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The Iron Claw (2023) Movie Review - The Von Erich Pro Wrestling Story

Posted: Dec 28th 2023 By: Karl Stern

In November 2023 I released the latest book from When It Was Cool Publishing titled DragonKingKarl’s 1984-1985 Pro Wrestling Omnibus which coincided fortuitously with the theatrical release of the Sean Durkin written and directed pro wrestling themed movie The Iron Claw, a biographical sports drama based (largely) on the life of one of the most famous families in pro wrestling, The Von Erichs, told from the perspective of the only surviving son, Kevin Von Erich (Kevin Adkisson). The Iron Claw stars Zac Efron (as Kevin Von Erich), Jeremy Allen White (as Kerry Von Erich), Harris Dickinson (as David Von Erich), Maura Tierney (as Doris “Dottie” Von Erich), Holt McCallany (as Fritz Von Erich), and Lily James (as Pam Adkisson, the wife of Kevin Von Erich). The timing lines up with my new book in that David Von Erich died in February 1984 at the young age of 25 years old. It would be far from the last tragedy the family would endure. The Iron Claw movie was released in the United States by A24 on December 22, 2023.

Since I have done so much research on the Von Erich family over the last couple of years when compiling my new book and putting together an exhaustive podcast examination of the last several months of the life of David Von Erich, I couldn’t wait to see the film. Warning: There are significant spoilers to follow.

What The Iron Claw Got Right:

Some of the casting: Some of the casting was a homerun. Holt McCallany as Fritz Von Erich nailed the look, the voice, the mannerisms, and the toxic overbearing of the patriarch of the Von Erich family. Harris Dickinson as David Von Erich (pictured above) had the look of the doomed David down pat and may have most resembled his real-life counterpart of anyone in the movie. Michael Harney as announcer Bill Mercer nailed the iconic radio man and television broadcaster’s voice to an eerie perfection.

The Music: From the liberal use of Rush’s Tom Sawyer (which, in real life, was the ring entrance music for Kerry Von Erich) to Tom Petty to John Denver, the soundtrack of The Iron Claw captured the feel of the early 1980’s very well.

The Wrestling: Lead by wrestler and trainer Chavo Guerrero, Jr., everyone who had a wrestling scene in the movie did very well, especially all of the Von Erich brothers. It appeared they each took their training seriously and it showed in their performances.

The Sets and Graphics: They perfectly captured the look of the famous Dallas, Texas Sportatorium and the various graphics used on the World Class Championship Wrestling television show at the time.

The Basics of the Story: This was a movie “Inspired” by a true story, not a true story. The film took some major liberties with the Von Erich family timeline and omitted a lot of stuff (including an entire brother, Chris Von Erich) but for a general audience, this film gives the essential tragic story of the Von Erich family, even if it is in a slightly fictional narrative.

What The Iron Claw Got Mixed Reviews On:

Pacing: One of the biggest criticisms I can give The Iron Claw is the pacing. The first half of the film took too long to unfold. While it should have driven home the points that: 1) These brothers were very close, it largely failed to do so to the degree it needed. 2) That Fritz Von Erich was a tyrant who drove his kids too hard and ultimately into a grave. While this has some basis in the real-life story (though the real-life Kevin Von Erich has been often quoted in disagreeing that his father was abusive) there were many real-life instances of some very questionable Fritz Von Erich moments that were omitted from the movie (including supposedly selling autographed photos of the deceased David Von Erich at his own memorial show which had actually been signed by one of their referees and once implying on a wrestling show that he (Fritz) had a heart attack since, I guess, a kid hadn’t died recently enough to sell sympathy tickets.) The second half of the film, comprised mostly of the brothers dying one after another, gives no time for the gravity to sink in before moving along quickly to the next.

Kevin Von Erich: While the performance of Zac Efron was tremendous, the character of Kevin Von Erich in The Iron Claw was largely fictional. While there was (and is) absolutely a real-life Kevin Von Erich, many of the things Kevin is credited with in this film did not take place. The Kevin Von Erich of The Iron Claw movie script effectively moves the movie forward and lends itself to a good narrator, the story of Kevin differs significantly from the real-world version.

Bruiser Brody and Harley Race: Played by Cazzey Louis Cereghino and Kevin Anton respectively, they were just uncanny valley enough to their real-life analogs to take me out of the movie for a moment. Both almost had them down but lacked a little something.

The Freebirds: The Freebirds (in the real world they were Michael Hayes and Terry Gordy and Buddy Roberts, and they were very important to the Von Erich popularity). They are barely in the movie and no weight was given to why they were important. Also, it looked like the actor who portrayed Terry Gordy was more of a mixture of both Terry Gordy and fellow wrestler Jimmy Garvin.

What The Iron Claw Did Badly:

Ric Flair: Played by Aaron Dean Eisenberg, the Ric Flair that appears in The Iron Claw is an embarrassment. Whether it was the writing or acting that completely failed to understand why Ric Flair was such a gigantic wrestling and pop culture star during this time I am not sure but it was terrible beyond words. The Iron Claw could have had another compelling character which played an important role in the Von Erich story but what we got was a terrible caricature with absolutely no understanding of who or what he was.

Kerry Von Erich: Make no mistake, Jeremy Allen White did a very good job in his role and in interviews about the making of The Iron Claw seemed to have a great grasp and respect for professional wrestling. He was simply miscast in the role of Kerry. Kerry Von Erich’s character need a more powerful physical presence as he was, far and away, the most physically impressive of all the Von Erich brothers. This movie would have been far better served had Jeremy Allen White been cast as Kevin Von Erich and Zac Efron cast as Kerry.

The Omission of Chris Von Erich: I totally understand. The Von Erich family saga was so incredibly tragic that a two-hour movie could not even contain the totality of the deaths that befell them. Still, Chris deserved better. He was physically unable to be a wrestler (though he did try) and that failure to live up to “The Von Erich Name” drove him to suicide at the age of 21 in 1991.

Overall, I felt The Iron Claw hit close enough to the mark to recommend to both pro wrestling fans and non-fans alike. For those who are actually looking for the true (and utterly heartbreaking) real story behind these tragedies please check out our Saga of the Death of David Von Erich podcast special or DragonKingKarl’s 1984-1985 Pro Wrestling Omnibus book. For those who are just looking for a solid and compelling movie then The Iron Claw is well worth seeking out.

A Deeper Dive into the Reality of the Von Erich’s Verses the Movie Version of The Iron Claw

Fritz Von Erich was, in fact, a World heavyweight champion, just not for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Fritz Von Erich won one of pro wrestling’s major world championships on July 27, 1963 from Verne Gagne and lost it back to him 12 days later. Fritz was portrayed in The Iron Claw as having a vendetta against the NWA and they against him when, in fact, Jack Adkisson (the real name of Fritz Von Erich) was President of the NWA for many years.

Kerry Von Erich did not wreck and lose his foot on the same night he won the NWA World heavyweight title from Ric Flair at Texas Stadium. Kerry Von Erich won the NWA World title in honor of his brother David on May 6, 1984. Kerry’s motorcycle accident took place June 4, 1986, over two years later. Furthermore, he did not lose his foot at that time. An attempt to return to the ring too quickly (many say to appease his father Fritz) resulted in him reinjuring his foot to the degree it had to be amputated. Also, The Iron Claw showed the foot amputation to have been between the ankle and knee when, in reality, it is believed to have been below his ankle on the foot itself. Kerry lost the NWA World heavyweight title back to Ric Flair in Japan 18 days later. Kerry Von Erich’s reign as world champion is largely believed to have been so short due to distrust by the National Wrestling Alliance that Kerry could dependably perform due to his well-known substance abuse issues. Kerry’s suicide followed being arrested on a probation violation charge involving controlled substances in Texas. It was expected that the Judge in the case was going to sentence Kerry Von Erich to some measure of jail time.

Doris Adkisson did not stay home during the Texas Stadium show. Though it showed her at home during The Iron Claw and largely disinterested in the event, she was, in fact there, and famously congratulated her son Kerry on winning the title.

Mike Von Erich committed suicide on April 12, 1987, not directly because his toxic shock syndrome robbed him of pro wrestling stardom but likely because he had been arrested a few days earlier for DUI and his substance abuse issues had spiraled out of control and he was despondent over “embarrassing” his family. He was 23.

The scene of Kevin Von Erich attacking his father Fritz Von Erich following the suicide of Kerry is fictional. Kevin has always, even recently, defended his father against allegations that he was abusive. If this actually took place the story has never been told or acknowledged previously and stands in opposition to anything Kevin has said.

The resolution of the Doris and Fritz story. While not addressed in the film, Doris left Fritz. She divorced him in 1992 after 42 years of marriage. She later died of cancer. Fritz Von Erich died September 10, 1997 from brain cancer at the age of 68 and was cremated with his ashes being interred in the same burial plot as Kerry.