With the arrival of Pride Month, it’s no surprise that AEW has joined in on the rainbow capitalism wave with a video highlighting their inclusion and a few one-off merchandising steps. Unfortunately, their message rings hollow when their booking of queer talents is given even the slightest bit of scrutiny.
The video itself, which can be seen below, featured more than 25 different AEW talents including wrestlers, referees, and managers. Of those, only five are out members of the LGBTQ community, and they’ve had varying levels of success in actually getting onto AEW television.
It doesn't matter who you are or who you love, ALL are welcome here at All Elite Wrestling 🏳️🌈 pic.twitter.com/Eb9PDS6Zbv
— AEW on TV (@AEWonTV) June 1, 2022
While All Elite Wrestling does utilize some talents more on AEW Dark and AEW Dark Elevation, these are YouTube exclusives not watched by the vast majority of fans. On top of that, the Pride Month message itself was clearly a directive by the network, and they only care about AEW content that makes it to TBS or TNT.
Queer representation on Dynamite & Rampage
Nyla Rose, Anthony Bowens, Mercedes Martinez, Aubrey Edwards, and Sonny Kiss were the five out members of the queer community that made it into this video montage. Aubrey Edwards has the most television time among them, as she’s been a staple of their referee corps since the very beginning and is featured basically every single week.
Mercedes Martinez, shoved into the video for a split second in the very beginning, has only been with AEW on a consistent basis since February 2022. The undeniable highlight of that tenure was winning the ROH Women’s Championship in the main event of AEW Dynamite on May 4, 2022, but she’s been off television the entire month since that happened and has only been given five televised matches since signing in February.
Nyla Rose, also given very little screen time in the video, has been the company’s biggest example of diversity and inclusion since the very beginning. Nyla Rose became their second AEW Women’s World Champion and broke down barriers as a trans woman of color holding that top prize.
However, that title reign ended in May 2020, and Nyla Rose has only had four matches on AEW Dynamite or AEW Rampage this year. Anthony Bowens is a bit of an outlier as he’s made it to TV even despite being injured, but it doesn’t exactly feel like representation when he just waits for Caster to finish his latest misogynistic rhymes and shouts the town name.
Before we get to the last talent highlighted in this video, it’s worth noting that LGBTQ wrestlers Kiera Hogan, Toni Storm, Diamante, and Abadon were all left out of the video entirely. Despite being with the company since March 2020, Abadon hasn’t been featured on TV since October 2021, and that was only their fourth televised match.
Kiera Hogan has finally gotten to shine some on television as of late now that she’s been aligned with Jade, but Diamante hasn’t been on AEW television since late 2020 despite consistent appearances on AEW Dark. Toni Storm has only been with AEW for a few short months, but she’s already been given more TV time than the vast majority of LGBTQ talents the company already had signed.
Sonny Kiss’ nearly 600-day AEW TV absence
Finally we have the most glaring and infuriating talent to see lifted up as AEW’s shining star of diversity and inclusion: Sonny Kiss. Not only is Sonny the only out genderfluid member of the AEW roster, but she’s also been with the company since the very beginning.
Sonny Kiss was at the February 7, 2019 press conference ahead of Double or Nothing to confirm he’s All Elite, but in the last two years the company seems determined to keep her off television. In the more than three years since signing, Sonny Kiss has only had a match 8 times on AEW Dynamite, and she’s never been in a match on AEW Rampage.
The last time Sonny Kiss was given a televised match was October 21, 2020, and he was a last-minute choice for that match. During the AEW World Title Eliminator Tournament, Joey Janela (then the tag team partner of Kiss) was set to face Kenny Omega in the first round. Janela was unable to compete, and Sonny Kiss was thrown in as a backup only to lose in 26 seconds to eventual AEW World Champion Kenny Omega.
That match was nearly 600 days ago, and Sonny Kiss hasn’t been out injured as she’s had nearly 40 different matches on AEW Dark and AEW Dark Elevation since then with the most recent being just last month. Sonny Kiss is one of the most gifted in-ring performers in AEW and could be having instant classics right now as they gear up for Forbidden Door, but the company only seems to see value in him as a piece of diversity armor that’s relegated to YouTube.
All Elite Wrestling tried to emphasize their inclusion with this Pride Month message, but the LGBTQ talents shown have rarely been given enough TV time to actually become the representation that LGBTQ fans need to see. It’s even more jarring that they’ve chosen Chris Jericho to bumper the beginning and end of this video, as Jericho donated over $38,000 in 2020 to try and reelect massive homophobic trash heap Donald Trump as President.
As happy as we are to see an inclusive Pride Month message, and to see talents like Sonny Kiss, Nyla Rose, and so many more signed to AEW, the company’s inaction speaks much louder. AEW made positive steps in their earliest days, but they’re miles away from where that queer representation needs to be on TV and can’t be allowed to believe otherwise.
