Keith Franke (September 12, 1954- July 4, 1988) was an American professional wrestler, best known as Adrian Adonis.
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 personae, 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.
Adonis made the transformation in 1986 on Piper's Pit 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". 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 wrestled with the AWA during 1987, although his frame was considerably bigger than his previous AWA stint. During his 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 on July 4, 1988 in Newfoundland in a van crash with Dave "Wildman" McKigney, Pat Kelly. Pat's brother Mike Kelly was also in the van. Mike would survive, but with leg injuries.
Tag team career
Ironically, Piper and Adonis were once Americas Tag Team Champions in the National Wrestling Alliance.
However, Adonis is far better known for his successful tag team stints with Jesse Ventura and later, with Dick Murdoch. He also occasionally teamed with Randy "Macho Man" 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 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 World Tag Team Championship.
Adonis' career came to an end on July 4, 1988, when he was killed in a car accident at the age of 33.
Profile
- Height: 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
- Weight: - Varied throughout his career, listed as 230 lb (104 kg) in the early 1980s, he ballooned to over 300 lb (136 kg) by the end of the decade
- Birthday: September 15, 1954
- Hometown: New York City
- Date of Death: July 4, 1988 (Car accident)
- Trained By: Fred Atkins
- Professional Debut: 1974
- Previous Identities: Keith Franks, "Adorable" (WWF)
- Finishing/Signature Move(s): Goodnight Irene Sleeper, DDT
- Managers: Sir Oliver Humperdink, Jimmy Hart, Paul Heyman, Freddie Blassie
Finishing and signature moves
Good Night Irene (Sleeper Hold)
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, a primetime program that pre-dated Monday Night Raw, he said that he was. 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 weren't as commonplace.
Championships and accomplishments
- 1-time WWF World Tag-Team Champion (with Dick Murdoch)
- 1-time WWF International Tag-Team Champion (with Dick Murdoch)
- 2-time NWA Americas Tag-Team Champion (1 with Black Gordman, 1 with Roddy Piper)
- 1-time NWA Americas Heavyweight Champion
- 1-time NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Champion (with Ron Starr)
- 1-time AWA World Tag-Team Champion (with Jesse Ventura)
- 1-time SCW Southwest Heavyweight Champion
- 1-time SCW Heavyweight Champion
He won the Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) Editor's Award in 1988 that is given to the most inspirational wrestling personality of that year.
PWI also ranked him # 128 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" and the # 35 of the best tag teams (with Dick Murdoch) and # 67 of the best tag teams (with Jesse Ventura) of the "PWI Years" in 2003.
- 1981 Most Improved Wrestler
- 1982 Most Underrated Wrestler