Men wrestling gay
In a small locker room that could just as easily be called a dressing room, Perry talked to me about showmanship, faith and being gay in an unusual sport. He expressed particular interest in the development of characters and stories and how the audience responds to those.
Perry explained that he had technically come out at a young age, but it was always theoretical. The best wrestlers, like the best drag queens, will have both athleticism and a well-developed persona. A lot has happened for Perry in the last year.
His wrestlers seem to understand his vision.
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When I arrived, the staff was in hustle mode, exuding that universal, pre-show energy as they set up for the match. GAY MALE WRESTLING MATCHES by Gary Prater • Playlist • 40 videos •views. A top hat sat on a duffel bag. Queer pro wrestling’s final boss and self-professed “First Gay” planted himself firmly as the most intimidating member of the GCW roster in His brothers woke him up early every morning and took him to the gym, which channeled his addictive tendencies into a healthier obsession: fitness.
The OVW locker room has rows of gray lockers, a wall with the giant OVW logo, and, at the time of my interview, an assortment of intriguing items: Atop a locker sat a crumpled sequined item, covered by a dangling red feather boa. At the match I attended, his character was rivaled only by Abyss, a giant who made his mark by throwing Justin Smooth through a wooden desk while commentator Gilbert Corsey and other bystanders fled the wreckage.
It was half gym locker room and half drag show dressing room. The performer emerges from the wings and struts, preens, demands a reaction from the crowd.
We call it a male soap opera. Weekend Wrestling is a studio-based underground pro wrestling company in Orlando Florida. Anyone in the performative arts, particularly arts that embrace the campier aspects of performance, can attend a wrestling match and recognize the general language of it.
Being evil also means there are no rules: The heels cheat, and the babyfaces play fair. The difference is that where drag carves out meaning with a sharp blade, wrestling uses a hammer. In college, Perry was overweight and struggled with multiple addictions.
From a stage, from a video, anything. And last year I found a guy I really liked and decided to come out publicly, because I wanted to be able to bring him around. Propped against a wall was a skull-topped staff. It was an hour before the show when they told me I was going to win the belt.
Since coming out, he gets the occasional Facebook message from acquaintances who are worried about his mortal soul and his parents have cut off contact, but the response from the wrestling world has been positive. Even so, when Ohio Valley Wrestling, or OVW, announced its first openly-gay heavyweight champion, I spent a week in my feelings about actually attending a match.
The UFC has characters, rivalries. The place felt charged with the type of creative energy that springs up when people are busy making something special. We perform and film ring and mat matches and sell the content on our site. His character transformed from Reverend Stu to Amon, Demon Marquis of Hell, he became heavyweight champion… and he came out.
While I was happy to check off yet another item on the gay agenda, the last thing I wanted was to visit a place I imagined was not only hyper-masculine, but a magnet for MAGA hats.