Booker T Recalls Kerry Von Erich Wrestling After Losing His Foot, Talks Iron Claw Movie

Booker T gave his thoughts on various topics on his latest Hall Of Fame podcast. 

During it, the WWE Hall Of Famer talked about the upcoming Iron Claw movie about The Von Erich Family. Here are the highlights:

On the Iron Claw movie trailer and Kerry Von Erich: 

“No, I didn’t. No, I mean, I saw, like, the poster. Yeah, but I didn’t see the trailer. But, you know, it’s a story to tell as far as the Von Erichs, man, they got a hell of a story. It is a hell of a backdrop, tragic, tragic tale at the same time. Just. But just those guys were so young and so successful. and I just think that’s. I just think that’s what it was with that family, man. They were so young. They were like high school, man. They were already stars. They were like the Partridge Family, man. You know what I mean? It’s like one of those series. It’s like one of those types of deals. They were the, you know, Dallas’s favorite sons. They could do no wrong. And to have to live up to, you know, and walk in the footsteps of, you know, one Fritz Von Erich. That had to be something in itself. At the same time, you know, Fritz Von Erich. Man, man, what a heel man. What a heel, you know, played that role all the way to the end. You know that German, you know, that German heel that everybody wants to hate, you know. But I can’t wait to see the story. I definitely can’t wait to see the story. I was actually on tour with Kevin Von Erich and Kerry Von Erich, right before Kerry, you know, passed away before he killed him, he committed suicide. We were in the Virgin Islands, and, what a trip, man. What a trip. And you know what a memory more than anything. Didn’t get paid for that trip, remember? No. I’m serious. I didn’t get paid for that trip. Actually, I got paid half of the money for that trip, and I was supposed to get paid the second half of that. That didn’t happen, but that was one of the best trips I ever took in my life, being in the Virgin Islands, man. I mean, it was so awesome. You know, sleeping on the beach every night in the bungalow, you know, going to the greenhouse, which was a club, you know, right in the middle of the city. Oh, man, I didn’t even care about wrestling. Wrestling was secondary to that vacation that I took in the Virgin Islands. So, it’s definitely a trip to remember Jeep. Swenson was the promoter on that. On that tour, you know, God rested his soul. But, when I see a Jeep one day, I’m still going to be looking for that. That grand that he owed me.”

On Kerry Von Erich losing his foot: 

“Yeah. Yeah, yeah. And he got away with it without anybody knowing it because he was just that talented. Of course, he had his demons. Sure. But as far as talent goes Kerry Von Erich, man, he was a hell of a talent. And to be able to go out there and pull that off as the Texas tornado with one foot in the WWE was a hell of a feat. Yeah, yeah, not just that. To be able to deal with that in your head, knowing that, you know, you were once whole. And Kerry Von Erich, he’s a Greek god. I mean, he was carved out of granite. And then to lose his foot, I’m sure that that screwed with his psyche a whole lot. But he went out there and, you know, pulled it off. And I don’t think anybody knew the other, you know, other as far as him not having a foot. That just goes to show you how passionate he was for the business. This just go to show you how passionate he was to want to get to the WWE, being that guy who had pretty much. You dominated the Texas scene. He couldn’t get any bigger in Texas. And then to lose his foot. And then that’s the time he makes it to the WWE. It had to be a sobering experience.”

If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit the Hall of Fame with an h/t to Wrestling Headlines for the transcription.