7. Chris Adams
Well before the likes of Magnus and Spud, there was Chris Adams. Starting out in judo (his brother Neil won a silver medal in judo in the 1984 Olympics), Adams started wrestling barefoot as a martial arts expert in 1978 and made numerous appearances on World of Sport. In 1981, he moved to the United States, initially recruited to Los Angeles by famous judoka Gene LeBell. Adams popularised a finishing move called a thrust kick a powerful, upwards kick to the jaw of a standing opponent. You will probably know it better as the Superkick or Shawn Michaelss Sweet Chin Music. Yep, Adams was the man who put that move on the map. In 1983, Adams moved to World Class Championship Wrestling, run by Fritz Von Erich out of Dallas, Texas. In the early 80s, World Class was on fire. It was one of the most innovative promotions in the world at the time, being the first to use entrance music and having the best produced TV show of its time. It was syndicated in a huge number of markets, both in the US and abroad, having a particularly large following in the Middle East. Adams was a regular team mate of the Von Erichs, around whom the promotion revolved, in their legendary feud with The Fabulous Freebirds. Once the Freebirds departed, Adams was turned heel to become a headliner against the Von Erichs. At this time, World Classs big stadium shows were regularly drawing over 25,000 fans, with their most famous ever show being the David Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions in May 1984 at the Texas Stadium in Dallas. Adams wrestled in the opener, in front of 50,000 fans. Adams left World Class in 1986 and opened up a wrestling training school, where his most notable pupil was a young man called Steve Williams, whose career skyrocketed later as Stone Cold Steve Austin. He appeared in WCW at their Pat OConnor international tag team tournament at Starrcade 1990, representing Great Britain alongside Norman Smiley. He re-signed with WCW during the Nitro era, where he was used to put over midcard and headline talent. Adams tragically died in a shooting incident at home in 2001. However, his discovery of Steve Austin, his major role in World Class and his popularisation of the superkick were all ways in which Adams made a profound impact in the United States.