Original subtitles

Or what about wrestling here?

I find the wrestling here is a lot, you know, kicking, punching, a lot more, I

guess you'd call it dirtiness, you know. A judo champion

who came to America with the dream of becoming a star of the squared circle,

Chris Adams captured lightning in a bottle.

The stardom that Chris Adams got at World Class Championship Wrestling,

you've got to realize.

On that level that Chris Adam was here, you were a big star everywhere.

The gentleman from England, Chris Adam.

Chris was the perfect gentleman over there.

With his athleticism, determination, and charm, Chris had all the tools to

become a megastar.

My dad in Dallas was an A -list celebrity. It was impossible to go

He had this thing with Steve Austin.

When he trained Steve, Steve was going to make it in wrestling.

But behind the curtain, Chris's most challenging opponent was himself.

Life got in his way a lot of times. Sometimes Chris probably got in his own

When he'd get a drink, man, Chris just turned into a different person, man. He

didn't give a damn about nobody or nothing.

Basically looking for you to say something that upsets him.

He was definitely a Jekyll and Hyde. From Jekyll to Hyde. I'm telling you, it

was Jekyll and Hyde. But alcohol bought out.

Something that destroyed him.

One man with two personalities on a downward spiral.

Chris got drunk, got belligerent. He just started beating the hell out of

There was a gun.

We were friends.

I was the best man in this wedding.

It was a bad situation.

It was a nightmare.

Well, you get a 233 pounds from England. Welcome, Chris Adams.

Okay, so these were in a storage unit that my dad had, and

this is just an example.

I know, I keep everything.

It was hard, still hard. I still miss him, you know, I still think about my

every day.

I'm Jade Adams, daughter of gentleman Chris Adams.

When he was traveling, he would always write me notes, letters, always send me

birthday card, pour his heart out in it.

Dear Jade, wow, how time flies.

I miss you so much, Munchkin. Yep, you're still my Munchkin, even though

nearly 14 and a beautiful young woman already.

It seems that I have always been struggling trying to make it and that

you know it, half of my life is over and I've missed out on so much. I really

want to see you more often. Family is so important.

I feel so guilty now. I think of all the things I have done in the past.

that have hurt people and often grieve about them every day.

Anyway, I thought it was time that I told you my true feelings, and I hope

you will be able to forgive me.

Love, Daddy.

He didn't want these demons as much as none of us wanted them for him. I just

think they ended up kind of catching up to him, but he was a great person and a

loving person.

And, you know, he's not here to defend himself, so I want to do that for him.

Long before anyone could imagine that his story would end in tragedy, Chris

Adams was a spectacular performer who seemed destined for greatness.

The American heavyweight champion, the gentleman from England, Chris Adams.

I know Chris Adams very well.

He wanted to be the best he could be. I had to admire that about him.

I'm Kevin Von Erich. I've been in the wrestling business for longer than I can

count. Chris was one of the toughest guys I've ever known. He was really a

master. He knew what he was doing in the ring.

Chris had a special finishing move was a super kick, and he kicked like a horse.

A super kick, and Kevin Renner is on the floor.

He invented his finishing move because when we discussed the match and how to

get him over when he got here, he said, well, my finish is a super kick. You'll

know it when you see it.

When he threw the super kick for the finish, we were like, whoa!

Hi, my name's David Manning, and I was a promoter, a booker, and a referee for

World Class Championship Wrestling.

When Chris did the super kick, as he would kick, he would

also have a way where you really couldn't see it, but he would slap his

it literally sounded like he just tore the opponent's head off.

That was it. From there on, he was just climbing the mountain here at World

Class.

When Chris Adams come in from England, you know, I had them colors from over

there in England and shit, man.

Oh, they loved him.

Oh, yeah, for sure.

I'll tell you what the situation is, brother.

Chris Adams went goofy.

I'm Iceman, and I used to wrestle with Chris Adams.

Chris didn't kill a damn. He was just tough, man.

That dude brought that super kick, man, was unbelievable.

There's a super kick. And he could do anything in that ring. He was a

Do you know anything about his judo background?

I knew his brother had won judo in the Olympics.

My brother and I, we were both introduced into judo at a very early

was very much our life.

I'm Neil Adams, Chris's younger brother, two -time Olympic silver medalist in

judo.

Judo has been the backbone of our family for a very long time. And this is where

my career as a professional wrestler really first began too, because I had 14

years of hardcore judo.

Chris was a great fighter. Whatever he did, he wanted to be the best, you know,

and I think he got to a stage where he knew he couldn't go all the way to

Olympics and World Championships, and so he kind of changed direction.

World of Sport Wrestling, which was the British wrestling group, they approached

him, and that's how it started.

Well, of course, it was Big Daddy, Giant Haystacks, Mick McManus, and then Black

Belt Chris Adams came into the fold.

I ask you to welcome that very popular young star, Black Belt Chris Adams.

His good luck helped, but also he was a showman and he could charm anybody.

He could, he could really turn it on.

I was 19 and my friend and I was at the bar and he just walked

straight up to me and said, my name is Chris Adams.

My name is Jeannie Clark. I was the girlfriend of Chris Adams.

I thought a very good -looking guy, had really cute dimples. I said to my

friend, he looks a little bit like Paul McCartney, and gave me his phone number.

I think I'd moved in with him within a month.

Eager to glamorize and elevate his TV image, Chris recruits Jeannie to join

act. He came up with an idea that I would be his second.

I was the girl that would come in between the rounds, and as in boxing,

think that it had been done in wrestling before.

I do think he may make a good star, but only up to a certain degree.

Knowing his fame in England has a ceiling.

Chris and Jeannie packed their bags for the City of Angels.

After arriving in Los Angeles, about two or three months later, I became

pregnant. I loved it. I remember sunbathing a lot. Chris and I just

the beach, just enjoying the sunshine.

And then I remember Chris head turning a little bit. Beautiful girls on the

beach.

Settling into their new life, Jeannie learns that she is pregnant. And with

Chris traveling for work, she's often left alone in Redondo Beach.

It was very difficult.

I was very pregnant and we didn't actually have a lot of money at that

So Chris, he went to Mexico quite some time.

I went back alone to the UK to give birth to Jade.

And then finally Chris came back to the UK.

He was happy, but he said we were going to go back and that was the way it was.

With the family back together, Chris is eager to return to the U .S.

But for Jeannie, the thrill is gone.

champagne.

We'll have a meal together when I get back.

And I did do that.

Give me a sec.

He came home three days later.

I did not want to share my boyfriend and the relationship.

was over but remained amicable after the fact as friends but i

did not want a romantic relationship yeah he just said he wanted me to come

dallas and we both looked after jade my mom and my dad were separated when i was

a baby so when i lived in dallas i saw him every weekend welcome to world class

championship wrestling you're going to meet the newcomer from england The

British Empire champion, Chris Adam.

Very glad to meet you, Chris.

Welcome to Texas.

Thank you.

Well, at last I've made it to Texas.

Based out of Dallas, Texas, world -class championship wrestling is one of the

hottest and most popular wrestling companies in the world.

When Chris came to the market here in Dallas, we had Iceman King Parsons here.

We had three Bon Erts. We had the fabulous Freebirds. So you had to be

exceptional. to be able to draw the crowd and everything else, to take one

those slots.

It was on par with the Dallas Cowboys, and people loved it. It was incredible,

in this area especially.

I'm James Beard. I've been in the wrestling business about 40 years.

It's not an easy job, as you can tell.

It gets kind of rough in there sometimes.

Up and over!

Chris was incredibly athletic, and then can move like a cat.

The tip -ups and the dives and the super kick.

There's a super kick.

He was on par with the Von Erichs, really. If you're on par with the Von

you're pretty much godlike.

A tremendous roar for Chris Adams, a gentleman from England.

He had the charisma, he had the looks, and he was a good worker.

But there was a way with Chris Adams that he could be from Jekyll to Hyde.

Now, when you people see this, I just want you to see the fire and the

in my eyes.

I'm going to tell you, professional wrestlers are usually ex -bullies from

school. Chris was like that, too.

In Dallas, when he first got in the territory, a guy would drive with him to

towns, and the guy got lost once. And we have a rule in world class. You're at

the show an hour before the show. If you're not there, then there's problems.

Well, Chris was late.

He blamed it on the guy that was driving him.

When I used to piss Chris off, his eyes would shine red.

Like a light was on in there.

And he choked him almost to death.

Chris, you almost killed him. He goes, well, Kev, some people are hardliners.

Okay, but I don't want him to do it again.

That's Chris without being drunk.

It scared a lot of people.

Chris had gave off an aura like this guy's out of control. You know, he may

other people too.

Now established in world class, Chris's ambition is to be the star of the show.

But in a company crowded with fan favorites, the path to stardom is to

standout villain.

Any territory you go in to where you've got the promoter's sons, they're always

going to be the top. Usually every week, the main event was always one of the

Von Ericks taking on whoever the heel was.

We tied Chris up with Gino Hernandez.

Gino and Chris actually had discussed it themselves. This was the way to shift

to be the main event.

Chris Adams and Kevin Von Erick ready to go against Jake the Snake Roberts and

Gino Hernandez.

It was a tag team match, and then Chris turned on Kevin during the match.

A strange, strange turn of events.

The next thing I know, he is going.

I don't know him. He's calling Chris bad.

Guy with Gino, you know. They were having a little game together, man.

We're the dynamic duo.

1985 is going to be our year.

They were good -looking guys.

Great chemistry.

They both were great on the mic.

Yeah, well, we're real bad, right?

We're bad to the bone.

They'd come to the ring with a strut. They had a way to antagonize the fans.

They were bad to the bone.

Don't you know what a team that was? We decided we want to make the best

wrestling show we can.

It was a feeling of let's beat what we did last time. Let's go wild out there.

The business was booming.

Crowd, shut up. Are you listening to me, man?

Everywhere, they turn over 3 ,000 people away, man.

He was happier because he was making more money.

He had a red Corvette, nice condo. Chris Adams and Gino Hernandez, see you guys.

Well, my dad lived on Lover's Lane, and Gino Hernandez lived in the same

apartment complex.

Everywhere they went, there was always... people following them, you

wanting to have a fun time.

Teaming with Gino Hernandez has elevated Chris to the main event scene in world

class. But along with the money and the fame, stardom introduces Chris to a new

world of dangers and temptations.

San Antonio, after the match, we all went to the Best West up on the third

floor. They had three rooms. They had two tables in each room.

I'm talking about bricks of cocaine.

And weed.

Then the next room, they had pills and everything.

They had a pyramid bill.

Jack Daniels for the free birds. Then they had my champagne over there. You

what I'm saying?

And then they had a cop on his door.

I said, I know. They doing all this dope. And then these police out here.

They's getting the police officers a thousand bucks apiece, man.

Police just turned their head, man.

And women.

Unbelievable. You get more push on accident than you did on purpose.

You know what I mean?

I'm just keeping it real, man.

Chris and Gino outside of the ring was always a dangerous situation.

It'd be like you lit a fuse.

The question is, when's it going to explode?

I mean, we're into sports cars, we're into fast cars, faster women, and fast

life. I'm glad that they were good friends, but obviously, you know, it's

isn't it? You know, what happened?

Hernandez, whose real name is Charles Wolfe, was only 29 years old. The

wrestling star's badly decomposed body was discovered late last night at his

home in Highland Park.

He had apparently been dead for several days.

On February 2nd, 1986, Gina Hernandez dies of what was ruled as a cocaine

overdose.

That blew me away, man.

That blew me the f*** away.

What has happened is a tragedy. He was a great competitor, one -time American

heavyweight champion, several times Texas heavyweight champion. When you

about someone like Gino Hernandez, a man who lived the life in the fast lane and

loved the life in the fast lane. In the wake of Gino's death,

Chris's use of drugs and alcohol begins to worry those closest to him.

Sometimes he'd phone me and I'd know if he'd had too much to drink. I really

worried about that.

I'd say, you need to calm down if you can, brother.

Chris was Chris until alcohol got involved.

And then it was Chris the demon, and he would get mean, and he could get

vicious.

In Israel, it happened, and I'll never forget, I get a call from the local

promoter there, and he's like, you've got to get over here, you've got to get

over here. Chris got in an argument with the bartender, and he super kicked him

in the side of the head, and it knocked his eye out.

I mean, his eye literally came out.

Despite the escalation of Chris's drinking and bar fighting, He strikes up

relationship with a woman named Toni Collin.

There was always a bar we would stop at in Fort Worth that gave us free alcohol

for the public. We'd all come by there after the matches, and that's actually

where he met Toni.

One thing led to the other, and they ended up getting married. It was fast.

loved her. I know that for a fact.

Toni was my brother Chris's mom.

I loved her. She was like a mother to me. She was absolutely amazing.

I think my dad met his match with her, for

sure.

My name is Chris Adams, Jr. I am a gentleman Chris Adams' son.

My dad always said that she was a 6 '4", 400 -pound man trapped in the body of a

5 '2", 100 -pound woman.

She was very strong -willed. She was very fierce, but also very kind and very

loving. Within a year of meeting, Chris and Tony get married in Hawaii.

But any hope that marriage might soften Chris's temper is quickly lost.

We had had a show in the Caribbean, and we're headed back. There was some kind

of equipment malfunction on the plane. There was a delay for hours and hours.

But ain't no air conditioning.

Nothing. It's just hot.

People sweating and shit. So they're serving drinks.

Chris didn't drink until they took off.

Now they're headed back. They're in the air. And after about two more drinks,

they cut him off. And they told him he couldn't have any more alcohol.

I'm in my seat asleep, and the stewardess comes back and shakes me

says, please get your friend.

He's pissed off.

And Chris Adler, I'm already lit now. He said, get out of the way, bitch.

And when he said bitch, he said, what?

He slapped me.

And he slapped her back.

An airplane pilot reached in there and grabbed me and shook me and said, what's

your problem?

Chris's eyes were that red light that goes on in his eye. Chris Adams had that

co -pilot by the lapels of his coat, and his feet weren't even touching the

ground. And Chris said, feel the power?

And was pumping his head into his face and blood everywhere.

If he wouldn't have had the alcohol, it would have never happened.

It's just that Chris was just not Chris Adams anymore once he got intoxicated.

Sometimes something like that's a wake -up call, but Chris just continued to

have problems.

Arrested for headbutting a pilot on a flight back from Puerto Rico, Chris

has put the future of his career in jeopardy.

It's one of those kind of situations that when you start to sober up, you

realize the magnitude of your mistake and what you've done wrong.

And that was bad publicity for world class.

It didn't go away. Chris ended up getting some prison time.

I think that hurt his reputation a lot. Once fans started finding out a little

bit about that.

This made national news. A wrestler headbutts a pilot.

We had a meeting at the office, and he told Chris, you know, I don't know

going on with you, but you've got to straighten up.

He brought shame on us, no doubt. That's terrible.

And I know that everybody enjoys a drink. Everybody likes that last drink.

But you see, that's where the problem begins.

I think he realized that you've got to change. You know, that I've got to get a

hold of it, and I've got to change it.

With his dangerous reputation now hindering his career, Chris begins

new ways to capitalize on his fame.

Chris was always kind of industrious and looking for a way to make something

outside the business.

He used, I guess, that celebrity to kind of draw people into it.

Hello, everybody. This is Gentleman Chris Adams here again to give you

update on my own personalized coaching class. We'll put you on your own course

that lasts anything from nine months to two years.

I talked him into starting the wrestling school, which is Sports Charm in the

Day.

Hello, I'm Tom Lance, and I was very good friends with Chris Adams.

One of our first students was Steve Williams, who became Stone Cold Steve

Austin.

The name is not Steve Williams.

It's Austin.

Steve Austin.

And don't forget it.

What Chris did with Steve, you know, was to teach him some of the basics, some

of the fundamental principles of combat.

You know the story on these two.

Steve Austin, an individual off the street who came into the USWA Wrestling

Academy. Chris immediately recognized the promise in this young blonde helping

develop his body a little further.

I give Chris credit. He did train Steve.

While training Steve Austin, Chris introduces his new friend to an old

I want to bring down the sexiest girl in America, the gorgeous and lovely

Jeannie. What relationship did they have with you?

That's none of your business, Mark. What ended up happening was my dad put my

mom and Steve together to do like an angle, and then they started dating.

With his ex -girlfriend now dating his top student, Chris concocts an angle

designed to put him back in the main event.

Jeannie comes in as the ex, and she's teaming with Steve Austin, and that

into a pretty hot angle. You're jealous of Steve because he is a real man.

My mom, my dad, my stepmom, and my stepdad all did an angle together

and it was, yeah, it was wild. It was not your traditional job for your

You know, in working with Chris, of course, I went through his school and I

his protege. Dude, I'd only been in the business for a few months, and I always

remember, he was in control of our angles. Nobody was influencing what we

Chris had the bottom line on that, so he was a very, very smart guy.

But I'll tell you what, Austin, there's not room enough in Texas for you and I.

To be honest, Chris directed every single part of that for me.

He'd give me every line.

I was to watch Joan Collins on Dynasty.

Mourning the baby that she couldn't have.

That is it, isn't it? You miserable bitch!

And that was the idea of the character.

Just remember, he is thinking about me.

Only in wrestling could you do something like that. And when the women wrestled,

it was sometimes an all -out catfight.

Jeannie goes after Tony!

Pulling your hair, scratching eyes, slapping each other across the face,

the kendo sticks, slapping each other. Anything that they could do to hurt each

other, it was nasty sometimes.

Well, neither one of us knew how to wrestle.

The interviews were my favorite part.

I am far superior to you. I have royal blood in my veins. She was born on a

shipboat. She's jealous of me. She said, I can't believe you said that about me.

And I said...

Chris told me to say it. I'm sick and tired of you, girl. If you both don't

off, you're going to end up getting hurt.

Even when you get along, you know there's going to be some kind of issues

that just don't jibe together.

You are my number one student!

You even wear my boots to the ring.

There were some issues with Steve and Chris.

I think there was a little bit of Chris saying, this guy that's coming along is

really going to be a star.

And I think Steve felt like he was probably being held back a little bit.

was some real -life drama going on there, too.

He is accompanied by Lady Blossom, the WCW World Television

Champion, Sonny D .O.

I think he was jealous that we went to WCW.

I suppose he was jealous of the money.

As Steve and Jeannie make the jump to the big time with WCW, Chris,

turns back to the bottle to nurse his bruised ego.

When he was sober, he was, you know, great.

He was dad. He was awesome. He was there. When he started drinking, it just

of changed.

I know my mom kind of told me that's what it was like for her.

When I was older, my mom would tell me they had an up -and -down rollercoaster

relationship. I think towards the beginning it was very good, and I think

halfway through it got pretty rocky.

Man, just screaming and yelling, it was intense, especially if they both had

been drinking or something like that.

Chris had told me one time they're headed home from a show, they're in his

Corvette, Tony's driving, Chris in the passenger seat, and the little boy,

Jr., was in the back.

And he said that some reason they were arguing and she had stopped on the

interstate. And a semi was coming.

And luckily it went around them and didn't hit them. If it would have hit

none of them probably would have lived.

And it angered him so much that that's when he got physical with her.

It beat her up, you know, and messed her up. She had to have some facial

surgery. I ain't cool with that shit.

But I remember...

It wasn't until I was much older and she had shown me some of the pictures of

her where that abuse had happened and she was in the hospital for a while.

I couldn't believe it.

And I say all these good things about Carissa, but that's heinous. That's

terrible. That's disgusting.

I'm just now realizing how much stuff there was. I didn't put it all together,

guess.

That's terrible.

The horrific attack on Tony is a shocking new low for Chris Adams.

But as he continues to struggle, his descent to the bottom will only get

She knew that it wasn't right for her, that kind of lifestyle.

I think she knew she needed to get out.

She said, I had everything that I had with your dad. I had the big house. I

a Corvette. Everything that anybody could ever want. But I just felt so

inside.

Chris's reputation follows him to his next company.

the struggling Global Wrestling Federation.

After World Class and then Global came in, and that was a pretty good run.

Bruce Adams against Rod the Bod.

Rod Price, he and Chris were battling for the GWF title.

Rod had long blonde hair, and it was starting to thin out, so he ended up

getting a weave put in.

Somehow they kind of sewed it in up there. I don't know how it was all done,

anyway, Chris knew about it. We all knew about it, and it was kind of off

limits. You know, don't pull the hair.

Well, during this match, Chris, because I think he probably thought it would

just come right off, and he jerked on it, and instead of coming off, it ripped

off.

And blood went everywhere. I've never seen so much blood in a ring in my life.

He just covered.

I mean, he didn't even finish the match. He just left the ring, and we had to

take him to the emergency room.

I'm almost sure it was like 200 stitches to get that all straightened out.

Chris did it on purpose?

Yeah, he did it on purpose. Yeah.

In 1997, Chris finally gets the call from WCW, at the time the most popular

wrestling company in America.

I think when he got that opportunity to go to WCW, he was thinking, yeah, this

is going to be the thing that restarts my career.

And it didn't happen.

WCW was a second chance for Chris, but the matches I saw, it almost looked like

they were using him to get their next star over.

The gentleman, Chris Adams, was interrupting a cigarette break and he

it.

He was unhappy that it had gone to WCW and was being used as a job.

One, two, three.

I remember him saying that he was working harder. You know, he worked hard

he was getting tired.

I think he was getting discouraged about the whole thing.

Getting beat every night.

I don't see how it couldn't affect someone, being at the top like that, and

very quickly, if you don't stay on top of it, you don't change your angle,

things are changing, it's going to happen. Your career is going to dwindle.

can remember him talking about, I know I'm better than this guy and that guy,

and he wasn't lying. He probably was.

But, you know, wrestling is not always fair.

Other things were going on that were working against him.

Why did he get fired? A few too many drinks and got a DWI and they let him

He was always struggling with finances. His status had diminished to a point to

where he wasn't the guy you wanted to go to. He was getting a little older,

harder to stay in shape, and people just weren't coming to him like they used

to.

He got into some other stuff besides alcohol.

Got into GHB real bad.

Basically, when you do GHB, if you do too much of it, you're just comatose. I

don't know why anybody would want to do it.

GHB was pretty popular in the day. Everybody kind of done it. It started

bodybuilders. If you're sore and stuff, they help you work out, but I know it'll

help you relax, and some also would call it the love drug, too.

There's a fine line of how much you can take, and it's a very dangerous drug.

Broke, unable to find work, and desperate for somewhere to live, Chris

with a friend of Tom Lantz.

A local wrestling fan known as Boo Ray.

Chris was going through some tough times.

Boo Ray had his place. Chris was needing kind of somewhere to stay and all that.

So I introduced him.

Wasn't for Boo Ray, I don't know what Chris would have done.

Super good guy.

Cared about people.

Went above and beyond.

That's why he was helping Chris. Chris was lost.

But I loved Chris. You know, he's my friend.

Chris was really a nice guy.

He was witty. He was fun, you know, to be around.

I'm Boo Ray, and Chris and I were good friends.

He was a good enough friend that I trusted him in my house. He was really a

delightful guy.

We'd invite people over and cook out by the swimming pool, and we were having a

good time.

Well, I mean, they seemed to be getting along great, him and Boo Ray. Boo Ray

paid the bills.

He had no money.

He might work one little show here and there, and it was hard for me to take

money from somebody that hadn't made money in, you know, three months.

I was happy to help him, but also inside I was feeling I was being used.

While living with Boo Ray, Chris meets a young woman named Linda.

He was in love with Linda. I know he was in love with her. They didn't know each

other all that long either, but they were...

Oh, God, they got along so good. She was an angel, you know, so witty and funny.

She was just perfect.

She seemed like very mature, very stable.

I can see how Chris would find some solace in that because I think that's

he was seeking.

On the night of April 22, 2000, after dating for just a few weeks, Chris

Linda back to Boo Ray's house to keep the party going into the early morning.

They'd been out all night. They were having a good time dancing, you know?

said, you know what?

Three's a crowd.

I'm going to bed.

Chris told me this the next day, that they went on and got that little bit of

GHB and got two small glasses and just split it.

I had warned Chris way before this.

that I did not want that GHB in the house.

You know, I didn't care what else he had.

That was his business.

The silence, I guess, woke me up at about 4 in the morning.

I came in, and they were both passed out.

Chris was slumped over a chair, and Linda was on her back on the floor.

I was trying to wake them up, and I couldn't wake them up.

Linda's lungs started kind of...

Wheezing.

And that's when I called Tom.

He was scared to call 911 because he knew Chris would get pissed.

And I was like, I don't give a... Call 911.

They're not breathing.

Boo Ray wakes up in the middle of the night to find Chris Adams and Chris's

girlfriend Linda unresponsive.

And the paramedics got there and I stayed on the phone with him, me and my

They're trying to wake Chris and then they're working on Linda and I hear them

say flatline.

And I was like, did I just hear flatline? Because we know what that

It's not the easiest thing in the world to talk about this.

But see, from seeing somebody

That was just one of the sweetest people in the world.

Die right in front of your arms, you know.

Is it Chris's fault that this happened? In my opinion, yes.

He was careless.

I never saw him use drugs. He just... told me the truth that he

gave Linda, you know, too much of this GHB and she died and he was absolutely

devastated.

Several months later, they charged him with manslaughter.

I think he definitely felt responsible for it.

He was torn up about it. I mean, he was legitimately torn down about what

happened. After Linda died, he was going through a lot of ups and downs. You

know, he threatened suicide and this and that, drinking a lot.

He's drinking it by rote.

Really bad. That would have been self -medication.

I think he was just totally freaking out, wondering if he was going to get

of the manslaughter charge and going from making money to no money. You know,

was miserable inside.

I kind of got away from him, really didn't want to be involved that much.

And there's times when you wonder if maybe if I'd...

Reached out.

Maybe I could have talked to him. I don't know. I doubt it, really, to be

with you. I don't know how you can talk somebody out of that hole.

I really don't.

It's very obvious my dad had an issue with drugs and alcohol.

And I just wish that someone had stepped in and said, hey, Chris, you're doing

too much.

I think if it had happened today, I think he might still be alive.

October the 7th. It was at my mother's house.

Chris had called me earlier that morning and told me he was all bummed out. I

just said, why don't you come on over?

Finally, about 7, he showed up. And I had brandy, and of course we had beer.

And I'm still not sure what set him off.

I must have said, you know, Chris, could you hold it down a little bit? My

mother's trying to sleep. But anyway, boy, that's when he went.

I mean, just like, boom, light switch.

And he come at me with that post.

I had a four -post bed, and he broke the post off and come at me with it. I

grabbed the post, which cracked my index finger, and then he put me in a sleeper

hold. And then here we go across the room.

He pushed me on a bed, and he just started gouging my eyes out.

And he started biting me.

He bit me on the face several times and then on the neck.

He had me pinned down and was choking me. He just kept getting stronger.

His eyes seemed to glow.

I thought I was going to die. I kept a gun on my end table. I put the gun as

quick as I could to his shoulder. The only thing I could do was pull the

trigger.

He went crazy. It was like he turned into an animal.

And when I pulled the trigger, he jumped a little bit, enough to hit his heart.

I just wanted to maybe wound him to where he'd, you know, get some sense.

It's hard to make decisions like that when you don't have much time to make

them. He would have killed me.

I called 911.

Asked them, please get her quick.

It was bad.

I remember that day very vividly.

I was in school.

My mom came to pick me up. We get home, and I remember her getting down on her

knees in front of me.

Honey, I'm so sorry to say, but your dad's dead.

I didn't feel anything at the moment.

No,

no, no, no way.

I get a call from my wife and she could hardly draw breath and then said he's

gone. Chris had been shot.

And I was just to say I was stunned as an understatement. I

just sat down on the floor and I was in total shock.

I was 19 when my dad died.

It was like very surreal. I mean, and that was the first experience I'd ever

really had with like a profound grief because it was my dad.

So it was really tough.

Like it took me a really long time to cope with it.

The funeral, it was packed.

You had ex -wrestlers that were there. You had family that came all the way

the UK.

And yeah, there was like people standing out the back because there were so many

wrestling fans there. It was a nice tribute.

He had affected so many people's lives.

A lot of it was for the better. And I just remember being very solemn when I

there, but hearing a lot of the words that people said were really cool.

A lot of people loved them.

I pulled the trigger.

I'm sad, but I wouldn't be sitting here right now had I not.

I had to go in front of the grand jury.

They said, it's over.

What you did was an act of self -defense.

It was almost like him or me. I feel like Bure had no choice. I don't think

wanted to roll the dice.

Something happened in there.

Do I believe him, that it was self -defense?

No, I don't.

A very sad and tragic accident between two very good friends.

Alcohol being the common denominator and Bure being a victim as well

because he has to live with it.

I forgive him.

It has to be the best way forward.

When you're close to somebody like that and then something crazy like that

happens, whether he's trying to kill you or not, you know, it's still taking

another person's life away from them.

That's not a good feeling.

It's awful. It's awful.

The thing about Chris that I'll never forget is just how incredibly talented

was. And it's a shame that that talent didn't lead to a longer and more

fulfilled life.

To me, it's just a sad story.

I'll remember Chris Adams as a great wrestler in the ring, a great performer,

great athlete. But when it comes to outside of the ring, when the alcohol

kick in, it was almost like he was looking for that edge of why he could

at you.

And he was a person that once he realized he had an alcohol problem, he

choose to solve it.

What a dichotomy. He had a great side and he had a terrible, ugly side that

really outweighed the good.

But I remembered the good.

I want my dad to be remembered as an amazing athlete who worked really hard

as a loving father to his kids because I think his kids were everything to him.

I wish he could be here to see how we all ended up. I think he'd be proud of

I think he'd be proud of my brother particularly.

One, two, three.

There was so much more to my dad than just the wild, crazy party side.

There was a reason why people called him the gentleman.

There was a reason why my friends over in England would always say he could

the birds out of the trees. He was very charming. He was very loving. He was a

kind father.

people to remember him as that person, as not just gentleman Chris Adams, but

Chris Adams.