Wrestling just got gayer.
Out-gay wrestler Jake Atlas has just inked a deal to join the WWE. He will step into the ring in 2020.
Atlas gained international attention as on the indie wrestling scene in 2017 when he won the 2017 Southern California Rookie of the Year Award. That promise led to winning several championships and high-profile matches. It also led to Atlas coming out.
Related: Big time wrestler Jake Atlas defied his family by jumping out of the closet and into the ring
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Atlas’ profile and visibility led him to being named one of Queerty’s “Out for Good” recipients in 2018. At the time of his coming out, Atlas spoke about he homophobia he experienced from his family growing up, saying he’d come out “about my sexuality to be a voice for those that struggle with this issue like I have for many, many years; to be a voice that reminds everyone in the same shoes that there is nothing you cannot achieve.”
In a Queerty exclusive, he said “Coming out is a force for positive change because of the influence it leaves on the LGBTQ community that experiences hardship, confusion, and backlash for expressing their identity. My reasoning in doing so was to leave a lasting impact on young LGBTQ athletes who may still believe they cannot experience happiness not success in industries that don’t showcase diversity and inclusion. I hope to bring change and awareness that individuality and authenticity are crucial to personal and societal development.”
As he joins the ranks of the WWE, Atlas fulfills that change. Bravo, brother.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
Good on him!
jblake
FIRST EVER? you can’t rewrite history. Former WWE wrestler Darren Young was out when he was with the company. Also Sonja Deville is currently on the WWE roster and she is out.
Notindoctrinated
The article says nothing about him being first, it literally says NEWEST meaning there has been others before. So seems a touch odd to be mad about it
sunonthehorizon
Yea, was just going to log in and comment on the terrible reporting: Darren Young was out long before. i think what they mean is he’s the first out before signing? Who knows. Their job, not mine.
Cam
Every single person who does this is another nail in the coffin of the closet.
Mike_M
Oddly, a quick Google search of the words, Out Gay Wrestler WWE, turns up a list of about 60, about 15 of whom are still actively wrestling. I know this isn;t real journalism but, if you’re going to claim someone is the first anything, shouldn’t you at least google your premise?
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
First?
What about Gorgeous George???
djmcgamester
Yeah, this is cool, especially when these people don’t fit the idea that we’re all a certain stereotype. We have the whole range of behavior as anyone else.
laurenrae83
Hi, Sonya Deville (Daria Berenato) and E! Network would like to have a word with you.
skeldare
Darren Young was out while in the WWE
Hussain-TheCanadian
I thought Goldust was the first ever gay charac….I mean wrestler in the WWE?
Notindoctrinated
Im really confused why people are complaining that it says hes the first out, mostly because, at no point in the article does it say that. In fact it says ‘newest out’ implying there have been others.
SoCalDave
The headline says “newest” not “first.” And even if it did, which it doesn’t, how about just congratulating Jake for a great accomplishment instead of getting your panties all in a bunch about the way the piece is worded? Do you really go through your life this angry at incredibly minor things?
sunonthehorizon
Erasing the history of other queer pioneers, whether intentional or not, is not incredibly minor. It’s a journalist’s job to get those sorts of things right.