Keith Adonis Franke (September 15, 1953 â€" 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.Franke trained under Fred Atkins and debuted in 1974, wrestling
as Keith Franks. In the late 1970s, he adopted the ring name Adrian
Adonis and the character of a brawling, leather jacket-clad biker.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.Adonis and Ventura
debuted in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in late 1981, working
both as a team and in singles matches. Adonis was a frequent
challenger of WWF Champion Bob Backlund and Intercontinental Champion
Pedro Morales throughout the first half of 1982.
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.Franke trained under Fred Atkins and debuted in 1974, wrestling
as Keith Franks. In the late 1970s, he adopted the ring name Adrian
Adonis and the character of a brawling, leather jacket-clad biker.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.Adonis and Ventura
debuted in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in late 1981, working
both as a team and in singles matches. Adonis was a frequent
challenger of WWF Champion Bob Backlund and Intercontinental Champion
Pedro Morales throughout the first half of 1982.
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