It is June and that means for the whole month the LGBTQ community get to celebrate extra hard about being ourselves every day! And because of that, every day here throughout the month, we are going to spotlight one LGBTQ+ wrestler. These names are not going to be in any order. So, this won’t be a countdown but more of just a highlight to celebrate.
- June 1 – Toni Storm
- June 2 – Sonny Kiss
- June 3 – EFFY
- June 4- Mercedes Martinez
- June 5 – Sandy Parker
- June 6 – Anthony Bowens
- June 7 – Cassandro
- June 8 – Gisele Shaw
- June 9 – Piper Niven
- June 10 – Kidd Bandit
- June 11 – Alex Kane
On June 12 we are going to celebrate Shayna Baszler.
Shayna Baszler is a former WWE Superstar who is a member of the LGBTQ community. Although she hasn’t publicly labeled herself, she did state in 2013 during an interview that she was dating a woman at the time.
Before going to WWE, Baszler debuted in wrestling following her MMA career in 2015. She was trained by Josh Barnett and Mercedes Martinez. She would wrestle for Absolute Intense Wrestling and SHIMMER while also having a few trips to STARDOM. Baszler wrestled names such as Mia Yim, Heidi Lovelace, Kay Lee Ray, Britt Baker, Io Shirai, and more before even stepping for in a WWE ring.
In WWE, Baszler entered the 2017 Mae Young Classic and was runner up to Kairi Sane. She became the first woman to become a two-time NXT Women’s Champion and holds the most combined days. Once on the main roster, Baszler’s singles career didn’t necessarily take off as some may have hoped. However, she is a former three-time WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion.
She became the first WWE signed talent to wrestle at Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport. A crossover that has now included other WWE women such as Natalya and Karmen Petrovic.
Baszler was released in May from WWE and is still under her 90 day non compete clause.