VON ERICH vs. FREEBIRDS: The FEUD That Made TEXAS and KILLED It

On Christmas night 1982, a steel cage door changed Texas wrestling forever. The men who swung it were close friends of the family they betrayed. This is the story of Von Erichs vs. Fabulous Freebirds, the feud that built World Class Championship Wrestling into a national television show and then watched it fall apart. In the early 1980s, Fritz Von Erich turned the Dallas Sportatorium into the hottest territory in America. His sons Kevin, David, Kerry and Mike were Texas royalty. Michael "P.S." Hayes, Terry "Bam Bam" Gordy and Buddy "Jack" Roberts arrived as allies. On Christmas night at Reunion Arena, with Ric Flair's NWA World Heavyweight Championship on the line, that alliance ended inside a steel cage. What followed was two years of cage matches, strap matches, handcuff matches and title changes. It peaked at Texas Stadium in 1984, when Fritz came out of retirement and Kerry Von Erich beat Ric Flair for the world title in memory of his brother David. Then came the Loser Leaves Town cage match, a failed 1988 revival, and the tragedies that followed the Von Erich family for years. We cover the real story behind the angle and how the Freebird Rule and "Badstreet USA" changed the business. We also cover what happened to every man involved, from Vince McMahon's WWF to WCW, All Japan and the WWE Hall of Fame. This is the Golden Era of the wrestling territories, without the gloss. CHAPTERS 0:00 The Door 2:12 Sportatorium Kings 5:41 Badstreet Rising 8:18 The Special Referee 10:59 Decency vs. Filth 14:25 Loser Leaves Town 17:25 After the Smoke 21:17 Two Hall of Fames Subscribe to The WrestleVerse for the stories behind the stories of 80s and 90s wrestling. Tell us in the comments which forgotten rivalry or championship belt we should investigate next. #VonErich #FabulousFreebirds #WCCW #WrestlingHistory #KerryVonErich