Dark Side of the Ring: Adrian Adonis – What We Learned

In this week’s episode of Dark Side of the Ring, the show takes a look at the life, career, and death of Adrian Adonis, a wrestler who competed for several promotions throughout the 1970s and 1980s – most notably the American Wrestling Association (AWA) and World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE).

Adonis, born Keith Franke, was known for his strong athleticism (especially for a man his size) as well as his two very different major gimmicks: a tough, brawling biker and the flamboyant “Adorable” Adrian Adonis. Here is what we learned from the episode.

Adrian Adonis Dark Side of the Ring: What Did We Learn?

He Was a Tough and Athletic Guy

Adrian Adonis was a big guy who, while growing up, supported his friends and backed them up in fights. When he decided to become a wrestler, he worked a gimmick where he would invite fans into the ring to fight him for real. If they lasted ten minutes, they would win money. Adrian brutalized these fans, showing how tough he truly was, and ensuring that he established himself as a legitimate tough guy. His reputation would earn him a job with the AWA.

He Was Good at Getting People Over

During his time in the AWA, Adrian Adonis was instrumental in getting smaller talent, such as Greg Gagne over. By selling so well for his opponents, he was able to make them look tougher and more believable, even if they were smaller than him. This made him someone that others liked to work with and a popular guy with promoters as well. Eventually, this led to him being hired by the WWF.

He Played a Gay Stereotype

Because he wrestled in Vince McMahon‘s WWF in the mid-to-late 80s, Adrian Adonis had to have an over-the-top gimmick. “Tough guy who beats people up” wasn’t enough, and thus “Adorable” Adrian Adonis was born. It was pretty obviously a gay stereotype (a clip is shown of Adonis – who was married to a woman and had two children – admitting to a WWF audience that he was gay) and not a particularly flattering one. It pretty clearly was meant to cause a  response from the audience who would boo him.

Dave Meltzer says that the gimmick was designed to encourage straight people in the audience to jeer a gay wrestler, and several very offensive crowd signs from the time certainly back that up. Bret Hart says that Adonis didn’t like the gimmick, but he accepted it and went with it to show that he could make it work.

He Loved His Wife and Children

A significant portion of the show is dedicated to Adonis’ relationship with his wife and children. Hart mentions what a kind and devoted husband he was, his wife details their kind and loving relationship, and his children talked about the presents he would bring home for them from his trips and the time they’d spend hanging out together. It was actually refreshing to hear about a wrestler on this show who seemed to have a stable and happy home life.

He Got Involved in Drugs

It was the 1980s in professional wrestling, so Adrian Adonis did cocaine. Bret Hart mentions how basically everyone at the time did coke, and even tells a story about how getting invited into the hotel room where the big-time wrestlers (Adonis, Roddy Piper, Mr. Fuji, etc.) were partying and doing coke was a big opportunity for him to learn tricks and psychology from some of the best in the business. However, Hart also points out that doing too much could get you in serious trouble. Eventually, Hart and Jim Neidhart stopped partying with Adonis because it got too much for them.

The drugs changed Adonis’ wrestling and made him more violent and aggressive in the ring. Dan Spivey talks about how Adonis went too far with him during a match. The next show they were booked to wrestle one another again, and Spivey snapped after Adonis tried to take liberties with him once more. The two ended up fighting backstage after the match and Spivey knocked Adonis out cold. Spivey was fired and Jim Brunzell speculates that Adonis was never the same after being embarrassed like that. His drug problems got worse and he also gained a lot of weight.

Eventually, Adonis was quietly let go from the WWF and it’s alleged that it was because of drug use.

Three Others Were in the Car Crash That Killed Adonis – Only One Survived

After his time in the WWF, Adrian Adonis returned to the AWA, but he was overweight and clearly in bad shape. After a match between the two, Greg Gagne tried to talk Adonis into getting his life back together and Adonis seemed to listen. He lost a lot of weight and went on a tour wrestling in Japan without the “Adorable” gimmick.

He was then booked for several shows in Canada. While traveling to a show in Newfoundland with fellow wrestlers Mike Kelly, Pat Kelly, and Dave McKigney (The Bearman), they swerved to avoid hitting a bear (or a moose, it isn’t clear from the show) and crashed into a rock. The van ended up in the water below. Pat Kelly and Dave McKigney were killed instantly while Adonis was seriously injured and would die shortly after.

Mike Kelly, the only survivor of the accident, disputes reports that drugs or alcohol were involved and says that he himself was tested following the crash.

The episode ends with Dave Meltzer saying that Adrian Adonis wasn’t appreciated enough during his time and that he would be a big star today. Bret Hart mentions that he truly believed Adonis was getting his life back on track and that he could have seen himself facing Adonis at WrestleMania if Adonis had lived.

What did you learn from the Adrian Adonis episode of Dark Side of the Ring? Sound off in the comments.