We regret to inform you that Legendary Welsh Wrestler Adrian Street passed away. In Memphis, Street was a longtime favourite of the locals. He was renowned for his genuine technical wrestling skill but noted for his flamboyance.
Many people must be curious to know the Adrian Street cause of death in light of the recent news. Keep reading to know more about Adrian Street and his cause of death in detail.
Who was Adrian Street?
Adrian Street was a Welsh professional wrestler and novelist who rose to fame in the 1970s and 1980s thanks to his flamboyant, androgynous wrestling persona.
Street’s longtime manager and wife, Miss Linda, frequently accompanied him to the ring, and the two mostly served as heels.
Street was born on December 5th, 1940 in Brynmawr, Brecknockshire; his father worked as a miner for 51 years. Street was raised in a coal mining family.
During his adolescence, he started bodybuilding. At the age of 16, he moved out and started a career in professional wrestling. American wrestlers Lou Thesz, Buddy Rogers, and Don Leo Jonathan (from whom Street borrowed his initial alias, Kid Tarzan Jonathan) served as his early role models.
“The Exotic One”
Later in his career, he created the “Exotic” Adrian Street persona, a garishly dressed, effeminate figure who hinted at being gay but never came out as gay.
Street claims that this gimmick happened by accident when he played along with audience teasing one evening and noticed that he was receiving much more feedback than he had ever received from simply playing this poof.
“I was getting far more reaction than I’d ever got just playing this poof. My costumes started getting wilder.”
His wrestling gear grew to include glitter makeup, pink eyeshadow, and mini-pigtails for his bleached hair.
His trademark maneuver in the ring as “The Exotic One” was to kiss opponents to free himself from a chokehold and to apply makeup to his opponents while they were handicapped.
In addition, he sang a number of glam rock songs, including “Imagine What I Could Do To You” and “Sweet Transvestite with a Broken Nose,” the latter of which served as his entrance song.
Professional wrestling career
Street received professional wrestling instruction from Chic Osmond and Mike Demitre. On August 8, 1957, he competed in his first professional wrestling match. Street overcame Geoff Moran by going under the alias Kid Tarzan Jonathan.
Street traveled the world, competing in Germany, Canada, and Mexico while largely acting as a heel. He founded the Hells Angels tag team in the UK with fellow heel Bobby Barnes. Street first met Miss Linda (Linda Gunthorpe Hawker), his eventual real-life wife and manager, in 1969.
Blackfoot Sue, Linda’s wrestling ring name during the 1970s in Britain. Later in America, the two developed a double-act, with Miss Linda emerging as one of the sport’s first female valets and frequently joining in on Street’s antics in the ring.
In 1981, Street and Linda made their debut in North America. Ascended to prominence in a number of North American regions before settling in 1985 in Birmingham, Alabama’s Ron Fuller’s Continental Championship Wrestling (CCW).
Before turning face in 1986, he competed for a while as a heel against Austin Idol, Wendall Cooley, and Norvell Austin. Fans watched in disbelief as Street rescued Bob Armstrong from an attack by Robert Fuller, Jimmy Golden, and Tom Prichard while Armstrong was hiding behind the persona of the Bullet. Street was so convincing as the bad guy. There, Street and Rip Rogers, aka “The Hustler,” had a protracted feud.
Street operated the Skull Krushers Wrestling School in Gulf Breeze, Florida, after quitting his full-time job in the ring, until Hurricane Ivan’s terrible devastation caused him to shut the doors.
Along with designing and marketing merchandise for professional wrestling, Street and Linda also started a website business. He designed the ring equipment that Mick Foley’s Dude Love wore when he battled Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Street participated in the IWA Heavyweight Championship battle royal that Greg Valentine won at WrestleReunion in 2005. He started competing for NWA Wrestle Birmingham the following year and competed there until the promotion’s closure in 2014.
Street estimated that he has competed in between 12,000 and 15,000 matches throughout the course of his career after his final battle on June 14, 2014, in Birmingham, Alabama.
Media Appearances
In the 1981 movie Quest for Fire, Street co-starred with Ron Perlman. Additionally, he performed the role of a wrestler in the opening sequences of Pasolini’s 1972 film The Canterbury Tales and Grunt: The Wrestling Movie.
In 1986, Street and The Pile Drivers released the album Shake, Wrestle and Roll. With a selection of brand-new tracks, it combined two earlier singles from 1977 and 1980.
The front cover of Black Box Recorder’s debut album, England Made Me, shows a picture of Street posing in full regalia near the mine where his father worked.
In addition to Simon Sermon, the pro wrestler who serves as the focus of the documentary Changing Perceptions: Profile of an Openly Gay Pro Wrestler, Adrian Street is also interviewed for the piece. Winner of numerous accolades, Victor Rook, produced the movie.
A documentary named The Life and Times of Adrian Street about Street was created by visual artist Jeremy Deller.
The Adrian Street Story: You May Be Pretty, But I Am Beautiful is the title of a feature-length documentary about Street’s life that was produced and directed by Joann Randles in 2019.
A memorial song named “Adrian Street” was written by Jon Langford’s Men of Gwent.
In August 2018, the podcast Love and Radio aired an episode based on Street’s life.
How did Adrian Street die?
In the UK and the USA, wrestling has recently lost another iconic figure.
“Exotic” Adrian Street, a legendary Welsh wrestler, passed away on July 31, 2023. A real entertainer in every sense of the word, exotic Adrian Street was one of a kind.
His family reported that the Welsh celebrity passed away at the Grange University Hospital in Cwmbran.
Inside The Ropes is saddened to learn that World of Sport legend Adrian Street has passed away this morning aged 82. pic.twitter.com/2oOqYIbWB6
— Inside The Ropes (@Inside_TheRopes) July 31, 2023
Adrian Street was well-known for wearing outrageous costumes and picking on his rivals. When opponents were defeated, “The Exotic One” would skip around the ring, kiss their foreheads, and apply makeup to them.
Adrian Street, a pioneer in the field of wrestling and well-known for his famous ring character, had a profound impact on the game. Without a doubt, he was a pioneer and a trailblazer before his time. He was also everyone’s friend and supporter at Welsh Wrestling.
Adrian Street cause of death
The iconic British wrestler known as “The Exotic One,” who was also a writer, musician, artist, and former world middleweight champion, passed away at the age of 82.
Street’s wife Linda revealed that her husband had recently experienced health problems. The cause of death was sepsis that resulted from a bout with colitis, according to Linda, who was also Street’s longtime manager. He had also recently undergone brain surgery.
She said,
“He’d had a heart problem a while ago which was resolved,”
“But then he had a stroke earlier this month which resulted in a bleed on the brain.
“He was recovering from that at home when he developed colitis – a chronic inflammatory bowel disease – which later turned into sepsis. That’s what killed him. It all came about so quick. I’ve still not come to terms with it yet.”
Linda praised her husband, describing him as “the kindest, most lovely, and most loving man I’ve ever known, a complete contrast to his on-stage persona.”
She intends to cremate Street and scatter his ashes close to the couple’s Cwmbran house on the mountains.
Wrestling fans throughout the world will always be touched by Adrian Street’s legacy, and future generations will look back on his contributions with admiration. Even though the wrestling world is in mourning over his demise, his contributions to the game will never be forgotten.
Tributes to Adrian Street
Many people expressed their profound sympathies to his family and expressed how much they loved him. The news of this occurrence has upset his supporters and fans.
Valley Championship Wrestling wrote: “A sad day in the history of Professional Wrestling! R.I.P Adrian Street! Our thoughts are with his family! #AdrianStreet”
Flash Morgan Webster wrote: “So sad to hear about the passing of the great Adrian Street. A true pioneer and a trailblazer Being from the Same town as Adrian I was in awe when hearing about this Brynmawr lad who went off to America and became a professional wrestler. And I always thought about Adrian whenever I doubted myself and my journey. Was honoured for him to be front row when we became the First Welsh champs in WWE. Condolences to Adrian’s wife Linda and his entire family. #RIPAdrianStreet”
One of the worst things anyone can go through in life is losing a loved one. Any journey must have a destination at the end. The person’s time on earth has regrettably come to an end now that they have died. We wish him eternal peace and send our thoughts and prayers to his loved ones, family, friends. May he rest in peace.
Visit our website frequently to read more articles of similar type, and don’t forget to leave comments for Adrian Street’s cherished family as they go through this difficult period.
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