As WWE superstar Cody Rhodes, in his entrance music, puts it, “Wrestling has more than one royal family.” In Texas, those larger-than-life families are loud and proud. In Austin, the Rhodes made their mark in the city. That includes the late WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes with his sons Dustin and the aforementioned Cody. In El Paso, the Guerreros also planted their flag as a wrestling family. That includes the pioneer of Lucha Libre, Gory and his sons, one of whom was late WWE Hall of Famer Eddie Guerrero.
In Dallas, one wrestling family shined brighter than all of these other families combined for a period of time. And that is the subject of The Iron Claw: The Von Erichs. Writer and director Sean Durkin goes far and beyond to show how larger than life the family is while showing their humanity. And how cursed the ill-fated family really was. But also brings hope to the future generations of the Von Erichs. Hardcore and casual wrestling fans will have a great time watching it!
Set in the 1980s, The Iron Claw focuses on the career of the second generation of the Von Erich wrestling family during their time in World Class Championship Wrestling. This includes the even-keeled Kevin (Zac Efron), the charismatic David (Harris Dickinson), the artistic and oftentimes aloof Mike (Stanley Simons), and the athletic Kerry (Jeremy Allen White of The Bear fame). All of the brothers were under the strict guidance of their father and coach Fritz Von Erich (Holt McCallany). What interested me was how much the Von Erich brothers cared and loved each other. The film shows the brother’s camaraderie and willingness to stick to each other through thick and thin. Fritz, though harsh and cold, still loves them in his own unique way.
The bigger question is: how is the wrestling in this movie? I can safely say, as a fan of the sport the wrestling scenes are spot on. And it is all due to the watchful eye of wrestling choreographer Chavo Guerrero Jr. In a recent interview on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Chavo discusses that each scene was filmed like an entire wrestling match on an episode of WWE Raw/Smackdown or AEW Dynamite done on multiple takes. From there, the scenes are chosen to be part of the final cut of the movie. Even if the viewer isn’t familiar with the sport, there is plenty of action to go around.
Though shot in Louisiana, the sights and sounds of the legendary Dallas Sportatorium are in full display as the crowd deafens the entire arena as if the viewer is watching along with them. While the voice of World Class Championship Wrestling Bill Mercer (Michael Harney) plays in the background, calling the action as if it were a televised episode of the wrestling promotion. There are even old-school graphics and transitions, much like seeing an episode of WCCW! The amount of detail is painstaking. But it paid off as it accurately portrayed what it was like to watch wrestling back in the 1980s. They even highlighted matches that defined some of the brothers’ careers, including their long-standing feud with The Fabulous Freebirds, among many other matches that made the Von Erich family a household name.
For the sake of entertainment, there are creative liberties during the making of The Iron Claw. One question that comes to mind is where’s the youngest brother Chris? Why is he not part of the Von Erich story? Surely his story would make an impact like his brothers would? Durkin said that to make the film manageable, that had to be omitted in an interview prior to release. In my eyes, adding more tragedy to an already bleak movie would have torn me to shreds. The ending would not have hit as hard if the film had more drama than what was on the final theatrical release.
As the movie continues, the humanity of the Von Erich brothers is on full display as tragedy strikes the family due to the actions of their father Fritz who wants to do what’s best for WCCW and the Von Erich name. Business was first before family. However, he loved his children and did what was best for them in his eyes. Which in turn, the Von Erich kids give back that love to him. Something had to give, and the brothers paid dearly, much like the real story it’s based on. Zac Efron delivers on his performance as Kevin being the witness of seeing each of his brothers lose their lives one by one. Even scenes when it was just Kevin dealing with his own personal life with his wife Pam (Lily James) show that even though they are wrestling rock stars and are put on a pedestal, they are still human at the end of the day. While the movie shows tragedy left and right, by the end, it gives a message of hope to the future generation of Von Erichs that carry the name.
The Iron Claw is a must watch for wrestling fans and moviegoers alike. The amount of work to make a wrestling movie of this magnitude shows how much Sean Durkin loves the sport of professional wrestling. He also wants to share the Von Erich family story the best he could. And to share that love with people all around the world. Hopefully, those moviegoers can go to wrestling shows, from the small independent promotions all the way to the larger ones like WWE and AEW.
Have you seen The Iron Claw? What did you think of how the Von Erichs are portrayed in the movie? Let us know in the comments section below. And if you want further films that talk about the Von Erich family, send me a message on Circle or on social media, and I’ll gladly share them with you!
