The Iron Claw: The True Story Behind Zac Efron's New Film Might Break Your Heart

Fans of Zac Efron and "The Bear" star Jeremy Allen White have been eagerly awaiting the release of "The Iron Claw" ever since the first images were released, featuring the actors sporting unflattering haircuts and rippling muscles. "The Iron Claw" is set for a 2023 Christmas release and audiences have recently been treated to the first trailer showcasing Efron and White bouncing off turnbuckles and grappling in tights for the wrestling biopic. Subsequently, the trailer equally illuminates how faithful the upcoming film seemingly portrays one of sports entertainment's most tragic families: The Von Erichs.

Dominating the ring through multiple decades, Von Erich was the stage name for the Adkisson family who — over three generations — produced at least nine professional wrestlers. Although they were once some of the biggest names in the sport, the story of the Von Erich family is a Shakespearean-level tragedy. Over a single decade, four Von Erich brothers lost their lives, most of them passing away before reaching the age of 30. Not only does their heartbreaking tale involve the dismantling of a world-class family of entertainers, but it also highlights the pain and suffering that competitive professional wrestlers endure.

So, before Efron brings his bowl-cut and glistening muscles to the big screen, read all about the devastating true story of the Von Erichs.

It is impossible to discuss the Von Erich family, without involving patriarch Jack Adkisson. The long-serving professional wrestler is set to be portrayed by Holt McCallany in "The Iron Claw," which takes its name from Adkisson's signature grappling maneuver. A natural athlete, Adkisson aspired to become a professional football player. His career took a turn when he met legendary wrestling coach and promoter Stu Hart, who trained him and gave him the stage name Fritz Von Erich. Due to Adkisson's large stature, standing at 6-foot-4-inches and 280 pounds, Hart gifted him the character of a Nazi sympathizer heel (wrestling term for bad guy) and included him in one of the first major professional wrestling circuits, Klondike Wrestling.

As Fritz Von Erich, Adkisson went on to have a fruitful career, including championship stints with the American Wrestling Association (AWA) and National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and later becoming a founding member of World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW). As the wrestler aged, he spent far more time as a promoter and personality, especially as his multiple sons grew up and began entering the sport as well. As a leading influencer of the WCCW, Fritz Von Erich maintained his position as a heel, becoming known for some of the sport's most disgusting promotional tactics, including faking a heart attack at what has affectionately become known as "The Christmas Day Massacre."

Regardless of a busy career traveling and wrestling, Jack Adkisson managed to raise a large family. Marrying his high school sweetheart, Doris J. Smith in 1950, the pair had every intention of building a quaint life in Corpus Christi, Texas — that is until wrestling became Jack's passion. Still, the couple had six sons over the span of 17 years.

Tragedy struck the family early, as then-eldest son, Jack Adkisson Jr. — lovingly known as Jackie — passed away at the age of six. Reportedly, the young child was walking home while brushing his hand alongside a trailer when a shorted wire electrocuted him, resulting in him falling unconscious. Tragically, the 6-year-old fell face-first into a puddle and drowned a short time later.

Understandably, the loss was devastating for the family. "I just started blaming the entire wrestling business for the death of my oldest boy," said the family patriarch in his biography titled "Fritz Von Erich: Master of the Iron Claw" (via Texas Monthly). "I started to look forward to climbing back into that squared circle and going after one of the guys who I held personally responsible for all my bad luck." Meanwhile, Doris had further concerns, saying, "After you lose the first one, there is that nagging fear you'll lose another. You not only believe it can happen to you; you know it's going to, almost. It's a horrible thing to live with and I became very protective of the boys."

At the center of "The Iron Claw," is plenty of back-breaking, high-flying, table-smashing professional wrestling. The first trailer for the movie showcases plenty of spandex and turnbuckles and for good reason. The Von Erich family was at one point one of the biggest names in the professional sport.

With Fritz Von Erich leading the charge in the WCCW, the wrestling subsidiary became one of the most popular classes in the country. Some of the biggest names to come out of the WCCW era include The Fabulous Freebirds, Shawn Michaels, and Jake "The Snake" Roberts. However, there was no denying that the heaviest hitters of the WCCW in the early '80s were the Von Erich brothers, specifically Kevin (Zac Efron), David (Harris Dickinson), and Kerry (Jeremy Allen White), who routinely entered the ring together to face other trios. Collecting a trove of championships along the way, the Von Erichs had many notable rivalries and storylines throughout their careers, facing notable athletes like Ric Flair, Mr. Perfect, and Jerry "The King" Lawler. Subsequently, younger brothers Mike and Chris each took their stabs at becoming superstar wrestlers but failed to achieve the same level of success as their brothers and father, especially as tragedy began to curse the family.

In the film "The Iron Claw," David Von Erich, the third child of Doris and Jack Adkisson, is portrayed by Harris Dickinson, best known for his roles in "Triangle of Sadness" and "Where the Crawdads Sing." Sadly, Dickinson's screen time may be short, as David passed away at the age of 25. The first of the Von Erich wrestling brothers to die, David's untimely death set off a chain of events that saw three more of his siblings lose their lives over the next nine years.

David faced his own misfortune in 1978 when he lost his first and only child Natosha Adkisson as an infant. Thankfully, David's wrestling career soon took off, and under the nickname "The Yellow Rose of Texas," had a successful run alongside his family in the WCCW culminating in him earning a shot at Ric Flair for the National Wrestling Association Heavyweight Championship in 1984. Unfortunately, David would never get the chance to appear in the title match.

While on tour in Japan in February 1984, David was found dead shortly before he was due to have a match. The official cause of death is noted as acute enteritis, a disease that causes inflammation of the intestine. However, there have been several other theories about his passing, including Ric Flair's memoirs noting, "Everybody in wrestling believes that he overdosed." Bill Irwin, who was the last to see David alive, claims he choked while struggling with bulimia.

The role of Mike Von Erich is a significant one for up-and-coming actor Stanley Simmons. By all accounts, the second youngest Von Erich brother was the most thoughtful in the family, spending his free time visiting disadvantaged children and donating his earnings to a poor elderly neighbor. Despite being unsure about following in his father's footsteps, Mike did not want to let the family down. He was dubbed Professional Wrestling Illustrated's Rookie of the Year the same year his brother David Adkisson passed away, and was soon tasked with filling his boots in the WCCW.

Unfortunately, Mike's wrestling career was riddled with misfortune. After sustaining an injury in the ring, he underwent shoulder surgery in 1985 which caused him to suffer further when a rare bacteria entered his body resulting in a serious case of toxic shock syndrome. By a miracle, Mike survived and made his return to the squared circle but sadly the incident caused noticeable damage to his coordination and memory. "I knew how much he wanted to keep up the family name, and I just couldn't believe how sad it all was," Kevin Von Erich told D Magazine. Still, Mike attempted to maintain his career. "How could I ever tell him that he couldn't go back in the ring, that his body wasn't right," said Fritz Von Erich. Devastatingly, Mike died after taking a lethal dose of tranquilizers in the Spring of 1987. He was just 23 years old.

Currently, there is no current cast listing in "The Iron Claw" for the youngest of the Von Erich wrestling family, Chris Adkisson. It would be surprising for the feature film to omit the bright-eyed baby of the family, as his unfortunate tale is an important part of the story. Born in 1969, Chris was significantly younger than most of his brothers. Still, Chris was determined to follow his brothers into the ring, participating in his first amateur wrestling match at 6 years old. "I want to be world champion," Chris said in a 1985 interview with Pro Wrestling Illustrated. "I'm just gonna keep training and training until I get big enough, and then I'm gonna be world champion if I can."

Chris struggled the most to make a wrestling career. With a small 5-foot-5-inch frame, he suffered from asthma and continued use of the medication prednisone made his bones exceptionally brittle. During his first day of training with older brother Kevin Adkisson, he dislocated his back. Later, during one of his few matches, the young Chris Von Erich broke several more bones attempting to perform a drop kick. "He had so much pressure, but not from us," Kevin told the Dallas Observer. "He had pressure from himself and maybe from the fans, too. Sometimes fans can be cruel." Heartbreakingly, Chris took his own life at the age of 21 outside of his family's ranch.

There's no doubt that Kerry Von Erich was the star of the Adkisson family, as noted in "The Iron Claw" trailer when Fritz Von Erich (Holt McCallany) pinpoints him as his favorite. Played by Jeremy Allen White, Kerry's rise and fall is certain to be one of the most prominent storylines of the film. Apart from being considered the most athletic of the brothers, Kerry also had the looks and the talent to be a wrestling superstar. Unsurprisingly, he became the most decorated of the Von Erich brothers, becoming a five-time world champion, and the only one of his family to make the jump to rival company WWE (formerly known as the WWF), performing as the Texas Tornado.

Regardless of his success, Kerry was not immune to the family's troubles. In 1986, the wrestler was in a motorcycle accident which resulted in his right foot being amputated. Shockingly, the Texas Tornado maintained his sports career, hiding his injury from fans and other wrestlers. Additionally, ongoing addictions had taken their toll on Kerry, getting him in trouble with the law, costing him his marriage, and putting his career on the ropes. In 1993, Kerry took his own life at the age of 33. "Kerry confided that he'd made up his mind to join his brothers in heaven. He was only waiting for God to tell him when," former WWE superstar Bret Hart admitted in his memoirs (via Pro Wrestling Stories).

It has been said that no parent should ever have to bury their child, yet Fritz Von Erich lost five children in his lifetime. Worse, the patriarch shouldered some of the blame for leading his children into the ring and the subsequent tragedy. Speaking in 1993, Jack said, "Some people say I pushed those boys into wrestling, and wrestling killed them — Like I killed them. Killed them? I loved those boys ... When they wanted to be wrestlers, I helped them. But wrestling didn't kill them. Different things killed them" (via Dallas Observer). 

The fall of the Von Erich family had taken its toll on Jack. In 1992, after 40 years of marriage, and far too many hardships, Jack and Doris Adkisson divorced. The aging icon's health quickly began to decline, before he passed away from natural causes in 1997 at age 68. Still, the once-dominant figure in the ring will forever be remembered for his impact on wrestling entertainment. "What he did back in the '80s really started wrestling on television," said longtime friend Tom Pulley. "It took wrestling from being a small regional sport to being international in scope, and I give him the credit for that."

Of a once bustling household, Kevin Adkisson remains the last surviving child of Jack and Doris Adkisson. The second eldest of the six brothers, Kevin sustained the heartbreak of losing every one of his siblings. Surprisingly, the now-retired former world champion wrestler keeps his head high. "I wouldn't want anyone to feel sorry for me," Kevin said in an interview with Texas Monthly. "When people say, 'How do you do it?' the answer is pretty simple, really. If you don't have any choice, then it's easy to deal with. What else are you going to do? Just drop dead and sink into the ground like rain?"

In "The Iron Claw" Kevin will be portrayed by Zac Efron, and much of the story will be told from his perspective. Since sharing the squared circle with most of his brothers, Kevin Von Erich has championed his family's legacy into wrestling history books. In 2006, he sold the rights and video library of the WCCW to Vince McMahon and the WWE. A few years later, Kevin represented the Von Erich family as they were formally inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. The former wrestling all-star has been married since 1980, welcoming four children and multiple grandchildren.

As heartbreaking as it may be, the Von Erich family tragedy has helped shine a spotlight on the realities that wrestling entertainers faced during a complicated era of the sport. There is a shockingly high number of deaths at an early age for wrestling performers, especially when compared to other sporting professions. While risks of head trauma and bodily injuries are still of high concern, there was a much larger problem in the sport in the era when the Von Erichs were performing. "Wrestlers who competed in the 1970s and '80s were also living and partying like rock stars," said wrestling journalist Eric Cohen to BBC.

Kevin Von Erich does not ignore the fact that drugs played a significant role in the death of his wrestling brothers. "They look harmless but they have little barbs, and it's easy to get hooked," Kevin said about painkillers to Texas Monthly. Meanwhile, it has been noted that Kerry Adkisson attempted rehabilitation multiple times but remained addicted to narcotics until his untimely passing. Thankfully, the harmful addictions are something that the WWE hopes is behind them. "Unfortunately, some past performers were part of a generation of wrestlers who made unhealthy and poor personal lifestyle choices," reads a statement from the WWE. "Today's athletes take great pride and personal responsibility for their overall health and well-being."

Overcoming what has been dubbed the "Von Erich Curse," the legacy of the family continues to have an impact in modern-day wrestling. A third generation of Adkisson's have stepped into the ring to uphold the family name. In 2007, Lacey Adkisson, daughter of Kerry 'The Texas Tornado' Von Erich, got a call from Vince McMahon to join the ranks of the WWE. "Seeing as how everyone in my family died that wrestled, it was a very sore subject in my family," said Lacey to USA Today. Regardless, the granddaughter of famed Fritz Von Erich took a chance and visited a WWE production. "The smell of the Bengay and seeing the guys taping up their wrists, it reminded me of being in the locker room as a child. I signed the contract to wrestle that night."

Despite a moderately successful run in the wrestling circuit, Lacey hung up her boots just a few years later. However, two more Von Erichs popped up a short time after. Trained by their father Kevin Von Erich, Ross and Marshall Von Erich made their tag team wrestling debut in Pro Wrestling NOAH in 2012. The brothers continue to throw suplexes today after signing a multi-year contract with Major League Wrestling in 2019.

Aside from being memorialized in the halls of the WWE record books, the Von Erichs story remains one of the most heartbreaking tales in all of sports. The family legacy has been at the center of multiple documentaries, including "Heroes of World Class: The Story of the Von Erichs and the Rise and Fall of World Class Championship Wrestling," "Faded Glory, The Von Erich Story," and an episode of Vice Video's "Dark Side of the Ring."

Certainly, the Von Erichs will be once again thrown into the spotlight when the A24 biopic "The Iron Claw" hits theaters this year. "I'm very excited about this one," director Sean Durkin told Deadline. "It's another family portrait, about a wrestling family who revolutionized the sport and then suffered tragedy." Even Kevin Von Erich's children are excited about the film, sharing a side-by-side comparison of Zac Efron's sculpted body alongside their father's in an Instagram post in 2022. "Excited about this new project on our family and it really looks like [Efron] is taking this role seriously," they said. "Very pumped to watch." Meanwhile, the last surviving Von Erich brother had his own words about the film, telling TMZ, "It's gonna be a hard job, I think, it's a lot of information and a lot of time and so they've got some tough work ahead of them." As for the actor portraying him in the film, Kevin said, "I don't think I ever looked that good."

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues or is having suicidal thoughts, contact the relevant resources below:

• Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

• Please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing 988 or by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.