AUSTIN (KXAN) – Family, legacy, and Texas. Wrestling legend Kevin Von Erich values those three things in his illustrious career. Now a coach and mentor for All Elite Wrestling, Von Erich has been traveling with the next generation of wrestling stars, including his very own sons, Marshall and Ross Von Erich.
All Elite Wrestling returns to Central Texas with a live show from San Antonio tonight from the Boeing Center at TechPoint and spoke with KXAN’s Freddy Vela about what he is most proud of in the current locker room, stepping back into the ring at All In Texas, and the future he wishes for his family.
Read an edited version of the conversation below, or use the video player above to listen.
Freddy Vela: Texas is a big part of your career. You’ve won plenty of gold here. Looking back at your journey, what’s the biggest thing that you’re most proud of?
Kevin Von Erich: Well, you know, there was a time when the part of Texas I was from, up in Denton (Texas), was kind of like everything for me. My brothers and I—when I wanted to get away, I moved out to Hawaii. I lived there for about 20 years. I moved back here about two years ago.
I’ll tell you one thing about Texas—if you want to make yourself love Texas, move away from it. I missed chicken-fried steak, tamales, beans and rice with a chip for a spoon. I just missed all that so much. In Hawaii, I ate mostly duck, lamb, and a lot of fruit because we raised sheep. I weighed about 175 pounds and was quite skinny. When I moved back to Texas, I got back up to 195. You can tell I’m eating Mexican food and chicken-fried steak again.
I love Texas and knew I’d miss it, but I never knew I’d miss it that much. I missed the wildlife. In Hawaii, we really don’t have mammals—just bats, and that’s about it. My kids had never really seen snow, squirrels, or even buzzards. We used to have a hawk, but not anymore.
It was great living in the tropics, spearing fish, throwing the net, catching lobsters on the reef at night—it was a great life. But I have granddaughters now, and my daughters are moms. One day, their children will look for husbands, and I want them to look for Texas boys.
Things change. When I was younger, it was all about making as much money as I could and furthering my career. But when you get older, with grandchildren, everything changes. I love being with my grandkids. We play all the time—throwing rocks, Hot Wheels, monster trucks—it’s always something to do with family. Family is, without a doubt, the best thing we’ve got going for us.
Vela: You’ve traveled all across Texas—Laredo, the Rio Grande Valley, San Antonio. What’s your favorite area to visit?
Von Erich: Oh, well, it’s here (Central Texas). When I lived up in Denton, it was wide open. But 20 years later, I flew back to look at it—it’s all houses now. Down here is where all the clear water is. My brothers and I loved the Hill Country because of the water. We all spearfish, dive, scuba dive. We always wanted to move down here.
We’ve got a show coming to San Antonio, where we used to wrestle at the Harry Freeman Coliseum and the HemisFair Arena every Thursday night. The fans here were even more responsive than in Dallas. All the wrestlers loved coming here.
This AEW crowd (wrestlers) are a different kind of wrestler. When I was doing it, we were kind of glorified thugs—beer drinkers and hell raisers. Nowadays, these kids don’t do drugs in the locker room. They’re all about success, doing their best, not cutting corners, working harder than the next guy.
Back in my day, a lot of guys had big bellies hanging out. My brothers and I were never tired in the ring—we were always in top condition. It’s great to see wrestling come full circle. AEW has hungry young talent. I think they’re really onto something, and it’s going to be a great show.
Vela: You’ve been helping coach a lot of the AEW roster. Have you seen the younger talent be receptive to your coaching? And what do you hope they take away from it?
Von Erich: I tell them to be careful because you will get injured a lot. When you’re young, you don’t feel it and you don’t care. The adrenaline is at such a level in your body. I don’t know how they wrestled during COVID with an empty arena—I couldn’t do that. We need the energy from the people.
There are things I did in the ring that I never practiced. But with 10,000 people screaming, I could do it. That’s something unique about professional wrestling that no other sport has.
These guys today don’t waste motion. They’re fluid; their counters and reversals are instantaneous. That takes a lot of wrestling to get to that level. I’m proud to see it in AEW. I’m looking forward to seeing my students there—they’re tigers.
Vela: Your sons have actually continued your legacy, jumping into the ring and holding gold with Dustin Rhodes as the Ring of Honor World Six-Man Tag Team Champions. Do they feel pressure to live up to the Von Erich name?
Von Erich: As a matter of fact, yeah, and it’s immense. Especially since that movie came out about us. I never would have changed my name. I don’t believe in a curse. My sons have to live with that narrative, but there is no curse—we’re blessed.
I wake up happy every day. My sons are hungry and want to make it in this business on their own. It’s a savage business, but they’ve got what it takes. If you want to be a king, you’ve got to kill a king. That’s just the price, but it’s worth it. There’s no sport like it.
Vela: What was it like for you to get back into the ring in Dallas at All In, in Texas, with your sons?
Von Erich: Crazy. When I saw friends I hadn’t seen in so long, it felt like my feet weren’t even touching the floor. I never thought I’d miss them so bad.
Texas has a thing about brotherhood. I remember back when Jimmy Carter was president in the 80s—a tornado hit Marlin, Texas. They didn’t declare it a disaster zone, and the people needed help. We put on a wrestling show, and it went great.
To see people pull together and help each other without caring about skin color—that’s what Texas is. I’ve seen it in Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arkansas, too. That’s what I missed most about Texas.
Here, we open the door for girls; we don’t honk the horn because it scares people. We’re just decent here. There’s no place like Texas.
Vela: You’ve been working with Ring of Honor and AEW. Who are some of the wrestlers you see going all the way in the next round?
Von Erich: I’ve made the mistake before of naming names and leaving people out. But when I see guys putting in the work, waking up early, going to bed early, trying to get better every day—I salute them.
These kids work their butts off. They get in the ring and leave it on the mat. My sons have been in the business a long time. I actually didn’t want them to wrestle, so I sent them to Japan.
Japan is way different than America. You live in a dojo. It’s wrestling all day and all night. You build the ring, bow, carry luggage, get pushed hard. I thought it would put the fire out—but it didn’t. They love them in Japan now. They stepped up, had some bloody wars, and earned respect.
It was a great start for them because people said the same thing to me—“You only do this because your dad’s a big shot.” My sons earned their own way in Japan. I salute anyone who pays that price.
All Elite Wrestling will be live at the Boeing Center at TechPort Wednesday October 22, 2025 and on TNT and HBO Max. For ticket information, visit AllEliteWrestling.com.
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