Adrian Adonis
Adrian Adonis | |
---|---|
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 Franks[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.
Adonis debuted in 1974 under his real name, until he adopted the Adrian Adonis name in the late 1970s. He later began working for the
In 1986, Adonis underwent a
Early life
Franke was born on September 15, 1953, in Buffalo, New York. He was the adopted 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
American Wrestling Association (1979–1982)
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 October 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 Rotunda. The team split shortly after the loss.[4][7][8]
"Adorable" Adrian Adonis (1985–1987)
In late 1985, after being briefly managed by
In May 1986, during Piper's five-month hiatus from the WWF, Adonis (with Hart) debuted his own talk segment, The Flower Shop.
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 one 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 would not use his North American "Adorable" gimmick and teamed up with the likes of Dick Murdoch,
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
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.[20] He is buried at Greenlawn Memorial Park in Bakersfield, California.
Championships and accomplishments
- American Wrestling Association
- NWA Hollywood Wrestling
- NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- NWA Americas Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Black Gordman (1 time) and Roddy Piper (1 time)
- Pacific Northwest Wrestling
- 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)[21]
- Southwest Championship Wrestling
- World Wrestling Federation
- 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 December 2, 2009. Retrieved December 12, 2009.
- ^ Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on July 24, 2012. 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.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link - ^ ISBN 978-0-7566-4190-0.
- ^ a b c d e "Adrian Adonis". Accelerator3359.com. Retrieved May 31, 2007.
- ISBN 978-1-4766-6728-7.
- )
- ^ WWE.com. Archived from the originalon May 15, 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 June 13, 2007. Retrieved May 30, 2007.
- ^ "Misc. WWF PPVs 1980s". www.prowrestlinghistory.com. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
- ISBN 978-1-55490-544-7.
- ISBN 978-1-55490-287-3.
- ^ "Full WrestleMania 2 results". WWE. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
- ISBN 978-0-345-81621-4.
- ^ Nedeff, Adam. "WWF Wrestling Challenge (12.13.1986) Review".
- ^ "Full WrestleMania III results". WWE. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
- ^ The Wrestling Observer Newsletter: 5/11/87
- ^ "Deaths – FAQ". WrestleView.com. Archived from the original on May 13, 2007. Retrieved May 30, 2007.
- )
- Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the originalon February 19, 2016. 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