I think what shocked me the most about the episode was Bret Hart just casually admitting he was up all night doing coke with the boys. I never saw that coming in a million years...
That shouldn't have been too shocking, considering most of the big enough names at the point in time all got together to either got drunk or high on something regularly. It could only really shock someone if they thought of Bret as being some sort of choirboy in the business.
@@decepticonxhunter4850For Bret, it was shocking. He prides himself on having a good image. Yeah, we probably knew he dabbled in some stuff but for him to flat out admit it was shocking.
That was in his book. Out of all the guys that he was with in that hotel room, he's the only one left. Anvil, Adonis, Roddy, Shiek, and Fuji are all gone.
Think about it: Bret was a young guy still trying to cut his teeth in the big leagues. He wanted to fit in with the big names and learn from em, drugs were inevitable
Bret was great in this episode just casually naming EVERYONE in the room he was doing Coke with like he was Henry Hill in Goodfellas. Gotta Love Old man Bret Hart keeping it real.
One of my older gay co-workers, who lived in New York in the 80s, is also a big wrestling fan, and we talk about it. He told me that Adonis was kind of an ironic gay icon back then because his gimmick was so absurd and it was similar to the Ball Drag culture that was really popular at the time. A couple times him and a few friends went to MSG and would dress flamboyantly and cheer for Adrian Adonis just to piss everyone else off. So his gimmick did draw some money in that sense.
I have to say. That interview with the surviving brother was one of the saddest things I’ve seen on Dark Side. The pain on his face after 35 years said it all. I can’t imagine something hurting that much for that long. Brought tears to my eyes
Agreed, a life-long best friend, not to mention brother, dies right in front of him. I have known some twins and triplets even, but I remember only one pair of identical twins that seemed to have that same instinct: when the other was hurt, they'd know it. And they weren't even as close as these two seemed to be.
One of the bigger shocks to me was probably that Ricky Johnson exists, and was Rocky Johnson’s brother as opposed to a knockoff, yet was right in the middle of this. When you hear of Rock’s family in the business, you think Rocky, High Chief, grandma Lia the promoter, all the Samoans, etc. Never even heard he had an uncle who tag teamed with his dad, let alone was effectively a witness to one of wrestling’s tragedies in Canada.
I think it was late last year it came out that Rocky Johnson has a total of 8 other kids besides Dwayne. Dwyane has zero interaction with them, they are also spread all over the States and Canada
Yeah, he probably would've been on this episode if he hadn't died in 2015. (Which would've been awesome to see him on Dark Side of the Ring.) My Mom showed me The Haunting of: Roddy Piper, really good episode. The problem was, we don't have cable and it was on a syndicated channel that aired it really early in the morning, like after midnight and that's how I caught it, they rarely played this episode. I was going to fall asleep, then my Mom wakes me up they're playing it. Then I watched it, it was very insightful and I read Piper's original autobiography once that my Mom had, I don't know where the hell that is now. Anyway, I had to reply/react to your message when I saw that.
The part about the “Bear man’s” fiancé being killed in the shower by the bear was honestly the most interesting part of the episode. They sort of glossed over it pretty quickly but that sounds like an insanely tragic story.
They kind of had to gloss over it for time, but it was more or less like they said. I have also heard Jim’s version that the wife was menstruating, so that could also be true.
@@Rjensen2 seen russians with bears as pet , one man even has polar bear as pet , i guess Batman Sub Zero wasnt so unrealistic after all with Freeze having 2 polar bears as bodyguards
@@TRELLT77 I'm glad you see it too! I mean, if you look at him closely, he kind of looks like John Belushi, especially earlier in his career, and even has a similar voice. He was talented, full of energy and, unfortunately, had a big addiction to cocaine. A talented guy gone too soon.
@@Rjensen2”Lmao”, he never reached his prime. He never got to get back into shape and had an actual gimmick worth a fuck. Now piss off and go bother someone else.
I can remember a WWF program that aired after the whole "I'm gay" thing, and Gorilla Monsoon was pontificating in mock outrage " He said I'm gay" and Jesse Ventura replied " So, he's really happy, eh?"
Being an 80's kid and being from Newfoundland, this hit really hard. I hated AA as a wrestler, but felt horrible about his death. I often find my thoughts drift to him whenever i see a moose on the highway.
The first time I saw him wrestle on tv he sang "Goodnight Irene", while he was choking the life out of a jobber. He was different and I will always be a fan.
Wrestling Challenge from late 86 into early 87 is on Peacock. I rewatched a lot of those episodes not too long ago and pretty much the entire build of the Piper feud is covered. Watching with the perspective most of us have today, Piper comes across as the heel.
Fred Atkins was a referee in Southern Ontario and Western New York at the end of his career. He was also an equipment manager for the Buffalo Sabers of the NHL at one time. I'm surprised that he (Keith Franke/ Adrian Adonis) didn't receive any training from. Dick Beyer/The Destroyer, like Mike Rotundo, did. Beyer was from Buffalo. I grew up on the West Side of Buffalo at a time when it was something like almost 80 % of the population in that part of the city was of Italian heritage. The gang he was a part of was motorcycle gang named The Kingsmen. I used to see a bunch of them in a dive bar about two blocks down from the old Rocmar Bowling Alley that my dad and uncles used to bowl at. This was in the early 1990s, long after he was a big name in wrestling. Apparently, my uncle (by marriage to my father's sister) knew Franke's family. I didn't find this out until years later. I was kind of pissed because all my family knew I was a huge wrestling fan, and I was even a fan of Adonis,...during his pre-adorable gimmick.
I didn’t know much about Adrian Adonis but after this episode, I am a fan and his work, talent and legacy should be recognized by the WWE and the wrestling world today.
Yeah, I don't think you'll see much about Adrian's "Adorable" side in the WWE archives. Back then the rampant Gay hate was accepted, and Adrian had a ton of heat. I hated him so much as a kid, cause of him "breaking" Piper's ankle on his Flower Shop set
He was a great in ring wrestler who could make everyone look great and take such incredible bumps! His tough NY guy persona was the best look for him because he was a tough guy in life and it worked very well for him! The East/West Connection was a great tag team and Jesse make it work so well! He was one of the great talkers of that generation and had the look of a muscle head which made it work even more so being from Muscle Beach, CA! The best parts were how much of a family man he was and genuinely looked so happy in those pictures showing how good of a father he really was.
I am surprised Jim and more so (WWF expert) Brian didn't mention his 1982 run in the WWF, where he did the main event circuit(vs Backlund) I believe 2 times
True. The documentary itself didn't spend any time on his tag team with Murdoch, or his winning a tournament in Houston in 83 for the short lived Southwest version of the world title.
The inevitable Dark Side of The Ring episode about the fall of AEW is going to be amazing. One of the saddest parts will be when Orange Cassidy takes his hands out of his pockets to wipe his tears away.
Yall keep hoping for that then when warner gives them a billion dollars fir the next TV I'll come back to this comment and say yeah what a downfall....
That's what puzzled me with Adrian, I knew the rotten gimmick Vince gave him. Yet in the end Adrian found a way to slim down. But yeah it was a horrible accident.
I never knew how much of the Goldust gimmick was Dustin and how much was Vince. But I can see parallels in Adorable Adrian and Goldust. Vince thinking that being gay or androgynous was scandalous enough to get over, while also fucking with the talent at the same time.
Adrian Adonis was pathetic and Adrian Street never would have agreed to team up with him. Adrian Street did the gimmick best. He also could have tied Adonis in knots despite being the much smaller man.
The gimmick was what it was. But watching as much of it has i have, it looked like what he was going for what Gorgeous George meets Boy George. That might explain the eye make up and dresses. To Adrian's credit, he didn't change his voice for the gimmick. He could have spoke with a lispy or in a higher pitch but instead he sounded like Adrian Adonis. To see what a great worker he was, i love the match from the Wrestling Classic against Dynamite Kid. Kid was going fast, trying to blow up the fat boy. Adrian kept up with him. Its incredible to watch. How does a guy that size keep pace with Dynamite Kid?
Fun Fact: At least a few of his friends were publicly named as associates or soldiers in the magadino family by the FBI during their investigations into the mob in the 80's. The magadino family was founded by: "The Undertaker".
I was always an Adorable Adrian Adonis fan. The first wrestling match I can remember watching on TV was the Randy Savage & Adrian Adonis cage match against Tito Santana & Bruno Sammartino at the Garden on the MSG Network that Last referenced. Adonis was flat out entertaining af. And I'm not saying it would have sold any tickets, but his match against Uncle Elmer at Wrestlemania 2 is one of my favorite all-time matches. Not because it was a technical masterpiece, but because of how Adrian was able to turn that match into something all by himself when he was basically working with a walking water bed. Any real wrestling hall of fame would have Adrian Adonis in it.
Also, thank GOD for The Brian Last. I've pretty much stopped listening to podcasts about wrestling because I absolutely cannot STAND Conrad Thompson. Tired of the "Save With Conrad" huckstering, tired of him outright SCREAMING at people (most notably Eric Bischoff) for the wrestling past. Tired of the fake good ole boy "Roll Tide" line over and over and over. He really sucks. Brian, on the other hand does absolutely none of this. ❤️
Both those guys had a very similar style so it would be interesting seeing them face each other because both were really good at making their opponents look like a million dollars.
I had seen some of their matches in Portland, some really good stuff from what I saw. And they actually WRESTLED, used holds, sold, and told a good story in the ring. They post had a lot of color and personality, but knew how to work and wrestle.
Loved Portland Wrestling. My Gramps would take us boys to our local Armory when they'd come to town.. or if we were really good we'd get to head out to Portland to watch
I like the adorable gimmick, as a kid I didn’t know about “gay” and I never saw that line said until the network. He was over the top and pulled it off despite its silliness. Great talent
Re how little info there was in the doc about Adrian's early career: I do know he worked under his real name as enhancement talent for Eddie Graham in Florida in the mid-to-late '70s. Adrian also had some real good matches against Bob Backlund for the WWF title in the early '80s.
Like I said on the previous video about Adonis by Jim, he should be inducted into the HOF soley for that gimmick alone in the 1980s, paving the way for similar character like Goldust
It's one of the rare wrestling stories where every witness pretty much says the same thing. That alone tells me it's true considering wrestlers are like bickering old ladies at the salon when it comes to storytelling lol.
I am surprised they did not touch on how close Adrian and Piper were. After Adrian dropped the biker gimmick he gave his leather to Roddy who then wore it. I always found that to be a cool tidbit. And he always carried the briefcase that said Win With Trudy or something like that. It was a big mystery what was in it that they were building up. They dropped that story line completely when he went drag, I wonder what it was supposed to be in there. And there were rumors though a married man, he was a Road Queen hooking up w dudes. True or not that is likely where this storyline came from.
@@ronmichaels9206 I read that a couple of places on the net after the Dark Side special in comments sections. Like I said who knows if its true or not but Honky Tonk said there is usually a backstory behind some of these names so that may be the case. Who knows, I would not doubt it.
I wasn't expecting to watch this episode but my wife chose it at random and I really enjoyed it. I've always heard of him but never knew who he was until now. His poor wife n family, my wife n I definitely shed a tear for her.
There are matches of Adonis in Portland. He was pretty over and early in his caree he was a good worker. Adonis also had a run in L.A. and has they mentioned in Southwest Championship Wrestling. I really wish they would have covered more of his career if even briefly.
I wasn't too familiar with Adrian Adonis before this, and sadly the BtR episode didn't add much more to what I did already know about him, outside of his family life of course. Hart casually admitting to taking bumps of the other kind (you know, to learn the business) was kind of amusing.
There's a podcast called Grappling With Canada on RUclips. On one episode, they interviewed people at the scene of the accident who tried to help Adrian including a RCMP officer. The details of the accident aren't pretty.
The bummer of these tragic stories. Much like Vader, once you lose a fight, you lose all credibility as a man. Which is beyond absurd. Even in wrestling, you win some, you lose some. But in real life, you're supposed to be undefeated? I never understood that. Just take your knock like a man & keep truckin'. But lots of people just lose all sense of humanity
I'm so glad you picked up on uncle Daves "you knows". I noticed it during your video commenting on the Chris Van Vliet interview. If it was a drinking game I would have been munted.
I liked that one promo where Tully really put Adrian over as a bad ass. Tully had put a bounty out on Sweetan and Adrian vowed to take him out, even offered to do it at a discount. Just the pleasure of inflicting violence on Sweetan was good enough for Adrian. That was good stuff.
Remember when PAC was in WWE as 'Adrian Neville', and they eventually dropped the name to just 'Neville'? It was reported that the reason for the change was Vince believed Adrian was a womans name. It all adds up.
I never knew Ricky Johnson existed! I first saw Adrian wrestle on TV in the late 70's for the San Francisco. He was tag team partners with Ron Star and they feuded with Roddy Piper and Tim "Killer" Brooks.
Come to think of it, it's wierd how much Adrian Adonis's life and death mirrors Marc Bolan's. Both abused cocaine, both ballooned up and quit the habit to lose weight get their career back on track just to die in a car crash. Neither was driving either.
On his podcast, “The Snake Pit,” Jake Roberts said that the incident with Dan Spivey started when Adonis gave Dan a “good night Irene.” In the locker room, Spivey was pissed and told Adrian not to do that again. Adrian then stepped to Dan and found out why he’s called “Dan, Dan the left handed man” when he popped Adonis three times (once in each eye and right between the eyes). One question, what exactly is a “good night Irene.”
The one thing I learned from this clip of Jim and Brian and the Dark side episode is that I need to get the book about Adrian Adonis and read it. There is so much more to this guy than the Adorable Adrian gimmick.
This was a very informative episode of Dark Side of the Ring I learned so much about Adrian Adonis since he was way before my time this was a great episode overall.
![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
I think what shocked me the most about the episode was Bret Hart just casually admitting he was up all night doing coke with the boys. I never saw that coming in a million years...
That shouldn't have been too shocking, considering most of the big enough names at the point in time all got together to either got drunk or high on something regularly. It could only really shock someone if they thought of Bret as being some sort of choirboy in the business.
@@decepticonxhunter4850For Bret, it was shocking. He prides himself on having a good image. Yeah, we probably knew he dabbled in some stuff but for him to flat out admit it was shocking.
That was in his book. Out of all the guys that he was with in that hotel room, he's the only one left. Anvil, Adonis, Roddy, Shiek, and Fuji are all gone.
Think about it: Bret was a young guy still trying to cut his teeth in the big leagues. He wanted to fit in with the big names and learn from em, drugs were inevitable
I shouldn’t have been surprised by it but still was Bret Hart saying he was doing drugs with the other wrestlers he was trying to get advice from
Bret was great in this episode just casually naming EVERYONE in the room he was doing Coke with like he was Henry Hill in Goodfellas. Gotta Love Old man Bret Hart keeping it real.
One of my older gay co-workers, who lived in New York in the 80s, is also a big wrestling fan, and we talk about it. He told me that Adonis was kind of an ironic gay icon back then because his gimmick was so absurd and it was similar to the Ball Drag culture that was really popular at the time. A couple times him and a few friends went to MSG and would dress flamboyantly and cheer for Adrian Adonis just to piss everyone else off. So his gimmick did draw some money in that sense.
the gay villain in the Bruce Lee movie shouldve had a spin off : The Way of the Fruit Loop :P
It’s funny cuz his leather jacket dog collar look with the hat is actually gay-er than the drag show they made him go with.
Comparing the 2 outfits is like comparing Scorpio Sky to Ricochet. They’re about the same.
You clearly weren't around in the 80s. That wasn't considered gay back then
I have to say. That interview with the surviving brother was one of the saddest things I’ve seen on Dark Side. The pain on his face after 35 years said it all. I can’t imagine something hurting that much for that long. Brought tears to my eyes
Agreed.
Yeah, Mike Kelly is still carrying that pain. I want to give him a hug
Agreed, a life-long best friend, not to mention brother, dies right in front of him. I have known some twins and triplets even, but I remember only one pair of identical twins that seemed to have that same instinct: when the other was hurt, they'd know it. And they weren't even as close as these two seemed to be.
Oh man me too that was very heartbreaking to watch and to have that image of his brother in that accident with him wow
Yeah that kind of was a sadness pile on that man’s pain almost overshadowed the whole episode
I couldn't fathom what the Anvil must've been like after he had a bump of Coke! That dude was hyper enough as it is! 😂
One of the bigger shocks to me was probably that Ricky Johnson exists, and was Rocky Johnson’s brother as opposed to a knockoff, yet was right in the middle of this.
When you hear of Rock’s family in the business, you think Rocky, High Chief, grandma Lia the promoter, all the Samoans, etc. Never even heard he had an uncle who tag teamed with his dad, let alone was effectively a witness to one of wrestling’s tragedies in Canada.
I read once Dwayne isn't close with his dad side of the family. He has older siblings from his dad that he doesn't even talk about
I think it was late last year it came out that Rocky Johnson has a total of 8 other kids besides Dwayne. Dwyane has zero interaction with them, they are also spread all over the States and Canada
@@ManimalPatB
Rocky Johnson was a rolling stone.
@@09Daviswell that's the case for alot of people. Dad have kids with other women I would expect Rock to be close or talk to them.
@@scrappy93 Why in the world would you expect that?
If Piper was alive, you know he'd have been really emotional. You should see piper talk about Adonis on the Haunting episode
Yeah, he probably would've been on this episode if he hadn't died in 2015. (Which would've been awesome to see him on Dark Side of the Ring.) My Mom showed me The Haunting of: Roddy Piper, really good episode. The problem was, we don't have cable and it was on a syndicated channel that aired it really early in the morning, like after midnight and that's how I caught it, they rarely played this episode. I was going to fall asleep, then my Mom wakes me up they're playing it. Then I watched it, it was very insightful and I read Piper's original autobiography once that my Mom had, I don't know where the hell that is now. Anyway, I had to reply/react to your message when I saw that.
If he cared about Adonis, he wouldn't have used his memory in order to bring attention to himself on some b.s. ghost show.
@@Rjensen2shut up
Adrian was built like an old truck driver but could move like a sports car.
That's a great way to put it.
He was so good despite his size. All the talent in the world
Same thing with Buddy Rose and Bam Bam Bigelow.
@@quentinkaasa47Bobby heenan could take some good bumps. The best was probably Mr. Perfect.
The part about the “Bear man’s” fiancé being killed in the shower by the bear was honestly the most interesting part of the episode. They sort of glossed over it pretty quickly but that sounds like an insanely tragic story.
They kind of had to gloss over it for time, but it was more or less like they said. I have also heard Jim’s version that the wife was menstruating, so that could also be true.
A dark side story in itself.
Treat wild animals like that and that's what happens.
@@Rjensen2 That Bear Didn't Go Crazy, That Bear Turned Into a Bear
@@Rjensen2 seen russians with bears as pet , one man even has polar bear as pet , i guess Batman Sub Zero wasnt so unrealistic after all with Freeze having 2 polar bears as bodyguards
13:48 Correction, Scott Hall was Starship Coyote and Spivey was Starship Eagle
I always thought Adrian Adonis was like the John Belushi of wrestling. Very talented, gone too soon.
He was
@@TRELLT77 I'm glad you see it too! I mean, if you look at him closely, he kind of looks like John Belushi, especially earlier in his career, and even has a similar voice. He was talented, full of energy and, unfortunately, had a big addiction to cocaine. A talented guy gone too soon.
@@breezecardenas3941 He was wildly gifted, had inner pain but you notice he only hurt himself. Jim said the same about John....Family Men!
That’s better than my take that he was the Hermann Goering of wrestling.
@@itsconnorstime Nope That would be Starmaker
Watching him flip over those ropes at like 350 was fucking incredible 😂
Dude had all the talent and ability. Sad we didn’t get to see his prime form.
Lmao, there's plenty of video of him in his prime.
@@Rjensen2”Lmao”, he never reached his prime. He never got to get back into shape and had an actual gimmick worth a fuck.
Now piss off and go bother someone else.
I saw him in his prime, same thing only lighter! LOL. He was phenomenal throughout his whole career. and DAMN I am old..
I can remember a WWF program that aired after the whole "I'm gay" thing, and Gorilla Monsoon was pontificating in mock outrage " He said I'm gay" and Jesse Ventura replied " So, he's really happy, eh?"
That grizzly bear shower attack is like something out of a horror movie.
@youreunder19dontargue29you're as scared of dogs as you are bears? Lmfao
@@BurritoKilla even small dogs have been known to kill kids
Being an 80's kid and being from Newfoundland, this hit really hard. I hated AA as a wrestler, but felt horrible about his death. I often find my thoughts drift to him whenever i see a moose on the highway.
They have shown that AWESOME Adonis/ Savage vs Bruno/ Tito bloodbath from MSG on the network
Can you imagine how popular Adrian would be today at the conventions ? Wow.
He would be huge for sure.
The TNT segment where Adonis and Dick Murdoch mocked Jay Strongbow was hysterical. Pure 80’s non PC heel stuff.
I gotta search that up
@@pleaseshutup7053. It’s hysterical.
I was like "Jesus christ!" during that while also still laughing my ass off. 😂
Ricky Johnson lives in the Toronto area still, and attends local independent shows from time to time. Very nice guy.
Dang, Jim is a wizard when it comes to wrestling knowledge. Crazy.
The Artie Lange of wrestling.
Adrian Adonis is one of the MANY Vince ideas , That Vince will never Acknowledge existed.
For some reason, watching the DSOTR episode on Adrian Adonis reminded me of Chris Farley.
Tbh ditto here too crazy to think that n yet evidence is overwhelming.
Or John Belushi
The setup in Brawl for All was Bart Gunn because Ross, Cornette, and Bruce were fantasizing about 1984 Steve Williams
The first time I saw him wrestle on tv he sang "Goodnight Irene", while he was choking the life out of a jobber. He was different and I will always be a fan.
Bear man needs to be an episode on its own lol
I liked Adrian's promos in southwest. He'd go off on his opponent, make his points, then at the last second, ridicule the announcer's suit.
I have never used cocaine but if I walked into a room with Adonis, Piper, Sheik and Fuji ripping lines...I might try.
Best work was his AWA run w/Ventura and the run with Murdoch.
Wrestling Challenge from late 86 into early 87 is on Peacock. I rewatched a lot of those episodes not too long ago and pretty much the entire build of the Piper feud is covered. Watching with the perspective most of us have today, Piper comes across as the heel.
Not really. Piper was Over anyway
Fred Atkins was a referee in Southern Ontario and Western New York at the end of his career. He was also an equipment manager for the Buffalo Sabers of the NHL at one time.
I'm surprised that he (Keith Franke/ Adrian Adonis) didn't receive any training from. Dick Beyer/The Destroyer, like Mike Rotundo, did. Beyer was from Buffalo.
I grew up on the West Side of Buffalo at a time when it was something like almost 80 % of the population in that part of the city was of Italian heritage.
The gang he was a part of was motorcycle gang named The Kingsmen. I used to see a bunch of them in a dive bar about two blocks down from the old Rocmar Bowling Alley that my dad and uncles used to bowl at.
This was in the early 1990s, long after he was a big name in wrestling.
Apparently, my uncle (by marriage to my father's sister) knew Franke's family. I didn't find this out until years later. I was kind of pissed because all my family knew I was a huge wrestling fan, and I was even a fan of Adonis,...during his pre-adorable gimmick.
On a side note the kingsmen still exist in buffalo today
Did your mother with your last name work at a west Buffalo deli years ago?
@@swerboski No, but my aunt did.
Her and my uncle purchased Doyle's Deli.
The best part about the NYC skit is Gene Mean calling Murdoch "Richard".
I didn’t know much about Adrian Adonis but after this episode, I am a fan and his work, talent and legacy should be recognized by the WWE and the wrestling world today.
Get the first wrestling gold set, the southwest championship wrestling dvd's, those have some of his matches and promos.
Yeah, I don't think you'll see much about Adrian's "Adorable" side in the WWE archives. Back then the rampant Gay hate was accepted, and Adrian had a ton of heat. I hated him so much as a kid, cause of him "breaking" Piper's ankle on his Flower Shop set
He actually made appearances before 1983 in the WWF for Vince Sr like 1980, 81, 82
He was a great in ring wrestler who could make everyone look great and take such incredible bumps! His tough NY guy persona was the best look for him because he was a tough guy in life and it worked very well for him! The East/West Connection was a great tag team and Jesse make it work so well! He was one of the great talkers of that generation and had the look of a muscle head which made it work even more so being from Muscle Beach, CA! The best parts were how much of a family man he was and genuinely looked so happy in those pictures showing how good of a father he really was.
Don't tug on Superman's cape, keep a bear in your house or try to bully Dan Spivey.
I am surprised Jim and more so (WWF expert) Brian didn't mention his 1982 run in the WWF, where he did the main event circuit(vs Backlund) I believe 2 times
True. The documentary itself didn't spend any time on his tag team with Murdoch, or his winning a tournament in Houston in 83 for the short lived Southwest version of the world title.
Watched mean gene in the Bowery on your recommendation it was pure gold
There is an Adrian Adonis action figure, I've had it for 35 years.
The inevitable Dark Side of The Ring episode about the fall of AEW is going to be amazing. One of the saddest parts will be when Orange Cassidy takes his hands out of his pockets to wipe his tears away.
Lmao😂😂😂😂😂😂
Ahahaha best comment of the night
And Jungle Boy swinging down from a vine and accidently strangling himself from the rafters on live tv and shitting on audience below
@@G.Martinez916 i cant wait for that! going back to the orange cassidy comment, do u think he will use his tears as lubricate to jerk off?
Yall keep hoping for that then when warner gives them a billion dollars fir the next TV I'll come back to this comment and say yeah what a downfall....
Another classic Vince gimmick.Right up there with the Red Rooster and Saba Simba. Aye ye ye...
Absolutely. And you can see him slithering back into creative now.
In all fairness, the "adorable" gimmick had NUCLEAR heat. I remember people basically wanted to kill him back then.
Wrong. Adonis actually turned Piper baby face back in 86
Would love to hear them talk about the documentary on the Olympic in Los Angeles. Saw it last weekend, great footage.
😊
That's what puzzled me with Adrian, I knew the rotten gimmick Vince gave him. Yet in the end Adrian found a way to slim down. But yeah it was a horrible accident.
I never knew how much of the Goldust gimmick was Dustin and how much was Vince. But I can see parallels in Adorable Adrian and Goldust. Vince thinking that being gay or androgynous was scandalous enough to get over, while also fucking with the talent at the same time.
Adrian Adonis first went to the WWF in late 1981 with Ventura . Adonis fought WWF Champ Bob Backlund numerous times.
A dark side episode about cocaine and a bear attack. I wonder if theres a potential movie plot 😂
Adrian Adonis and Adrian Street managed by Percy Pringle would of been a cool angle against the Midnight Express managed by Jim Cornette.
Adrian Adonis was pathetic and Adrian Street never would have agreed to team up with him. Adrian Street did the gimmick best. He also could have tied Adonis in knots despite being the much smaller man.
The surviving Kelly brother being absolutely crushed over his twin dying was the saddest part of the episode for me 💔
One of the few DSotR's that I didn't think the person being profiles was crap on a stick.
The gimmick was what it was. But watching as much of it has i have, it looked like what he was going for what Gorgeous George meets Boy George. That might explain the eye make up and dresses. To Adrian's credit, he didn't change his voice for the gimmick. He could have spoke with a lispy or in a higher pitch but instead he sounded like Adrian Adonis. To see what a great worker he was, i love the match from the Wrestling Classic against Dynamite Kid. Kid was going fast, trying to blow up the fat boy. Adrian kept up with him. Its incredible to watch. How does a guy that size keep pace with Dynamite Kid?
Uh am i in a parallel dimension or was there a dark side of the ring episode about bash at the beach you reviewed and now its as if it never existed?
Clearly his coke was cut with confectionery sugar lol
He's just the Soul Man around the grocery store😂😂😂
Fun Fact:
At least a few of his friends were publicly named as associates or soldiers in the magadino family by the FBI during their investigations into the mob in the 80's.
The magadino family was founded by: "The Undertaker".
Al Bundy has buddies from OH that are mobsters
I was always an Adorable Adrian Adonis fan. The first wrestling match I can remember watching on TV was the Randy Savage & Adrian Adonis cage match against Tito Santana & Bruno Sammartino at the Garden on the MSG Network that Last referenced. Adonis was flat out entertaining af. And I'm not saying it would have sold any tickets, but his match against Uncle Elmer at Wrestlemania 2 is one of my favorite all-time matches. Not because it was a technical masterpiece, but because of how Adrian was able to turn that match into something all by himself when he was basically working with a walking water bed. Any real wrestling hall of fame would have Adrian Adonis in it.
I hate to mention Piper as a side note to this episode but when Roddy was talking about buying a house for his family showed me Piper a good dude
Also, thank GOD for The Brian Last. I've pretty much stopped listening to podcasts about wrestling because I absolutely cannot STAND Conrad Thompson. Tired of the "Save With Conrad" huckstering, tired of him outright SCREAMING at people (most notably Eric Bischoff) for the wrestling past. Tired of the fake good ole boy "Roll Tide" line over and over and over. He really sucks. Brian, on the other hand does absolutely none of this. ❤️
How the fuck did Jim not have a part in the latest dark side of the ring 😮
The playboy buddy rose and adrian adonis had some epic battles in portland until adrian lost a loser leave town match to buddy and joined the a w a
Both those guys had a very similar style so it would be interesting seeing them face each other because both were really good at making their opponents look like a million dollars.
I had seen some of their matches in Portland, some really good stuff from what I saw.
And they actually WRESTLED, used holds, sold, and told a good story in the ring. They post had a lot of color and personality, but knew how to work and wrestle.
Loved Portland Wrestling. My Gramps would take us boys to our local Armory when they'd come to town.. or if we were really good we'd get to head out to Portland to watch
Made me think of Vader getting beat up by Mr Wonderful in shower shoes. It changed how people viewed Vader.
I like the adorable gimmick, as a kid I didn’t know about “gay” and I never saw that line said until the network. He was over the top and pulled it off despite its silliness. Great talent
I saw a Jesse Ventura shoot interview and he had high praise for Adrian.
Re how little info there was in the doc about Adrian's early career: I do know he worked under his real name as enhancement talent for Eddie Graham in Florida in the mid-to-late '70s. Adrian also had some real good matches against Bob Backlund for the WWF title in the early '80s.
Like I said on the previous video about Adonis by Jim, he should be inducted into the HOF soley for that gimmick alone in the 1980s, paving the way for similar character like Goldust
We always argued who was the better team Adrian Adonis & Jesse Ventura or Adrian Adonis & Dick Murdoch
The thing that startled me was that Jim never saw or met Adonis. This has to be the only match he's ever missed since Grant vs Lee.
I’ve heard the Spivey fight story from a few different wrestlers that were there and they all tell it the same so you know it was real.
It's one of the rare wrestling stories where every witness pretty much says the same thing. That alone tells me it's true considering wrestlers are like bickering old ladies at the salon when it comes to storytelling lol.
The part about Adonis's cheekbone poking out seems like the most likely candidate for exaggeration, but all of the stories mention it.
@@mangrove
This story can be categorized with the tale of Haku biting off a man's nose and Andre the Giant drinking 150+ beers in one sitting.
Adonis did not leave the AWA due to his weight. He broke his ankle on 1/15/1988 in Minot, ND
The most surprising thing in that episode was finding out a Ricky Soul Man Johnson existed
I am surprised they did not touch on how close Adrian and Piper were. After Adrian dropped the biker gimmick he gave his leather to Roddy who then wore it. I always found that to be a cool tidbit. And he always carried the briefcase that said Win With Trudy or something like that. It was a big mystery what was in it that they were building up. They dropped that story line completely when he went drag, I wonder what it was supposed to be in there. And there were rumors though a married man, he was a Road Queen hooking up w dudes. True or not that is likely where this storyline came from.
Matilda is the way perhaps? I'll look for a picture.
@@monoaguilar6867 I looked up on Wikipedia, it said Relax With Trudy. I was close
he used to hook up with guys on the road???
@@ronmichaels9206 I read that a couple of places on the net after the Dark Side special in comments sections. Like I said who knows if its true or not but Honky Tonk said there is usually a backstory behind some of these names so that may be the case. Who knows, I would not doubt it.
That's not really true about the jacket, you know.
Roddy Piper once talked about seeing Adrian's ghost in his house. He thought Adrian was watching over him.
Adrian Adonis had a great DDT. Playboy Buddy Rose called his version “The Las Vegas Nevada Crackpot”
I wasn't expecting to watch this episode but my wife chose it at random and I really enjoyed it. I've always heard of him but never knew who he was until now. His poor wife n family, my wife n I definitely shed a tear for her.
Adonis was in Georgia in the 70s. He had a bit of a flabby stomach, but otherwise was in good shape and was great in the ring.
Adrian was a baby face and Tag team Champion, With Ron Starr, in the Portland territory. 1977-78
There are matches of Adonis in Portland. He was pretty over and early in his caree he was a good worker.
Adonis also had a run in L.A. and has they mentioned in Southwest Championship Wrestling.
I really wish they would have covered more of his career if even briefly.
I wasn't too familiar with Adrian Adonis before this, and sadly the BtR episode didn't add much more to what I did already know about him, outside of his family life of course. Hart casually admitting to taking bumps of the other kind (you know, to learn the business) was kind of amusing.
It added literally nothing, much like most of season 4
There's a podcast called Grappling With Canada on RUclips. On one episode, they interviewed people at the scene of the accident who tried to help Adrian including a RCMP officer. The details of the accident aren't pretty.
The bummer of these tragic stories. Much like Vader, once you lose a fight, you lose all credibility as a man. Which is beyond absurd.
Even in wrestling, you win some, you lose some. But in real life, you're supposed to be undefeated? I never understood that. Just take your knock like a man & keep truckin'.
But lots of people just lose all sense of humanity
I'm so glad you picked up on uncle Daves "you knows". I noticed it during your video commenting on the Chris Van Vliet interview. If it was a drinking game I would have been munted.
His entire run in SCW isn't available here but there is some footage. His win over Bob Sweetan in the title tournament is here plus some promos.
Wrestling gold first set has some so does the southwest dvd's.
I liked that one promo where Tully really put Adrian over as a bad ass. Tully had put a bounty out on Sweetan and Adrian vowed to take him out, even offered to do it at a discount. Just the pleasure of inflicting violence on Sweetan was good enough for Adrian. That was good stuff.
They are still showing his matches on 1986-1987 Prime time Wrestling on Peacock
Remember when PAC was in WWE as 'Adrian Neville', and they eventually dropped the name to just 'Neville'? It was reported that the reason for the change was Vince believed Adrian was a womans name. It all adds up.
I never knew Ricky Johnson existed! I first saw Adrian wrestle on TV in the late 70's for the San Francisco. He was tag team partners with Ron Star and they feuded with Roddy Piper and Tim "Killer" Brooks.
Ricky Johnson The Soulman around the grocery store 😂😂
No gay men dress like women? Okay, Brian.
Editing out Uncle Dave's You knows..😅😅😅
20 hours of "Y'know" footage on the cutting room floor, no doubt
Come to think of it, it's wierd how much Adrian Adonis's life and death mirrors Marc Bolan's. Both abused cocaine, both ballooned up and quit the habit to lose weight get their career back on track just to die in a car crash. Neither was driving either.
Lol... what? Bolan was a passenger and drunk when that wreck happened.
@@Rjensen2 Try reading what you reply to.
@@suchiuomizu I did. He never quit anything. He had coke in his system and was drunk.
Bolan wasn't worth shit as a musician anyway.
Just the Soul Man around the grocery store. 😂😂😂
He was a fine worker
Wow Jim Cornette never met or saw wrestle Adrian Adonis never would’ve thought that
On his podcast, “The Snake Pit,” Jake Roberts said that the incident with Dan Spivey started when Adonis gave Dan a “good night Irene.” In the locker room, Spivey was pissed and told Adrian not to do that again. Adrian then stepped to Dan and found out why he’s called “Dan, Dan the left handed man” when he popped Adonis three times (once in each eye and right between the eyes).
One question, what exactly is a “good night Irene.”
Sleeperhold. I believe it was Gorilla Monsoon who would say “Good Night Irene!” Whenever a sleeper was applied to end a match
In the late 70's and early 80s Fred Atkins was a ref in Toronto.
The one thing I learned from this clip of Jim and Brian and the Dark side episode is that I need to get the book about Adrian Adonis and read it. There is so much more to this guy than the Adorable Adrian gimmick.
I never knew Adrian had another gimmick before the gay one. I preferred the 80s leather jacket wearing New Yorker gimmick.
I was shocked when the "soul man" didn't say "I'm also Dwayne"the rock" Johnson's uncle!"
I was confused when he said he used Soul Man to pay Tribute because Rocky died.. Uhhh he died in 2020 your old sir
I heard Soulman and thought that was Rocky Johnson. I had no idea that was actually his brother Ricky.
Adonis physically size wise became Dr. Jerry Graham .
Just saw the Mean Gene segment posted on Twitter or saw it on RUclips.
This was a very informative episode of Dark Side of the Ring I learned so much about Adrian Adonis since he was way before my time this was a great episode overall.
Agreed
@@ozzamus same