It’s hard to fathom how the so-called “Von Erich Curse” can be viewed as nothing more than a mythologized idea by ardent wrestling fans and even nonexistent by the family’s lone living relative. Tragedy, as much as stardom, has followed the family as far back as the 1950s, when Jack Adkisson started wrestling under the ring moniker Fritz Von Erich. It was during that same decade when Fritz invented one of the sport’s most iconic wrestling moves, the Iron Claw, in which he spread his humungous hand over his opponent’s face and squeezed it to oblivion. That same decade, in 1959, the family suffered its first unspeakable tragedy, when the youngest son, Jackie, died at just 7 years old in Upstate New York after he was electrocuted, fell face first and drowned in a puddle of melting snow. In the years and decades that followed, pain and sorrow plagued the Von Erichs, and these calamitous events, sadly, would come to define their storied wrestling legacy.
The family’s wrestling stardom and tragic events became the subject of an ESPN 30 for 30 short-documentary dubbed Wrestling the Curse in 2015. Nearly a decade later, Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White lead a star-studded cast for A24’s film on the real-life story of the Von Erich family, aptly dubbed The Iron Claw.
The two standout leads are at the heart of the story, which follows the Von Erich family, led by Fritz (played by Mindhunter star Holt McCallany). Efron plays Kevin Von Erich, White plays Kerry Von Erich, Harris Dickinson plays David Von Erich, and Stanley Simons plays Mike Von Erich. The Von Erich brothers spent the majority of their careers in World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), where they won multiple individual and tag team titles. The family was inducted into the Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2009.