Whether in the North-South Connection with Dick Murdoch or the East-West Connection with Jesse Ventura, Adrian Adonis played the "tough New Yorker" role to the hilt, and was a stalwart tag-team competitor in the AWA, NWA and WWF. However, when Adonis' weight began to get out of control in the mid-80s, Vince McMahon had a unique remedy. Rechristened as "Adorable" Adrian Adonis, the now-rotund grappler was still quite agile in the ring, and with his interview program "The Flower Shop," was most renowned for hosting Paul Orndorff cutting his first promo post-turn on Hulk Hogan in 1986. Always one quick to put over his not-so good looks with the gimmick, "Adorable" Adrian was a narcissist never-to-be forgotten.
Besides having been an independent professional wrestling manager for a decade, Marcus Dowling is a Washington, DC-based writer who has contributed to a plethora of online and print magazines and newspapers writing about music and popular culture over the past 15 years.
