Kerry Von Erich

So I was watching the cage match from 1982 (?) between Flair & Kerry Von Erich where Michael Hayes was the 2nd guest referee and of course the end led to the never-ending Von Erich-Freebirds feud. My question was after Gordy slams Kerry in the head with the door, why did he still put Flair in the claw a few minutes later and then the ref stopped the match? Was this the plan all along or was the shot to the head a little too stiff and caused him to screw up?

Additionally, I know all the Von Erich boys were loyal to Fritz, but why didn’t anyone jump on Kerry sooner than Vince did with the Texas Tornado gimmick? Was he that much of a screw-up behind the scenes that no one wanted to take a chance on the guy?

Thanks and great job with the site!

​Yeah, Vince definitely was interested in Kerry Von Erich, and popular legend is that he was the #2 choice if the Hulk Hogan deal had fallen through in 83. That being said, the Von Erich family’s assorted problems were not exactly a state secret, and Vince didn’t want to take a chance on booking any of them unless he REALLY had to.

And yes, the match went exactly as booked. ​