8 Details The Iron Claw Leaves Out About The Von Erich Family’s True Story

Warning! This article contains spoilers for The Iron Claw and contains descriptions of violence and suicide. The Iron Claw is based on the true story of the iconic wrestling family, who famously suffered great loss, and, unfortunately, many of the hidden details that the film omits only add to the tragedy. Throughout the film, what is expressed more than anything is the bond between the brothers and how much they loved each other. Director and writer Sean Durkin has expressed that while the film is concerned with the emotional truth of the Von Erich’s story, the movie is still dramatized and shouldn’t be considered fact.

Starring Zac Efron as Kevin Von Erich, the last surviving son of the family, the film revolves around the period from the early 1980s to the late 1990s, when the family was at the height of their fame. Mostly told through the perspective of Kevin, the story focuses on the intense pressure each brother faced to excel in professional wrestling, and how far their father, Fritz (Holt McCallany) pushed them. A former wrestler himself, he demanded excellence from his sons and was portrayed as a single-minded man in the film.

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The Iron Claw Ending Explained

The Iron Claw has great performances as it follows the true story tragedies of the Von Erich family. We break down the details of the film’s ending.

8 Chris Von Erich Is Left Out

The youngest Von Erich brother is not included in the film

The real Kevin Von Erich responded well to The Iron Claw leaving out one of his brothers, but his omission is still a loss for the film. Though his absence is noticeable once it’s revealed, if the film is watched by someone who didn’t know of his existence, it doesn’t change much about the central elements of the film. Chris was the youngest brother and also died by suicide, a passing that was felt just as acutely as every other in the family.

However, narratively, the repetition of continuous self-harm might have become egregious in the eyes of the audience, even if the events were real. As the film only had a short time to capture the nuance of the family’s experience, there were several cuts made for timing, and Chris became one of them. However, his essence is still imbued within the film in the characters of his brothers.

7 Kerry Was Married For Years With Two Daughters

His marriage is glossed over, and his children aren’t mentioned

Kerry’s (Jeremy Allen White) wife, Catherine Murray, and his two daughters, Hollie and Lacey, never make an appearance in The Iron Claw, and their existence has little impact on the way that Kerry’s part of the story is told. He and his wife were married for ten years before divorcing not long before his suicide in 1993. His daughter Lacey went on to become a professional wrestler herself for a short time, so it’s clear that her father’s career had an impact on her.

Given how important family was to all the Von Erichs, it would have made sense to see these relationships, as well as how Kevin and Pam might have stepped up to help care for the girls. However, making Kerry alone in the film did create increased stakes and dramatic tension, as well as making his death feel all the more inevitable. Seeing his family might have given further insight into his character and motivations, but ultimately didn’t shift the narrative too greatly.

6 Kerry’s Motorcycle Crash Happened Two Years After His Victory

The film places the event on the night of his Heavyweight Championship win

For the plotting and dramatic payoff, it makes complete sense that Kerry would get into his motorcycle accident and lose his foot at the same time he won the World Heavyweight Championship. It’s one of the small climaxes of the film and is representative of how even the highest highs that the brothers reached were always tainted by loss. However, in real life, he lost his foot two years later, in 1986. Regardless, this injury had the same effect on his psyche and was an event that contributed to his eventual death.

5 Fritz’s Wrestling Persona Was A Nazi

Which lead to theories about the origin of the family curse

Fritz is not portrayed in the most flattering light throughout the film, but the origins of his Von Erich moniker, and his persona during his professional days are left in the dark due to their offensive truths. His true surname is Adkisson, as with the rest of the family, but he took on the Von Erich name to play into the “Nazi heel” character he performed in the ring. It’s this Nazi character that is alleged to have led to the Von Erich family curse, not just the death of his first son, Jack Jr.

4 Fritz And Doris Ended Their Marriage Much Earlier

They remain together until the very end of the film

In the final moments of the film, it seems that Doris (Marua Tierney) has finally had enough of Fritz’s treatment of her and her children, and is going to get out of the marriage. This was a big moment, as thus far, she had stood by him through his worst moments, and the death of many of their children. However, their real marriage reached a breaking point much earlier in reality. It’s Kerry’s death that triggers their separation in the film, but he was actually still alive when they went their separate ways.

Though their marriage’s dissolution is a significant moment for the film’s conclusion, it could have been interesting to see the truth of how their relationship unraveled. It’s true that the brothers’ most significant relationships were with each other, and that Doris was not innocent in the environment that contributed to their struggles, but her character is not a major player in the narrative. Having a deeper insight into her relationship with Fritz might have a better place in a different movie, but what happened to Fritz and Doris after The Iron Claw is left out.

3 Kevin And Pam Had Daughters Before Their Sons Were Born

Instead, the film has the sons born first for thematic reasons

The emotional resonance of the final scene of the film comes from Kevin’s sons playing together as he and his brothers once did, and telling him that they will be his brothers now. It’s a devastating moment, but one that could never have happened when it did in the film because he and his wife, Pam (Lily James), had two daughters before their sons were born. Kevin never had sisters, so the bond between his two sons as brothers was always going to be a more impactful relationship for him, and made more sense for the story of the film.

2 David Had A Daughter Who Died Five Years Before He Did

He was married with a child long before he went to Japan

In addition to Chris, and Kerry’s family, other Von Erich family members The Iron Claw leaves out include David’s (Harris Dickinson) deceased daughter and ex-wife. David’s unexpected death when he went on tour to Japan was a hard blow for the family and set them down the path of Shakespearean tragedy in the film, but long before that, David had suffered a loss of his own, his infant daughter Natosha. Losing a child is never a trauma that anyone should go through, and including it might have worsened an already devastating narrative.

1 David Never Sent Kevin A Postcard From Japan

It was included for emotional payoff in the film

One of the most emotional moments of the film is when Kevin finds the note that David sent him from Japan right before his death. It speaks of being reunited with his brothers and wrestling together again, and his words hit Kevin hard. However, the real Kevin did not receive such a note. Fortunately, the sentiments included were true to the nature of David’s relationship with his siblings, and were a fitting conclusion to his portion of the film. Having something to remember David by is clearly important to Kevin in his later moments of depression in The Iron Claw.