep Swenson for the first time on there. What a great product. Fritz could have been McMahon but blew it. Fritz was one stubborn son of a bitch which caused him his family and his business.

Your welcome.

Its just a really good wrestling documentary whether you are a fan of WCCW or not.

It's crazy to think that WCCW was pulling such great ratings in WWF's backyard.

To think how wrestling might be different had Fritz not been so set in his Old School Territorial way of thinking.

[Ronnie Rep]

teah,,,announcer mercer,u had gentleman chris adams and his famous kick,handsome half breed geno hernandez,gary hart I think,i know Percival  percy pringle lol was great prior to being takers mgr...one man gange,kamali went through there too I believe.

Yup, just about everybody also came through Florida back then too, Florida Championship Wrestling was NWA. Plus Steiners, Funks, Mike Graham, Kevin Sullivan, Steve Kern, Dusty Rhodes, Lex Luger... list goes on and on.

[Ronnie Rep]

Your welcome.

Its just a really good wrestling documentary whether you are a fan of WCCW or not.

It's crazy to think that WCCW was pulling such great ratings in WWF's backyard.

To think how wrestling might be different had Fritz not been so set in his Old School Territorial way of thinking.

Absolutely. Vince was a visionary and a great businessman, which was what everything that all the old promoters were not.