Chris Barton Adkisson (September 30, 1969 – September 12, 1991) was an American professional wrestler, best known under the ring name Chris Von Erich of the Von Erich family.
The smallest and youngest of the Von Erich family, all Chris wanted to be was a wrestler. He was the youngest son of wrestler Fritz Von Erich. His brothers, Mike, David, Kerry and Kevin all had success as wrestlers. He grew up working cameras and doing other odd jobs backstage for WCCW.
He became a wrestler in 1990, but faced numerous issues. Aside from drug problems similar to his much older brothers, his asthma held him back and his bones were so brittle that he would often break them while performing simple wrestling maneuvers. He stayed with it as much as he could, and even had a small feud with Percy Pringle in the USWA. Chris tagged with both his brother Kevin and longtime ally Chris Adams in several tag team matches against Pringle and "Stunning" Steve Austin (later "Stone Cold" Steve Austin); however, he would face only Pringle whenever he was in the ring, and allow his more-experienced partner (Kevin or Adams) to battle Austin. Despite his lack of athleticism, Chris was very supported by fans, who would often yell "GO, CHRIS, GO!" during his matches.
The Von Erich family is a professional wrestling family. Their actual birth names are "Adkisson", but every member of the family who goes into the wrestling business uses the ring name "Von Erich", after the family patriarch, Jack (Fritz Von Erich) Adkisson.
Although the family patriarch Fritz lived to the age of 68, five of his six sons preceded him in death (three by suicide). The firstborn son, Jack Jr., died at the age of six in 1959 from being electrocuted in a household accident. In 1984, David Von Erich died in Japan from acute enteritis of the upper intestine, although it is also speculated he died from a drug overdose. Michael, Chris, and Kerry all committed suicide in 1987, 1991, and 1993 respectively. Mike died after taking an overdose of Placidyl and alcoholic beverages. Chris shot himself in the head with a 9mm handgun at his parents' home in East Texas. Kerry shot himself in the chest behind his father's house on Shady Shores Road. Kevin is the last surviving son of Fritz Von Erich. The family matriarch Doris passed away October 23, 2015 in Hawaii.