All language subtitles for S04E06 Dark Side of the Ring

[News] The accident occurred
around 9:30 last night

near Lewisporte,
Newfoundland.

A van containing four
professional wrestlers

suddenly plunged into a
shallow stream.

Police in Newfoundland
say they are

continuing their
investigation.

Adrian Adonis!

[Audience booing]

Good friend called me.
He said,

"Did you hear about Adrian?"
I said, "No."

I phoned my wife, I said
that I'm coming home.

And she said, "Okay, why?
Did something happen?"

I said, "Yeah," I said,
"everybody's dead."

♪

[narrator]
On July 4th, 1988,

three professional
wrestlers were killed

in a tragic car accident on
a remote highway

in Newfoundland,
Canada.

The most famous name
among the victims was

World Wrestling Federation
superstar ,

"The Adorable"
Adrian Adonis.

The circumstances surrounding
the crash have grown into

an urban legend in the
wrestling world,

fuelling decades of
debate and speculation.

A tragedy that took the
lives of three wrestlers,

with one man left standing,

haunted by what
he saw that night.

♪

I'll never forget it.

Yes, I am.
Thank God for that.

♪

♪

♪

I'm gonna slap him around in
front of all you scumbags,

you ignoramuses, and
all you freeloaders,

and all you armchair
quarterbacks.

And people, you think that
you know about the

sport of wrestling, which
you know nothing about.

In the 1980s, Vince McMahon's
World Wrestling Federation

presented a larger than life
world filled with heroes,

villains, and a rotating
cast of colourful tough guys.

But few were more
colourful than

"The Adorable" one himself,
Adrian Adonis.

Adrian Adonis was one of the
best big man wrestlers

in the game at the time.

Adrian Adonis was a really
unique wrestler because

physically he had this body
that didn't look like

it would be acrobatic.

-Look at that!
-[Audience cheering]

And it was.

Unbelievable performer.
Unbelievable.

His timing alone
made him exceptional.

Oh, the dancing bear!

Look out, upside
down and over!

Twinkle toes, man. The guy
could move like nothing.

And regardless what
these fans think,

Adrian Adonis is a
devastating individual

in that ring.

Adrian's provocative
ability to push buttons and

boundaries catapults him
to the top of the card,

earning him a coveted
weekly segment

known as 'The Flower Shop'.

You know, straight people
hating gays was

certainly the idea
behind the gimmick.

The business of pro wrestling
was very, very stereotypical.

And very often it would be,
you know, kind of fat guys,

with, that would bleach
their hair blonde,

and that was kind of
like your stereotype.

And I'm gonna say
something right now,

and admit it right now,
everybody wants to hear it

and I'm gonna say it.
Yes, I'm gay.

[Audience booing]

Adrian knew the
business well enough,

so he knew what he had to do
to make people hate him.

And he did that.

[Announcer] There's not too
much really that's adorable.

However, the star's flamboyant
in-ring persona could hardly

be more different from the
reality of the man

behind the character.

The black roots are showing
in the hair, is that-

-[Laughing]
-I'm natural.

What are you talking about?

He wasn't a bullshit wrestler.

He was a bonafide,
legitimate tough guy

that had to have
his fair number

of street
fights in his lifetime.

I'm Bret "The Hitman" Hart,
7-time WWE World Champion,

WCW Champion,
and a WWE Hall of Famer.

He's letting him use the fist.
Oh, look at that!

"The Hitman" Bret Hart!

And I'm a very close
personal friend

of the late Adrian Adonis.

Born Keith Franke,

the future Adrian Adonis
grew up in a

working class neighbourhood
in Buffalo, New York.

He's bread and butter
Buffalo man, born and raised.

We grew up on the
west side of Buffalo.

Rough neighbourhood.
90% Italian.

I'd never seen him lose
a fight in my life.

As soon as he put that
smirk on his face,

you knew you'd better get
the hell out of there

or you're in trouble.

My name is Anthony Gugino,

and I'm a close friend
of Keith Franke,

the wrestler Adrian Adonis,
as you would know him.

You couldn't help
love the guy, man.

He had a heart of gold.

I mean, he'd do
anything for ya.

But if you crossed him,
he'd pick you up and

body slam you-
like that.

Like nothing.

Keith was my Luca Brasi.

I'm 5'5, 120 pounds.

He's 6'2, 240.

And when someone owed me
money I'd just walk with

Keith my side:
"You got my money?"

And they'd just look
and say, "Yeah."

He was what they
call very connected.

If you said, "I'm with Adrian,"
it's like it meant

you had a gold card to
go wherever you wanted.

We started out as a high
school fraternity, Kappa Beta.

From there we went
to a street gang.

From a street gang we went
to fighting with everybody.

We were the
baddest in Buffalo,

so everybody had
a target on us.

Most of our guys
became gangsters.

But Keith had purpose, and
why waste your life fighting

with these idiots when you
could go and become something?

He knew he had to
make a move,

and what he wanted
was wrestling.

I said, "You want something,
Keith, you gotta go for it."

Dropping out of high school
to focus on wrestling,

Adrian brings his experience
fighting in the streets

to the squared circle.

I watched Adrian when
he first started

in Amarillo, Texas.

I was about 15 or 16 then.

Adrian announced to the
audience that

he would take on anybody
in the building.

♪

This advertisement says, "If
you can stay in the ring with

Adrian Adonis for ten minutes,
you could win $10,000."

And there'd be about 4 or 5
guys that would come down,

and they'd interview them,
and talk to them

while they're
outside the ring.

And then they would
get in the ring.

Adrian would knock
them out cold.

It gives you an idea of
what Adrian was like.

He was a fearless
kind of guy.

So you'd have to be a pretty
tough guy to take on

all comers, you know,
fight fans for real.

I mean, you don't know
who the guy is.

My name is Dave Meltzer.
I'm the editor of

The Wrestling
Observer Newsletter

and I've been covering pro
wrestling since 1971.

It wasn't enough to just
out-wrestle the guy.

You know, he'll go and
tell his friends,

"Hey, I hung with a guy."
It's like,

you have
to leave marks.

You have to pound
his face in,

or break a bone
or something.

And when he goes around
town, it's like, "Oh, God,

those guys were killers."
You know?

And Adrian was
one of those guys.

In time, Adrian's size, look,
and killer instinct lands him

a spot in one of the most
popular promotions

in the business:
Vern Gagne's

American Wrestling
Association.

We all knew what he was.
He was great.

I'm Greg Gagne.

I wrestled for 18 years
in the AWA.

-[Audience cheering]
-There's the Gagne sleeper!

My father was Vern Gagne,

a legend in the sport of
professional wrestling.

And Adrian came in and
Verne liked him right away,

liked his presence in the
ring and eventually

they teamed him up with
Jesse Ventura.

Well, somebody's going
to pay for this.

Somebody's going to
pay dearly for this,

ain't that right,
Adrian?

Definitely, so let me tell you
something, Stanley Blackburn...

Jesse was the better
talker of the two,

but Adrian was
not a bad talker.

He was a good talker,

and they played off
each other really well.

He wore the leather jacket
with the New York Yankees

insignia,
which, you know,

in the Midwest that's
good for being a heel.

You know, the New York
biker type guy

going against your Midwest
local heroes.

"The Golden Boy"
Adrian Adonis!

Seeing him live in the AWA
with Greg Gagne and

Jim Brunzell, and get punched
and do these pirouettes.

And being whipped into the
corner and doing that flip

that Ric Flair would do
and just making little

Greg Gagne, you know,
thin guy, look like,

you know, badass of
all badasses.

Taking the dropkicks
from Jim Brunzell.

And it was really there where
he went from being what

I would call a really good
wrestler to being a real star.

His bumps and his
reaction and, you know,

his facial expression,
and he was sort of

that bully on
the microphone.

And a couple weeks ago I
heard Ray Stevens had

Pat Patterson out here giving
us a so-called challenge.

And he could back it up.

So, he was an
exceptional talent.

Jumping Jim Brunzell!

I'm Jim Brunzell,

otherwise known as
"Jumping Jim Brunzell."

[Audience cheering]

And I wrestled for 28 years.

Adrian knew when to get heat,
and then he knew

when to give the babyface
a comeback.

We were so proud of him.

One of our guys was actually
making to be a star?

On TV we're watching
one of our friends?

Grew up on the west
side of Buffalo,

none of us had nothing.

You have no idea the
parties we were throwing.

After years of building a
name for himself in the AWA

and across the country,
Adrian eventually signs with

Vince McMahon's WWF.

I got scars on my face,

I've had baseball bats
across my shoulder.

By the time I got to the
WWE in '84, I was nobody.

I was a little fish
in a big pond,

and Adrian was a
pretty big fish.

And look at confidence
just oozing...

He knew everything about
everything in the business.

I tried to bond with him and
become friends with him.

I can remember going up to
Adrian Adonis' room.

Jim Neidhart told me
to come up,

and I can remember
feeling kind of funny,

'cause I could tell like
I wasn't welcome.

He doesn't trust
being around me,

I'm a "promoter's kid."

I'm probably
gonna tell on him.

And I can remember Jim,
peeping through the peephole,

and I could hear Adrian,
"It's Bret, don't let him in."

And then I could hear Jim go,
"No, no, he's cool, he's cool,

he's totally cool, let him in."
I hear the chain

come off and Jim was like,
"Come on in."

Adrian, he's chopping up
a bunch of cocaine

on a mirror, you know,
he's chopping it all up.

A very, uh, telling kind
of moment for me 'cause that

opened the door for me to sit
in a room with Roddy Piper,

and Mr. Fuji, Iron Sheik.

Like, for me it was like

sitting under the
learning tree.

I know I was doing lines
of cocaine with uh,

all these guys until
4, or 5 in the morning.

They were all the most
creative minds

in wrestling at that time.

This is so critical and
important for me to be

in this room with
these guys, listening,

and learning all these little
secrets about the business.

Wrestling psychology.

-Woah, woah, wow!
-[Cheering]

But I never ever look
back on those days as

being wasted time.

Cocaine was about as
prevalent as marijuana was

in the 60s. And I mean,
everybody had it.

You'd meet somebody in the
bar, you shake his hand,

and as soon as you shake his
hand he'd squeeze a 8-ball of

cocaine into your hand,
and basically

it was like a starter kit.
"Don't worry, it's on us."

They'd give it to you
and tell you, you know,

we'll get you down the road
sometime, you know,

pay me back.

Adrian went hard
every night. Every night.

If you looked up "party
animal" on the dictionary

there'd be a picture of
Adrian Adonis.

The problem with cocaine,
it was how it could

turn around and become a
monster in a short time.

And then you're sitting at
home watching soap operas

in the middle of the
afternoon and

you're going,
"It's all... it's all over."

♪

252 pounds...

Adrian Adonis!

Joining the WWF roster
during its 1980s golden age,

Adrian Adonis seems
destined for greatness.

But behind the curtain...

the trappings of success
begin to take a toll.

There was a lot of
wrestlers that were

strung out on cocaine.

And we started to realize it
wasn't the friendly drug that

we all thought when we
first started snorting it.

It's a bad drug that you
gotta wean yourself off of

and stay away from.

Me and Jim Neidhart,
we had the white flag up.

We had nothing left
in the tank like,

we can't do anymore
drugs and late nights.

We kind of stopped kind
of partying with everyone

because it was
just too, too much.

They were all coke heads.
Don't let nothing fool ya.

They were all partiers.

There wasn't nobody in
that business, maybe a few.

You could probably get 1 out
of 100 who wasn't a partier.

I mean, it was
nothing but a party.

They entertained, had a
good time, but they partied.

I remember one night I just
had the rest of my beer and

I was going to bed,

and I heard this knock
on the door.

So I open the door and
here's Adrian. [Laughing]

And he says, "Goddamn it,
Jimmy, I'm gonna kill myself.

Take this bag of cocaine
and keep it for me."

I said okay, you know?

About 4 and a half hours later,
I hear bam bam bam

at the door, and I thought,
what the heck, you know?

It's like 5 in the morning.

So, I open the door and
Adrian's fit to be tied,

he says, "Brunzie, where's
the goddamn coke?"

He said, "You better
not have taken any."

And I gave it to him
and out he went.

♪

I just remember thinking,
his wife has no idea.

I doubt he ever does stuff
like that at home.

When he was with his wife,

he was a completely
different guy.

Talk about Jekyll and Hyde.

I don't know if there's
anybody that I know of

that was more of a
devoted, loving, family man

that loved his wife,
loved his kids.

The way he talked to
his wife was like,

she was like an angel.

And I remember he'd pull
her chair out and

slide it back in when
she sat down.

It's like, he was
such a gentleman.

I almost thought it
was a put on at first.

I was 19 when we met.

I knew what I was
getting into with him.

I think to have that strong
bond with a wrestler

you have to really
love each other.

This was his dream and I
wanted it for him.

My name is Bea Franke Hall

and I was married to
Adrian Adonis.

Home life,
that was different.

He was definitely
not the same as

you would see in the ring.

No, he was a very gentle,
kind, loving,

flowers, jewelry-
sweet, sweet man.

I would wake up and he'd have
breakfast made for me and

bring it to me in bed.

They had such a close
relationship even though

he was gone a lot
of the time,

but he would call
several times a day.

She's, you know,
always,

I remember her talking about
the collect phone calls,

the bills would
be outrageous.

They just had a really
good relationship,

I mean, their
personalities meshed well.

I'm Gena Banta, and Adrian
Adonis was my father.

Thought I was the
coolest kid ever.

I had a Peewee Herman signed
poster that he got for me.

I am Angela Perides

and I am the oldest daughter
of Adrian Adonis.

Watching 3 Stooges,

that's, was something that
he loved to watch.

It was always on
when he was home.

In his big bag that he would
take on the road there was

always just presents, gifts,
we were gonna have fun.

Dad was home.

I think I was a good wife.

He trusted me totally.

I never screwed around,
I never asked questions.

I think we had an
awesome relationship.

I could not get
mad at that man.

I could not.

Despite his stable home life,
Adrian's cocaine addiction

causes his in-ring style to
become even more vicious...

Ultimately damaging his
reputation backstage.

Whoa!

He was edgy.
[Laughing]

I mean, he was edgy.
He had a temper.

You see the sadistic
come out of Adrian now.

If I know Adrian, he's gonna
get real nasty right now.

Coked up Adrian Adonis would
be very, very rough on guys.

And if they complained,
it's like well,

you're not tough enough
for this business, get out.

Wow, a lot behind
those knees.

The thing about all those
kinds of things is

every dog has its day.

There's always going to be
somebody that can

whip your butt
sooner or later.

Uh oh, uh oh.
My goodness.

In 1985, Vince McMahon
decides that Adrian's

character needs a
dramatic makeover,

from New York City
tough guy

to something
completely different.

You look a whole
lot different.

When Vince took over in '84,

it was more and more about
colourful characters.

It was not as much
about tough guys.

You know, everybody had
to have a gimmick,

and that Adrian Adonis
gimmick he didn't see as

a main event gimmick...

the New York
tough guy thing.

The leather jacket
is gonna be retired.

Weighing 281 pounds,

"The Adorable"
Adrian Adonis.

Well uh, there are certain
things that defy description.

The idea of the,
the gay character...

That was not super common,
but it was absolutely there.

You know, starting
with Gorgeous George.

So of course, you know, when
something is successful

in wrestling
everybody copies you.

So he, he went from, yeah,
the Adrian Adonis

black leather New York tough
guy thing, and then, uh,

they started doing vignettes
where he was, you know,

embracing his other side.

May The Rockettes
eat your heart out.

[Laughing]

I'll tell ya, when he, they
made him dress up with uh,

the perfume thing
and as a homosexual,

none of us liked it,
but we understood it.

Just look at him.

He was too good to be doing
what McMahon wanted him to do.

But up there that's the
way he had to survive.

They, they, they do
not approve apparently.

If he had to do that,
he had to have a gimmick.

He had to be this big,

like Gorgeous George for Vince
to give him any credit.

When they say when he goes
out on the town that

he's a gay blade,
I don't know.

[Laughing]
What do we say there?

I don't know that Adrian
liked the idea at first,

but I think he did
a quick turn around.

You know what, I'm gonna just
prove to you that I can do it.

That I'm that talented, that
I can take something

as stupid as that and
make it work and uh,

I'm gonna prove
that to you.

In May of 1986,
Adrian is set to wrestle

a relative newcomer
to the business.

I was scheduled to work
with Adrian because

Adrian was getting ready for
a run with Hogan.

Chicken champion,
Hulk Hogan.

Let me tell you
something, Adonis.

So, they give Adrian
people to beat up

and be impressive with.

I was kind of looking
forward to it because Adrian,

you know, was a,
one of the main guys.

Hi, everyone,
my name is Dan Spivey.

Formerly known as
"Dangerous" Dan Spivey.

Spivey looking
absolutely fantastic.

I was new into the
wrestling business.

I'd probably only been in
there a little over a year.

I guess Adrian thought I
was just some young guy.

An easy big guy.

I was always quiet,
didn't have much to say,

and so I guess he took
that as weakness.

And he was wrong.

Pitted against Spivey,

Adrian will learn just
how wrong he was

in a match that will
change his life forever.

He just exploded.

All of a sudden, he let off
and he hit him in the head

with a left hook and said,

"I'm gonna kill that
son of a bitch."

♪

In the lead up to his
showdown against

world champion, Hulk Hogan,
Adrian Adonis is

set to wrestle and
defeat Dan Spivey,

solidifying his position as
one of the top villains

in the company.

Of course, I had in the back
of my mind that he was uh,

also a tough guy,
and you know,

I heard that he would
take advantage of guys.

So, I had mixed feelings
about wrestling him, and uh,

sure enough, we got in the
ring and he started

kicking me really hard.

Calling me a stupid
son of a bitch, you know...

and just abusing
the shit out of me.

Adrian Adonis wasting no
time in taking advantage of

the inexperience
of an older boy.

I was pissed
after the match.

I was gonna fight him
right there.

And then, uh, Davey Boy and
Dynamite and Scott McGhee

grabbed my stuff,
they got us in a cab,

and got me back to the place.

Got me out of the coliseum.

So the next night,
we were in Flint Michigan,

and it was sold out,
10,000 people.

Vince says, "You guys
are working together."

I said, "Okay."

Bob Orton and I had heard
there was some bad blood and

it had been building between
Adrian and Danny Spivey.

We were hoping that the
match should get by.

He was supposed to win.
Beat me with something,

I don't remember what it was,
but he was going over,

which was expected.

But he started the same shit
with me again.

When I was on all fours,
he knocked the air out of me,

and then he got me in a
sleeper hold and he was

really cinching down on it
and I just had enough of it.

♪

And I kind of snapped.

I came up swinging
and I knocked him out.

The Referee says,
"Dan, that's not the finish."

I said, "I changed
the finish.

He's not going
over tonight."

♪

So, Bob and I run into the
ring because I didn't want,

you know,
Danny to kill him.

Please, let's go back to
the locker room.

Everybody was going
crazy running around

the dressing room.

I'm still pissed.

And then all of a sudden,
the door opens up.

♪

And Adrian is coming.

♪

He starts talking
to Danny, you know,

like he was going to
apologize or something.

And then he goes
to leg dive Danny.

♪

Spivey, you know,
he was a quiet guy.

If you poke a dog
a number of times

he's gonna bite your ass.

You can imagine a guy, 6 '7,
you know, 280 pounds,

throwing a punch from
down by his knee.

An upper cut.

Lifted Adrian up in the air

and Adrian came down
like a walrus.

Boom!

And he just rolled
his eyes back and

you could see
his cheekbone.

The white part of the bone was
sticking through the skin.

They called an ambulance
and they took him to

the hospital and nobody
saw Adrian again for,

it had to be a couple weeks.

I wished it would have
been different but I had to

protect myself, and uh,
protect my reputation.

Anyway, I got fired
about a month later.

Let go.

I kind of felt bad for him.
It had to sting getting

his ass whipped in
front of everybody.

All the wrestlers
that watched him.

When you're a guy that
everybody fears and that

happens to you, you kind of
lose a little bit of face

and, and, and...

I don't want to
say respect, but...

You kind of lose something
when that happens, yeah.

And it was horrible
for Adrian because,

I don't think he ever
really recovered from that.

Humiliated after the
confrontation with Spivey,

Adrian spirals further
into his cocaine addiction.

Adrian was starting to
show a lot of decline,

and then he was getting
heavier, and he was uh,

wasn't moving
like he used to.

He wasn't, he wasn't the
guy he used to be

and I think he knew that.

The trouble with substance
abuse is when you do

find time to eat,
you gorge yourself

and then you fall asleep.

So you're eating
tons of calories,

and it's got no place to go
except as tissue on your body.

♪

He told me, "Damn,
I'm reaching 300."

I didn't see that.

Maybe because I was his
wife I did not see that.

I just saw him.

He didn't know how to stop.

I don't think he knew
how to change it

without changing
his whole life.

Adonis had
the match won!

In May of 1987, Adrian
suddenly leaves the WWF.

Leaving in shame and disgust.

Though the reasons
are unclear,

rumours backstage suggest he
was fired for substance abuse.

♪

I just know that Adrian
suddenly disappeared,

where he wasn't on
the cards anymore.

I think guys like me
just assumed

he'll be back
in a few weeks.

♪

I thought for a second
he may have had enough!

The next time I saw
Adrian he was 400 pounds.

Him and I wrestled
in Las Vegas.

We thought this would
be a great match.

We were doing a international
television champion.

I think Adonis
is just too big

for the of frame
Greg Gagne.

And we got in the ring,
he was breathing so hard.

We barely made 10 minutes.

Orton is trying to drag
Adonis back to the ring.

We sat down in the locker
room and we just talked.

And I told him,
I said, "Jesus, Adrian,

what have you done?
God almighty,

why don't you go get back to
your regular weight.

You're one of the great
performers of all time.

This isn't you, and you
know from our philosophy,

'be yourself,
be who you are'."

Oh!

And, maybe that night
woke him up a little bit.

Still only 34 years old,
Adrian commits to

getting back in shape,
losing nearly 100 pounds

over the next 6 months.

Ditching the
"Adorable One" persona,

he sets his sights on
competing in Japan.

[Cheering]

Life was great.
Everything was great.

Just a happy family.

It was over happy.

I saw him in Tokyo.

I ran across him at a
popular place for the,

for the American guys,
"gaijins", to eat.

Steakhouse.
I saw him there.

I had a beer with him, shook
hands and uh, you know,

sorry things happened
the way it did, you know.

So, we had a beer.

Yeah, pretty much.

I remember having
dinner with him and Bea.

He really did seem like

he was getting his
life together again.

Getting ready for, uh,
a big comeback.

He was at that age where

he could still turn
things around.

Reinvent himself
and come back.

And I don't think anyone
ever thought, "Oh

that's the last we'll hear
of Adrian Adonis."

The last time I saw Keith
was in LA in a hotel room.

He had flew in
from Japan.

I met him that night.

That morning he was
to fly out to Canada.

♪

He came back to the room
to tell me goodbye

a second time, he had
never done that.

♪

Um, that was our
last goodbye,

the last time I
saw him alive.

♪

Leaving his wife
in Los Angeles,

Adrian departs for Canada
where his fate will

intersect with a pair of
veteran wrestlers

known as the
Kelly Twins.

I was the only
survivor at that time.

Quite a tragedy.

Adrian Adonis, he was
a tough boy and uh,

he loved being
in the ring.

He was a good boy.

My name's Mike Kelly,
and I've been

a professional wrestler for
23 and a half years with

my twin brother, Pat.

People had probably known me
from the Oh Henry commercial.

When you consider
how big it is.

Back years ago,
that big chocolate fudge.

It's that big chocolate fudge.

♪

The Kelly twins were veteran
wrestlers that I remember

from the 60s,
they worked for my dad.

Identical twins.

You couldn't tell which
one you were talking to.

This is when we
were in Japan.

A bunch of us sitting
around a sushi bar,

drinking and eating.

I think this was in Tokyo.
Hacksaw Higgins.

I think my brother fell
in love that night.

Gosh, we were
inseparable.

We enjoyed being together,
doing things together.

My mother always
dressed us the same.

If Pat had a black coat on,
I'd wear a black coat.

If he had brown shoes, then
I would wear brown shoes.

We had identical
diamond rings.

Identical watches.
Identical hats.

We lived our life as twins.

He got hurt one time,
and I wasn't there,

and I knew something
was wrong, I says,

"My brother's hurt."
I could feel it.

We had that special bond,
which was good for us.

We were working,
like, around Toronto.

Dave McKigney, the promoter,
he had called and

asked us if we wanted to
come down to Newfoundland.

And I says, "Well, yeah,

we'll come down
and wrestle for ya."

So we packed up our van
and drove down with uh,

my brother and I,

and Adrian Adonis
come in from Japan.

The main event was Adrian
Adonis with "The Bearman"

against my brother and I.

Dave McKigney was

a journeyman wrestler
who promoted shows,

and his gimmick was that he
had a bunch of bears

living at his house that
he trained to wrestle.

So, that's where he got
the name "The Bearman."

Dave was the complete
old school guy.

He was a good person
and a good promoter,

and one of the best
payout men ever.

My name is Ricky
"Soulman" Johnson.

I borrowed the name from
my brother Rocky Johnson

actually, because we were
partners for a long time and

he passed away, so,
I decided to

honour him by, um,
using his nickname.

Bearman stories were almost
like a travelling circus.

We had -----, kidgets,
bears- [Laughing]

There was something
for everyone.

Dave "The Bearman",
he owned the

wrestling bear,
um, "Terrible Ted."

It's kind of a rib if
the promoter tells you,

"You're wrestling the
wrestling bear tonight."

It's like, like, really?
Like, are you kidding me?

♪

I wouldn't get
near the bear.

A bear has so much
strength, like, you know,

it could tear you apart in
less than half a minute.

Actually, there was
an incident

with Bearman's girlfriend.

Apparently she was upstairs
taking a shower and

the bear had sensed it,

and Bearman was
working in the garden.

♪ [Suspenseful] ♪

And the bear had actually
came up into the bathroom.

[Growling and
screaming]

Clawed her to death.

♪

The bear had tore
her to pieces.

It was a tragedy
when I heard it,

I just couldn't believe it.

He was supposed to
marry this young lady.

Despite this tragedy,
McKigney continues

to work with bears
on his next tour.

An 8-week trek across
Newfoundland with

a troop of wrestlers that
includes the Kelly twins,

Ricky Johnson,
and Adrian Adonis.

It was great.
Everybody was happy,

everybody was making money.

And the people in
Newfoundland

were so very
nice to us.

We were in Gander,
Newfoundland.

The next night,
we had to wrestle

in Lewisporte,
Newfoundland.

The mayor of Lewisporte
phoned the hotel in Gander,

a Holiday Inn-
[Coughing]-

it's just hard to talk about.
[Laughing]

Um, and he asked would any
of the wrestlers come to

Lewisporte that night
that we were off,

because they'd like to
throw a party for us.

July 4th 1988,

he had called me 3 times,

and the last phone call he
had made to me, he said,

"I'm getting ready to
get on a ferry,

I just want to tell you I
love you." And I just said,

"Call me later, honey,
call me later."

Adrian got in Pat's van,
the Canadian Wildman

he got in the van
with the Kellys,

and I was just getting
ready to climb in,

and Phil blew his horn.

He said, "Why don't
you come with me?"

And I said,
"Sure, that's cool."

Adrian, the Wildman,
and the Kelly twins

were 10 to 15 minutes
ahead of us, I guess.

Me and Phil "Whipper"
Watson Junior, Little T,

we were just riding down the
road having a few laughs.

Everything was
all backed up and

going like 2 miles an hour.

So, I said to Phil, "Must
have been an accident."

Traffic like this in
Newfoundland, you know?

Then I looked over
into the water

and I seen a red van
in the water.

It's an image that will
never leave my mind.

♪

We were travelling to
Lewisporte, Newfoundland,

so that we could advertise
and talk about wrestling.

There was a guy
there with a camera,

he was gonna take
some pictures of us.

My brother and I,
Adrian, and the Bearman.

It was about
8 o'clock at night.

It was as broad daylight
as it is at noon.

Pure daylight,
I couldn't believe it.

It was amazing.
Freaked me right out.

It looks like a desert
out there, actually.

We had to go around
these big rocks.

We just barely got
through with our van.

We were going
down the highway

and I saw a
little bear cub.

My brother, the
reflection of the sun,

caught the sight of
his eye and he had, uh,

swerved to the left
where the grass was.

The van had gotten down in
a little gulley and

hit this huge
rock dead on.

♪

♪

And I fainted.

And I woke up and I felt
this water was ice cold.

I just wondered what
had happened, like,

why am I in this stream?

Then finally I saw my
brother behind the wheel,

slouched on the
steering wheel.

♪

He had passed away.

I could tell right away...

yeah, it was horrifying.

♪

And uh...

♪

Give me a minute,
please.

[Clearing throat]

♪

I seen the van in the water,
and I said,

"That looks like
the Kelly's van."

I knew it well.

I went down there
with them in it, so...

Adrian Adonis was
uh, in bad shape.

He was in real bad shape.

The Bearman died instantly.

Adrian he was moaning,
"Help me, help me, help me."

I remember
Adrian's elbow,

all you could see was the
bone sticking out of it.

I remember thinking, like,
we gotta save them.

But there was
no saving them.

♪

It was 4th of July,
so you know,

we were celebrating with all
my cousins in Bakersfield.

And I do remember,

we had just like a little
get together.

I have a cousin that's scared
to death of fireworks so

my other cousin went in to
check, answered the phone,

they asked for
Mrs. Franke.

I just remember she came out
screaming out of the house

he was... passed,
he had- he was dead.

They said,
"Keith has been killed.

He was killed in an
auto accident."

I said, "Put Dave
on the phone,"

Dave McKigney,
and he said, "He's dead."

I said, "Put one of the Kelly
twins on, I don't know,

you put someone on."

Um, and then the RCMP

called me that night,

and he was, he was gone.

The first few days after his
passing I was still in shock.

I did not want
to believe it.

Dead is former WWF star
"Adorable" Adrian Adonis.

Also killed was Pat Kelly,
on the left,

his twin brother Mike,
on the right,

was the only survivor
of the crash.

Oh yes. Yes.

We're half an hour
apart and he was uh,

he was very close to me.

Where he went,
I followed behind.

Where I went,
he followed behind.

We were inseparable.

The whole world
changed, yeah.

In more ways than one 'cause
a couple of road guys-

[Clearing throat]
...that worked for

Dave McKigney
"The Bearman",

they jumped in
the water also,

and they robbed Adrian.

They took his money,
watch,

whatever he had,
whatever valuables he had.

[Bea] They were arrested,
and yes,

I did want to
press charges.

Just due to the
fact that, what? Why?

Why rob a dead man?

♪

So, yeah, we went to a
motel in Lewisporte.

We went to the bar.

Some of the guys
just to relax,

they wanted
to shoot pool.

So they had a
couple of drinks.

Then somebody says,
"They're all ----ing dead."

Like it just hit them.

[Shattering]

Next thing I know,
I just seeing

stuff flying and glasses
were flying.

Then all hell
just broke loose.

♪

And I remember seeing
the manager of the motel,

he was just standing off to
the side against the wall,

with a pen and paper.

He gave us a bill
the next morning.

I think it was 12,000 bucks
for the damage.

The next day we drove by
the scene of the accident.

Some guys were praying,
some were crying, and uh,

CBC came, and they
wanted to know

if booze was
involved and stuff.

We told them to ---- off,
get away from us.

Don't you realize
what happened here?

♪

Though it's never
been proven,

some have suggested that
the accident that killed

wrestlers Adrian Adonis,
Dave McKigney, and Pat Kelly,

resulted from
drinking and driving.

I don't like to think of
Keith dying like that.

They probably were coming
from a wrestling match party

and having a good time.

No, no drugs,
no alcohol.

The doctors had checked all
that on me and there was no...

Definitely not.
No, definitely not.

I keep a photo of him in
my wallet at all times.

I have, uh, photos of
him in my bedroom.

♪

Yeah, he was my life.

♪

But, things
have to go on.

♪

By the grace of God,
it could be you, you know?

Because you never know,
we're on the road every night.

Guys were drinking a 12-pack
of beer, smoking, you know,

joints and snorting coke,

and driving a hundred
miles an hour.

And nobody got killed.

Here's a guy doing
the right thing,

and he ends up dying
in a tragic accident.

When all of us guys are out
here doing the wrong shit

and we're still alive-

How does that balance out?

I guess God was right,
the good die young.

I think Keith was
one of the best.

He was one of my
closest friends

even though
we were miles apart.

I was in a federal prison in
Texas when he died,

I was in custody,

so I wasn't able to go
to the funeral.

I remember Bea
telling me that, um,

he was so big that nothing
could ever hurt him.

I remember thinking
the same thing,

like he was indestructible.

The whole funeral
was a blur.

It really didn't hit me
until later.

Getting back to home
while he was in Japan, um,

and this closet in
this new home had

his jacket with the
New York emblem.

Adrian Adonis!

That was the only
thing in that closet,

I don't know who
put it there.

I could just smell him.

Everything came
flooding back

and that's when it,
it really hit me.

♪

I took that damn jacket
and I went to bed.

And that was, that was the
finality of it. You know?

He was never
coming home, ever.

Yes, he sure would.
You gotta stay strong.

And that's the way I've
lived my life after

my brother had passed,
and I'll just keep going.

Ah, we'll do
the best we can.

It's all we can do.

♪

Adrian Adonis was a
very, very talented guy,

and I don't think he ever
got the due for his talent

that he should have.

Just because it was
not an era where

people really
recognized that.

Like, if a guy with the
talent of Adrian Adonis was

around today everybody
would know how good he is,

and he would be
a big, big star.

World Wrestling Federation

tag team champion
Adrian Adonis!

He should be honoured.

He should be in
the Hall of Fame.

He's a Hall of Famer,
without a doubt.

♪

I think that if Adrian hadn't
have been in that accident,

I don't think it's
impossible to think that um,

five years later he'd
do Wrestlemania,

Bret Hart versus
Adrian Adonis.

Like, who knows?

I would want him to know how
much I appreciate all the

little bits of advice and
encouragement that he gave me

all through my career,

and just the friendship
that I had.

I learned so much from him

and I never take
it for granted.

I would have given anything
to have an Adrian Adonis

waiting for me in the ring.

He was the real deal.