Brian Adias
| Brian Adias | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Brian Gower |
| Born |
June 1, 1960 Denton, Texas, United States[1] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) |
Brian Adias Brian Adidas[1] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Billed weight | 238 lb (108 kg) |
| Trained by | Fritz Von Erich[1] |
| Debut | 1979[1] |
| Retired | 2000 |
Brian Gower (born April 6, 1960) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Brian Adias. He is best known for his appearances with World Class Championship Wrestling.[1]
Early life
Gower was a classmate of Kerry Von Erich in high school and a longtime friend of the Von Erich family.
Professional wrestling career
Gower was trained to wrestle by Fritz Von Erich, debuting in 1979.
Adias appeared, mistakenly billed as "Brian Adidas", at Starrcade 84 defeating Mister Ito. Fan magazines like Pro Wrestling Illustrated continued to list him in their regional rankings as Adidas for the next two years, but he was referred to as Adias in WCCW.
Adias continued his alliance with the Von Erich family until the fall of 1986, when he turned heel against Mike Von Erich in a singles match. In an angle very similar to the one used with Chris Adams two years before, Adias declared that he wanted to succeed on his own merits, accused the Von Erichs of holding him back, and formed an alliance sometimes called the "Duo of Doom" with Al Madril.[2] During the feud WCCW ran an angle where Kerry Von Erich, who was Brian's classmate in high school, confronted Adias regarding his actions. Still in crutches after his 1986 motorcycle accident, Kerry was attacked by Madril with Brian standing and allowing Madril to hit Kerry with the crutch several times before Marc Lowrance managed to get Kerry out of the ring. Afterwards, Kevin Von Erich came in and launched an attack on Madril.[3]
Madril and Adias would go on to win the World Class Tag Team Championship,[4] while continuing to feud with the Von Erichs through the summer of 1987. In one incident, Kevin collapsed during an eight-man tag match involving Adias, which would set up an angle where he would develop his version of the Oriental Spike, a move made famous by Terry Gordy, calling it the "Oriental Tool".[5]
Adias would continue his heel run into the Wild West Wrestling group, but reverted to playing the babyface a few years later when the Global Wrestling Federation was launched. Adias later turned to sales work, only wrestling sporadically for the rest of the decade, before resurfacing for a while in the GWF during its run on ESPN in the early 1990s.
Adias retired from wrestling completely in 2000 and is currently selling used cars.[6]
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Oriental Tool (Thumb choke hold)[5]
- Signature moves
Championships and accomplishments
- Continental Wrestling Alliance
- CWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Mike Blackheart[7]
- Maple Leaf Wrestling
- Pacific Northwest Wrestling
- World Class Championship Wrestling / World Class Wrestling Association
- NWA American Tag Team Championship (1 time)- with Iceman Parsons[11]
- NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship (2 times)[9]
- WCWA Texas Tag Team Championship (1 time)[12]
- WCWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Kerry and Kevin Von Erich[13]
- WCWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Al Madril[4]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Brian Adias Profile". Online World Of Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
- ↑ "The Von Erichs did not want me to succeede". Pro Wrestling Illustrated (Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, United States: Sports and Entertainment publications LLC). pp. 23–24. February 1987.
- ↑ "A (new) Von Erich war in Texas". Pro Wrestling Illustrated (Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, United States: Sports and Entertainment publications LLC). pp. 27–28. April 1987.
- 1 2 Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). "Dallas Texas [Von Erich] World Class Wrestling Association Tag Team Title". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- 1 2 Armstrong, Shawn. Wrestling moves and smashed encylopedia. Lulu.com. ISBN 9780557134625.
- ↑ "World Class Memories: FAQ: Current Whereabouts and Final Resting Places". Retrieved February 4, 2015.
- ↑ "Confederate / Continental Wrestling Alliance Title Histories". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
- ↑ "NWA Canadian Television Championship lineage". Retrieved 2007-07-17.
- 1 2 "NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship lineage". Retrieved 2007-07-17.
- ↑ "NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship lineage". Retrieved 2007-07-17.
- ↑ "NWA American Tag Team Championship lineage". Retrieved 2007-07-17.
- ↑ "NWA Texas Tag Team Championship lineage". Retrieved 2007-07-17.
- ↑ "WCCW World Six-Man Tag Team Championship lineage". Retrieved 2007-07-17.