Insane Insights From Dark Side Of The Ring: Chris Adams
Dark Side of The Ring Season 5 Episode 7 focused on "Gentleman" Chris Adams. I was never alive when Chris Adams was performing in the ring, but going back and watching, I see he was a big star during his WCCW days. Heck, he is also super important in pro wrestling history as he was the guy who trained Stone Cold Steve Austin.
I also remember his death because the stories told are insane, and it's a big thing that stood out with Chris Adams. Besides that and some DWI arrests, I came into this episode not knowing much about Adams.
The producers got to interview the man who shot him and killed him. His name is Brent "Booray" Parnell, and that is an extensive get because I think this is the first time he has spoken about this.
The other talking heads in this documentary are David Manning, Ice Man Parsons, Tom Lance (Promoter), Jeanie Clarke aka Lady Blossom, Kevin Von Erich, James Beard (Referee), Jade Adams (Chris Adams Daughter), Neil Adams (Chris Adams Brother), Chris Adams Jr (Chris Son),
10. Chris Adams Was the First Ever To Popularize The Superkick
Here is something that I did not know coming in. I honestly thought Shawn Michaels was the first to popularize Superkicke Superkick, but it turns out I was wrong. Chris Adams was the first pro wrestler to use Superkicke Superkick as a finisher.
He was also the first to slap his leg when delivering the kick, which is common in professional wrestling nowadays, although Vince tried to get it banned once. It did not work out.
Adams is crediteSuperkicke superkick in pro wrestling being first used and Adams used it with his judo background. His brother Neil even won a Silver Medal in the Olympics in Judo which is super cool. Along with his good looks, he became a big wrestler during the WCCW days.
9. How Jeanine Clarke First Met Chris Adams & Why The Relationship Didn't Work
Jeanine Clarke, aka Lady Blossom, was interviewed, and they had to get it as Adams was her boyfriend. I knew most of the details of their relationship, but I did not know how they met.
Jeanie Clarke was around 19 years old and at a bar. Chris Adams saw her and decided to hit on her. Jeanie Clarke thought he was super gorgeous and that he looked like a young Paul McCartney. Not even a month into the relationship, she was living with him, and since he was on the road, he wanted her to be his valet.
So now they are both on the road and eventually move to Los Angeles, California. Chris Adams at the beach was constantly staring at multiple women while tanning next to Jeanine. Oh, by the way, she was pregnant with his kid at the time. What a gentleman-like move he decided to make.
It gets worse. When Clarke had their daughter, she moved back to the United Kingdom. Chris constantly saw different women behind her back and was not trying to hide it.
So, the last straw was New Year's when Clarke wanted to see Chris Adams. Well, he told her that she shouldn't come with him. He would only go with her if she had champagne and a meal ready to go when he got back from seeing his other women. Jeanine did what he wanted, but he did not return home on time and was 3 days late.
The relationship was pretty much done after that. Again, what a gentleman Chris Adams is, am I right?
8. Chris Adams And Gino Hernandez's Insane San Antonio Story
I already knew how big party animals Chris Adams and Gino Hernandez were. Look up Gino Hernandez and watch the Dark Side of the Ring documentary on Gino. I am not shocked that Chris Adams followed Gino in the party lifestyle.
Both Chris and Gino were a tag team and grew super close to each other. They both lived in the same apartment complex, which is usually for a pro wrestling tag team in the business. Be on the road together, live together, train together, etc.
There have been many Gino Hernandez stories; we got one from Ice Man Parsons. In San Antonio, Hernandez and Adams had multiple rooms where one had a brick of cocaine, one had a room full of pills, and a room full of alcohol. That is not all, as apparently, in each room, they had a ton of women in there and even hired cops to stand guard, and they got paid a thousand bucks each.
What in the world? First, it's no wonder Chris Adams had financial issues if he was throwing these types of parties. Second, this is yet another story that makes me not surprised Gino died at a very young age due to drugs.
When Gino died, Chris Adams's drug and alcohol addictions got so much worse. It's hard not to see why,
7. Chris Adams Plane Ride From Hell Fight
Ahh, Plane Rides, and Pro Wrestlers. It's not a great combination. Now, many people think that the Plane Ride from Hell after the Insurrextion PPV in 2002 is the only incident of pro wrestlers being crazy on planes. Well, it's not. There are so many cases of this stuff happening throughout the industry.
We got another one of these plane ride stories with Chris Adams. What happened was that one day Adams was on a flight that got delayed for a while. The reason was that there was a mechanical issue with the plane and the crew was fixing it. So, the crew gave out drinks to people to calm them down and refresh them because it was hot.
One of those drinks is alcohol, which is a bad combination with Chris Adams. Adams got drunk, and the flight attendants cut him off. Not the best idea because Adams was fire red-eye engine pissed to the point he called the stewardess a bitch. Adams gets slapped by this woman, and he decides to slap her back.
That's not all. The co-piolet then goes there to tell Adams to knock it off. What does Adams decide to do? Well, he decides to headbutt the piolet, and the pilot gets bloodied up. What an absolute gentleman putting his hands on two innocent people.
Adams got in so much trouble for this and was convicted of assault. Adams was incarcerated for this but was only in prison for 3 MONTHS!! That's all he got. The dude should have gotten a much lengthier sentence for assaulting two people on the plane, especially the pilot.
At least he got punished, as there are some cases where pro wrestlers get a slap on the wrist. This should have been the wake-up call for Adams to get help for his issues with alcohol, but unfortunately, he did not choose to do that.
6. The Domestic Abuse Incident With Toni Collins
During his career, Chris Admas would have a relationship with Toni Collins and marry her for a decade. It would have been a pretty standard relationship if Chris had been sober. If he weren't sober Chris would be super violent. Adams would get in a very brutal domestic abuse incident that showed what a piece of garbage Chris was.
Toni was driving home with Chris and his son in the back seat. Eventually, on the car ride home, both Chris and Adams got into a verbal altercation. It's not a great idea to get into one while one person is driving, and of course, they almost got into an accident, avoiding getting hit by an 18-wheeler.
Chris gets so much angrier that he starts beating Toni up. He beat this woman up so severely that she needed to get facial surgery. What a piece of garbage.
The worst part is Toni took a photo of it and showed what Chris Adams did to his son. That had to be tough seeing those photos and what his scumbag dad did to this person.
As for Toni Collins, she would eventually leave Chris after this and divorced him in 1994, after ten years of marriage. She even went to the wrestling business as well after this incident, which is a fact that was not mentioned in the documentary. Collins's story is also tragic as she passed away in 2010 at the age of 45 due to an abscess in her abdomen.
5. That Rod Prince Match
So, the documentary dives into his time at GWF (Global Wrestling Federation). Chris Adams was their top guy, and he had a notable match with Rod Prince. It was notable all for the wrong reason.
Rod Prince had a weave sewn into his hair, and you never want to pull on hair that has recently been weaved. This makes it bizarre that he was even allowed to wrestle in this match. However, he told the Locker Room and especially Chris not to pull his hair.
So, what does Chris decide to do? Well, pull out the weave in his hair of course. He pulled the weave so hard that in doing so, Rod Prince got his scalp ripped and blood was everywhere in the ring. Prince had to get around 200 stitches for the wound to close. What an absolute Gentleman this guy is doing such a deed like that.
4. How Chris Adams Met Brent "Booray" Parnell
We got to hear from Brent "Booray" Parnell for the first time. I have to ask, Am I the only one who thinks this guy looks like The Miz's Father? I swear he looks 100% like the guy and it's kind of creepy.
So, Chris's career is long over, and he is hooked on alcohol and a drug called GHB. GHB is a super dangerous drug as it can legit put you in a comatose state. It's sometimes called the "love drug" and it's also utilized by a ton of bodybuilders to relax. You have to be careful with the dosage as it could kill you.
Chris at this point is a full-blown addict, could not find work, and has no financial backing. So, Brent "Booray" Parnell steps up and offers Chris a place to stay. Chris and Booray met because they knew Tom Lance and Lance decided to introduce each other. Booray was a big fan and Chris was desperate.
That is kind of nice to try and help Chris, but throughout this episode, it was clear Chris Adams was just using Booray.
3. The Sad Death Of Chris Adams' Girlfriend Linda
Oh boy, you know it is stories like this that are truly dark. While at his low point, Chris eventually finds love again with his new girlfriend, Linda. Booray was happy because, in his words, she was an angel.
The problem was Chris Adams was a full-blown trainwreck hooked on GHB. They both shared the drug in Booray's house. If that were to happen in my house, that person doing drugs would immediately be thrown out of the house. Booray even told Chris not to do that, but anything else he wanted was okay.
Booray goes to sleep, but he wakes up at 4 AM. He discovers that Chris and Linda have passed out and aren't waking up. Both were wheezing, but Linda was in much worse shape. Booay discovers them. Does he decide to call 911 like a normal human being? Nope, he calls Tom Lance instead.
Bro, like come on. I get he is scared that if he called 911 that Chris would be pissed, but bro this is life or death at this point. Both are not waking up, and Linda is wheezing b badly. You immediately call 911. I don't care if Chris would be pissed if 911 was called, if someone is in danger you call 911. Lucky Tom Lance says to call 911 and Booray gives in.
After re-watching this documentary and that segment, I realized that Booray does not come across well in this episode.
The paramedics get there and Linda flatlines and dies as a result of an overdose of GHB. Booray blames Chris for Linda dying and calls him responsible, well duh. Chris even admitted that he gave too much of it.
Adams gets charged with manslaughter and this sends him into a deep and dark state. He is depressed, is fully involved with the bottle, and now has suicidal thoughts. Even though he never went to prison for this, as he would have died before the court case occurred, if he were alive, there is no doubt in my mind that Adams would have served jail time.
Something that was not mentioned in the documentary, and I understand why due to time constraints, was that this ruined his chance of getting back into the industry. At the time, he was scheduled to get back in the business and work an upcoming show for a promotion. I believe, if I remember correctly, it was XWF, but I am not 100% sure about that.
When this incident happened the sponsors of that promotion were going to pull out if he was involved. So, the promotion decided to cancel his booking, and an eventual coaching/training role was thrown away.
2. Further Details Of Chris Adams's Death
Coming into the documentary I do know how Chris died, but as for the firm details that was kind of murky. Until I watched this documentary.
So, it is October 7th, 2001, and Boporay and Chris Adams are drinking. All of a sudden Chris Adams in his Jekyll and Hyde attitude, decides to attack Brent for some reason. He uses a bedpost to hit Booray, then chokes him, oh, and decides to bite Booray's face. Something that I had no idea Chris did.
Brent is in fear for his life and Chris has those red glow eyes, that he usually gets in a rage-like state. So, Booray grabs a gun while he is choked and shoots Chris Adams in the heart. So sad and crazy that Booray did this, but I don't blame him one bit.
The documentary even shows photos of crime scenes I have never seen before. It pretty much backs up Booray's story. he did not want to kill him, but unfortunately, the way he shot him resulted in his death.
1. Chris Adams's Brother Doesn't Believe That Booray Acted In Self Defense
In the aftermath of this incident, Adams funeral had a lot of people in the wrestling business come to his funeral. Brent Booray Parnell would be acquitted of any charges as the court and jury said it was an act of self-defense.
Surprisingly, Kevin Von Erich testified in the case. I looked up this court case, and Von Erich's testimony helped the Jury decide that this was an act of self-defense.
Chris's brother does not believe that the courts and jury made the right decision. He believes that this is nowhere near self-defense. This is understanding as it was his brother and this man did take him away from ever growing up with your brother, but from the evidence gained and Booray's statement in the episode, I firmly believe he is telling the truth.
I also agree with Jeanine Clarke, who states that she believes it was a tragic accident between two friends drinking, and it went wrong. Chris Adams was going down a really bad path and even if Booray didn't shoot him Adams was likely going to end up in jail for what happened with Linda or overdose later in life.
This episode was well-made but super dark. I find it funny that Chris Adams called himself a gentleman in his pro wrestling career, but after watching this episode, I realized that he was nothing close to a gentleman. Chris Adams is a tremendous cautionary tale.
It is not just Chris Adams, but Brent "Booray" Parnell doesn't come off that great in this episode either. Especially when they talked about his involvement with Linda's death. He was being used by Adams and he should have immediately kicked that man out of his house after that incident.
The rest of the talking heads were great though. It is a shame how Chris Adams lived his life and how it all tragically came to an end. As for Adams's legacy, I don't know if he will get full recognition. It is sort of like the Dynamite kid who revolutionized the business, but his demons and dark side just can't be ignored.
The next episode is going to be on Sensational Sherri, which is one I am looking forward to watching. Sherri is one of my favorite managers in WWE's Golden Era and she was really good in the ring as well.
EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNTS:Â
Order your favorite whiskey or spirit for the big game right to your doorstep and use code STADIUMRANT10 for a 10% discount at Caskers
Use code STADIUMRANT20 for a 20% discount at Bulletproof Coffee, SwingJuice and Performix.Â
If you love to shotgun beers, use code STADIUMRANT10Â at Wild Man Drinking Company.
MORE FROM STADIUM RANT:
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to our newsletter here. Check out Stadium Rant Original shows on our Youtube channel and subscribe! Give our socials Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok a follow for more great content!