Kevin Von Erich

American professional wrestler (born 1957)

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Kevin Von Erich

Von Erich in 1983

Birth name| Kevin Ross Adkisson
Born|  (1957-05-15) May 15, 1957 (age 67)
Belleville, Illinois, U.S.
Spouse(s)|

Pam Adkisson

(m. 1980)​

Children| 4 (including Marshall and Ross Von Erich)
Family| Von Erich
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)| Kevin Von Erich
Billed height| 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)[1]
Billed weight| 222 lb (101 kg)[1]
Billed from| Denton, Texas
Trained by| Fritz Von Erich
Debut| 1976
Retired| July 17, 2017

Kevin Ross Adkisson (born May 15, 1957) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Kevin Von Erich. A member of the Von Erich family, Von Erich is best known for his appearances with his father's World Class Championship Wrestling promotion.[1] He is a former world champion, having once held the WCWA World Heavyweight Championship.

## Football career[edit]

Adkisson played football at North Texas State University as a fullback until an injury ended his football career and dream of playing in the National Football League.

## Professional wrestling career[edit]

### World Class Championship Wrestling (1976–1990)[edit]

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#### Early career (1976–1981)[edit]

Adkisson in 1977

Adkisson started wrestling as Kevin Von Erich in 1976. He spent most of his career wrestling for his father's promotion, World Class Championship Wrestling. Kevin's natural athletic ability and good looks made him one of the promotion's biggest stars. He achieved great success in the company both as a singles and tag team wrestler, often participating in many of the company's high-profile feuds. Kevin was also known for wrestling barefoot, highly unusual in a sport where almost all wrestlers wear high-topped boots. World Class announcers often jokingly referred to him as "The Barefoot Boy" on WCCW broadcasts. Kevin later admitted in an interview that he never set out to wrestle barefoot, but that before one of his matches someone hid his boots as a joke, and he wasn't able to find them before his match, so he just went out barefoot to wrestle, and it later became his trademark. Contrary to popular belief, he wore boots in matches in his early career, including his debut match against Paul Perschmann and in a match against "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka. Kevin was a big fan of Snuka's, who also wrestled barefoot, and Kevin often performed a move similar to Snuka's flying body splash from the top rope, which Snuka called the Superfly.

During the late-1970s, Kevin established himself in the Dallas territory. His first major success came in 1978 while wrestling as a tag team with his younger brother David. During the year, they captured the NWA Texas Tag Team Championship on two occasions as well as the NWA American Tag Team Championship. On Christmas Day 1978, he established himself firmly in the singles ranks of the promotion by defeating Bruiser Brody for the NWA American Heavyweight Championship. In 1980, Kevin Von Erich made his only wrestling appearance in the WWF on January 21 against Johnny Rodz, in a match he won. As the 1980s dawned, Kevin became one of the promotion's most viable performers and continued to win numerous championships in both singles and tag team competition with a variety of different partners. However, his highest profile partners would always be his brothers Kerry and David. As the early-1980s progressed, Kevin would appear often at other NWA-promoted territories, including St. Louis, Georgia Championship Wrestling and briefly Florida Championship Wrestling. Kevin also competed in a few matches for the World Wrestling Federation.

#### Freebird-Von Erich Feud (1982–1984)[edit]

In early 1982, the Fabulous Freebirds, consisting of Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy and Buddy Roberts, left Georgia Championship Wrestling after meeting WCCW booker Gary Hart at a show. Appearing in World Class, the trio instantly became fan favorites due to a combination of their unique talents and chemistry as well as their close friendship with the Von Erichs. All three rose quickly through the ranks and in late November 1982, Hayes and Gordy defeated the team of King Kong Bundy and Wild Bill Irwin for the NWA American Tag Team Championship.

A feud between the Von Erichs and Freebirds developed roughly a month later. During WCCW's annual Christmas show in 1982, Kerry Von Erich faced Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship inside of a steel cage with Michael Hayes acting as a special referee. As explained in The Triumph and Tragedy of World Class Championship Wrestling DVD, the storyline, developed by Gary Hart, was written as Hayes having been selected by fans to be a special enforcer type of referee in the match. Near the end of the match, Flair shoved Hayes, which resulted in Hayes punching him. Hayes then tried to place Kerry on top of Flair to make the three count. Von Erich refused to do so since it wasn't the "Texas thing to do", which led to a brief shoving match and argument between the two. Hayes, disgusted with the situation, told Terry Gordy, who had been assigned as the gatekeeper, to open the cage door. As Hayes is about to leave Von Erich was attacked from behind by Ric Flair, with the former accidentally hitting Hayes and knocking him out of the cage. The angle was written as having neither Hayes nor Gordy being aware that Kerry was shoved into Hayes. As Kerry was getting to his feet inside the ring, that was the signal for Gordy to slam the cage door shut, hitting Kerry on the head and costing him the championship.

The Freebirds immediately became the top heels in the company, due to the belief of many fans that their actions cost one of their local heroes the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. As the feud was building, the WCCW television broadcasts were syndicated to television stations all across the United States, giving the promotion millions of viewers each week in the U.S. alone. This changed the face of wrestling and how it was marketed and presented to audiences. The extremely physical nature of the matches between the two factions captivated fans, changing preconceptions about what professional wrestling was and could be. Throughout the next several years, the Freebirds and Von Erichs engaged in numerous high-profile matches that were very physical in nature with the various members of each group feuding over various championships within the promotion. The feud is seen today by many fans and wrestling industry insiders as one of the best worked and most memorable feuds in the history of professional wrestling. This line of drama ended, when Kevin's brother David von Erich, died in Japan from acute enteritis of the upper intestine. This broke up the symmetry of the wrestling rivalry, though eventually the remaining brothers went on to wrestle individually, with varying degrees of success.

#### Feuds with Chris Adams and Ric Flair (1985–1990)[edit]

Von Erich alongside fellow Texan wrestler Terry Funk, circa April 1985.

Kevin also had a long feud with Chris Adams that lasted for months and had many violent matches, including two well-known chair shots on each other that required hospitalization for both men. Kevin would also tag-team with Adams on numerous occasions before and after their feud. Away from the ring, Kevin and Chris were close friends; Kevin served as a pallbearer during Adams' funeral in 2001 and traveled to England to visit Adams' family afterwards. In recent interviews, Kevin stated that Adams was the toughest wrestler he's ever wrestled in his career and he showed a great amount of respect for the British-born wrestler. Kevin had several close matches with NWA World Champ Ric Flair, including the main event of the 2nd David Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions at Texas Stadium, but never won the title.

### Folding of WCCW and United States Wrestling Association (1989–1990)[edit]

After the failure of SuperClash III, in 1989, Kevin became very despondent over his father's decision to sell the promotion to Jerry Jarrett, who owned the Memphis-based CWA, despite his brother Kerry welcoming Jarrett into the mix; the merged promotions became the USWA. However, because of disputes, including suing Jarrett himself, he pulled WCCW out of the USWA in 1990, but he couldn't resurrect the promotion his father built and had no choice but shut down World Class that November. Kevin did manage to draw crowds to the Sportatorium in the early going, but with the absence of his brother, manager/booker Gary Hart, and the lack of televised matches, World Class' survival was very thin. During that time, Kevin competed very little; other than wrestling in other independent cards promoted by either himself, Chris Adams or Gary Hart. Kevin did not participate at all in the August 4, 1989 card in which World Class formally became USWA Texas, while brother Kerry, who competed on the card earlier, reportedly left the Sportatorium shortly after his match. Kevin however did help out a young Steve Austin increase his abilities in the ring during this time, and considers Austin as one of his friends to this day.

### World Wrestling Federation (1991)[edit]

Sixteen months after his brother joined the World Wrestling Federation, Kevin wrestled in a dark match on December 2, 1991, at a Wrestling Challenge taping in Corpus Christi, TX where he faced and defeated Brian Lee.[2]

### Later career (1991–1995)[edit]

Von Erich competed in Mexico's Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre in 1991. On April 2, 1993, he teamed up with Chris Adams to defeat Fabulous Freebirds' Michael Hayes and Buddy Roberts at Global Wrestling Federation's Adkisson Benefit Show at the Sportatorium. Kevin's last round of glory occurred on January 7, 1995, while competing for Jim Crockett, Jr.'s NWA promotion based at the Sportatorium; where he won the North American heavyweight title defeating Greg Valentine. A week later he dropped the title to John Hawk. He then formed a very brief alliance with manager Skandor Akbar. Kevin eventually cut back on his ring appearances and formally retired by the end of 1995.

### Retirement[edit]

On October 3, 2005, Kevin made an appearance on the WWE Raw Homecoming show alongside other WWE Hall of Famers. Later that night, as Dusty Rhodes and the WWE Hall of Famers were gathered in the ring, Rob Conway came out and interrupted Rhodes. This eventually led to Conway's beatdown by several Hall of Famers, in which Kevin used the legendary Iron Claw on Conway, to the raves of the partisan Dallas, Texas crowd. Jim Ross said afterwards that he never thought he would live to see the Iron Claw again. On January 20, 2006, Kevin and his son Ross Adkisson (billed as Ross Von Erich) appeared on a local wrestling card in Longview, Texas as guests of Roddy Piper's Piper's Pit. During the segment, in which Kevin and Piper talked about going to the Sportatorium as teenagers, Skandor Akbar interrupted the interview to berate both Kevin and Ross. At one point, Akbar pushed Ross, which prompted Kevin to apply the iron claw on Akbar. Greg Valentine then pulled Akbar away, with Kevin, Ross, Piper and The Grappler taking in the cheers of the crowd. In 2006, Kevin, and a number of others from World Class Championship Wrestling's heyday, participated in Heroes of World Class Wrestling, an independently produced retrospective documentary about the promotion and the Von Erich family.[3] The documentary featured comments from Adkisson, Gary Hart, Skandor Akbar, Bill Mercer, Mickey Grant, David Manning, Marc Lowrance and via earlier interviews, Chris Adams.

Von Erich at the 2009 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony

Later that October he sold the rights to the (pre-1988) WCCW name and tape archives to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).[4] WWE subsequently began broadcasting WCCW's syndicated programming on their subscription video on demand service WWE Classics On Demand with Kevin and Michael "P.S." Hayes acting as hosts and later included WCCW footage on the WWE Network. WWE produced The Triumph and Tragedy of World Class, their own documentary on the territory in 2007.[5] Kevin was also featured in the 2007 WWE produced DVD The Most Powerful Families in Wrestling in a segment on the Von Erich family. On April 4, 2009, Kevin represented the Von Erich family as they were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by Michael Hayes. On June 15, 2014, at Slammiversary, Kevin accompanied his sons Ross and Marshall to the ring for a tag-team match.[6] On April 2, 2016, Kevin appeared at the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony to discuss his relationship with The Fabulous Freebirds.

### Sporadic appearances (2017, 2023)[edit]

At 60 years of age, Von Erich returned to wrestling for the first time in 22 years on July 9, 2017. He teamed with his sons Ross and Marshall as they defeated Marty Jannetty, Jumping Lee and Gery Roif at The Rage Wrestling Mega Show in Tel Aviv, Israel.[7] On December 13, 2023, Kevin appeared with his sons Ross and Marshall on episodes of All Elite Wrestling's Dynamite and Rampage, as well as sister promotion Ring of Honor.

## Personal life[edit]

Von Erich, c. 1988

On August 1, 1980, Von Erich married Pam Adkisson; the couple lives in Hawaii and runs a family investment business together. Von Erich dabbles in commercial real estate and owns the rights to Southwest Sports (the distributor of World Class Championship Wrestling), now known as K.R. Adkisson Enterprises.

They have four children, including Ross Von Erich and Marshall Von Erich.[8][9]

Kevin is the last surviving child of wrestler Fritz Von Erich. He was the second-born son. Kevin had four brothers who wrestled: David, Kerry, Mike and Chris. His older brother Jack Barton Adkisson, Jr., born 21 September 1952, died at the age of six in Niagara Falls, New York, on 7 March 1959, after stepping on a trailer tongue. He received an electric shock which caused him to fall into a melting snow puddle face first, where he drowned.[10][11][12]

## Other media[edit]

Adkisson, as Kevin Von Erich, appears in the video games Legends of Wrestling, Legends of Wrestling II, Showdown: Legends of Wrestling, WWE 2K17 and WWE 2K18.

A biopic feature film titled The Iron Claw starring Zac Efron as Kevin was released on December 22, 2023.[13]

## Championships and accomplishments[edit]

Von Erich as WCWA World Heavyweight Champion, c. 1987

* All Japan Pro Wrestling
* All Asia Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with David Von Erich[14]
* Cauliflower Alley Club
* Art Abrams Lifetime Achievement/Lou Thesz Award (2017)[15]
* NWA Big Time Wrestling / World Class Championship Wrestling / World Class Wrestling Association
* NWA American Heavyweight Championship (5 times)[16][17]
* NWA American Tag Team Championship (4 times) - with David Von Erich (1), El Halcon (1), and Kerry Von Erich (2)[18][19]
* NWA Texas Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with David Von Erich[20][21]
* NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship (Texas version) (7 times) - with David and Kerry Von Erich (2), Fritz Von Erich and Mike Von Erich (1), Kerry Von Erich and Mike Von Erich (3), and Kerry Von Erich and Brian Adias (1)[22]
* NWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with David Von Erich[23][24][25]
* WCCW Television Championship (1 time)[26][27]
* WCWA Texas Heavyweight Championship (2 times)[28][29]
* WCWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[30]
* WCWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship (4 times) - with Kerry Von Erich and Lance Von Erich (1), Mike Von Erich and Lance Von Erich (1), Chris Adams and Steve Simpson (1), and Kerry Von Erich and Michael Hayes (1)[22]
* WCWA World Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with Kerry Von Erich[31]
* NWA Southwest
* NWA North American Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[32]
* Pro Wrestling Illustrated
* Ranked No. 78 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1991[33]
* Ranked No. 85 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003[34]
* Ranked No. 23 of the top 100 tag teams of the "PWI Years" with David, Mike, and Kerry Von Erich in 2003[34]
* St. Louis Wrestling Club
* NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[35]
* St. Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame
* Class of 2016
* Western States Sports
* NWA Western States Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with David Von Erich
* WWE
* WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2009) as a member of the Von Erich family
* Wrestling Observer Newsletter
* Match of the Year (1984) with Mike and Kerry Von Erich vs. the Fabulous Freebirds (Buddy Roberts, Michael Hayes, and Terry Gordy) in an Anything Goes match on July 4

## See also[edit]

* Von Erich family

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c "Statistics for Professional wrestlers". PWI Presents: 1991 Wrestling Almanak and book of facts. Kappa Publications. pp. 55–71. 1991 Edition.
2. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved October 11, 2016.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
3. ^ "Heroes of World Class Wrestling". Right Here Pictures. Archived from the original on October 31, 2003. Retrieved December 19, 2007.
4. ^ "WCCW FAQ". World Class Memories. Archived from the original on October 18, 2007. Retrieved November 25, 2007.
5. ^ "The Triumph and Tragedy of World Class product information page". WWEShop.com. Retrieved November 25, 2007.
6. ^ "TNA News: Kevin Von Erich to appear with his sons at Slammiversary". www.prowrestling.net. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
7. ^ "'Rage Megashow' wrestling event brings Israel into the ring". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Archived from the original on December 3, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
8. ^ "Kevin Von Erich". Bios. VonErich.com. Archived from the original on December 14, 2007. Retrieved November 25, 2007.
9. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". VonErich.com. Archived from the original on March 30, 2008. Retrieved May 26, 2009.
10. ^ Hollandsworth, Skip (February 1, 1988). "The Fall of the House of Von Erich". D Magazine. Archived from the original on September 8, 2019. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
11. ^ "Wrestler found shot dead family has lost five sons Latest tragedy apparently a suicide". Baltimore Sun. February 19, 1993. Archived from the original on September 2, 2023. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
12. ^ Mustaqeem, Syraat Al (November 2, 2022). "The Iron Claw: What is the true story behind Zac Efron's new film?". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
13. ^ "Zac Efron Is Nearly Unrecognizable In New Look For Wrestling Movie". screenrant.com. October 27, 2022. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
14. ^ All Asia Tag Team Title history Archived September 9, 2007, at the Wayback Machine At wrestling-titles.com
15. ^ "Kevin Von Erich to Receive the Lou Thesz/Art Abrams Award in May - Cauliflower Alley Club". www.caulifloweralleyclub.org. Archived from the original on March 31, 2017. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
16. ^ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). "Texas: NWA / World Class American Heavyweight Title [Von Eric]". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. pp. 265–266. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
17. ^ "NWA United States Heavyweight Title (1967-1968/05) - American Heavyweight Title (1968/05-1986/02)". Wrestling-Titles. Archived from the original on September 28, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
18. ^ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). "(Dallas) Texas: NWA American Tag Team Title [Fritz Von Erich]". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. ISBN 978-0-9698161-5-7.
19. ^ "N.W.A. American Tag Team Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Archived from the original on December 1, 2010. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
20. ^ Will, Gary; Duncan, Royal (2000). "Texas: NWA Texas Tag Team Title [Von Erich]". Wrestling Title Histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Pennsylvania: Archeus Communications. pp. 275–276. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
21. ^ "NWA Texas Tag Team Title [E. Texas]". wrestling-titles.com. Archived from the original on December 30, 2008. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
22. ^ a b World 6-Man Tag Team Title (World Class) history Archived November 5, 2015, at the Wayback Machine At wrestling-titles.com
23. ^ National Wrestling Alliance World Tag Team Title (Texas) history Archived December 26, 2008, at the Wayback Machine At wrestling-titles.com
24. ^ Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Texas: NWA World Tag Team Title [Siegel, Boesch and McLemore]". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Pennsylvania: Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
25. ^ "National Wrestling Alliance World Tag Team Title [E. Texas]". Wrestling-Titles. Archived from the original on December 16, 2016. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
26. ^ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). "Texas: WCWA Television Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 396\. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
27. ^ "World Class Television Title". Wrestling-titles.com. Archived from the original on October 27, 2018. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
28. ^ Will, Gary; Duncan, Royal (2000). "Texas: NWA Texas Heavyweight Title [Von Erich]". Wrestling Title Histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Pennsylvania: Archeus Communications. pp. 268–269. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
29. ^ "NWA Texas Heavyweight Title". Wrestling-Titles. Archived from the original on December 30, 2015. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
30. ^ World Class Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Title history Archived August 13, 2012, at the Wayback Machine At wrestling-titles.com
31. ^ World Class Wrestling Association World Tag Team Title history Archived June 8, 2003, at the Wayback Machine At wrestling-titles.com
32. ^ NWA North American Heavyweight Title history Archived June 7, 2014, at the Wayback Machine At wrestling-titles.com
33. ^ "PWI 500 1991". The Turnbuckle Post. Archived from the original on July 25, 2012. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
34. ^ a b "PWI 500 of the PWI Years". Willy Wrestlefest. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
35. ^ NWA Missouri Heavyweight Title history Archived January 27, 2008, at the Wayback Machine At wrestling-titles.com

## External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kevin Von Erich.

* Official website
* Kevin Von Erich on WWE.com
* Kevin Von Erich at IMDb
* Kevin Von Erich's profile at Cagematch.net , Internet Wrestling Database

Links to related articles

* v
* t
* e

Von Erich family

First generation|

* Fritz Von Erich

Second generation|

* Kevin Von Erich
* David Von Erich
* Kerry Von Erich
* Mike Von Erich
* Chris Von Erich

Third generation|

* Lacey Von Erich
* Marshall Von Erich
* Ross Von Erich

Storyline relatives|

* Waldo Von Erich
* Lance Von Erich

Related articles|

* Fritz Von Erich Retirement Show
* Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions
* World Class Championship Wrestling
* The Iron Claw (film)

* Category

* v
* t
* e

All Asia Tag Team Champions

1950s–1960s|

* King Kong Czaya and Tiger Joginder Singh
* Dan Miller and Frank Valois
* Rikidōzan and Toyonobori
* Luther Lindsay and Ricky Waldo
* Buddy Austin and Mike Sharpe
* Toyonobori and Michiaki Yoshimura
* Caripus Hurricane and Gene Kiniski
* Giant Baba and Toyonobori
* The Destroyer and Billy Red Lyons
* Joe Carrolo and Killer Karl Kox
* Hiro Matsuda and Michiaki Yoshimura
* Eddie Graham and Killer Karl Kox
* Giant Baba and Michiaki Yoshimura
* Kintarō Ōki and Michiaki Yoshimura
* Antonio Inoki and Michiaki Yoshimura
* Klondike Bill and Skull Murphy
* Antonio Inoki and Kintarō Ōki

1970s|

* Seiji Sakaguchi and Michiaki Yoshimura
* Great Kojika and Gentetsu Matsuoka
* Great Kojika and Motoshi Okuma
* Jerry and Ted Oates
* Samson Kutsuwada and Akihisa Takachiho
* Animal Hamaguchi and Mighty Inoue

1980s|

* David Von Erich and Kevin Von Erich
* Takashi Ishikawa and Akio Sato
* Ashura Hara and Mighty Inoue
* Ashura Hara and Takashi Ishikawa
* Animal Hamaguchi and Isamu Teranishi
* Norio Honaga and Isamu Teranishi
* Mighty Inoue and Takashi Ishikawa
* Ashura Hara and Super Strong Machine
* Footloose (Samson Fuyuki and Toshiaki Kawada)
* Shinichi Nakano and Shunji Takano
* Doug Furnas and Dan Kroffat

1990s|

* Kenta Kobashi and Tiger Mask II
* Shinichi Nagano and Akira Taue
* Johnny Ace and Kenta Kobashi
* British Bruisers (Dynamite Kid and Johnny Smith)
* Billy Black and Joel Deaton
* Tsuyoshi Kikuchi and Kenta Kobashi
* The Eagle and The Patriot
* Jun Akiyama and Takao Omori
* Wolf Hawkfield and Johnny Smith
* Tamon Honda and Jun Izumida
* Hayabusa and Jinsei Shinzaki
* No Fear (Takao Omori and Yoshihiro Takayama)
* Mitsuharu Misawa and Yoshinari Ogawa
* Tamon Honda and Masao Inoue

2000s|

* Masahito Kakihara and Mitsuya Nagai
* Arashi and Koki Kitahara
* Arashi and Nobutaka Araya
* Kohei Sato and Hirotaka Yokoi
* Kintaro Kanemura and Tetsuhiro Kuroda
* Mr. Gannosuke and Tetsuhiro Kuroda
* The Great Kosuke and Shiryu
* Masanobu Fuchi and Genichiro Tenryu
* Mitsuya Nagai and Masayuki Naruse
* RO&D (Buchanan and Rico Constantino)
* Shuji Kondo and "brother" Yasshi
* Katsuhiko Nakajima and Kensuke Sasaki
* Minoru Suzuki and Nosawa Rongai
* S.M.O.P. (Akebono and Ryota Hama)

2010s|

* Voodoo Murders (TARU and Big Daddy Voodoo)
* Manabu Soya and Seiya Sanada
* Daisuke Sekimoto and Yuji Okabayashi
* Koji Kanemoto and Minoru Tanaka
* Hikaru Sato and Hiroshi Yamato
* Atsushi Aoki and Kotaro Suzuki
* Jun Akiyama and Yoshinobu Kanemaru
* Team Dream Futures (Keisuke Ishii and Shigehiro Irie)
* Xceed (Kotaro Suzuki and Kento Miyahara)
* Mitsuya Nagai and Takeshi Minamino
* Último Dragón and Yoshinobu Kanemaru
* Yankii Nichokenju (Isami Kodaka and Yuko Miyamoto)
* Evolution (Atsushi Aoki and Hikaru Sato)
* Atsushi Onita and Masanobu Fuchi
* Black Tiger VII and Taka Michinoku
* Nextream (Naoya Nomura and Yuma Aoyagi)
* Jun Akiyama and Yuji Nagata
* Sweeper (Jake Lee and Koji Iwamoto)
* Ryuichi Kawakami and Kazumi Kikuta

2020s|

* Purple Haze (Zeus and Izanagi)
* StrongHearts (El Lindaman and T-Hawk)
* Total Eclipse (Yusuke Kodama and Hokuto Omori)
* Voodoo Murders (Minoru and Toshizo)
* Evolution (Dan Tamura and Hikaru Sato) (current)
* Tajiri and Yoshitatsu
* Gungnir of Anarchy (Masao Hanahata and Yusuke Kodama)
* Masao Inoue and Takao Omori
* Kendo Kashin and Nosawa Rongai
* Atsushi Onita and Yoshitatsu
* Burning (Jun Akiyama and Kotaro Suzuki)
* Eruption (Hideki Okatani and Yukio Sakaguchi)
* Atsushi Onita and Toy Kojima

Other recognized champions

Champions recognized by
New Japan Pro-Wrestling|

* Seiji Sakaguchi and Strong Kobayashi
* Tiger Jeet Singh and Umanosuke Ueda

* v
* t
* e

NWA North American Heavyweight Champions

* Greg Valentine
* Kevin Von Erich
* Johnny Hawk
* Tommy Cairo
* Reckless Youth
* Lance Diamond
* Ace Darling
* Jeff Jarrett
* Barry Windham
* The Colorado Kid
* Chris Michaels
* Big Bully Douglas
* Terry Taylor
* Air Paris
* Chris Harris
* Steve Corino
* Robbie Royce
* Dark Rain
* Spyder
* Quinn Magnum
* Paul Atlas
* Jorge Estrada
* Hotstuff Hernandez
* JT Wolfen
* Tommy Marr
* Dru Onyx
* Damien Wayne
* Mike DiBiase
* Apolo
* The Sheik
* Shaun Tempers
* Carson
* Kahagas
* Byron Wilcott
* Tim Storm
* Jax Dane
* Tyson Dean
* Mustang Mike

* v
* t
* e

NWA World Tag Team Champions (Texas version)

1950s|

* Verne Gagne and Wilbur Snyder
* Bill Longson and Ike Eakins
* El Médico and Pepper Gomez
* The Fabulous Kangaroos (Al Costello and Roy Heffernan)
* Pepper Gomez and Rito Romero
* Duke Keomuka and Mr. Moto

1960s|

* Ciclone Anaya and Pepper Gomez
* Joe Christie and Man Mountain Managoff
* Adnon Kaisy and Hogan Wharton
* Danny McShain and Joe Christie
* Pepper Gomez and Torbellino Blanco
* Pepper Gomez and Wilbur Snyder
* Dory Dixon and Rito Romero
* Duke Keomuka and Tony Martin
* Dory Dixon and Pepper Gomez
* The Dalton Brothers (Jack Dalton and Jim Dalton)
* Ciclón Negro and Dory Dixon
* The Kozak Brothers (Jerry Kozak and Nick Kozak)
* The Alaskan and Tarzan Tyler
* Duke Keomuka and Taro Miyake
* Mike Clancy and Red McKim
* Ciclon Negro and Oscar Salazar
* Ivan the Terrible and Tony Borne
* Bull Curry and Lucas Pertano
* Rip Hawk and Rock Hunter
* Von Brauners (Karl Von Brauner and Kurt Von Brauner )
* Ciclon Negro and Ricki Starr
* Fritz Von Erich and Killer Karl Kox
* Duke Keomuka and Kanji Inoki
* The Destroyer and Golden Terror
* Duke Keomuka and Fritz Von Erich
* The Internationals (Al Costello and Karl Von Brauner)
* Danny Miller and Nick Kozak
* Nick Bockwinkel and Ricky Romero
* Dory Funk Jr. and Terry Funk
* The Infernos (Inferno #1 and Inferno #2)
* Chati Yokouchi and Mr. Ito

1980s|

* Ali Mustafa and Hercules Ayala
* Von Erichs (David Von Erich and Kevin Von Erich)
* Chang Chung and The Great Kabuki
* Kerry Von Erich and Terry Orndorff
* Bill Irwin and Frank Dusek
* Al Madril and Kerry Von Erich
* Bill Irwin and Bugsy McGraw

* v
* t
* e

WWE Hall of Fame inductees

1990s

| 1993|

* André the Giant

|

1994|

* Arnold Skaaland
* Bobo Brazil
* Buddy Rogers
* Chief Jay Strongbow
* Freddie Blassie
* Gorilla Monsoon
* James Dudley

1995|

* Antonino Rocca
* Ernie Ladd
* The Fabulous Moolah
* George Steele
* Ernie Roth
* Ivan Putski
* Pedro Morales

1996|

* Jimmy Snuka
* Johnny Rodz
* Killer Kowalski
* Lou Albano
* Mikel Scicluna
* Pat Patterson
* Valiant Brothers
* Jimmy Valiant
* Johnny Valiant
* Vince McMahon Sr.

2000s

| 2004|

* Big John Studd
* "Superstar" Billy Graham
* Bobby Heenan
* Don Muraco
* Greg Valentine
* Harley Race
* Jesse Ventura
* Junkyard Dog
* Sgt. Slaughter
* Tito Santana

| Celebrity|

* Pete Rose

|

2005|

* Bob Orton Jr.
* Hulk Hogan
* The Iron Sheik
* Jimmy Hart
* Nikolai Volkoff
* Paul Orndorff
* Roddy Piper

2006|

* The Blackjacks
* Blackjack Mulligan
* Blackjack Lanza
* Bret Hart
* Eddie Guerrero
* Gene Okerlund
* Sherri Martel
* Tony Atlas
* Verne Gagne

| Celebrity|

* William Perry

|

2007|

* Dusty Rhodes
* Jerry Lawler
* Jim Ross
* Mr. Fuji
* Curt Hennig
* Nick Bockwinkel
* The Sheik
* Wild Samoans
* Afa Anoa'i
* Sika Anoa'i

2008|

* The Brisco Brothers
* Gerald Brisco
* Jack Brisco
* Eddie Graham
* Gordon Solie
* Mae Young
* Peter Maivia
* Ric Flair
* See also: 2012
* Rocky Johnson

2009|

* Bill Watts
* The Funk Brothers
* Terry Funk
* Dory Funk Jr.
* Howard Finkel
* Koko B. Ware
* Ricky Steamboat
* Stone Cold Steve Austin
* Von Erich family
* Chris Von Erich
* David Von Erich
* Fritz Von Erich
* Kerry Von Erich
* Kevin Von Erich
* Mike Von Erich

2010s

| 2010|

* Antonio Inoki
* Gorgeous George
* Maurice Vachon
* Stu Hart
* Ted DiBiase
* Wendi Richter

| Celebrity|

* Bob Uecker

|

2011|

* Abdullah the Butcher
* Bob Armstrong
* Jim Duggan
* Road Warriors
* Road Warrior Hawk
* Road Warrior Animal
* Paul Ellering
* Shawn Michaels
* Sunny

| Celebrity|

* Drew Carey

|

2012|

* Edge
* The Four Horsemen
* Arn Anderson
* Barry Windham
* J. J. Dillon
* Ric Flair
* Tully Blanchard
* Mil Máscaras
* Ron Simmons
* Yokozuna

| Celebrity|

* Mike Tyson

|

2013|

* Bob Backlund
* Booker T
* Bruno Sammartino
* Mick Foley
* Trish Stratus

| Celebrity|

* Donald Trump

|

2014|

* Carlos Colón
* Jake Roberts
* Lita
* Paul Bearer
* Scott Hall
* The Ultimate Warrior

| Celebrity|

* Mr. T

|

2015|

* Alundra Blayze
* The Bushwhackers
* Bushwhacker Butch
* Bushwhacker Luke
* Kevin Nash
* Larry Zbyszko
* Randy Savage
* Rikishi
* Tatsumi Fujinami

| Celebrity|

* Arnold Schwarzenegger

|

Warrior|

* Connor Michalek

2016|

* Big Boss Man
* Fabulous Freebirds
* Michael Hayes
* Buddy Roberts
* Jimmy Garvin
* Terry Gordy
* The Godfather
* Jacqueline
* Stan Hansen
* Sting

| Celebrity|

* Snoop Dogg

|

Warrior|

* Joan Lunden

Legacy|

* Ed Lewis
* Frank Gotch
* George Hackenschmidt
* Lou Thesz
* Mildred Burke
* Pat O'Connor
* Sailor Art Thomas

2017|

* Beth Phoenix
* Diamond Dallas Page
* Kurt Angle
* Rick Rude
* Rock 'n' Roll Express
* Ricky Morton
* Robert Gibson
* Theodore Long

| Warrior|

* Eric LeGrand

|

Legacy|

* Bearcat Wright
* Dr. Jerry Graham
* Haystacks Calhoun
* Judy Grable
* June Byers
* Luther Lindsay
* Martin Burns
* Rikidōzan
* Toots Mondt

2018|

* Dudley Boyz
* Bubba Ray Dudley
* D-Von Dudley
* Goldberg
* Hillbilly Jim
* Ivory
* Jeff Jarrett
* Mark Henry

| Celebrity|

* Kid Rock

|

Warrior|

* Jarrius "JJ" Robertson

Legacy|

* Boris Malenko
* Cora Combs
* Dara Singh
* Hiro Matsuda
* Jim Londos
* Lord Alfred Hayes
* Rufus R. Jones
* El Santo
* Sputnik Monroe
* Stan Stasiak

2019|

* Brutus Beefcake
* D-Generation X
* Shawn Michaels
* Triple H
* Chyna
* Road Dogg
* Billy Gunn
* Sean Waltman
* Harlem Heat
* Booker T
* Stevie Ray
* Hart Foundation
* Bret Hart
* Jim Neidhart
* The Honky Tonk Man
* Torrie Wilson

| Warrior|

* Sue Aitchison

|

Legacy|

* Bruiser Brody
* Buddy Rose
* Hisashi Shinma
* Jim Barnett
* Joseph Cohen
* Luna Vachon
* Primo Carnera
* Professor Tanaka
* S. D. Jones
* Wahoo McDaniel

2020s

| 2020|

* The Bella Twins
* Nikki Bella
* Brie Bella
* Davey Boy Smith
* John Layfield
* Jushin Liger
* New World Order
* Hulk Hogan
* Kevin Nash
* Scott Hall
* Sean Waltman

| Celebrity|

* William Shatner

|

Warrior|

* Titus O'Neil

Legacy|

* Baron Michele Leone
* Brickhouse Brown
* Gary Hart
* Ray Stevens
* Steve Williams

2021|

* Eric Bischoff
* The Great Khali
* Kane
* Molly Holly
* Rob Van Dam

| Celebrity|

* Ozzy Osbourne

|

Warrior|

* Rich Hering

Legacy|

* Buzz Sawyer
* Dick the Bruiser
* Ethel Johnson
* Paul Boesch
* Pez Whatley

2022|

* Sharmell
* Steiner Brothers
* Rick Steiner
* Scott Steiner
* The Undertaker
* Vader

| Warrior|

* Shad Gaspard

|

2023|

* The Great Muta
* Rey Mysterio
* Stacy Keibler

| Celebrity|

* Andy Kaufman

|

Warrior|

* Tim White

2024|

* Bull Nakano
* Paul Heyman
* Thunderbolt Patterson
* Lia Maivia
* U.S. Express
* Barry Windham
* Mike Rotunda

| Celebrity|

* Muhammad Ali

|

* Category

* v
* t
* e

World Class Championship Wrestling

Championships|

* NWA Heavyweight
* NWA World Tag Team
* World Heavyweight
* World Tag Team
* World Six-Man Tag Team
* World Light Heavyweight
* Texas Heavyweight
* Texas Tag Team
* Brass Knuckles
* Middle Eastern
* Television
* Southwestern Heavyweight

Shows|

* Parade of Champions
* Cotton Bowl Extravaganza
* Fritz Von Erich Retirement Show
* Wrestling Star Wars (1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1989)

Von Erich family|

* Fritz Von Erich
* Kerry Von Erich
* Kevin Von Erich
* David Von Erich
* Mike Von Erich
* Chris Von Erich

Miscellaneous|

* Dallas Sportatorium

Partnerships|

* National Wrestling Alliance
* Southwest Championship Wrestling

*[m.]: married
*[c.]: circa
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