| Lance Von Erich | |
|---|---|
 Von Erich,c. 1986 | |
| Birth name | William Kevin Vaughan |
| Born | (1960-04-24)April 24, 1960 (age 64) Arlington, Texas, United States |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring names |
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| Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) |
| Billed weight | 265 lb (120 kg) |
| Trained by |
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| Debut | 1984 |
| Retired | 1996 |
William Kevin Vaughan (born April 24, 1960) is an American retiredprofessional wrestler, better known by thering nameLance Von Erich.[1]
Vaughan was discovered byWorld Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) based out of Dallas, Texas in the latter months of 1984. He trained there for a short period of time untilFritz Von Erich sent him to work withDon Owen in Portland, theNational Wrestling Alliance (NWA)'s Pacific Northwest territory. There, he wrestled under the name "Ricky Vaughan" and wrestled as a babyface, often teaming withBobby Jaggers andBilly Jack Haynes. As Ricky Vaughn, he won theNWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship with Billy Jack Haynes on May 11, 1985 when they defeated the team ofMega Maharishi andKendo Nagasaki; the titles were later vacated when Haynes.
In October 1985, whenMike Von Erich was unable to wrestle due totoxic shock syndrome, Vaughan went toWorld Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) to take his place in the feud against theFabulous Freebirds.[2] He adopted the name Lance Von Erich and was billed as the son ofFritz Von Erich's "brother"Waldo.[2][3] In reality, neither Vaughan nor Waldo were related to theAdkisson 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 insisted, 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]
On October 28, 1985, Vaughan wrestledRic Flair in Fort Worth, Texas, in the lastNWA 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 atThe 3rd Annual Von Erich Parade of Champions he teamed withKerry Von Erich and Steve Simpson to defeatThe Fabulous Freebirds for theWCWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship. On September 1, 1986, he entered in a tournament for the vacantWCWA World Tag Team Championship with Chris Adams. The team made it to the finals where they were defeated byMatt Borne andBuzz Sawyer. Lance got his revenge on November 17, 1986, when he teamed withThe Dingo Warrior to capture the titles back from Borne and Sawyer. In October 1986, he wrestled a tour forNew Japan Pro-Wrestling, most notably his disqualification victory againstKengo Kimura on October 9.
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 ofkayfabe, Vaughan's non-relationship to the family was exposed by Fritz on television in retaliation. Because the Von Erich surname was a registeredtrademark, Vaughan wrestled under the ring name "Fabulous Lance" after leaving World Class.[1] He subsequently wrestled inPuerto Rico'sWorld 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 andInternational 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'sAll-Star Wrestling. In 1996, he wrestled a tour of Malaysia for theNational Wrestling Alliance, before retiring.
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 ownedhealth clubs in South Africa.[6] Vaughan sold his health clubs for an estimated five million in 1996. Vaughan's net worth at the time was estimated to be six million dollars.
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In 2020, Vaughan released an autobiography of his time as a Von Erich and wrestling around the world titled "Lance By Chance".[14]
Lance was portrayed by Maxwell Jacob Friedman in theA24 movieThe Iron Claw, in a very brief appearance, based on the life of Kevin and The Von Erich family (listed simply as "Lance" in the credits).[15][16]
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| Related articles | |
