By Jonathan Klotz
| Published
Ask someone to name the biggest wrestler of the 80s, and you’ll be able to tell if they lived in the Northeast, which was WWF and Hulk Hogan territory, the Southeast, which was Ric Flair country, or Texas, which belonged to the Von Erichs. A talented wrestling family led by their patriarch, Fritz Von Erich, the wrestling brothers Kevin, David, Kerry, Mike, and Chris helped World Class Champion Wrestling take over the Sportatorium in Dallas every week. Now, you don’t need to go into the depths of The Wrestling Observer to learn the story of the Von Erichs thanks to The Iron Claw, streaming on Max.
The Triumph And Heartbreak Of World Class
An A24 production, The Iron Claw, named after Fritz’s finishing move, takes you through the rise and fall of the First Family of Wrestling. From the beginning, with Kevin (Zac Efron), David (Harris Dickinson), and Mike (Stanley Simons) trying to break into the business, to Kerry’s (Jeremy Allen White) success in the WWF and the constant string of heartbreaking tragedies, even one of which would forever shatter a family, the film doesn’t appear to pull any punches. Except it does.
The Iron Claw bounces between heartfelt optimism and soul-crushing tragedy at the drop of a hat, and all centered around the perspective of Kevin, which makes sense, as he’s the only brother still alive and was involved in the making of the film. It’s not a spoiler that multiple brothers end up killing themselves, after all, this is all based on a true story and everything did happen, and in fact, the movie isn’t nearly as dark as the real life Von Erichs.
The film combines the brothers, Mike and Chris, into one character, taking aspects of the real-life fate of both. In The Iron Claw, Mike wants to get into the ring and be like his larger, more athletic brothers, which was a Chris trait in real life, but the way he’s injured happened to Mike during a wrestling tour. If the multiple suicides in the film seem to be a bit much, just know they took out one, and it’s still one of the most tragic stories ever depicted on film.
Wrestling’s Biggest Tragedies
I’ve been a wrestling fan since 1993 when I begged my parents to order the Royal Rumble, and so the Von Erichs were before my time. I was dimly aware of Kerry, known as The Texas Tornado in the WWF, thanks to his cool spinning action figure, but it wasn’t until I logged onto America Online and started wandering wrestling forums that I learned of the Von Erichs. For decades in wrestling circles, they were known as tragic figures, which is why when The Iron Claw was announced, fans braced themselves, knowing what was going to happen.
And yet, even knowing their fates, The Iron Claw was an amazing experience for fans and non-fans of wrestling alike, thanks to the stellar performances from everyone, including Maura Tierney and Holt McCallany as the parents, Doris and Fritz, and Lily Allen as Pam Adkisson is a firecracker of energy whenever she’s on screen. Less impressive is the Ric Flair impersonator they brought on, who does a worse job than Jay Lethal at bringing the Nature Boy to life.
The Best Movie Of the Decade
Despite the brightening of the Von Erich story and the debatable factual accuracy of some of the events, including the involvement of Jerry Jarrett, The Iron Claw is a must-see biopic that spotlights one of the most famous families of wrestling. Once you see it, you’ll wonder why it was shut out at all the major awards shows, and you’ll walk away with the opinion that Kevin Von Erich is Zac Efron’s greatest role. There are a few movies every decade that become heralded as “must-see” by cinephiles and once-a-year theater-goers alike, and for this decade, it’s The Iron Claw.
The Iron Claw is currently streaming on Max.
