Jensen Ryan is a Pro-Wrestler based in the UK and here he writes about coming out in the pro-wrestling world …
For most of the my life I have been a huge fan of professional wrestling and aspired to take on the world of wrestling myself, but for a long time I held myself back.
Given the nature of the sport, I always thought that professional wrestling wouldn’t accommodate someone from the LGBTQ+ community. That was just one of the issues that was holding me back.
In addition to the pressure of coming out, I was also bullied as a child. I was a quiet person throughout my childhood, and the bullying not only knocked my confidence but also had me asking, ‘why me?’. Even a school teacher once said I would never be good enough. So what would it take to finally get over this and do what I want in life?
Wrestling is a business where you need to be a confident enough to be able to perform in front of an audience. I sat back in reflection and said to myself that if I was going to achieve what I wanted then I needed to move away from the shy me and get that confidence. So, I took up acting in theatre and that did the world of good.
Now that my confidence was growing, how would I approach the one goal, to become a wrestler? In the back of my mind I was still thinking how would people react? Is there a place for a gay wrestler in this industry and if there is, will it prevent me getting matches?
With so many concerns in place I decided there was only one thing to do, try it! After all, if I don’t I will I always be thinking ‘what if?’, and never know the answer.
So, I booked my first training session and as I approached the building I was still full of self-doubt. Would it all go well and until people found I was gay? So for the first few sessions I decided to keep on the down low so that I could suss it out for myself. I avoided questions that may give it away because I wanted everyone to see me for who I am and not be judged on my sexuality.
However, if was a simple social media status that would change it all and prove that I was so very wrong to question if LGBTQ+ has a place in wrestling. The training school (and several others) put up a statuses in support of equality on ‘National coming out day’. This simple act said to me that a gay person can do it and that actually it’s about what you do in the ring not your sexuality.
Since then I have openly talked about being gay and my husband has been along to training sessions to watch. Not once has anyone ever questioned it. They actually embraced it. The world of pro-wrestling does have a place for the LGBTQ+ community and I’m proud to be a part of it.
Find out more about Jensen Ryan, and how to book Jensen for wrestling events, at https://www.jensenryan.com/events
