Pretty in Pain 13: Lawlor vs Von Erich

Marshall Von Erich vs Tom Lawlor, MLW Fusion #130, Orlando (Major League Wrestling)

At the end of April, two gorgeous heaps of man-flesh fought a cruel, sweaty, and turbulent battle in the squared circle. One is Marshall Von Erich, the son of my 80s super-crush Kevin Von Erich, with Marshall's big brother Ross anxiously watching at ringside. The other is mma-fighter-turned-pro-wrestler Tom Lawlor, whose main mission in life is to destroy the Von Erichs, one and all, including kayfabe relatives like Rip Von Erich. Lawlor created Team Filthy to eradicate the handsome and hugely popular brothers. (By the way, Dirty Daddy Chris Dickinson belongs to this stable. I love it.)

I made this part of my Pretty in Pain series because Marshall, recovering from a knee injury, looks good enough to eat as Tom wreaks further damage to Marshall's left leg. Additionally, I want to focus on the two angles this match typefies. The first, obviously, involves the wounded athlete making a heroic but high-risk return to the wrestling ring against a heel who exacerbates the crippling pain as much as he can. 

The first half of the match is almost nothing but one assault after another on the sore and possibly permanently damaged joint. At one point Tom attacks Marshall with a lead pipe (second GIF), the same instrument he used to assault Marshall in the fall of 2019. The GIFs above only scratch the surface of Lawlor's eager exploitation of Von Erich's physical impairment. 

This has never been one of my favorite angles on the grounds that I prefer matches between similarly abled fighters. If both men had knee injuries, I'd be fine with it. However, the angle works well here. Tom Lawlor doesn't need props to make him evil, but his intent to cripple Marshall indisputably identifies Lawlor as surely one of the most vicious heels in wrestling.

The second angle is family. Marshall and Ross Von Erich are brothers, sons of a wrestler also often teamed with his four brothers, constituting a team fighting other teams. The deaths of the brothers left Kevin to carry on the family legacy, descending to his sons Ross and Marshall. 

Family - usually brothers - is a strong element in wrestling. Not only does wrestling appeal to fans who value family and family values, but it's a business many wrestlers have been born into - like children of movie stars, politicians, and circus performers. The supposed bond among family members provides team partners like Ross and Marshall a mystique significantly more intense than the bond of team partners in general. 

Throughout this match, Ross stands just outside the ring, watching out for his kid brother. He looks worried for him, sometimes on the verge of interfering. None of this is particular to wrestling brothers, but family ideals (real or mythic) strengthen the poignancy of Ross's impulse to lend Marshall more than just moral support. The Briscos, the Funks, the Hardies, and the Harts provide other examples of brothers who constituted teams. In some cases, brothers fought brothers over prolonged but highly anticipated family feuds. A couple of months ago Dustin Rhodes proposed a Rhodes brothers vs Von Erichs faceoff. Hard as it is to define or explains, blood versus blood carries a lot of weight in professional wrestling.

Visit Major League Wrestling here.