Texas Tornado

[The Mountie 0]

OK, my 1989/90 history is a bit hazy...

 

Kerry Von Erich won the IC strap at SummerSlam 1990 from Mr Perfect, replacing Beefcake i believe as the challenger. My question is (bearing in mind i've never seen the whole PPV) how come the debutant was given the belt in his first match? I know Von Erich was a 'name' in other promotions but the Texas Tornado character was new and Vince let him go over Hennig with no prior feud or anything. Was this basically to appease the fans, disappointed at Beefcake's non-appearance, or was Tornado meant to be pushed heavily as champ before his run got cut? (i ask because Hennig regained the belt soon after)

[Guest drdrainoscott]

I know that the WWF had high hopes for Von Erich since he was a such a huge draw in Texas, but I bet the reason they gave him the belt was for both of the reasons you mentioned. Beefcake was originally supposed to beat Perfect so the title was going to change hands anyway, so they probably decided to just keep the title change to make the fans happy.

 

I do know that the WWF quickly realized that Von Erich could not handle the pressure of being the champion and that is what caused them to quickly return the belt to Perfect.

[MillenniumMan831 0]

Actually, that was not Von Erich's first match. He at least had an SNME match vs. Playboy Buddy Rose in July 1990 . . . so he did get an introduction to WWF fans before SS90. In all fairness, he was recognized as The Texas Tornado Kerry Von Erich so they didn't totally abondon the past. Although him getting the belt probably did have to do w/ making the fans happy more than anything else.

[razazteca 0]

But wasnt Kerry Von Erich wrestling with an amputated foot at the time?

[Guest drdrainoscott]

But wasnt Kerry Von Erich wrestling with an amputated foot at the time?

Yup...and correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe during a house show one time the foot actually came off and that is how the story got out that his foot was fake.

[landy1987 0]

Remember Beefcake was never formally announced on TV to face Perfect at SummerSlam. (did they even carry on their feud after the WrestleMania match at all?) Kerry had one or two matches on Challenge and Superstars as well

[cawthon777 0]

(did they even carry on their feud after the WrestleMania match at all?)

Perfect did cause him to be eliminated from the IC title tournament. Beefcake had about 2 months worth of title shots against Perfect before he was injured.

[Guest Staravenger]

Also Tornado competed on the Summerslam Fever special the week before the PPV. BTW, why does it matter that he wrestled with a fake foot? The REAL question is how did he run so fast at Wrestlemania VIII? Sorry, had to joke about the "2nd Warrior @ WM 8" thing RD Reynolds always (Wrestle)craps his pants about.

[Guest wayzing]

Kerry's boot did indeed come off during a house show once (not a WWF though) and the only one reporting this at the time was Dave Meltzer's Observer newsletter. All the keyfabe newsstand wrestling magazines ignored it. Kerry quickly rolled out of the ring and hid his legs under the ring apron while he put the boot back on.

 

Notice how fast he ran to the ring during the 1991 Royal Rumble by the way.

 

Mr.Perfect vs Brutus wasn't announced on TV but it was included in a SummerSlam'90 ad on the back of an issue of WWF Magazine.

[cawthon777 0]

Summer Slam 90 ad

 

I don't know the timeframe of when that ad was put out, but if you squint hard enough you can see Beefcake's name as the challenger.

[1234-5678 0]

I just remember being like 8 years old, and still realizing what a lame ass finisher Kerry had.

[Guest Dynamite Kido]

Can someone elaborate on this if possible. I remember reading that Vince was hoping that Kerry could totally clean up and if so.......he would've been groomed to be the next WWF Champion at the time. But obviously it took a sad turn when Kerry not only couldn't kick his drug habit......but it got worse and he later committed suicide.

 

Was this suppost to happen or did I have a brainfart and think I read something I didn't.

[gwf0704 0]

I just remember being like 8 years old, and still realizing what a lame ass finisher Kerry had.

Vince actually wouldnt let him use his actual finisher which was the iron claw...

[Guest Staravenger]

Well they DID take the Intercontinental Title off him for whatever reasons (it was a Superstars taping, so thats usually not good.)

 

After that he floundered in mid-cards, and got demoted even less in 1992 and was barely on television after April.

 

I honestly don't know about a groomed World Title reign. Warrior was McMahon's new big thing, and I don't think he was looking past that, until he realized Warrior sucked and had the title put back on Hogan (after a quick fix reign with Sgt. Slaughter)

[gwf0704 0]

Can someone elaborate on this if possible. I remember reading that Vince was hoping that Kerry could totally clean up and if so.......he would've been groomed to be the next WWF Champion at the time. But obviously it took a sad turn when Kerry not only couldn't kick his drug habit......but it got worse and he later committed suicide.

 

Was this suppost to happen or did I have a brainfart and think I read something I didn't.

There were 6 Von Erich brothers but one was electrocuted to death at age 10 I belive, David died in Japan of an intestinal disease (though some say it was a cocaine overdose), Kerry, Chris and Mike all committed sucide. The oldest, Kevin, is the only one left. Von Erich actually made an appearance on WWF Magazine when he won the NWA world title from Ric Flair at the Cotton Bowl using a back slide pin.

 

Also, Kerry appeared on a few programs like Superstars and beat the Berzerker on the Summerslam preview show before winning the belt from Hennig. He didnt just win it back quickly as I remember him still being champion during Survivor Series along with WWF champ Ultimate Warrior and tag champs The Legion of Doom vs Perfect and all 3 Demolition Members.

 

Reports state he came from an abusive family as his father would physically and mentally abuse all of them and Von Erich used drugs and alcohol to battle his demons. I think he was wrestling in Dallas, Tx again when he commited suicide when he was injured during a match and was arrested on forging prescription pain killers.

 

He was extremely popular in Texas, as were David and Kevin, and was physically gifted with an Atlas type body, which Vince always loves, but I think he was just too messed up to really deal with personal problems.

[Guest Staravenger]

He beat Black Bart in a squash match on the Summerslam Fever PTW special the week before SSlam 1990.

[cawthon777 0]

I really don't think Vince saw his new cash cow being Kerry Von Erich. But getting Kerry on his payroll meant that he was out of Texas and if he was out of Texas that means less competition from what was left of World Class (which wasn't much at that point).

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

During the original expansion period, Kerry was one of the back-up plans in case he didn't get Hogan.

 

I doubt that by '91 there were any long term plans for him though.

[Slayer 0]

I just remember being like 8 years old, and still realizing what a lame ass finisher Kerry had.

Vince actually wouldnt let him use his actual finisher which was the iron claw...

Kerry did use the spinning punch pre-WWF though. He called it the "Discus Punch"

[1234-5678 0]

I just remember being like 8 years old, and still realizing what a lame ass finisher Kerry had.

Vince actually wouldnt let him use his actual finisher which was the iron claw...

Kerry did use the spinning punch pre-WWF though. He called it the "Discus Punch"

They both equally suck.

[Si82 0]

I just remember being like 8 years old, and still realizing what a lame ass finisher Kerry had.

Vince actually wouldnt let him use his actual finisher which was the iron claw...

I thought he did use that in the WWF as well.

 

Didn't he use to beat Dino Bravo at Wrestlemania VII or another match?

[JHawk 0]

I just remember being like 8 years old, and still realizing what a lame ass finisher Kerry had.

Vince actually wouldnt let him use his actual finisher which was the iron claw...

I thought he did use that in the WWF as well.

 

Didn't he use to beat Dino Bravo at Wrestlemania VII or another match?

He used as a setup move for the discus punch, of all damn things. I mean, guys used to juice for Kerry's clawhold, but he comes to the WWF and it's used to make sure the guy stands there to take an illegal punch to the face.

[Jericholic82 0]

Summer Slam 90 ad

 

I don't know the timeframe of when that ad was put out, but if you squint hard enough you can see Beefcake's name as the challenger.

cool thanx for the pic

 

 

anyways I think the taping where kerry lost the belt was taped before survivor series 90 but since it hadnt aired yet on tv, kerry had the belt on the ppv (which just so happens to be the first ppv i ever saw and is the one that made me a wrestling fan)

 

man that was such a 1993 wcw worldwide taping like move of vince

 

or the freebrids negative wcw tag title reign back in 1990

 

 

 

 

 

actually I read somewhere that vince took the title off kerry because he was suicidal and vincewas afraid he would kill himself and he didnt want that kind of negative publicity ( a reigning champ-thus a major high profile wwf star kills himself would be a bad thing for business youd have to think)

[cawthon777 0]

Kerry only lost the belt 3 days before the PPV. It's not that big of a deal and it's a leap to compare it to the Worldwide tapings where things would be taped to air two months down the road.

 

Vince takes the belt off Kerry because he's suicidal ... eh. Let's say that is the reason. He still has to deal with the problem of one of his big stars killing themselves. I don't think the media would really care if Kerry was a guy who lost the belt 2 weeks ago or a guy with a belt. It's big news regardless.

 

Kerry wasn't suicidal. The only reason he did what he did later on (2 and a half years later on, for the record) was because he was depressed and drugs were involved. According to Kevin - who thought he had talked Kerry out of doing it hours earlier - Kerry wasn't going to jail. Jail time wasn't why he shot himself. He was just down.

 

I feel bad for the lot of them. They - both the dead and the living - have had very hard lives.

[Papacita 0]

For what it's worth, I liked the Tornado Punch!

 

I miss being a mark.

[Addy 0]

I can remember when Kerry used the tornado punch on Mr. Perfect and Perfect sold it by SPINNING THE WRONG WAY! It looked very comical.

[The Czech Republic 0]

No no. Mr. Perfect, Overseller Emeritus, sold it the best, in that the force of the punch was so powerful that it caused laws of physics to be defied as it was exerted upon Hennig. That's the kind of going beyond the call that you'd only get from a pro like Perfect. Some schlub like the Big Bossman would never let Von Erich look that good.

[Guest wayzing]

Kerry wasn't suicidal. The only reason he did what he did later on (2 and a half years later on, for the record) was because he was depressed and drugs were involved. According to Kevin - who thought he had talked Kerry out of doing it hours earlier - Kerry wasn't going to jail. Jail time wasn't why he shot himself. He was just down.

I seem to remember Kevin saying in an interview that going to jail would've been perfect for Kerry. No everyday worries, no responsibilities and all the time in the world to work out.

 

He violated the probation he was on so he probably would've gone to jail.

 

I don't think anyone, Kevin included, can claim to know why Kerry took his life.

[Guest Fook]

No no. Mr. Perfect, Overseller Emeritus, sold it the best, in that the force of the punch was so powerful that it caused laws of physics to be defied as it was exerted upon Hennig. That's the kind of going beyond the call that you'd only get from a pro like Perfect. Some schlub like the Big Bossman would never let Von Erich look that good.

You want an oversell of the Tornado Punch? Watch the 92 Rumble and see HBK spin around about four times in midair after Kerry hits him.

[BHK 0]

I miss being a mark.

I think we all do, at times.