The Von Erichs On Their Behind The Scenes Role In Recent MLW – VICE TV Deal
Ross and Marshall Von Erich were on today's episode of The Wrestling Inc. Daily. They and Wrestling Inc. Managing Editor Nick Hausman discussed MLW's TV deal with Vice TV.
"A lot of people didn't know that MLW was talking to us before our family did Dark Side of the Ring. When it aired, our debut was a month after," Marshall recalled. "It was kind of perfect timing. We always felt like it would be really good for MLW, and it kind of fits the Vice vibe.
"It was kind of in the back of our mind," Ross added. "We thought maybe it would be cool if they could do something [or] work something out. Dark Side of the Ring, it was picking up momentum for Vice, and so everything fell into place, and if anybody could have made it happen, it's definitely Court Bauer."
The Last of the Von Erichs episode of Dark Side of the Ring was the highest rated episode of the first season drawing a lot of praise. Hausman asked The Von Erichs if they played any role in this MLW – Vice TV negotiations.
"Court Bauer, he's always trying to get the company to grow like with DAZN, and he's putting himself out there just to help MLW grow," Marshall noted. "He came to us trying to get in connection with Vice just to see how it would come about, and literally, that's all we did was just put him in connection because we're friends with Evan [Husney] and Jason [Eisener], and then boom, Court made it happen.
"We thought it would be cool, but it was actually Court that said, 'Hey, can you maybe get us a phone call and see what we can do?' We don't want to give ourselves too much credit or anything," Ross admitted. "We just, I guess, put people together and backed away."
Ross and Marshall's father, Kevin, was the main focus of the Dark Side of the Ring episode with the episode being named after him. Ross and Marshall spoke briefly in the episode and were also present off-screen as well, and they reflected on their experience working with Vice on the episode.
"What I think really helped was Jason and Evan are genuine wrestling fans. They're not just filmmakers," Marshall stated. "It was really cool. They got my dad to really get in depth with this story and get emotional, which does not happen. My dad is a jokester. He jokes about everything. He's really light-hearted. We take a lot from that because the man has gone through so much and can be that light-hearted and joyful, but to see him go back to that, you saw him mentally go back to that. And Jason and Evan, they really brought it out."
"They just had a way of getting those those answers out of him," Ross noted. "They asked those really great digging questions."
"But we were kind of there as translators because my dad has really bad hearing," Marshall added. "So we were there for all the filming and had to fix dad's hair, keep dad on topic because when he tells a great story, he tells it different every time, or leaves out a detail or something like that, so you just got to remind him and stuff. But he's a great storyteller especially when he's not ready."
Hausman then asked Ross and Marshall what their father's reaction is to seeing them on MLW especially with MLW gaining more of a national platform with Vice. Kevin spoke with Wrestling Inc. in the past on why Ross and Marshall turned down WWE.
"He's pumped," Marshall said. "He's kind of got this 'I told you so. It was just a matter of time' kind of thing, and he's been saying that since we were five and six. He's like, 'You guys are going to be kings one day.' My mom too. It sounds a little cheesy. My mom always said I'd be great. It's crazy to see. We believed MLW was the best fit for us out of anything that was out there.
"That was two or three years ago, and now to see it finally shoot up is like, 'Man, this is really happening!' We don't want to play that role [of locker room leaders]. I'm sure it doesn't hurt. We haven't really been in the locker room since because of COVID, so hopefully, I get some respect once I get in there. Less wedgies and dumpster dives and all that stuff."
Husney and Eisener were on The Wrestling Inc. Daily recently speaking on the possibility of a crossover between Dark Side of the Ring and MLW. Ross and Marshall gave their thoughts on if they would be open to the creators of Dark Side of the Ring working with MLW in some capacity.
"I think that would be really, really cool because they do have great minds for the business. They're great storytellers," Marshall pointed out. "That's what wrestling is, storytelling, and I definitely see something like that probably happening. It's crazy just waking up and seeing Vice and MLW. They're together now, and so now, crazy as it sounds, anything's possible. I'm excited to see what comes from this."
The Von Erichs can now be seen every week as part of MLW on VICE TV. You can following them on Twitter @RossVonErich and @MarshallVonEric. The full audio and video from their interview on The Wrestling Inc. Daily can be found below: