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Post by dlg3000 on Jun 12, 2011 14:55:34 GMT -5
I have never seen him wrestle much. Was he a talented wrestler? Sadly, I only remember him in the WW(F) as the guy who dressed effeminate. He also wrestled in the AWA and was once insulted about his weight by the commentator. He was referred to as "the fat one" by this commentator. It is sad that he died as young as he did. Was it true or was it a rumor that he was punished for some reason and his punishment was to humiliate him by dressing effeminate? What is the real story behind this gimmick? Yes, I have read this before. Also, was he ever a babyface during his career or was he a heel during his entire career?
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Post by Hit Girl on Jun 12, 2011 14:57:31 GMT -5
His "Adorable Adrian" character was awesome.
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Schemer
Don Corleone
Total class wit' a capital K!
Posts: 1,950
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Post by Schemer on Jun 12, 2011 15:37:31 GMT -5
He was amazingly talented. Adonis could bump like crazy and his turn as "Adorable Adrian", which was supposed to be a punishment, actually got over because he played it to the hilt. Adonis was a special talent.
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Post by doguncle on Jun 12, 2011 17:06:30 GMT -5
Adonis was the guy who carried the East-West Connection (w Jesse Ventura) in the ring and he and Dick Murdoch were one of the best combinations in the ring in both WWF and New Japan. He wasn't too shabby as a single, either.
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Crappler El 0 M
Dalek
Never Forgets an Octagon
I'm a good R-Truth.
Posts: 58,479
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Post by Crappler El 0 M on Jun 12, 2011 18:24:02 GMT -5
He was a fine worker in the ring. He had a great team with Dick Murdoch in WWF, though for some reason his team with Jesse Ventura in AWA is talked about more.
Adonis started losing control of his weight in 1985 and 1986, though you could start to see the beginning of the weight gain late in 1984. Some say the 'Adorable' gimmick was punishment because of his weight gain. Just as an aside, Jimmy Hart started using the nickname 'Adorable' for Adrian before they changed his gimmick. He was still wearing the leather jacket and acting like a tough guy from New York.
He was pretty good as 'Adorable' Adrian Adonis. He borrowed some of the theatrics of Gorgeous George and it worked for the most part.
I have heard that he was released because WWF was fed up with him gaining so much weight and also because of his attitude. I heard a shoot interview with Dan Spivey and if I recall, he claims Adonis was released because he had a bad attitude and that he worked stiff and bullied jobbers and lower level guys. I believe this led to Spivey and Adonis having some kind of altercation late in Adonis's WWF career.
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Squirrel Master
Hank Scorpio
"Then the Squirrel Master came out of left field and told me I'm his bitch!"
Posts: 6,658
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Post by Squirrel Master on Jun 12, 2011 18:53:32 GMT -5
I was in attendance for a Madison Square Garden house show back in the day where The Adorable One challenged Hulk Hogan for the gold. Jimmy Hart jumped on Hogan's back and went on one wild ride for the entire bout! Adonis' "Goodnight Irene" was a textbook sleeper hold and he also used a few variations of the DDT. He was a classic heel, snarling and obnoxious, and backed up his words with action.
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Post by turkeysandwich on Jun 12, 2011 22:10:02 GMT -5
I've watched some of his AWA stuff on ESPN Classic circa late 1987, and it is disturbing how much weight he had gained on top of how much he weighed when he left the WWF. He had to have been 500 pounds by that point
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Crappler El 0 M
Dalek
Never Forgets an Octagon
I'm a good R-Truth.
Posts: 58,479
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Post by Crappler El 0 M on Jun 12, 2011 22:17:14 GMT -5
I've watched some of his AWA stuff on ESPN Classic circa late 1987, and it is disturbing how much weight he had gained on top of how much he weighed when he left the WWF. He had to have been 500 pounds by that point He looked terrible and was an eye-sore, but he was still pretty good in the ring and one of the better workers AWA had at the time. I thought Paul E. Dangerouly put him over pretty well as his manager. It looked like Adonis might get the TV title before he injured his ankle in either December or January (1988) and I don't think he ever returned to the ring before his death later that year (1988).
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Post by Mr. Socko's Brother on Jun 12, 2011 22:30:08 GMT -5
...he claims Adonis was released because he had a bad attitude and that he worked stiff and bullied jobbers and lower level guys. I used to think that he didn't deserve the humiliation that Vince put him through with that gimmick, but if that stuff about bullying other wrestlers is true? I don't feel so sorry for him any more.
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Post by molson5 on Jun 12, 2011 22:48:23 GMT -5
He was done by the time he showed up in the AWA - predictable really, that he wasn't going to have any kind of longevity with that weight.
But I think he was the top heel in the WWF for a brief period between Piper's sabbatical and Wrestlemania III. He was hugely over, and the Piper feud was legendary. Adonis v. Uncle Elmer at Mania II was a fun, short match that really showed off Adonis' ability - here he is working with a completely immobile guy who can't do much of anything, but Adonis bumps like a madman and still makes the match entertaining, somehow.
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Mac
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
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Post by Mac on Jun 12, 2011 22:54:38 GMT -5
He was a GREAT wrestler. Sold like Shawn Michaels and had a good technical brawler style. It was amazing how much he blimped up towards the end. He was always chubby but he turned into a blob by 87"
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jun 13, 2011 7:38:23 GMT -5
What I heard was his release wasn't just connected to his weight, he also dressed like a slob when he was on the road. You have a very likely chance of being seen by people when you do all that traveling, and Adrian was a disheveled soul. Even if that's your gimmick, you still have to look somewhat professional. Fans do judge you on how you look.
I liked him from the first time I seen him, as the bad ass from Hell's Kitchen. (He said he held some sort of Guinness world record for hitting a bottle top over so many sewer caps at a time or something. So he was a big B.S.'er as well, which is what you like from your heels.) Leather jacket, biker cap, he was rough and tough, sold his ass off for his opponent. If you were to compare him to anybody, he was like an updated version of Ray "The Crippler" Stevens. (I just watched some old AWA matches and the comparison fits.) He didn't get to talk as much when he was with Jesse, but he can work the crowd with the best of 'em. Somebody pointed me towards The Wrestling Classic (a PPV I remember getting) and he had a pretty good match with Dynamite Kid. He even broke out some move Monsoon described as "a grapevine of some sort" - which we would eventually know better a couple of years later as the Sharpshooter/Scorpion Deathlock.
I liked the guy. Very under-appreciated.
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Post by Hit Girl on Jun 13, 2011 10:55:01 GMT -5
Adonis understood what Adrian Street understood.
An flamboyant "gay" gimmick only works if the wrestler playing the role gets serious and aggressive once the bell rings or when confronted.
Rico for example didn't understand that. He was always camp and effeminate even during matches. It doesn't work.
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Post by "Playboy" Don Douglas on Jun 13, 2011 11:06:08 GMT -5
I remember someone telling a story about how when Adrian was just getting established, he actually did the old carny bit of challenging people from the audience, and just like the old days would have to carry them a bit and be ready to end it at any time in case the guy ended up being a legit threat.
I can't remember who said it, and have no idea if there's so much as a grain of truth to it, but at the very least, it's an interesting story.
There's not much I can say about Adrian that hasn't been said already. Great worker and one of the best bump takers I've ever seen, even after he started gaining all that weight. I think he could probably be called one of those guys who never quite gets the credit and respect he's due for his abilities.
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saintpat
El Dandy
Release the hounds!!!
Posts: 7,664
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Post by saintpat on Jun 13, 2011 22:30:28 GMT -5
Top 10 bump-taker of all time, as has been noted here.
One of those that I liken to "Franchise" Shane Douglas (and Francine), Dick Slater, Bobby Heenan, Foley, Brian Pillman, Steve Austin and, perhaps of today's lot, Cody Rhodes -- in that they all seem to 100 percent absorb their characters and live that character in the moment when they perform. Sort of "method actors" of wrestling.
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erisi236
Fry's dog Seymour
... enjoys the rich, smooth taste of Camels.
Not good! Not good! Not good!
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Post by erisi236 on Jun 13, 2011 22:50:52 GMT -5
Watching his matches the dude really could sell his ass off. If I was ever a wrestler I'd totally do the eye paint thing like him, just cuz it looks awesome.
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El Pollo Guerrera
Grimlock
His name has chicken in it, and he is good at makin' .gifs, so that's cool.
Status: Runner
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Post by El Pollo Guerrera on Jun 14, 2011 0:56:20 GMT -5
There's a great match on the "Wrestling Gold" 5-pack between Adonis and Bob Orton, a tournament final for the SCW World Heavyweight Title. After he won, Lou Thesz presented Adonis with a classic version of the belt, that Adonis carried in the briefcase all those years.
(Well, probably not, but he did start carrying the case around with him for years... I remember seeing him in the WWF in his leather jacket and the announcers would keep talking about the case.)
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Post by johnnyk9 on Jun 14, 2011 5:24:15 GMT -5
So aigle for an incredibly obease man later in his career, he had to be close to 400lbs in the AWA but still went up for a powerslam like a lightweight
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Post by molson5 on Jun 14, 2011 18:48:55 GMT -5
I remember seeing NY street-fighter Adonis coming to the ring with the "relax with trudi" briefcase, but I don't remember the actual transformation - does anyone remember if there was one? Or did he just show up one week all "adorable".
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Post by Citizen Zero on Jun 14, 2011 20:08:49 GMT -5
I heard a shoot interview with Dan Spivey and if I recall, he claims Adonis was released because he had a bad attitude and that he worked stiff and bullied jobbers and lower level guys. Sounds like the kind of guy WWE likes to keep around.
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