Mike Von Erich

Mike Von Erich
Ring name(s)	Mike Von Erich
Billed height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Billed weight	200 lb (91 kg)
Born	March 2, 1964(1964-03-02) Dallas, Texas[1]
Died	April 12, 1987(1987-04-12) (aged 23)
Trained by	Fritz Von Erich
Debut	1984

Michael Brett Adkisson (March 2, 1964 – April 12, 1987) was an American professional wrestler under the ring name Mike Von Erich. His four brothers, David, Kerry, Kevin and Chris, also wrestled. He was the son of longtime Texas wrestler and wrestling promoter Fritz Von Erich and a member of the famous Von Erich family.

Professional wrestling career

Several wrestlers associated with Mike, such as his brother Kevin, King Kong Bundy, "Gentleman" Chris Adams, Gary Hart and Jake Roberts, have all stated that he never wanted to be a wrestler. He was not a natural athlete like his older brothers and wanted to work for his father's company, World Class Championship Wrestling, as a cameraman. He also played guitar and wanted to be a musician away from the industry.

Mike made his debut on November 24, 1983 at "WCCW Wrestling Star Wars" at the Reunion Arena in a match against Skandar Akbar and won that match. Mike was then involved in several encounters with The Freebirds. Mike and Michael Hayes brawled on October 17, 1983 in Ft. Worth, when Hayes ripped a jacket Kerry gave Mike. Then Mike and Kevin teamed up against Terry Gordy and Buddy Roberts on December 25. The only time Mike and David ever teamed up was in January 1984 when, along with Kerry, they battled the Freebirds.

It was not until after David died in February 1984 that Mike was put into David's place teaming with Kerry.

WCCW tried to give Mike a feud of his own against Brian Adias in October 1986 since Kerry was out of wrestling with an ankle injury. Mike and Adias were to battle in a match at Parade of Champions on May 3, 1987, but Mike died on April 12 of that year. His final match took place at the Sportatorium on April 3, 1987 against Mike Williams.

Personal life

On August 22, 1985, Mike's shoulder was operated on due to an injury suffered during a wrestling tour of Israel. He was involved in a tag match against Hernandez and Adams, when his shoulder went out. Kevin advised Mike to tag in so he can finish the match himself. He was released from the hospital in good condition, but his fever shot up to 107 degrees four days later. It was later found that Mike suffered from toxic shock syndrome, a rarity among men. It is theorized that this was from his surgery performed by Dr. Stonie R. Cotton at Brookhaven Hospital, in Dallas, TX. It was said in various publications and in the Heroes of World Class DVD, that he suffered some brain damage from his illness, and he lost a great deal of weight. Mike had a difficult time returning to the ring^{[citation needed]}, and was not able to perform as well as before. While Mike was not the same physically, his promos also suffered, as his speech was often slurred. Meanwhile, Mike's drug and alcohol dependencies worsened as a result of depression over his condition, and his personal behavior became extremely erratic. He was accused (and later acquitted) of assaulting an emergency room physician while being treated for his shoulder problem.

In 1986, he suffered head injuries from a car accident in which his vehicle overturned after he lost control. In addition, Kevin mentioned an incident in which Mike attacked a streetlight in frustration over his current condition. Kevin once said that Mike also suffered from the pressure of having to "be David" after his brother's death. Since the two had similar facial features, many fans saw David in Mike, and from the beginning of his career the pressure was on for Mike to succeed on the same level of his brothers.

Mike was married on February 14, 1985 to Shani Garza.^[2]

A few days before his death, Mike was arrested on drunk driving and drug charges. On April 12, 1987, he left a suicide note for his family, then went to Lake Dallas, where he overdosed on the sleeping pill Placidyl and alcohol.^[3] He was found dead four days later and buried at Grove Hill Memorial Park in Dallas.

Championships and accomplishments

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated

• PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (1985)^[4]
• PWI Rookie of the Year (1984)
• PWI ranked him # 288 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003.

• World Class Championship Wrestling

• NWA American Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[5]
• NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship (Texas version) (4 times) – with Kerry and Kevin Von Erich (3), Kevin and Lance Von Erich (1)^[6]
• WCCW Middle Eastern Championship (1 time)

• World Wrestling Entertainment

• WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2009)

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards

• Feud of the Year (1983, 1984) with Kerry and Kevin Von Erich vs. The Fabulous Freebirds
• Match of the Year (1984) with Kerry Von Erich and Kevin Von Erich vs. The Fabulous Freebirds in an Anything Goes match on July 4

References

1. ^ http://files.usgwarchives.org/tx/dallas/vitals/births/1964/dallb64a.txt
2. ^ Texaa Marriages
3. ^ Cohen, Eric. "Who's who in the Von Erich Family?". http://prowrestling.about.com/od/wrestlerprofiles/tp/vonerichfamilytree.htm. Retrieved 19 April 2009. 
4. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated Award Winners Inspirational Wrestler of the Year". Wrestling Information Archive. http://www.100megsfree4.com/wiawrestling/pages/pwi/pwiinsp.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-27. 
5. ^ NWA American Heavyweight Title history At wrestling-titles.com
6. ^ World 6-Man Tag Team Title (Texas) history At wrestling-titles.com

External links

• Mike Von Erich at Find a Grave

Professional wrestling portal

Persondata
Name	Von Erich, Mike
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	March 2, 1964
Place of birth	Dallas, Texas
Date of death	April 12, 1987
Place of death