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Lance Von Erich

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Lance Von Erich
Von Erich as the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Champion in 1985.
Birth nameWilliam Kevin Vaughan
Born (1960-04-24) April 24, 1960 (age 64)
Arlington, Texas, United States
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)
  • The Fabulous Lance
  • Lance Von Erich
  • Ricky Vaughan
Billed height6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Billed weight265 lb (120 kg)
Trained by
Debut1984
Retired1996

William Kevin Vaughan (born April 24, 1960) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Lance Von Erich.[1]

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1984–1985)

Vaughan was discovered by World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) based out of Dallas, Texas in the latter months of 1984. He trained there for a short period of time until Fritz Von Erich sent him to work with Don Owen in Portland, the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA)'s Pacific Northwest territory. There, he wrestled under the name "Ricky Vaughan" and wrestled as a babyface, often teaming with Bobby Jaggers and Billy Jack Haynes. As Ricky Vaughn, he won the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship with Billy Jack Haynes on May 11, 1985 when they defeated the team of Mega Maharishi and Kendo Nagasaki; the titles were later vacated when Haynes left the territory.

World Class Championship Wrestling (1985–1987)

In October 1985, when Mike Von Erich was unable to wrestle due to toxic shock syndrome, Vaughan went to World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) to take his place in the feud against the Fabulous Freebirds.[2] He adopted the name Lance Von Erich and was billed as the son of Fritz Von Erich's "brother" Waldo.[2][3] In reality, neither Vaughan nor Waldo were related to the Adkisson family or each other.

Kevin Von Erich, as well as most of the family, was adamantly against bringing Vaughan in as another Von Erich, but Fritz was adamant, especially as Kevin and Kerry were wrestling two or three times a day in various places throughout the Texas territory.[4] The deception made the Von Erichs look like liars to their fans, who normally saw them as good guys who could do no wrong.[2][4]

Brian Adias attempts an elbow drop on Von Erich, c. 1987

On October 28, 1985, Vaughan wrestled Ric Flair in Fort Worth, Texas, in the last NWA World title match in the World Class territory.[5][unreliable source?] The match ended in a no contest when both men were counted out of the ring; World Class withdrew from the NWA in February 1986. On May 4, 1986 at The 3rd Annual Von Erich Parade of Champions he teamed with Kerry Von Erich and Steve Simpson to defeat The Fabulous Freebirds for the WCWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship. On September 1, 1986, he entered in a tournament for the vacant WCWA World Tag Team Championship with Chris Adams. The team made it to the finals where they were defeated by Matt Borne and Buzz Sawyer. Lance got his revenge on November 17, 1986, when he teamed with The Dingo Warrior to capture the titles back from Borne and Sawyer. In October 1986, he wrestled a tour for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, most notably his disqualification victory against Kengo Kimura on October 9.

Late career (1987–1996)

When demands for more money in 1987 were not met by Fritz, Vaughan jumped to a rival territory, Wild West Wrestling.[2] In a rare breach of kayfabe, Vaughan's non-relationship to the family was exposed by Fritz on television in retaliation. Because the Von Erich surname was a registered trademark, Vaughan wrestled under the ring name "Fabulous Lance" after leaving World Class.[1] He subsequently wrestled in Puerto Rico's World Wrestling Council after Wild West Wrestling folded.

In May 1993, after a hiatus, Vaughan returned and was back wrestling as Lance Von Erich for promotions such as International Wrestling Federation in Florida and International World Class Championship Wrestling in New York. In December 1993, he wrestled a tour of India. In 1994, he wrestled a tour of South Africa for England's All-Star Wrestling. In 1996, he wrestled a tour of Malaysia for the National Wrestling Alliance, before retiring.

Personal life

Prior to becoming a wrestler, Vaughan was a real estate agent and he competed in weightlifting and bodybuilding competitions. Vaughan set various State and national records in powerlifting and bodybuilding tournaments.[6] Vaughan was chosen to represent South Africa in The Mr Universe Competition. After wrestling, he owned health clubs in South Africa.[6] Vaughan sold his health clubs for an estimated five million and in 1996. Vaughan's net worth at the time was estimated to be six million dollars.

In 2020, Vaughan released an autobiography of his time as a Von Erich and wrestling around the world titled "Lance By Chance".[7]

The Iron Claw, a biopic feature film based on the lives of the Von Erich family, will be released on December 22, 2023. Maxwell Jacob Friedman will portray Vaughn in the film.

Championships and accomplishments

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Reynolds, R. D.; Braxton, Blade (2007). The Wrestlecrap Book of Lists!. ECW Press. pp. 111–112. ISBN 978-1-55022-762-8.
  2. ^ a b c d Hollandsworth, Skip. "The Fall of the House of Von Erich". D Magazine. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  3. ^ Oliver, Greg (January 2, 2009). "Waldo von Erich Q&A: Part 1". SLAM Wrestling. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  4. ^ a b Triumphs and Tragedies of World Class Championship Wrestling (documentary). WarnerBrothers. March 10, 2014.
  5. ^ "Ric Flair's last NWA world title match in WCCW - Pro Wrestling - Sports And Wrestling - WowBB Forums". mywowbb.com. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  6. ^ a b Berry, Vinny (August 5, 2017). "Lance Von Erich speaks out". Oklafan.com. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  7. ^ "Lance By Chance ☆ Wrestling As A Von Erich ☆ Lance Vaughan Vinny Berry". Lance By Chance ☆ Wrestling As A Von Erich ☆ Lance Vaughan Vinny Berry. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  8. ^ Hoops, Brian (May 11, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history (May 11): Von Erichs vs. Verne & Don Leo Jonathan, Shane Douglas vs 2 Cold Scorpio". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  9. ^ "PWI 500 1991". The Turnbuckle Post. Archived from the original on July 25, 2012. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
  10. ^ "PWI 500 of the PWI Years". Willy Wrestlefest. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
  11. ^ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). "Texas: WCWA Television Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 396. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  12. ^ "World Class Television Title". Wrestling-titles.com. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ "World Class Wrestling Association Tag Team Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
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