Rod Price vs Chris Adams

Date: May 14, 1993
Location: Sportatorium in Dallas, TX
Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Armpit readers Chuck Richmond, James Beard, & Brandon Finch, Interactive Wrestling Radio

Rod Price and Chris Adams were working for the GWF (Global Wrestling Federation) in the early ‘90s, and had many matches together. According to James Beard, the two often worked very stiff with each other. Beard was the referee the night of the infamous weave incident.

This was not a backstage fight, and if you believe Adams, it was all an accident. If you believe Price, it was intentional.

At the May 14 show at the Sportatorium, Adams and Price were facing each other in a judo jacket match. Adams grabbed Price by the hair too aggressively, and Price’s surgically implanted weave tore off. Blood was everywhere, as were pieces of his scalp. Price was in an incredible amount of pain, grabbed a towel, and ran backstage.

Beard found him backstage drinking a beer, furious, and still bleeding. He was saying he believed Adams did it on purpose. Beard and others took Price to the emergency room, where it took forever to get the bleeding under control. At first it was reported that over 100 stitches were needed, but years later that number grew to 200, with the real number probably somewhere in between.

Adams apologized to Price, saying it was an accident and he didn’t mean to rip off the hair. Beard claimed Price missed two months of work because of this, but the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that Price was back a month later. Price was booked to face Adams on June 18, but ended up not wrestling because he was booked on another tour.

Iceman King Parsons was brought in during Price’s absence, to feud with Adams. On the June 11 show, Price returned to the Sportatorium and cut the hair of Adams to give him a goofy looking haircut.

Despite Adams insisting it was an accident, Price never believed him. Beard (who called it a surreal experience) claimed Price was not the type to hold a grudge, so he eventually let it go and they turned it into an angle and worked together many times afterward. Years later in an interview with Interactive Wrestling Radio, Price said he still believes it was intentional. He said everyone knew he was wearing a hairpiece, and that sometimes Adams “could be not very nice.” He also said he broke three of Adams’ ribs the first time they wrestled after the incident, as a “receipt.” After his ribs healed, Price felt better about working with Adams because he had gotten even with him. Price also said the whole incident was not a laughing matter and that he was in really bad shape that night at the hospital.

Adams passed away in 2001, so we will likely never know the truth. Either way, Price seemed to have forgiven him long ago and there were no further problems aside from the broken ribs. It’s definitely no laughing matter, but this incident remains well known to this day because of the nature of what happened.