Do you know the episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, when she finds out there are other slayers around the world? It was like that.” “We were all doing similar things, but in such different ways. “It was exciting, because we had all met on Instagram,” he says of the other wrestlers on the bill when we meet in an East London pub.
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After years of training at London’s School of Lucha Libre – a famously inclusive school he says has changed his life – he earned a reputation for himself as one of the country’s most impressive stars, racking up a series of title wins at Lucha Britannia.Įarlier this year, he found himself in New York wrestling for A Matter of Pride. UK wrestler Cassius, The Neon Explosion is just one of these stars. Through social media, he’s been able to recruit wrestlers from around the world to star in his shows. Rick doesn’t just work with US wrestlers, either. It’s about using wrestling as a medium to tell queer stories from queer perspectives.”ĭespite being formed just two years ago, the company already has the support of veteran WWE stars like Terri Runnels and Melina, a former Women’s Champion. “There are no real superstars now, and that’s why I love building this movement. Suddenly galvanised, he laid the foundations for what we now know as A Matter of Pride. Even as society becomes more progressive, the wrestling world is built on this secret society spearheaded by this white, cisgender, frat-boy, chauvinist mentality,” he tells me. “I didn’t want them to go through the suffering I endured. Bonded by their experiences of navigating the industry as openly queer athletes, they formed a makeshift collective with Rick as the matriarch. But as the years went by, he came across more wrestlers like him: Jamie Senegal, Eddy McQueen and Sonny Kiss. “There was really nothing to help you navigate nor aspire to become an openly queer wrestler presenting an unapologetically gay character.” According to Rick. The queer overtones were heavy, but they arguably weren’t in good faith. With his gold face paint, wig and bodysuit, he would freak his opponents out with sexually suggestive moves and even lick their faces.
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Instead the WWE’s chequered history has been full of characters like Goldust, whose nickname was literally ‘The Bizarre One’. “For a staggering ten years, I was the only one of my kind: an openly gay wrestler who presented a feminine character,” he explains, “Every ‘flamboyant’ gimmick that preceded me was performed by straight men, with the sole intent of getting over by making a mockery of what was, at the time, a hidden community.”Īlthough high-profile wrestlers like Pat Patterson and Orlando Jordan in the WWE, America’s world-famous wrestling company, were gay, their sexuality was never really mentioned – at least until Pat competed in an ‘ Evening Gown Match’, which saw him wrestle comedically in a floor-length gown. Not all of the wrestlers are part of the LGBTQ+ community, but the vast majority are – and those who aren’t are steadfast allies. “My character has seen a series of reinventions throughout my 15 years in the industry,” Rick tells me when we catch up weeks after the show, “but one thing stays true I’m a bitch.”Īs a seasoned pro, Rick’s glamour and charisma propel A Matter of Pride’s shows, which rely on a mixture of campy storylines, innovative match formats and strong, technical wrestling. Earlier in the night, the crowd cheered as wrestler Tyler Klein was stripped to a hot pink thong by Corinne Mink while another star, Billy Dixon, was inexplicably ‘fired’ on the spot by a power-hungry Rick. The last live event, which took place in Rhode Island, New York, ended with the debut of CoCo Mousse, an enigmatic glamazon who bulldozed through the main event and decimated the company’s biggest stars with her powder-pink wig still in tact.
Over the last few months alone, shows have featured ‘ big gay street fights’, ‘ yes daddy matches’ and a live wedding between Vinny Pacifico and his drag bride – and A Matter of Pride founder – Rick Cataldo, who was caught having sex with three men backstage just moments before the ceremony.
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To describe A Matter of Pride Wrestling, the world’s first regular LGBTQ pro wrestling event, as unconventional would be an understatement. Jake Hall meets the queer stars of the squared circle. A Matter of Pride is helping queer wrestlers make their mark in an industry that has for so long treated them as a punchline.Ī Matter of Pride is helping LGBTQ+ wrestlers make their mark in an industry that has for so long treated them as a punchline.