Opinion
Chad’s Throwback Spotlight: Gentleman Chris Adams
A look back at the career of Gentleman Chris Adams, and examine his impact on professional wrestling. (And of course, The Superkick!)
Today, we are going to discuss yet another wrestler from the past that does not get the recognition he deserves. He was a top draw in the 1980’s, had legitimate fighting skills to back it all up, and gave wrestling one of its most well-known moves. Let’s talk today about “Gentleman” Chris Adams.
Adams grew up in England. He was, naturally, a gifted athlete and played a number of sports. He earned a blackbelt in judo and was a member of Great Britain’s 1980 Olympic team, although he did not compete. He soon turned to professional wrestling. Early on in his career in England, he crossed paths with a number of future stars in Fit Finlay, Dave Taylor, and both Davey Boy Smith and The Dynamite Kid.
As his star began to rise, he was given an opportunity to come to Los Angeles to wrestle for judo legend Gene LeBell. Now, Gene LeBell gained some acclaim in recent years due to Daniel Bryan. Bryan’s LeBell Lock finisher was named in honor of the former wrestler, promoter, judo coach, and Hollywood stunt coordinator. Adams proved to be a popular draw in the US, drawing interest for tours of Japan and Mexico, and from promoters up and down the west coast.
Adams, after a stint in the famous Portland territory, would make his most famous move, this time east to Texas. Adams was presented as a pen pal of Kevin Von Erich and slotted right along side the brothers in their legendary battles with the Fabulous Freebirds. He was good looking, popular, and wrestled an exciting style. He fit right into the World Class roster, and the crowds loved him.
As documented last week in my Throwback Slant, Adams famously turned on the Von Erichs and sided with Gino Hernandez in a brutal feud during 1985. Their battles ultimately cost Adams and Hernandez their hair, and later they split up with a dramatic blinding angle. Adams used the time off from the blinding angle to go home to England for a time. After Gino’s death, Adams was suddenly portrayed as a returning hero who had seen the error of his ways. Adams went on to win the WCWA title from Rick Rude, probably the top championship honor of his career.
As WCCW started to decline, Adams would bounce back and forth between World Class, Bill Watts’ Mid-South/UWF territory with moderate success. He would work for the USWA and GWF, both based in Dallas as well. He spent a couple years in the late 1990’s in WCW as enhancement talent, having a low-level feud with Glacier and wrestling Randy Savage on the first match of the debut episode of Thunder.
As his career started to wind down, Adams opened a wrestling school. Among his first pupils was one Steve Austin. Austin and Adams would end up working a program together for the USWA. Later on, Austin married a woman Adams had formerly been in a long-term relationship with, Jeanie Clarke. Legend has it, she was the one who gave Austin his “Stone Cold” moniker. So, that would mean Chris Adams was directly responsible for not only breaking in arguable the biggest star in the history of the business, but by introducing him to Clarke, he had an indirect hand in the gimmick tweak that propelled Austin to that superstardom. And while those two instances by themselves would probably guarantee his name would live on in some capacity, Adams’ most important legacy is something much different.
As a legit black belt, Adams incorporated much of his martial-arts training into his wrestling style. Now, martial-arts gimmicks had been around for decades, normally used by stereo-typical evil foreigners who did not speak any English. Adams was a novelty, a well-spoken Brit who looked nothing like those men. Included in that arsenal was a strong and sudden thrust kick, something that Adams later coined as the Superkick.
Now, he was not the first to use the move. We just said martial arts kicks had been a part of wrestling for decades. A fellow World Class competitor, The Great Kabuki, used a similar type of thrust kick during their WCCW tenure. But it was Adams extra side-step along with his quickness that gave his kick that something special that captured the audiences imagination.
Of course, Shawn Michaels took the move to new heights, using his Sweet Chin Music to win numerous WWF Championships. Originally just a move in his arsenal, Michaels was encouraged by Scott Hall to make the Superkick his finishing move. And it worked perfectly for him, just as it had for Chris Adams.
In the current era, it seems there are countless wrestlers who feature the Superkick as a regular part of their move set. Dolph Ziggler, The Young Bucks, The Usos, Seth Rollins, James Storm, Adam Cole, Johnny Gargano, Kevin Owens, among others, all have adapted The Gentleman’s signature move into their arsenals. We take for granted that the Superkick has always been part of wrestling, like a headlock or a suplex, but in all honesty, its place as a regular move is a fairly recent one and can all be traced back to Chris Adams.
Sadly, Adams, like so many from his generation, had issues throughout his life and career with alcohol and drugs. He was arrested on a number of occasions, including manslaughter charges in 2000 stemming from an incident where he, his then-girlfriend, and another acquaintance overdosed on GHB and the acquaintance did not survive. Adams and was shot and killed in 2001 during a drunken brawl with a friend at his home in Texas. He was 46 years old.
So, the next time you watch a Superkick Party on AEW, or see Dolph or Seth try and take someone’s head off in a WWE ring, stop for a moment and remember the man who brought that move to the forefront in the 80’s, and gave it its iconic name, Gentleman Chris Adams.
Until next time, watch some wrestling this week, stay safe, and never forget to #UseYourHead
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Opinion
Chris King: The Wyatt Sicks’ Wasted Potential By WWE
Chris King takes a look at the WWE and their wasted potential of Uncle Howdy and the Wyatt Sicks faction.
Chris King takes a look at the WWE and their wasted potential of Uncle Howdy and the Wyatt Sicks faction.
It’s that time of the year again, folks; it’s unfortunate and downright awful that so many WWE superstars got released today. I’m not going to list all of them, but I am going to talk about one of my favorite factions,
The Wyatt Sicks. Nikki Cross, Joe Gacy, Erik Rowan, and Bo Dallas (Uncle Howdy) were something special. After Bo’s brother Bray Wyatt’s tragic passing, WWE felt like there was a hole that needed to be filled. Wyatt was one of the most creative and brilliant characters, and Bo would be taking over his brother’s concept and bringing it to life. In 2024, at the end of an incredible documentary highlighting Wyatt’s career and struggles, Bo appeared on the screen portrayed as Uncle Howdy. The last time Uncle Howdy was seen on-screen was at the 2023 Royal Rumble, where Wyatt defeated LA Knight in a Pitch Black Match. Howdy jumped off a structure onto Knight.
This post-credit scene sparked so much speculation and excitement that Wyatt’s brother would carry on his legacy and possibly debut the faction that was Wyatt’s concept. On the June 17th episode of Monday Night Raw, The Wyatt Sicks made their dramatic debut ,destroying the backstage area as well as “murdering” Chad Gable. It was such an iconic arrival for Howdy as he made his menacing walk from the back into the audience who were chanting “Holy Shit.” The Sicks and American Made (Chad Gable and The Creed Brothers) battled for months, with The Sicks being victorious. On the September 9th episode of Raw, The Sicks defeated them, with Howdy getting the win with Sister Abigail.
The following year, The Sicks would move over to Friday Night SmackDown, and it seemed like WWE had a plan in place. They would win the tag team championships from The Street Profits and start to look dominant. Now, what should have happened next is Howdy should have won the United States title. The Sicks could have held all the gold over on the blue brand, but it never happened. The Sicks entered into a never-ending feud with The MFT’s (Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa, JC Mateo, and Talla Tonga.) It started off exciting, and the WWE Universe was red-hot for their interactions.
After months of repetitive matches and The MFT’s stealing their lantern, the feud grew tiresome and boring. Even Tama asked Solo why they are still holding onto the lantern, as it was destroying them as a whole. Finally on the SmackDown before Mania, Tama
gave the lantern back to Howdy against Solo’s wishes. Please explain to me why both factions fought almost every single week instead of just having one final blowoff match at WrestleMania.
It should have been either a massive street fight or a falls count anywhere match on the grandest stage of them all. Instead, it turned into a meaningless week-after-week extravaganza that benefited no one. The MFTs won the rivalry, and The Sicks don’t even work for WWE anymore. This was the same criminalized creative process that Wyatt dealt with during his first run in the company.
We’ll never know how much of a dangerous force The Wyatt Sicks could have been in the WWE. For all their careers’ sake, I hope they stay far away from the company for as long as possible. Every superstar that was cut deserves better!
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Opinion
Chris King: Bloodline Saga: Is This the Right Call For WWE?
Chris King questions the WWE’s logic in setting up Jacob Fatu as the next challenger for World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns
Chris King questions the WWE’s logic in setting up Jacob Fatu as the next challenger for World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns is once again World Heavyweight Champion after his dominant win over CM Punk at WrestleMania 42. On the following night on Monday Night Raw, The OG Bloodline came back together as a well-oiled machine as The Usos stood side by side with Roman. With the WWE Universe asking who would be the first to challenge “The Tribal Chief,” Jacob Fatu shocked the world by answering the call.
Fatu is running hot after his impressive win over Drew McIntyre and feels like he is ready to become the new world champion. This bloodline segment ended Raw, and it picked right back up on SmackDown with even Solo Sikoa and the MFTs involved. This is now two shows that have been centered around The Bloodline saga, and it’s made me question whether or not WWE should be retelling this story.
The Bloodline (Roman Reigns, The Usos, and Solo Sikoa) ran WWE for over four years as Reigns’ henchmen, doing his dirty work to retain his title. Even though Roman has declared he doesn’t want Jey and Jimmy to serve him, it sure seems like WWE are spinning their wheels. Fatu could add a whole new chapter into the story, even if he’s not able to beat Roman at Backlash. “The Samoan Werewolf” could be forced to do the same thing as Jey did all those years ago and fall in line.
In my opinion, I feel like Fatu should be challenging for the Undisputed WWE Championship because that’s a title I feel like he should win. I understand standing up to your blood and trying to prove you’re the best, but I don’t think this is the right move. It feels like 2022 all over again, as The Bloodline is the central focus on both shows. If Fatu doesn’t win, what happens to all his momentum he’s been building over the last two years?
Why did WWE make this the best choice for storyline purposes? Why couldn’t creative have come up with a different challenger for Roman? There are so many other superstars that could challenge The Tribal Chief, such as Rusev, Bron Breakker, Gunther, or even a returning Sheamus.
I just can’t help but question WWE’s logic here, and it kind of reminds me of all the times The Shield reunited. Could WWE be pushing the same storyline too many times here? Could the WWE Universe get tired of this rinse and repeat cycle of The Bloodline Saga?
Are we about to see all the weekly episodes solely focused on The Bloodline again? Will it be cinema… Yes. Is there still money in The Bloodline… Yes. Was it the right call? That’s to be determined!
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