Adrian Adonis Keith Franke ( September 12 , 1953 – July 4 , 1988 ) was an American professional wrestler , better known by his ring name , " Adorable " Adrian Adonis . Career . Franke trained under Fred Atkins and debuted in 1974 , wrestling under his own name . In the late 1970s , Franke adopted the ring name Adrian Adonis and the character of a brawling , leather jacket - clad biker . American Wrestling Association . In the late 1970s , Adonis joined the Minneapolis , Minnesota - based American Wrestling Association . In 1979 , he formed a tag team with Jesse Ventura . The team was known as the East - West Connection on the basis that Adonis was from New York ( in the East ) , while Ventura was billed as being from California ( in the West ) . Adonis and Ventura were 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 the title because he was vacationing in Europe . Adonis and Ventura held the belts until June 14 , 1981 , when they were defeated by Greg Gagne and Jim Brunzell . World Wrestling Federation . Adonis and Ventura appeared in the World Wrestling Federation ( WWF ) later that year as a team and in singles competition . Adonis was a frequent challenger to WWF champion Bob Backlund and Intercontinental champion Pedro Morales throughout the first half of 1982 . Adonis later formed a tag team with the Texan Dick Murdoch known as the North - South Connection , with their first appearance together in the WWF in late 1983 . On April 17 , 1984 , Adonis and Murdoch defeated Tony Atlas and Rocky Johnson to win the WWF World Tag Team Championship . They held the titles until January 21 , 1985 , when they were defeated by Barry Windham and Mike Rotundo . The team split shortly after the loss . " Adorable " Adrian Adonis . In late 1985 , after an uneventful summer in which he was briefly managed by Bobby " The Brain " Heenan and took to using the DDT as a finisher months before the WWF debut of Jake Roberts , Adonis began altering his gimmick , firstly adopting Jimmy Hart as his manager . Paired with Hart , he defeated Corporal Kirchner to advance in the Wrestling Classic pay - per - view tournament in November , though he lost to the Dynamite Kid in the quarterfinals . In early 1986 Adonis started carrying a briefcase which said " Relax with Trudy " on the outside of it and carried a spray called " Fragrance " , 3 years later , Rick Martel would lift the gimmick , calling his perfume " Arrogance " , an apparent ode to Adonis . During an edition of Piper ' s Pit , Adonis gave his signature leather jacket to host Roddy Piper . Adonis ' new character was the effeminate " Adorable " Adrian Adonis . The gimmick change saw him bleach his hair blond and begin wearing pink ring attire , as well as scarves , legwarmers , dresses , women ' s hats and clownish amounts of eyeshadow and rouge . In the same time period , Adonis ' weight ballooned , peaking at well over 300 lb ( 140 kg / 21 st ) . Adonis defeated Uncle Elmer in quick fashion at WrestleMania II and feuded extensively with the Junkyard Dog and George " The Animal " Steele while also unsuccessfully challenging Hulk Hogan for the WWF championship on multiple occasions . In May 1986 , Adonis ( with Hart ) debuted his own talk segment , The Flower Shop , during Piper ' s five - month hiatus from the WWF . These segments were the primary backdrop for Paul Orndorff ' s slow - building heel turn against his friend Hogan , with Adonis relentlessly needling Orndorff about living in Hogan ' s shadow . In August , shortly before Piper ' s return , Adonis obtained the services of Piper ' s bodyguard , " Cowboy " Bob Orton , who took to wearing a pink cowboy hat . The feud with Piper came to a head when Adonis , Orton and Don Muraco attacked Piper during a " duel " between the two talk segments , injuring Piper ' s leg , covering him in lipstick and damaging the Pit set . A week later , Piper destroyed the set of The Flower Shop with a baseball bat . On the Oct . 4 Saturday Night ' s Main Event show , Piper struck Adonis with a crutch , leading to Adonis not appearing on TV for two months with what was described as a separated shoulder . After Adonis returned in November to attack Piper on the Pit , the two eventually agreed to face one another in a hair vs . hair match at WrestleMania III . Piper won the bout with assistance from Brutus Beefcake , who cut off the majority of Adonis ' hair afterward . Return to the AWA . Adonis ( now with a shaved head ) had a ready - made feud with Beefcake but left the WWF shortly after WrestleMania III , returning to the AWA , where he was managed by Paul E . Dangerously during 1987 . During this stint , Adonis feuded with Tommy Rich and lost the final match of the AWA International Television Championship tournament to Greg Gagne in December 1987 . Early in 1988 , Adonis was scheduled to tour New Japan Pro Wrestling along with other AWA talent , but an ankle injury kept him from participating . In addition to losing the money he would have earned from the NJPW tour , Verne Gagne stopped paying Adonis ' s weekly pay . When Gagne turned down Adonis ' s plea for financial help , Adonis unsuccessfully tried to get a job with WWF . Death . Adonis was killed on July 4 , 1988 in Lewisporte , Newfoundland and Labrador while riding in a minivan with fellow wrestlers William " Mike Kelly " Arko , Victor " Pat Kelly " Arko , and Dave " Wildman " McKigney . Adonis , McKigney and Pat Kelly were killed when the driver , Mike Kelly , allegedly swerved in order to avoid hitting a moose and , blinded by the setting sun , inadvertedly drove into a lake . Mike Kelly survived , albeit with severe leg injuries .