15 Facts About Adrian Adonis

Adrian Adonis was best known for his appearances with the American Wrestling Association and World Wrestling Federation throughout the 1980s.

Adrian Adonis would be involved in a feud with Roddy Piper, which culminated in a hair vs hair match at WrestleMania III.

Adrian Adonis was the only son of Kenneth and Hortense Franke, and had two sisters, Karen and Susan.

Adrian Adonis went to Kenmore East High School in the class of 1971.

In Pacific Northwest Wrestling, Adrian Adonis formed a tag team with Roddy Piper.

Adrian Adonis was a frequent challenger of WWF Champion Bob Backlund and Intercontinental Champion Pedro Morales throughout the first half of 1982.

Around this time, Adrian Adonis gained a considerable amount of weight.

In late 1985, after being briefly managed by Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and adopting the DDT as a finisher, Adrian Adonis' gimmick began to change.

Adrian Adonis ceased his prior weightlifting regimen, stopped tanning, and removed all of his body hair.

Adrian Adonis defeated Uncle Elmer in quick fashion at WrestleMania 2 and feuded extensively with the Junkyard Dog and George "The Animal" Steele, while unsuccessfully challenging Hulk Hogan for the WWF Championship on multiple occasions.

In May 1986, during Piper's five-month hiatus from the WWF, Adrian Adonis debuted his own talk segment, The Flower Shop.

In reality, Adrian Adonis was fired but quickly rehired when Piper's house show matches vs Don Muraco and Bob Orton Jr.

Adrian Adonis then began a feud with Beefcake but was fired in May 1987 for what the WWF claimed were "dress code violations".

Adrian Adonis 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.

Adrian Adonis is buried at Greenlawn Memorial Park in Bakersfield, California.