Pittsburgh Native Uses Politics To Make Name For Himself As Mexican Pro Wrestler
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A pro wrestler from the Pittsburgh area is finding a lot of success by getting people to hate him.
Sam Adonis has been making a living in the wrestling ring down in Mexico. And he's been using American politics to get the crowds yelling at him.
Adonis loves to be hated, waving an American flag with President Donald Trump's face plastered in the center of it. It gets the Mexican crowd going.
"What makes most of the Mexican public angry right now is what they hear and see about our president on television," said the 28-year-old Monroeville native.
His real name is Sam Polinsky and he's back in Pittsburgh for a show at Court Time Sports Center in Elizabeth on Saturday.
But, he's known for preforming in Lucha Libre.
"Lucha Libre is basically an American pro wrestling mixed with the circus. It's absolutely insanity and makes zero sense at all," he told KDKA's Amy Wadas. "The cool thing about Mexican wrestling is the presentation of the masked luchadores."
He said his job is to literally make people angry. Before going with the flag, Adonis started off with a pair of tights with Mr. Trump's face on it as a joke. But then he says his character evolved from there.
"Staying topical and evolving with the times naturally it seemed like a good idea to be a Trump-supporting American while performing in Mexico."
Adonis went on to say, "Generally, the people have been very accepting and happy about it."
But he says there have been times when he's had to watch his back when he's out in public.
"I've had some pretty sketchy experiences in Mexico taking it the wrong way. A lot of times when alcohol is involved somebody wants to test their luck and see what they can get away with," he said.
He says the important part for any international wrestler is to respect the country you're in, along with learning their culture and speaking their language. Adonis says he has done that and even knows how to speak Spanish.
As for his performance in Pittsburgh, he says he left his Trump flag in Mexico.
"The fact that it's my hometown crowd, I'm not going to be hated coming out of the ring," he said.
But Adonis says he will continue to bring out that hate to crowds elsewhere-- in order to keep standing out.
"This part is hopefully leading to something bigger and better and hopefully, sometime down the line, I'll be able to headline the big arenas here in Pittsburgh," he said.
Adonis says he will be enjoying his grandmother's cooking in Pittsburgh until stops in Chicago, Detroit, and Los Angeles.
He says he may bring the Trump flag out in some of these cities, depending on where he's considered the bad guy.
