Flamboyant wrestler Adrian Street dies at 82

Welsh wrestling icon Adrian Street died on 24 July at Cwmbran's Grange University Hospital, aged 82, his family have confirmed.

He had recently undergone brain surgery.

Born in Blaenau Gwent, Street became an infamous sporting figure during the '70s and '80s for his outrageous appearance and no-holds-barred fighting style.

On Sunday night, his wife Linda described the real person behind that ring-side persona as "the kindest, most loving man you could ever meet."

Having grown up in Brynmawr in the 1940s, Street refused to follow his pit-worker father down the mines.

"Too dark down there, I was born for the spotlight," he confessed in an interview.

Street left his home town in the 1950s to seek fame as a wrestler in London, rejecting his family’s tradition of working in coalmines. In the capital he became known for being a heel (bad guy), specialising in antagonising crowds with his fighting and appearance.

He later developed a penchant for flamboyant costumes that challenged social norms and helped sow the seeds for glam rock – often appearing wearing lipstick, with bright dyed hair and wearing a feather boa.

After a successful stint on the British wrestling scene he moved to Florida where he ran a wrestling academy, before moving back to the Welsh valleys towards the end of his life. He wrote a series of autobiographies, calling himself the “sadist in sequins” and “merchant of menace”.

Having none of it, the Welshman ended up dropping Savile on his head and tearing out a large chunk of his hair.

Moving to Canada and the US in the '80s Street made an even bigger name for himself, playing up to the cameras and winning one championship belt after another.

His wife Linda, 77, explained that this latest battle would ultimately prove too much for him.

"He'd had a heart problem a while ago which was resolved," she said.

"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."

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Sarah H 

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