David Von Erich's cause of death is alluded to in The Iron Claw tells the true story of the Von Erichs' rise to fame as pro-wrestlers in the '80s and the "curse" believed to have caused a string of tragic deaths in their family.
Although there were six Von Erich brothers in real life, the eldest, Jack Adkisson Jr., died at the age of six before the timeline of the movie. The Iron Claw also leaves out the youngest Von Erich brother, Chris, who died by suicide in 1991. As such, not every death in the Von Erich family is shown in The Iron Claw. While Kevin (Zac Efron), the second-eldest and only surviving Von Erich brother, explains what happened to Jack Jr. in The Iron Claw, the first death that happens in the movie is David Von Erich (Harris Dickinson), the third-eldest brother.
David Von Erich Died From Acute Enteritis In The Iron Claw
David Von Erich Was Touring In Japan When He Died At Age 25
On February 10, 1984, David Von Erich died at age 25 in Tokyo, Japan, while touring with All Japan Pro Wrestling. He was found dead in his hotel room by a wrestling referee after failing to show up in the lobby (via Dallas Morning News). David's official cause of death was listed by The U.S. Embassy as acute enteritis, a type of intestinal inflammation that can lead to complications such as heart failure.
According to Fritz Von Erich, David had been sick with flu-like symptoms "for about six weeks" before he died but continued to wrestle despite being "in no condition" to enter the ring. Kevin Von Erich believes that David died of a heart attack caused by his enteritis (via The Triumph and Tragedy of WCCW).
David's fatal illness is even foreshadowed in The Iron Claw when Kevin walks in on him throwing up blood in the bathroom at Kevin's wedding reception a week before heading to Japan.
While the film doesn't explicitly mention his age or the date when he ed, David Von Erich's death is portrayed fairly accurately in The Iron Claw. David's fatal illness is even foreshadowed in The Iron Claw when Kevin walks in on him throwing up blood in the bathroom at Kevin's wedding reception a week before David heads to Japan. Kevin tries to convince him to see a doctor, but David claims he just has "stomach cramps" from "a bug [he] picked up on the road."
In real life, Kevin Von Erich and Pam Adkisson's wedding took place on August 1, 1980, three-and-a-half years before David's death.
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.
The Iron Claw then skips ahead to David's death, which is not shown onscreen. Instead, Fritz tells Kevin that David died in his hotel room in Japan from "a ruptured intestine" but does not elaborate on what caused it. After David's funeral, Kevin and Kerry (Jeremy Allen White) flip a coin to decide who will take their late brother's place in the title match against Ric Flair. During the tribute show for David at Texas Stadium, which took place a few months after his death in real life, Kerry defeats Flair and becomes the new NWA World Heavyweight Champion.
While the official of David Von Erich's death is properly depicted in The Iron Claw, the film fails to address the rumors that circulated about his "true" cause of death.
Why The Truth Surrounding David Von Erich's Death Is Still Questioned
Some Fellow Pro-Wrestlers Claimed David Died Of A Drug Overdose
While the official of David's death is properly depicted in The Iron Claw, the film fails to address the rumors about his "true" cause of death. In his 2004 autobiography, To Be the Man, Ric Flair claimed that "everyone in wrestling believes" David actually died of a drug overdose, which Mick Foley, David's close friend and fellow wrestler, had previously alleged in his 1999 autobiography, Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks. Flair added that another wrestler, Bruiser Body, allegedly found David in his hotel room and flushed the drugs down the toilet before the cops arrived.
11 Details The Iron Claw Leaves Out About The Von Erich Family's True Story
The Iron Claw depicts many real events in its portrayal of the Von Erich family, but not every detail could be included in the final product.
The Iron Claw does hint at David's possible drug abuse. Before the Von Erich trio's victorious match against The Fabulous Freebirds, clips of David and Kerry partying hard and doing drugs on the road are interspersed in a montage of them training and fighting in the ring. However, the film never suggests that an overdose may have actually killed David Von Erich.
David Isn't The Only Von Erich With An Unclear Death In The Iron Claw
The Film Leaves Out A Few Deaths
David Von Erich is a key character in The Iron Claw even if his death isn't made all that clear to the viewing audience. There's also Jack Jr., who is mentioned only in ing at first in the film. It's known that Jack Jr. was an early victim of the "Von Erich Curse," and that he died young. He makes an appearance in the film during the scene where Kevin has a vision of his brothers meeting up in the afterlife and it hits an emotional beat to see just how young Jack Jr. was.
Every Von Erich Brother In Real Life |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
Name |
Date of Birth |
Date of Death |
|
1 |
Jack Jr. |
September 21, 1952 |
March 7, 1959 |
2 |
Kevin |
May 15, 1957 |
Alive |
3 |
David |
July 22, 1958 |
February 10, 1984 |
4 |
Kerry |
February 3, 1960 |
February 18, 1993 |
5 |
Mike |
March 2, 1964 |
April 12, 1987 |
6 |
Chris |
September 30, 1969 |
September 12, 1991 |
When he tragically ed away in 1959, Jack Jr. was only six years old. While the older Von Erich siblings suffered sad deaths through suicide and more, Jack Jr.'s case was an accident. While in Niagara Falls, New York, Jack Jr. stepped on a trailer tongue and was immediately electrocuted. He fell face-first into a puddle and drowned. It's unclear why this wasn't mentioned in the film though it may have simply been too much to go into detail about something so tragic in a film that's already so sad.
Sources: Dallas Morning News, The Triumph and Tragedy of WCCW, To Be the Man by Ric Flair and Keith Elliot Greenberg, Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks by Mick Foley,
The Iron Claw portrays the rise and fall of the Von Erich family, a dynasty in professional wrestling. Directed by Sean Durkin, the film explores the family ' personal struggles and tragic fates and the lasting impact they left on the sport.
- Cast
- Maura Tierney, Stanley Simons, Lily James, Maxwell Friedman, Brady Pierce, Aaron Dean Eisenberg, Kevin Anton, Cazzey Louis Cereghino, Chavo Guerrero Jr., Ryan Nemeth, Scott Innes
- Runtime
- 132 minutes
- Director
- Sean Durkin
