Effy also wrestles for Fest Wrestling, Freelance Wrestling, Livewire Wrestling, and many more. I’d love to see him get national exposure, as long as it’s with a company that will let him continue to be his big weird queer self. It’s clear that he wouldn’t be satisfied with anything less, and neither would his fans. Some use their presence in the ring to shed light on other organizations that actively kept lesbian women obscured. The Great Bambina’s in-ring presentation is partially a radical response to the lesbian erasure perpetrated by the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, whose history was dramatized in the film A League of Their Own,

In a revealing and heartfelt Facebook post titled “ Here Goes Nothing,” Cage detailed how he kept the information from going public for so long because he feared rejection. And the movement will surely welcome names we have yet to learn, those whose dreams of stepping between the ropes are just starting to form, thanks to the continued momentum and growing volume of queer voices in pro wrestling around the globe. But she also impacts people on a grounded, personal level as well, even in the form of a goofy, lovely slice of the internet.

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The significance of that role isn’t lost on Deville, as her push for authentic LGBTQ representation and visibility within WWE remains a goal seven years after her first appearance on WWE programming.

Sonny Kiss is going places! He was an underused highlight of the last season of Lucha Underground, where he was known as XO Licious. Then he signed with All Elite Wrestling. He didn’t get nearly enough to do at Double Or Nothing, where he participated in the Casino Battle Royale, but he did have a memorably funny spot with Tommy Dreamer, and he at least made enough of an impression to make Jim Cornette uncomfortable, which is never a bad sign if you ask me. It’ll be really exciting to see where his AEW career goes from here, especially when the TV show starts this fall. Kinney’s is the kind of passion needed not just to succeed in wrestling but also to inspire those watching, craving a figure in which they can see themselves. That desire was always there, but her journey in pro wrestling might have found its catalyst later, if not for a childhood VHS switcheroo. I’d like to think that if Darren Young had debuted in WWE a few years later, things would have gone better for him. On the other hand, considering everything that still goes on there, it’s hard to be confident even in that. Young debuted in 2010 as part of Nexus, and publicly came out as gay in 2013. That made him the first WWE Superstar to come out while still actively wrestling. At the time, he was in the Prime Time Players tag team alongside Titus O’Neil. They briefly held the Tag Team Championship during a 2015 feud with the New Day, which was the only Title Darren held during his years in WWE.

Whether she’s stepping into the ring to dish out punishment or using her power as a well-suited official to do the same, Sonya Deville’s presence within WWE speaks to more than your average pro wrestling fan. Deville is a history maker, becoming the first out lesbian competitor in WWE history and one of the most forward-facing figures for the LGBTQ community to millions of WWE fans. I originally intended to watch The Lion King but someone swapped the tape out for Royal Rumble 2000,” Kinney revealed on the Outsports podcast LGBT In The Ring. “Instead of watching the story of Simba, I watched Taz beat up Kurt Angle.” She suspects it was her brother that caused this bit of serendipity, but Kinney was hooked regardless. What was it like for you coming up and cutting your teeth in an era when women’s wrestling was so sexualized? Venere has now switched to a more aggressive mood, but Lucrezia shows everyone how strong she is, trying to resist and not giving up. With some more training she could easily be a top wrestler, however today she is facing a determined and proud fighter with one only goal in mind: winning. It’s something that’s super important because I went through that same journey that a lot of people are going through in the LGBTQ community, which is struggling with my sexuality and being open about it,” Deville said on Outsports’ LGBT In The Ring podcast. “That’s the position I was in seven-plus years ago.”

I have no doubt that new names like Gozzie, Micha, Kamile Hansen and Spice Speigal will be on this list in the future. Those awaiting their return from injury like Reiza Clarke and Sophie King will surely leave their marks as well. I’m just happy that I can be a voice for people that might be going through that part of their journey right now, or a different experience that might be difficult. I was always looking for that representation to kind of reassure me that it was OK to be who I was, and there wasn’t much of it when I was growing up. Especially in my small hometown. It just wasn’t that prominent to be open and out.So, yeah, I take kind of like a personal responsibility to be that openness for kids or young people that are in the shoes that I was in a decade ago.” Last year’s introduction to the Queer Wrestling Index 100 ended with the point that LGBTQ pro wrestling had grown as a movement and community to the point where “ignoring their presence isn’t an option anymore.” The country has made great strides with increasing awareness on the subject of homosexuality and transgender issues through PSAs and through advocacy groups educating the public. The movement by the LGBTQ community was centered on the desire not to be shunned for their differences but to be accepted as part of the fabric of society. And when those ears didn’t understand or ignored what they were being told, LGBTQ people yet again proved that they don’t need them to build their own spaces within the field.