Chris Adams (wrestler)

Chris Adams
Adams, c. 1985
Born	Christopher Adams (1955-02-10)10 February 1955 Rugby, Warwickshire, England
Died	7 October 2001(2001-10-07) (aged 46) Waxahachie, Texas, U.S.
Cause of death	Ballistic trauma
Resting place	Oak Grove Memorial Gardens (Irving, Texas)
Occupation(s)	Professional wrestler, promoter, trainer, judoka
Spouses	Toni Adams ​ ​ (m. 1984; div. 1994)​ Karen Burge ​ (m. 2001)​
Children	3
Relatives	Neil Adams (brother)
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Chris Adams The Masked Avenger
Billed height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)[1]
Billed weight	229 lb (104 kg)[1]
Billed from	Stratford-upon-Avon, England
Trained by	Tony St. Clair Shirley Crabtree
Debut	1978
Retired	2000

Christopher Adams (10 February 1955 – 7 October 2001), best known as "Gentleman" Chris Adams, was an English professional wrestler, promoter, coach, and judoka.

He won the British National Judo Championship in his age and weight class three times by the time he was 21. Adams achieved his greatest success in World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), where he rose to fame and reached the position of World Heavyweight Champion. He also performed for organizations like the Universal Wrestling Association (UWA), where he held the Light Heavyweight Championship of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Throughout a 23-year professional wrestling career, he held a total of 26 titles.

Adams was in charge of training Stone Cold Steve Austin and popularizing the superkick finisher, which was subsequently employed by many other performers. Speaking about his legacy, professional wrestling journalist and historian Dave Meltzer has described Adams as being "one of the twenty best performers" in the United States at the peak of his career but stated that the problems stemming from Adams' drug addiction ruined both his career and personal life.^[2]