Adrian Adonis
Adrian Adonis | |
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![]() Franke as "Adorable" Adrian Adonis in the 1980s | |
Birth name | Keith Adonis Franke |
Born | [1] Buffalo, New York, U.S.[1] | September 15, 1953
Died | July 4, 1988[2] Lewisporte, Newfoundland, Canada[2] | (aged 34)
Cause of death | Traffic collision |
Spouse(s) | Bea Franke Hall (m. 1972) |
Children | 2 |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Adrian Adonis[1] Keith Franke[1] |
Billed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[3] |
Billed weight | 298 lb (135 kg)[3] |
Billed from | New York City |
Trained by | Fred Atkins |
Debut | 1974[1] |
Keith Adonis Franke (September 15, 1953 – July 4, 1988) was an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Adrian Adonis. He was best known for his appearances with the American Wrestling Association and World Wrestling Federation throughout the 1980s.
Early life[]
Franke was born on September 15, 1954 in Buffalo, New York. He was the only son of Kenneth and Hortense Franke, and had two sisters, Karen and Susan. He went to Kenmore East High School in the class of 1971. A gifted amateur wrestler, he won a section VI title in 1970. However, he dropped out as he grew bored with school. For a short time, Adonis played football in the Canadian Football League before focusing on a wrestling career.
Professional wrestling career[]
Early career (1974–1979)[]
Franke trained under Fred Atkins and debuted in 1974, wrestling under his birth name Keith Franks. In the late 1970s, he adopted the ring name "Adrian Adonis" and the character of a brawling, leather jacket-clad biker.[4]
American Wrestling Association (1979–1981)[]
In the late 1970s, Adonis joined the Minneapolis-based American Wrestling Association. In 1979, he formed a tag team with Jesse Ventura. The team was called The East-West Connection because Adonis was from New York (in the East), while Ventura was billed from California (in the West). The East-West Connection was awarded the AWA World Tag Team Championship on July 20, 1980, when Verne Gagne (one half of the tag champions with Mad Dog Vachon) was unable to defend it because he was vacationing in Europe. They held the belts until June 14, 1981, when they were defeated by Greg Gagne and Jim Brunzell.
World Wrestling Federation (1981–1987)[]
The East-West Connection (1981–1983)[]
Adonis and Ventura debuted in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in late 1981, working both as a team and in singles matches.[5] Adonis was a frequent challenger of WWF Champion Bob Backlund and Intercontinental Champion Pedro Morales throughout the first half of 1982.[6]
The North-South Connection (1983–1985)[]
When injuries caused Ventura to stop wrestling regularly,[3] Adonis formed a tag team with the Texan Dick Murdoch, called "The North-South Connection". The team debuted in late 1983. Around this time, Adonis (who had previously been a muscular, stocky, and well-conditioned wrestler) gained a considerable amount of weight. On April 17, 1984, The North-South Connection defeated Tony Atlas and Rocky Johnson to win the WWF World Tag Team Championship. They held the title until January 21, 1985, when they were defeated by Barry Windham and Mike Rotundo. The team split shortly after the loss.[4][7][8]
"Adorable" Adrian Adonis (1985–1987)[]
In late 1985, after being briefly managed by Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and adopting the DDT as a finisher, Adonis' gimmick began to change. First, Jimmy Hart became his manager when Hart traded King Kong Bundy to Heenan in exchange for Adonis and The Missing Link. With Hart in his corner, Adonis defeated Corporal Kirchner to advance in The Wrestling Classic pay-per-view tournament in November, then lost to Dynamite Kid in the quarterfinals.[9] In early 1986, Adonis started carrying a briefcase with the phrase "Relax with Trudi" on it and a spray called Fragrance. During an edition of Piper's Pit, Adonis gave his signature leather jacket away to host Roddy Piper (who wore it for years afterward). Adonis then adopted the gimmick of the effeminate "Adorable" Adrian Adonis, bleaching his hair blonde and wearing pink ring attire, as well as scarves, leg warmers, dresses, hats, and clownish amounts of eye shadow and rouge.[10] At this time, his weight further ballooned, peaking at over 350 lb (160 kg; 25 st).[11] He also ceased his prior weightlifting regimen, stopped tanning, and removed all of his body hair. The result made him appear pale, soft, rotund and flabby, despite the fact that he retained considerable athleticism and agility in the ring. He defeated Uncle Elmer in quick fashion at WrestleMania 2[12] and feuded extensively with the Junkyard Dog and George "The Animal" Steele, while also unsuccessfully challenging Hulk Hogan for the WWF Championship on multiple occasions.[4]
In May 1986, during Piper's five-month hiatus from the WWF, Adonis (with Hart) debuted his own talk segment, The Flower Shop.[13] These segments were the primary backdrop for Paul Orndorff's slow-building heel turn against his friend Hulk Hogan, with Adonis relentlessly needling Orndorff about living in Hogan's shadow. In August, shortly before Piper's return, Adonis obtained the services of Piper's bodyguard, "Cowboy" Bob Orton, who took to wearing a pink cowboy hat. A feud with Piper heated up when Adonis, Orton, and Don Muraco attacked him during a "duel" between the two talk segments, injuring his leg, covering him in lipstick and damaging the Pit set. A week later, Piper destroyed the set of The Flower Shop with a baseball bat. It was never rebuilt. On the October 4 Saturday Night's Main Event VII, Piper struck Adonis with a crutch, resulting in a two-month absence from TV with an alleged separated shoulder. After Adonis returned in November to attack Piper on the Pit, the two agreed to a hair vs. hair match at WrestleMania III. Piper won the bout with help from Brutus Beefcake,[14] who cut off the majority of Adonis' hair afterward.[4] Adonis then began a feud with Beefcake but was fired in May 1987 for what the WWF claimed were "dress code violations".[15]
American Wrestling Association (1987–1988)[]
Franke (now with a shaved head) left the WWF shortly after WrestleMania III and returned to the AWA, where he was managed by Paul E. Dangerously during 1987. He maintained his "Adorable" Adrian Adonis gimmick, feuded with Tommy Rich and lost the final match of the AWA International Television Championship tournament to Greg Gagne in December 1987. While there he lost a hundred pounds and hoped to return to WWF.
New Japan Pro Wrestling (1988)[]
With his ankle fully recovered, Franke wrestled a tour for New Japan throughout May and June 1988. During that tour, he teamed up with the likes of Dick Murdoch, Owen Hart, and D.J. Peterson. On June 23, he and Murdoch unsuccessfully challenged Riki Choshu and Masa Saito for the IWGP Tag Team Championship. On June 26, teaming up with Murdoch against Kengo Kimura and Yoshiaki Fujiwara, which ended in a draw.
Death[]
With hopes of rejoining WWF and having lost weight he worked for Dave McKigney in Newfoundland and wrestled against Hartford Love. On July 4, 1988, in Lewisporte, Newfoundland, Franke was in a minivan with fellow wrestlers William "Mike Kelly" Arko, Victor "Pat Kelly" Arko, and Dave McKigney. Franke, McKigney, and Victor Arko were killed when the driver, William Arko, allegedly swerved to avoid hitting a moose and, blinded by the setting sun, their van fell from a bridge into a creek below. Franke suffered severe head injuries and died a few hours later. William Arko was the sole survivor and sustained severe leg injuries.[16][17][18]
At the time of his death, he left behind a wife Bea and two daughters Angela (Perides) and Gena (Banta); his survivors resided in Bakersfield, California.[19] He is buried at Greenlawn Memorial Park in Bakersfield, California.
Championships and accomplishments[]
- American Wrestling Association
- AWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Jesse Ventura
- NWA Hollywood Wrestling
- NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- NWA Americas Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with (1 time) and Roddy Piper (1 time)
- Pacific Northwest Wrestling
- NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ron Starr
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI Editor's Award (1988) tied with Bruiser Brody
- PWI ranked him #128 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003.
- PWI ranked him #35 of the 100 best tag teams with Dick Murdoch of the PWI Years in 2003.
- Ring Around The Northwest Newsletter
- Wrestler of the Year (1979)[20]
- Southwest Championship Wrestling
- SCW Southwest Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- SCW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- World Wrestling Federation
- WWF World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Dick Murdoch[7][8]
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Most Embarrassing Wrestler (1986)
- Most Improved Wrestler (1981)
- Most Underrated Wrestler (1982)
- Worst Gimmick (1986, 1987)
See also[]
References[]
- ^ a b c d e "Adrian Adonis profile". Online World of Wrestling. Archived from the original on 2 December 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-12.
- ^ a b Schramm, C. (July 4, 2001). "Triumph and tragedy on July 4th". Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved May 30, 2007.
The year before was not as lucky for three men. Mike Kelly was driving Adrian Adonis, Dave "The Wildman" McKigney, and his twin brother Pat Kelly in Lewisporte, Newfoundland, when Kelly lost control of the van while trying to avoid a moose. The van went off a bridge into a creek. Mike Kelly was the lone survivor.
- ^ a b c Shields, Brian; Kevin Sullivan (March 2009). WWE Encyclopedia. Dorling Kindersley. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-7566-4190-0.
- ^ a b c d "Adrian Adonis". Accelerator3359.com. Retrieved May 31, 2007.
- ^ Horton, Aaron D. (2018-03-02). Identity in Professional Wrestling: Essays on Nationality, Race and Gender. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-6728-7.
- ^ Milner, J. "Jesse Ventura". Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved May 30, 2007.
- ^ a b "History of the World Tag Team Championship". WWE.com. Archived from the original on 15 May 2007. Retrieved May 30, 2007.
- ^ a b Duncan, R.; Will, G. (2007). "WWWF/WWF/WWE Tag Team Title History". Solie.org. Archived from the original on 13 June 2007. Retrieved May 30, 2007.
- ^ "Misc. WWF PPVs 1980s". www.prowrestlinghistory.com. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
- ^ Baer, Randy; Reynolds, R. D. (2010-12-16). Wrestlecrap: The Very Worst of Professional Wrestling. ECW Press. ISBN 978-1-55490-544-7.
- ^ Reynolds, R. D. (2010-11-16). The Wrestlecrap Book of Lists!. ECW Press. ISBN 978-1-55490-287-3.
- ^ "Full WrestleMania 2 results". WWE. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
- ^ Toombs, Ariel Teal; Toombs, Colt Baird (2020-03-03). Rowdy: The Roddy Piper Story. Random House of Canada. ISBN 978-0-345-81621-4.
- ^ "Full WrestleMania III results". WWE. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
- ^ The Wrestling Observer Newsletter: 5/11/87
- ^ "Deaths – FAQ". WrestleView.com. Archived from the original on May 13, 2007. Retrieved May 30, 2007.
- ^ "Dave 'Wildman' McKigney". Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved May 30, 2007.
- ^ "Kelly Twins, Pat & Mike". Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "The death of Adrian Adonis". YouTube.
- ^ Rodgers, Mike (2004). "Regional Territories: PNW #16 Page #2". KayfabeMemories.com.
External links[]
- Adrian Adonis at IMDb
- Adrian Adonis's profile at Cagematch.net, Wrestlingdata.com, Internet Wrestling Database
- Adrian Adonis at Find a Grave
- 1953 births
- 1988 deaths
- 20th-century American male actors
- Accidental deaths in Newfoundland and Labrador
- American male professional wrestlers
- LGBT characters in professional wrestling
- Professional wrestlers from New York (state)
- Road incident deaths in Canada
- Sportspeople from Buffalo, New York
- The Dangerous Alliance members
- The Heenan Family members