Lesbian Wrestling League (Series Book 1)

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That being said, composing this list was still really hard. Once again, the best problem to have in the world is whittling down the list from a pool of far more than 200 who all deserve highlighting. Australia’s favorite pro wrestler/charitable adult content creator stepped away from pro wrestling midway through the year, but he went out on top. After successfully defending his Southern Hemisphere Wrestling Alliance championship in March, Marshall left the pro wrestling world as champion. If this is it, Marshall definitely left his mark on the Aussie wrestling scene and continues advocating for LGBTQ inclusion through his OnlyFans account. In Chicago and beyond, Kota Holliday and her Next Level Soldiers crew kept pushing to new levels in 2021. Holliday and tag partner Jax Johnson riled crowds in Berwyn Championship Wrestling, Great Lakes Wrestling and Hybrid Championship Wrestling. But Holliday also has a rivalry with Mateo Valentine in Proving Grounds Chicago in dire need of a one-on-one clash.

It’s really cool. Like I said, I just want to be, if anything, kind of just that buffer between them and the world. I’ll do it first and kind of take on whatever heat is to come. Now, decades later, the defiant spirits embodying that openness and desire for visibility among wrestling’s lesbian community refuse to keep their identities in the shadows. People like Ashley Vox and Rebel Kinney wear their identities openly in the ring without apology. Charlie Morgan’s promo in which she came out publicly in the ring at a Pro Wrestling EVE event is forever immortalized for its raw reality and ability to usher new LGBTQ fans into a welcoming wrestling space.Carrying the legacy of the Moondog name with a delightfully queer twist, Moondog Murray brought his bone and brawn to promotions across the Midwest in his first year. Murray logged appearances with Chicago Style Wrestling, Crash Tested Wrestling, Premier Pro Wrestling and Northland Pro Wrestling while growing his Twitch following. 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. 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.

As a result of the growing public and societal acceptance of diverse lifestyles, more and more athletes and celebrities are feeling safe enough to come out and embrace their orientation proudly. The erroneous stereotypes of being gay meaning you’re weak or strange are being shattered every day and that is especially the case in the wrestling world. 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.” But she also impacts people on a grounded, personal level as well, even in the form of a goofy, lovely slice of the internet. represented a towering force that forced eyes open, focusing their gaze on a cultural revolution within an industry long overdue for it. 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.The Las Vegas wrestling scene experienced a breakout this year with multiple young grapplers building the foundation. Summers is one of the newer names in that collection, working with both VERSUS Pro and Dark Arts Entertainment. Summers challenged Sandra Moone for the Party Hard Wrestling Party Monster title at VERSUS’ Pride show. One of the most exciting names to come out of Santino Bros. Academy this year, Richie Coy feels primed for a breakout in 2022. After they and their Anti-Saviors partners Kidd Bandit and Hellman Rosecrown got under Ray Rosas’ skin in Millenium Pro Wrestling, Coy blossomed on their own at Santino Bros. Nice Guys Finish Last Rosa Mendes has had quite a lengthy career with the WWE despite not having accomplished much of anything during her eight year (and counting) stint with the company. Starting out as a Diva Search contestant, WWE signed her to a development deal and after two years in developmental, she made her way to the main roster as a super fan of Beth Phoenix. She had a few forgettable runs as a valet for Primo and Epico as well as Fandango before gaining notoriety for her role on Total Divas. These depictions were damaging in their ability to define lesbian identities to wrestling audiences, but they also masked the industry’s actual lesbian history. Names like Susan Green and Sandy Parker defied women’s wrestling gatekeepers like The Fabulous Moolah that did their best to outlaw LGBTQ wrestlers’ public expression of their identities within their stables.

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. It felt like nearly every day brought new additions to the family, more events celebrating LGBTQ identities and sections of the LGBTQ community raising their voices to speak directly to the faces of pro wrestling power structures.

Matt Cage is an independent wrestler known for his work in various independent promotions in the USA such as IWA Mid-South, Dragon Gate USA, Chikara and many others. Possibly motivated by the coming out of Darren Young, Matt Cage revealed in 2015 that he was gay after years of hiding his sexual orientation and battling depression. It felt like “The Global Phenomenon” was all over the West coast this year, notching appearances in Pro Championship Wrestling, East Bay Pro Wrestling and Legacy Pro Wrestling, where he reigns as the first Silver State champion. J.M.M. also competed in the Princex of Pride championship tournament at Full Queer, falling to eventual winner Da Shade. Respect Pro Wrestling is delighted to announce officially that Jayla Dark has joined our training team!

This isn’t about one generation. It’s about every single voice - past, present and future - stating that we belong and we are here, from the ring to the very last eyeball taking it all in. The image of Deville running through a Pride celebration on Total Divas exclaiming “I’m gay” is a GIF that plays on repeat in the minds of many (including me). The excitement in her voice perfectly matched with the joy on her face is both a landmark and an image that no one with knowledge of any mainstream pro wrestling programming from 1995 onward ever thought they would see. 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.Scandanavia burst out as an intriguing region for pro wrestling in 2021, but Jessica Love is a testament to that community’s vibrance long before American audiences caught on. The trans wrestler has been active for 13 years in Fight Club Finland Wrestling, regularly flirting with the company’s Finnish Heavyweight championship picture. In 2021, she challenged for the GLAM! title. 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.” 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. 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.