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DVD Review: Gentlemen's Choice...Chris Adams DVD

Posted: May 13th 2009 By: CMBurnham

GENTLEMAN'S CHOICE is the story of a truly nice guy who became a total jerk when he was drinking; when the steroid GHB was added to the mix, he became truly dangerous.

I have fond memories of British wrestling legend "Gentleman" Chris Adams, often mentioning his name, in association with Gino Hernandez, when discussing my all-time favorite tag teams. Old school fans remember Adams for his long stint in the Texas territory, while working for the troubled von Erich family. Adams went from being WCCW's foreign heart throb, to the most hated man on the circuit. He and Gino had a legendary feud with the von Erich brothers, culminating in an epic "Hair vs. Hair" match at Texas Stadium.

Sure, Chris Adams' public life was legendary, but his private life was terribly messed up. He got involved with the wrong crowd, accidentally killed a girlfriend, assaulted men and women, spent time in prison, and ultimately perished at the hands of his best friend.

Not even the love of a young daughter could save this gentleman from a disturbed life and premature death.

This documentary, from Mickey Grant's "Creative Hat Productions," covers the life and death of Chris Adams, with valuable WCCW footage supplied by Kevin von Erich, as well as comments from a series of friends, family, girlfriends, ex-wives, and experts; including von Erich himself, Killer Tim Brooks, legendary manager Gary Hart, and many others.

My personal feeling about this documentary is that everybody should see it, even if they are not a wrestling fan. It is both a tribute to a great wrestler, and a real life look into the problems that have plagued professional wrestlers for too long. It's a tragedy worth experiencing, so that we as a culture can grow and learn from other people's mistakes. Even from the people we respect, despite their uncomfortable choices in life.

Tags: Chris Adams, Gino Hernandez, Von Erichs, WCCW, Kevin Von Erich, Tim Brooks, Gary Hart