Adrian ‘Lionheart’ McCallum: One final tribute to a British wrestling legend

A lot of great things have happened in wrestling in 2019. The inception of AEW, KofiMania and The Fiend to name a few.

For all these great moments though, British wrestling suffered a horrible blow midway through the year with the tragic passing of Adrian ‘Lionheart’ McCallum. One of the pioneers of the sport on British shores, Lionheart was a mainstay before half the world realised British wrestling was any good.

When most wrestling fans in the US think of Scotland, the names Drew McIntyre and Nikki Cross will always stand out. Whilst these two are the big players right now, many will argue McCallum is the best the country ever produced. At one point, he was touted by all the big companies worldwide. WWE, TNA, Ring of Honour, you name it. He was that good!

For everything he had in talent, he matched it time and time again in determination. During a match with AJ Styles back in 2014, a botched Styles Clash led to Lionheart suffering a broken neck. Told by doctors he wouldn’t be able to walk again let alone wrestle, he defied physics by stepping back in the squared circle just over a year later.

It took him some time to find his groove, but once he did, no one embodied the term ‘consistency’ more than McCallum. His work opposite Jackie Polo is some of the finest work I’ve witnessed live as a wrestling fan, and deserves to be recognised side-by-side with the likes of Austin-Rock and Ciampa-Gargano, despite its lesser stage.

It’s fitting that I pen this final tribute just over a year on from Lionheart’s finest achievement - winning the ICW World Title at Glasgow’s SSE Hydro. It was a belt that he would hold with pride, defending it against all comers. In fending off the likes of Angelico, Jody Fleisch and Rampage Brown, he was in the midst of one of the finest streaks of his whole career.

It is these sort of moments, matches and memories that fans will look back on fondly when they think of Lionheart. The Scottish, British and worldwide wrestling community will continue to remember him in their own way as we move into 2020.

It’s said that you never truly appreciate something until it’s gone, and looking at his body of work in the first six months of 2019 alone, Lionheart was indeed, one of British wrestling finest ever products.