Here is some good stuff on that era. David was going to be a future star.
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It is often said that David would have been NWA World Champion at some point in his career. In fact, I would say you're hard pressed to find someone who was in the business during that era who would disagree that David Von Erich was World Championship material. Just prior to his death, David was involved in a feud with Ric Flair over the NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship. This may sound like a small, regional title but it's history reads like a "Who's Who" of former World Champions, being held by such people as the aforementioned Flair, Terry Funk, Gene Kiniski, Dory Funk Jr., Bob Backlund, Jack Brisco and Harley Race. Given it's lineage, it is often thought that holding this title, and the subsequent feud with Flair, were the NWA's way of grooming David for a future World Title reign. Further seeds were sewn when David wrestled Flair in December 1983 for the NWA World Title (which Flair had regained at the inaugural Starrcade event) at Reunion Arena. Despite losing this match, in January 1984 the NWA were believed to have voted in favour of David becoming Champion by defeating Flair in March or April of that year.
Unfortunately these plans never came to fruition. David's death in February would shock the wrestling world. In his home state of Texas, the Dallas Morning News reported that anything from 3,000 to 7,000 mourners were expected at his funeral. Not being able to fulfil his potential and become World Heavyweight Champion, his brother Kerry took his place in a match against Ric Flair for the NWA Title at the annual "Parade Of Champions" event. Approximately 50,000 people were in attendance to see Kerry beat Flair via a Backslide in little over 11 minutes.
Considering how the future of WCCW panned out, I think it would be difficult to say where David's career would have gone should he had not passed away. The ill-fated merger with the AWA and CWA the formation of "Pro Wrestling USA" followed by the sale of WCCW to CWA's Jerry Jarrett and the beginnings of the USWA have been well documented. Kerry would of course go on to limited success in the WWE and stayed loyal to WCCW until the promotions demise. If David had become World Champion he would have appeared for other territories as the Champion, giving him much more exposure however the loyalty demonstrated by his brothers in the years after his death may have also been a trait of his, therefore limiting his chances in the wider world of wrestling. However it would be impossible to say what the future of WCCW would have been should David had survived. I think it's also important to mention that given his size (6'7" and 240lbs), there is no doubt that he fitted perfectly in to the WWE mould. Considering he was only 25 when he died, he would have been hitting his prime in the mid to late 90's and would no doubt have featured prominently in either the WWE or WCW.
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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away." Frank Coztansa wrote:
I have MANY years of experience in trying to appreciate steaming piles of dogshit.