The Iron Claw: Why The Adkisson Family Used Von Erich For Their Wrestling Name

Summary Jack Adkisson changed his name to Fritz Von Erich when he started wrestling to better match his controversial Nazi persona in the ring, which is not mentioned in The Iron Claw.

According to The Iron Claw and Fritz himself, the "Von Erich" name originated from his mother's side of the family (which connects to the famous Von Erich family curse), though there are conflicting reports on this.

All five of Fritz's sons adopted the Von Erich moniker when they made their wrestling debuts, though they kept the same first names assigned at birth.

The famous pro-wrestling family at the center of The Iron Claw changed their name from Adkisson to Von Erich, but the 2023 sports biopic doesn’t delve into the reasoning behind their ring name change. Written and directed by Sean Durkin, The Iron Claw tells the true story of the real-life Von Erich family, a wrestling dynasty from Texas whose lives were so ridden with tragedy that their lineage was believed to be cursed. The family curse took the lives of all but one of the six Von Erich brothers in real life, with only the second-eldest, Kevin, surviving today.

However, not every death in the Von Erich family occurs in The Iron Claw. The timeline of the film begins long after the eldest son, Jack Jr, died by drowning at age six in 1959, and The Iron Claw leaves out the youngest Von Erich brother, Chris, altogether. The Iron Claw also leaves out the true story of the family's name change from Adkisson to Von Erich. Although it is mentioned that Von Erich is not their real surname, The Iron Claw does not elaborate on the reason for the name change nor why "Von Erich" was specifically chosen.

The Iron Claw is available to stream on Max.

Your browser does not support the video tag.

Related The Iron Claw Fact Check: 13 Biggest True Story Changes & Inaccuracies The Iron Claw tells the true story of the Von Erichs, a legendary wrestling family, but the film changed and left out some details about their lives.

Fritz Von Erich's Wrestling Name Explained

Jack Adkisson Adopted The Name Fritz Von Erich To Match His Wrestling Persona In The Ring

Close

The Von Erich moniker all began with the family patriarch, Fritz Von Erich, who was born Jack Barton Adkisson in 1929. Though he debuted as a professional wrestler under his given name in 1953, his trainer, famed Canadian wrestler Stu Hart, suggested he adopt a ring name that better suited his wrestling gimmick: an evil Nazi heel. He chose the German-rooted first name Fritz to match his new in-ring persona, but the selection of the Von Erich moniker had more personal ties.

In The Iron Claw, Kevin explains to his future wife Pam that "Von Erich" was his paternal grandmother's last name. According to Slam Wrestling, Fritz did tell a reporter that the Von Erich name came from his mother's side of the family, but there are conflicting reports on this. Vulture claims that Jack Adkisson's mother's maiden name was Erich (sans "Von"), but according to FamilySearch and Find a Grave, it was actually Newberry. There also does not appear to be any Erichs or Von Erichs in Coren Adkisson's family tree.

After becoming Fritz Von Erich, “the German Giant from Munich," he formed a tag team with Canadian wrestler Walter Paul Sieber, who started going by Waldo Von Erich and was billed as Fritz's fellow Nazi kayfabe "brother" (meaning they were not actually related). The Von Erich duo successfully framed themselves as villain characters in the ring that spectators enjoyed rooting against thanks to their controversial Nazi charade.

Although Kevin explains the family origin of the Von Erich name in The Iron Claw, there is no mention of Fritz's former Nazi wrestling persona whatsoever, let alone that this was the reason he changed his name.

Because of the notoriety attached to the moniker in wrestling, all five of Fritz's surviving sons adopted the Von Erich name when they made their debuts in the ring. None of them changed their first names and their surnames on their birth certificates are all Adkisson, but they were referred to as the Von Erichs both inside and outside the ring. Although Kevin explains the family origin of the Von Erich name in The Iron Claw, there is no mention of Fritz's former Nazi wrestling persona whatsoever, let alone that this was the reason he changed his name.

Fritz Von Erich's Sons' Wrestling Debuts Name Date of Birth Wrestling Debut Date of Death Kevin Von Erich May 15, 1957 1976 Alive David Von Erich July 22, 1958 June 28, 1977 February 10, 1984 Kerry Von Erich February 3, 1960 May 7, 1978 February 18, 1993 Mike Von Erich March 2, 1964 1983 April 12, 1987 Chris Von Erich September 30, 1969 June 22, 1990 September 12, 1991

Related Fritz Von Erich's Wrestling Career & Life Before The Iron Claw Explained The timeline of events depicted in The Iron Claw begins in 1979, excluding Fritz Von Erich's wrestling career before his sons entered the ring.

How The Von Erich Name Played Into The Family Curse

The Curse Was Believed To Be Caused By The Tragedy Attached To The Von Erich Name

Though it probably seemed trivial at the time, Fritz changing his last name to Von Erich may have come at a greater cost than he ever imagined. On their first date, Kevin jokes to Pam that what happened to Jack Jr., his older brother who died when Kevin was five, must've been a result of the famous Von Erich family curse. He then explains that because the Von Erich name (allegedly) originated from his grandmother's side of the family, which already "had all sorts of tragedy," his own family supposedly inherited the curse when his dad changed his name.

Kevin initially dismisses the Von Erich family curse as a "silly story," believing instead that their family's hardships have just been "bad luck." However, with every new tragedy that affects the Von Erichs, Kevin starts to buy into the curse more and more. When he and Pam start to have kids of their own, Kevin's fear of carrying on the Von Erich family curse and passing it on to his offspring becomes a major theme in The Iron Claw.

Related How Old Every Von Erich Brother Is In The Iron Claw The Iron Claw depicted the Von Erich wrestling family at different stages throughout the brothers lives told their heartbreaking story.

Why Kevin Uses Adkisson For His Son's Birth Name

Kevin Opted Not To Give His Firstborn Child The Last Name Von Erich

Although he claimed not to believe in the Von Erich curse, Kevin began to change his tune when his first child was born in The Iron Claw. After David Von Erich dies in Japan and Kerry Von Erich loses his foot in a motorcycle accident, Kevin and Pam register their newborn son's last name as Adkisson instead of Von Erich because it will be "safer" for him. Pam insists the string of tragedies in his family has "nothing to do with the name," but it's clear that Kevin wants to protect his son from the same fate as his brothers.

Related What Happened To Kevin Von Erich & His Family After The Iron Claw Zac Efron stars as Kevin Von Erich in The Iron Claw, with his character based on the now-retired real-life professional wrestler from Texas.

Although Kevin's daughters are missing from The Iron Claw, all four of his children were officially given the last name Adkisson in real life instead of Von Erich.

In The Iron Claw, Kevin and Pam's eldest son, Ross (named David Ross after Kevin's late brother), is born first, followed by their youngest son, Marshall (named Kevin Marshall after his father). In real life, Kevin and Pam had two daughters, Kristen and Jillian, before Ross and Marshall were born. Although Kevin's daughters are missing from The Iron Claw, all four of his children were officially given the last name Adkisson instead of Von Erich in real life. However, Marshall and Ross later adopted their famous family's wrestling moniker when they made their debut as a tag team in 2012.

Kerry Von Erich's daughter Lacey also used the Von Erich moniker when she debuted as a wrestler in 2007.

Kevin Von Erich's Children In Real Life Name Date of Birth Kristen February 3, 1981 Jillian 1985 David "Ross" June 1, 1988 Kevin "Marshall" November 10, 1992

Sources: Slam Wrestling, Vulture, FamilySearch, Find a Grave