It's become an annual tradition for a bunch of burly men in colourful tights to pay tribute to one of their own.

"Firestorm" was known outside the ring as Adam Dykes, who was a few days short of his 33rd birthday when he died in November 2009. As a wrestler on the small side, but blessed with a large amount of courage, Dykes suffered through a series of concussions during his decade-long run in pro wrestling.

"He made some bad decisions, such as fighting while still concussed," said his dad, Mervyn, "and we believe the constant head blows caused brain damage and a deep depression from which he did not recover."

Mervyn spoke of his fallen son this week via email from his home in New Zealand.

Adam was raised in the Surrey/North Delta area from the mid-1980s on, and loved wrestling since his days at Seaquam Secondary. When he wasn't wrestling, he was either training others to wrestle or making videos about wrestling (some are still posted at www.adamfirestorm.com).

Early on, wearing a mask and red-flame suit, Dykes was known as El Antorcha ("The Torch"), and later found himself on a wrestling TV show in Portland.

"Adam loved wrestling so much he overdosed on it," his father explained. "He would try to fight if he had two broken legs. As a smaller wrestler, he often fought men twice his size and had to go in for high-risk moves to get the attention of promoters."

Mark "Michelle Starr" Vellios, a Surreybased wrestler and event promoter, said he watched Dykes become an adult and live out his dream of being a wrestler. "He became one of the best junior heavyweights in the area, and was a pleasure to work with."

This Friday night (Dec. 9) at Cloverdale Fairground's Alice McKay building, Vellios and others will get in the ring for the Adam Firestorm Memorial Rumble. The last man standing will hoist the special title belt, just as Dykes' best buddy, Strife, did at the inaugural Rumble last year in North Van.

The bout in Cloverdale will again raise money for Dykes' young son, Thomas. The event last year generated $1,600 for a trust fund set up for his future education.

This time around, the Dykes family will again be represented at the Rumble by Julie, Adam's loving sister. She flew here from New Zealand on Wednesday with the impressive Firestorm Memorial title belt in hand.

"It is truly a work of art, and a labour of love," Julie said of the big leather belt.

"We are honestly humbled (and Adam would be, too) at the level of love and respect shown to Adam from the wrestling community," she added in a Facebook message. "To see so many acknowledge and confirm what we already knew about Adam (that he was a truly special man) is uplifting and heartwarming."

A number of other wrestling matches are part of the action Friday night in Cloverdale, starting at 7: 30 p.m. For tickets and info, call 778-839-0872 or click on vtixonline.com.

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