Chris Von Erich, the youngest of the brothers, was every bit like his older siblings in that he wanted to be just like them, which meant a future in wrestling. Unfortunately, unlike David, Kevin, Kerry, and Mike, Chris was small in stature, strength, and overall athletic ability. At 5’5″ and billed at 175 pounds, he was far less physically imposing than the rest of his family and additionally, Chris suffered from asthma and took Prednisone for the affliction, which made his bones significantly more brittle than the average person. That doesn’t exactly bode well for someone trying to make a go of it in wrestling and as a result, Chris would experience a series of broken bones, adding to a lifetime of being frustrated from not being able to measure up to his famous and more successful brothers.

Chris, sadly, ended up just like two of his other brothers after all, in that he chose to take his own life. Following a bout with depression and drug abuse, brought on in part by the previous deaths of David and Mike, Chris shot himself in the head just outside the Von Erich family farm and died on September 12, 1991 at the age of 21.

Again, it is understandable to leave certain elements out of a film due to time constraints, even when telling a real story, but it just seems wrong to leave out a family member entirely, as though he never existed. Director Sean Durkin explained the omission to Vulture, stating that the film was already sad enough and “just couldn’t withstand another brother’s death.” Durkin did shift elements of Chris and his death onto other characters in the film, most notably Mike, who effectively took Chris’ place as the runt of the bunch.