Imagine What He Could’ve Done To You!

Exotic Adrian Street was a wrestler who I became a bigger and bigger fan of with each bit of his story that I learned. His was a name that I knew mainly through magazines and maybe from one or two tape appearances. Despite his being a star throughout the 80s, his appearances never lined up with the wrestling that I watched. We all know the WWF’s gender-bending “Adorable” Adrian Adonis, but what about the originator? Back then I’d often wondered if there was any connection between “Exotic” Adrian and “Adorable” Adrian. While I’m sure that many would claim otherwise, I’ve always felt that “The Adorable One” was in fact the WWF’s answer to “The Exotic One.”

At 5’7, Adrian Street was a bit shorter than even some of the WWF’s smallest stars such as Koko B. Ware. It was the land of the giants then and it doesn’t surprise me that the act of Exotic Adrian and Miss Linda didn’t make it to WWF rings. The WWF’s loss was the rest of the wrestling world’s gain. Incredible devotion to a gimmick, a great and unique talker, built-in valet (who could also get involved) and a look like no other. That’s what drew me to Street even if he wasn’t part of the organizations that I was most familiar with.

Despite not being with the WWF, Street knew that his visage was marketable. With the styled hair, outlandish makeup and even more flamboyant costumes, Street made an impact wherever he went. When his homeland of the United Kingdom was no longer big enough for the character, Street and Linda came to the United States to ply their trade in many of the most successful wrestling territories of the day.  Mid-South, Stampede in Calgary, Memphis and Continental in Alabama are just a few of the areas that got a taste of what Exotic Adrian could do to them.

Street did cross through the doors of Jim Crockett Promotions and Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling for a time but ultimately didn’t make a huge impact. It’s surprising as that is where I could’ve seen him becoming a true household name in the U.S. as opposed to the WWF which may have toned down the character too much. Then again, with things like Adorable Adrian, Rude Awakenings and even The Bobby Heenan Show, Street may have been able to get away with more than one would think had he went to “New York.”

As mentioned above, Street did know marketing. He and Linda released an album “Shake, Wrestle ‘N’ Roll” with a backup band known only as “The Pile Drivers.” In recent years Street commissioned a figure which could fit right in with the Galoob WCW line. Due to its uniqueness in the years just before the “boutique” figure lines started popping up, the Exotic Adrian figure was named Figure Of The Year on this very blog. He and Linda certainly deserve a turn at modern articulated figures as well. Maybe we can get PowerTown on that.

I had the pleasure of meeting Adrian and Linda several times as well as corresponding with them. You could not meet two nicer people in or out of the wrestling business. My thoughts and prayers go out to Miss Linda following Adrian’s passing last week. A brighter and more flamboyant territorial legend there never was nor never will be.

"Exotic" Adrian Street

1940-2023