SARASOTA – All Elite Wrestling has been knocking down doors and shattering glass ceilings since the new wrestling promotion launched in 2019.
All Elite Wrestling is known for its diverse roster of talent; so it’s no surprise the new wrestling promotion has become a destination for LGBTQ + athletes.
From Nyla Rose, the first openly transgender wrestler to sign with a major American pro wrestling promotion that opened the door for many more to come.
“The collection of us that took the step to move forward has lead to where the industry is at today,” said Anthony Bowens.
While there has been other openly gay wrestlers in other wrestling promotions Bowens, who is openly gay, says the representation and inclusivity found at AEW is like no other.
“One of the things that I was impressed about when I first worked for AEW was seeing the locker room and how inclusive it was seeing people like a Sonny Kiss or Nyla Rose walking around authentically being themselves without issue without judgment,” said Bowens.
And AEW continued to set itself apart from other wrestling companies by providing representation for gender inclusivity when signing “The Concrete Rose” Sonny Kiss to its all-elite roster.
Kiss a gender-fluid wrestler uses both male and female pronouns. At the start of her wrestling career Kiss says she had some doubt she’d make it far but knew the star power Sonny Kiss would posses.”
“While I had doubts I knew there was definitely a chance and I knew that I was an anomaly and I was very different,” said Kiss.
She and Bowens say AEW is giving a platform to LGBTQ + wrestlers to inspire the future generations to come to continue to break the mold in pro wrestling.
“Representation is a thing and people need to see – people need to feel seen. So you need to see other people like them,” said Kiss.
Bowens, Kiss, and the rest of the AEW all-elite roster are gearing up for a return to live touring across the country. Making them the first wrestling promotion to resume live tours since the start of the pandemic.
The first stop of the tour is on Wed. July 7th in Miami at the James L. Knight Center. Tickets are still available online for AEW Road Rager, which begins at 7:00 p.m.