Adrian Adonis
| Keith Franke | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 15, 1954 Buffalo, NY |
| Died | July 4, 1988 (Car accident) Newfoundland |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Keith Franks, Adrian Adonis |
| Billed height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) |
| Billed weight | 230 lb (104 kg) - 300+ lb |
| Trained by | Fred Atkins |
| Debut | 1974 |
Keith Franke (September 12, 1954 – July 4, 1988), born in Buffalo, NY, was an American professional wrestler best known as Adrian Adonis.
Career
As Adonis, he would go through two distinct ring personae in the 1980s: First, as a trash-talking biker clad in black leather and chains; and later as the effeminate "Adorable Adrian", with bleached hair, pink tights, and perfume (occasionally sprayed in the face of his opponents to blind them).
During his earlier persona, he challenged Bob Backlund for the WWF Heavyweight title, culminating in a series of matches in 1982, the first of which left Backlund so bloody the referee stopped it.
In 1985, in the first part of his retooling, Adonis' contract was traded by his then-manager Bobby Heenan along with The Missing Link's contract to Jimmy Hart in exchange for King Kong Bundy. The second part of his retooling would take place in early 1986 when Adonis made the transformation on Piper's Pit to the persona of the bleach-blonde, effeminate and pink-and-lace-clad "Adorable" Adrian Adonis and gave his "retired" leather jacket to Roddy Piper.
He would go on to feud with Piper upon the creation of his own segment, the "Flower Shop" that appeared in Piper's absence in 1986. The Flower Shop was most noted for Adonis playing the role of instigator in the heel turn of Paul Orndorff, as almost all of the interview segments took place during his program.
The segment came to an end a few months later when Roddy Piper returned to reclaim his airtime and frequently arrive on the segment unannounced as a constant nuisance to both Adonis and his bodyguard Cowboy Bob Orton, who was also Piper's former bodyguard. This would culminate in a dual-set segment that ended in Piper beaten down three-on-one. Piper would return the next week with a bat and destroy the Flower Shop set, as well as put Adonis on the shelf with an arm injury (kayfabe) after hitting him in the arm with his crutch. Their feud would culiminate in a "hair match" at WrestleMania III. Piper would defeat Adonis and have his hair cut by Brutus Beefcake.
Adonis wrestled briefly with the WWF after WrestleMania III and was released. Adonis then returned to the AWA (where he wrestled earlier in his career) under the management of Paul E. Dangerously during 1987. During this stint, Adonis feuded with Tommy Rich and lost the final match of the AWA International Television Championship tournament to Greg Gagne in December 1987.
Adrian Adonis was killed in a unfortunate car crash, along with Dave "Wildman" McKigney and Pat Kelly, on July 4, 1988 in Newfoundland when a wild moose stood in the middle of the highway and Adonis, the driver, swerved to avoid hitting the animal. Adonis was thrown from the van and was pronounced dead en route to the hospital. Pat's brother Mike Kelly was also in the van. Mike would survive, but with career-ending leg injuries.
Tag team career
Ironically, Piper and Adonis were once Americas Tag Team Champions in the National Wrestling Alliance's Los Angeles territory.
However, Adonis is far better known for his successful tag team stints with Jesse Ventura (known as the East-West Connection since Adonis was from New York and Ventura was billed as being from California) and later, with Texan Dick Murdoch as the "North-South Connection". He also occasionally teamed with "Macho Man" Randy Savage during the summer of 1986 in a series of tag team matches vs. Bruno Sammartino and Tito Santana (on a few occasions, Bruno's partner was George "The Animal" Steele). During the same period, the two teamed at least once against Steele and WWF Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan.
During an early 1980s stint in the American Wrestling Association, Adonis and Ventura – known as the "East-West Connection" won the AWA World Tag Team Championship. In 1984, when teaming with Murdoch, he won the WWF World Tag Team Championship.
Never a small man, during the mid 1980's, Adonis' weight increased significantly. Despite his girth, he continued to showcase his athleticism through his ability to take incredible bumps in the ring.
In Wrestling
- Finishing/Signature Move(s)
- Good Night Irene (Sleeper Hold)
- DDT
- Knee Drop
- Diving shoulder block
Trivia
- In his early career, his leather jacket and boots usually sported the N-Y monogram logo of the New York Yankees baseball team.
- Adonis sparked controversy when he first introduced the "Adorable" Adrian character. When asked if he was gay on Tuesday Night Titans, he said that he was (in real-life, he was married). This was very unusual in wrestling circles because most effeminate characters cloak homosexuality and flamboyance but the character never really comes out and says it. Plus, this was 1986, when racy storylines in wrestling were not as commonplace.
- Professional wrestler Tazz used the phrase "Good Night Irene" while commentating a match on Friday Night Smackdown.
Championships and accomplishments
American Wrestling Association
- Regional
- NWA Americas Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Black Gordman (1) and Roddy Piper
- NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Ron Starr
Southwest Championship Wrestling
- SCW Southwest Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- SCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- PWI Stanley Weston Award for lifetime achievement (1988)
- Ranked #128 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years Top 500|PWI Years (2003).
- Ranked #35 of the best tag teams (with Dick Murdoch) and #67 of the best tag teams (with Jesse Ventura) of the PWI Years (2003).
- 1981 Most Improved Wrestler
- 1982 Most Underrated Wrestler