Pro wrestler Kurt Adonis to retire in Bristol in March

Kurt Adonis, a 29-year-old Bristol native who's built a following as a professional wrestler, is calling it quits at a March 28 match in his hometown.

In a note posted on his MySpace page, Adonis wrote, "My retirement stems from a herniated disc I have in my back. While 2008 has been a great year, it certainly has not gone without a lot of pain and agony. I have hurt my shoulder, hurt my knee and now, this back injury which at times has had me in so much pain I couldn't even put my own shoes and socks on…and to be honest, this is no way for me to live. I love wrestling more than anyone will ever know, however this injury is causing my real life to fall apart, so something has to give."

Adonis said he would love to see peple turn out in Bristol "for one last dance, one last strut and one last smile on March 28."

"I'm loking forward to celebrating a lackluster career that will soon come to an end," Adonis said in his note.

Here's a piece in Wrestling Edge with more details.

Adonis is a 1997 Bristol Central High School graduate who earned his bachelor's degree from Central Connecticut State Univeristy in 2001.

His last match will be at Wrestlefest XIII at Bristol Central High School. Click here for tickets and information.

Update on Monday afternoon: 

Kurt Adonis gave me a call today to talk a little more about his pending retirement.

He said that he’s watched wrestling his entire life and getting the chance to be in the ring with legends such as Ric Flair was “a dream come true.”

“I’ve got to wrestle with some of my biggest idols as a kid,” Adonis said, adding that Northeast Wrestling “has always given me some cool things” to do, including wrestling the mayor of Torrington.

Adonis said a lot of people would probably like to see him take on Bristol’s mayor, Art Ward, but he stopped short of challenging Ward.

Adonis, whose real name is Kurt Juszczyk, said he has always lived in Bristol and “I love the town. I’ve got nothing bad to say about Bristol.”

The wrestling match at Central where he plans to retire will be the fifth annual one there to raise money for the post-graduation party. It is likely to draw about 2,000 people, Adonis said.

He said that the wrestling group works closely with the parents of seniors and has raised nearly $40,000 for the parties during the past five years.

Adonis said he wrestled at Central in the 140-pound category when Dennis Seigmann was the coach. I asked him if he could pin Seigmann.

“He would have killed me. He still would,” Adonis said.

Adonis said he was “never really good” as a wrestler in high school because he was tall and lanky, a poor combination for the sport.

He said he doesn’t know how the final night will go except that people will leave the family-oriented event happy.

“They’re going to see an emotional night for me,” Adonis said. “I have no idea what to expect.”

He said, though, it’s going to be quite something to wrestle for the last time professionally in the same place he competed in high school.

Adonis, who works at ESPN, said he’s a hometown boy – and was glad to see the Press saved from possible closure.

He said he recently started subscribing to do his share to make sure it bounces back.

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Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com