Heroes of World Class: The Story of the Von Erichs (DVD Review)

By Alfonso Colasuonno

A while ago, for my good friend and contributor to this site, Russell Jaffe's birthday - I bought him a DVD entitled "Heroes of World Class: The Story of the Von Erichs." While browsing through the sports section of Best Buy I knew I had to get something good for Russell - something to catch his eye - as he'd soon be leaving New York City for brighter pastures in Iowa City. I think I hit the nail on the head with this DVD.
Flash forward to two months later, I was stirred to pick up the DVD for myself. Honestly, I was rather ignorant of the Von Erich family. I had known they were a cursed brood in wrestling lore. However, prior to the DVD catching my eye that May day when shopping for Russell, I had never even heard of World Class Championship Wrestling. I was even somewhat ignorant of the extent of the fact that the NWA was a loose confederation of pro wrestling in various territories in the United States - of which WCCW was one of them. The DVD rectified to a large extent my ignorance of this groundbreaking wrestling family and their promotion.
The DVD introduced me to the world of such stars as the Von Erich family, Gino Hernandez, The Fabulous Freebirds (of which I best knew Michael Hayes as Dok Hendrix in the WWE and as a character in the old NES World Championship Wrestling video game), Bruiser Brody and "Gentleman" Chris Adams (of who I'd seen in mid-90s era AWF television programs). The comprehensive and informative look at the history of WCCW - when it was the toast of Texas and the world - syndicated in 25 countries and picked up in 85 world markets - to the downfall after the string of deaths that occurred connected to the promotion of wrestlers gone before their time - starting with David Von Erich tracked the rollercoaster ride of one Texas promotion that could have been where the WWE is today if things had turned out a little differently.
One facet that I found highly interesting was the territorial system of pro wrestling prior to the WWE's explosion and branching out of the NYC market. Wrestling had a definite regional flair to it that made a Ric Flair coming to Texas or a Kerry Von Erich coming to Atlanta a huge draw. In the modern era, we take it for granted that we can view our favorite WWE or TNA stars no matter where we live in the United States (or in many places abroad) but once wrestling promoters held swaths of territory in which their promotion was the only one featured at the time in arenas. I found that to be just one of the startling changes between the modern and previous eras of pro wrestling.
As the DVD nears its end, I was overcome with a profound sense of sadness as the deaths rattled on and hard luck of countless wrestlers involved in the promotion were illustrated. From Bruiser Brody's homicide in Puerto Rico to Gino Hernandez' probable forced overdose of cocaine after hanging out with shady characters - the sense of grief was overwhelming. This voyeuristic documentary played all the strings in this wrestling's fan's heart with its first-hand look at the rise and fall of this promotion. I felt through interviews with stars like Gary Hart and Skandar Akbar that I really got to see the humanity in the wrestling world behind our television heroes and the glitz and glamour.
While the DVD was terribly depressing, it was definitely worth watching in order to enlighten my Yankee mind of the history of this distinctly Southern piece of Texas wrestling and state history. The DVD made me grateful to have most of my loved family and friends alive and mourn those who've passed on. All this from one wrestling video. I just expected to watch a bunch of matches. I came away with much more. The actual wrestling clips were rather minimal - as that was not what was set out to cover in this DVD. Instead, this haunting piece teaches us a lesson in grief. The stirring story of the demise of the Von Erich brood brings us an appreciation of having our loved ones here. Particularly, the fall of David Von Erich, with his special flair - he could have been one of the biggest babyfaces in pro wrestling history - saddens all of us fans of pro wrestling.
Perhaps the most depressing part of the DVD is Kevin Von Erich - the lone survivor - taking us back to the old Sportatorium in Dallas and recounting all his memories at the arena in better times. The Sportatorium, like the ECW Arena after it, truly was a wrestling arena of great majesty, albeit humble in appearance.
Overall, what I took from this most terribly depressing DVD is to be grateful for all that you have around you. I was left touched. Truly a work of great artistry and a compelling addition to any pro wrestling fan's DVD collection.