Grappling With Trump In Mexico

An American professional wrestler known as Sam Adonis is becoming a superstar of Mexican lucha libre by playing the “bad guy” role of a Donald Trump fan.

Sam Adonis – Pro wrestling finds its ultimate villain in the form of American grappler Sam Polinsky, aka Sam Adonis. He now wrestles in Mexico with the persona of a Trump supporter, complete with a U.S. flag emblazoned with the face of President Donald Trump, in Mexico City Feb. 12.

Eduardo Verdugo/AP – Sam Adonis
Pro wrestling finds its ultimate villain in the form of American grappler Sam Polinsky, aka Sam Adonis. He now wrestles in Mexico with the persona of a Trump supporter, complete with a U.S. flag emblazoned with the face of President Donald Trump, in Mexico City

Adonis is Sam Polinsky, the wrestler from Pittsburgh who for the last four months has been portraying the Trump-fan character, who his Mexican fans apparently love to hate.

He has leveraged that role to become one of the most in-demand stars of Mexico’s Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, or World Boxing Council, according to the Washington Post. “Wrestling always kind of plays off what’s happening in the mainstream [media], so I was thinking about it and I said, ‘Yeah if [Trump] wins I’m getting myself a flag with his face on it,” Adonis told the paper. “And once [the audience in 16,500-seat Arena Mexico] see that big orange spot on the flag, you can just instantly, in one moment, feel the room change. It’s a fever pitch.”

Polinksy told the paper one of his inspirations was the Iron Sheik, a pro wrestling star from his youth who taunted audiences with the Iranian flag during the 1980s.

“Why not? Let’s play this up,” Polinsky told the Post. “Get a picture of Donald Trump instead of the Ayatollah and the people will be just as pissed off.”

Apparently, they are.

Polinsky appears complete with an American flag emblazoned with the visage of Trump.

“The energy in the arena is always great, but when I’m out there it’s just absurd,” Polinsky told the paper. “The hatred. It’s almost a hostile environment. I’m sure there’s places in Afghanistan more tranquil than this.”

Trump, it should be remembered, is a member of the WWE Hall of Fame (he played a running WWE bit in a “feud” with WWE chairman Vince McMahon).

He’s also appointed McMahon’s wife and former WWE CEO, Linda McMahon, to head the Small Business Administration.

Given Trump’s history with pro wrestling, Polinsky would welcome a visit to one of his matches in Mexico, though that might present its own security challenges.

“Get him a lucha libre mask and hide him in the audience as one of the fans,” he said. “That’d be great.”