10/12/01

Welcome to another edition of the Terry Taylor Perspective - 24 hours late! I had a wrestling match last night in Canada and the security between the two countries is extremely strict. I missed one plane and have finally made it home safely as a result of that very security.

The subject of this discussion is MORTALITY.

The subject of mortality has been on everyone’s mind since the September 11 terrorist attacks on the US. This column will examine a different less visible side of mortality. Last week a man was shot to death in Dallas, Texas. It’s made headlines in the “inner circles” of the wrestling industry where every public AND private incident is exposed, but was barely mentioned in the newswires. A human being’s life was snuffed out at the age of 45. This person wasn’t just a statistic. He was my friend.

Chris Adams was by no means a saint. He was as. …Human as the rest of us. He had a temper, insecurities, and had made some bad choices in his life. Who hasn’t? Chris came to the states to be a wrestler 20 years ago and had moderate success. His life and career took off when he arrived in World Class Championship Wrestling based in Dallas, Texas. Chris was English so if he was to be accepted in the great state of Texas, his work was cut out for him. Accepted he was.

Chris was a part of one of the most successful territories in its heyday. Chris wrestled as “Gentleman” Chris Adams and as a fan favorite made quite a name for himself. The Von Erich family dominated the top spots, but some how Chris managed to overcome the politics and locker room jealousy gaining incredible notoriety.  He was on top of the world, but that’s not the side of this story we’re about to explore.

Chris had all the outer signs of happiness and fame, but underneath that façade was a simmering volcano. Chris was married to Jeanne Clark and they had a daughter named Jade. Chris and Jeanne were together through the hard times, but as with so many marriages - they couldn’t stay together. They divorced, but both stayed in the wrestling business. It’s strange how people stay together when they have nothing but each other, but when the struggles and battles have been won - they separate. Why is that?

Chris’ career started to falter as did the WCCW territory. The same group of wrestlers, in the same area, doing the same thing, but no one was interested anymore. His wife and daughter had moved on, things looked bleak. Chris was a survivor and started a wrestling school to make ends meet. This is where Chris found a student that changed the face of our sport. That student’s name was Stone Cold Steve Austin. Stone Cold was discovered and trained by Chris, but that’s only a small part of the story.

Steve Austin was Chris’ #1 student, but Steve had fallen in love with Jeanne Adams and married her. Chris’ career was slipping away and so was the woman he shared so much with in the beginning. The hard part for Chris was that he cared for his student - Steve Austin, but he also still needed Jeanne and Jade in his life. The things, which were most dear to Chris, were being taken away. Chris began a cycle of self-destructive behavior only wrestlers can understand.

Chris got another chance at stardom when the UWF formed and that’s where we got to know each other. I was beginning my run as a “heel” and Chris had the unenviable task of “giving blood” to get me over. So his second chance made him the second banana and it didn’t sit well with Chris. We’ve covered the frailties of the male psyche in wrestling in previous columns and each demon started to work on Chris. He was still a great wrestler, he wasn’t old, he had talent - then why was he losing to a guy he should be beating? He USED to win all the time.

Chris started a slow decent, but struggled to stay in the only business he knew and loved. The business stopped loving Chris Adams back and at 1:30 AM 10/2/01, Chris’ ex roommate shot him to death.

A secret fear of all wrestlers is that when they die - no one comes to their funeral. I vowed to myself that out of respect for my friends and our business I wouldn’t miss a fallen wrestler’s funeral. I was stuck in Canada while my friend was buried and I wasn’t there to pay my respects.

I missed his funeral.

I miss my friend.