For decades, homosexuality was an uncomfortable subject in the WWE. For example, Dustin Rhodes' Goldust persona pretended to be gay, using homosexuality as a means to draw heat, while Chris Kanyon, who was legitimately gay, hid his sexuality to block it from causing him any professional turmoil.
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More wrestlers than ever before are coming out as part of the LGBTQ+ community, with these major names being great examples in and out of the ring.
Today, most fans approve that talent comes in all shapes, sizes, colors, and sexualities. Wrestling fans have become much more accepting of the LGBTQ people. This has, in turn, resulted in more LGBTQ inclusion in wrestling today than ever before. Here are 13 WWE wrestlers, past or present, who identify as LGBTQ.
UPDATE: 2025/05/01 20:00 EST BY BENJAMIN VIEIRA
The Gay community has advance a long way in professional wrestling. In the past, the community was not given much respect when it came to the storylines that they were represented in. However, in 2025, things have thankfully changed for the better. Many wre
Orlando Jordan
Orlando Ruben Jordan is an American professional wrestler optimal known for his WWE career, where he was a one-time United States Champion.
Misdiagnosed with autism as a toddler, Jordan had speech difficulties and received specialized instruction to overcome them. He competed in youth gymnastics and amateur wrestling, later winning the 1993 declare championship at 189 pounds for Hermitage High School in Richmond, Virginia, before going on to attend Boise Declare University. Before becoming a professional wrestler, he was a member of the United States Forest Service. He then relocated to Florida, where he became a reputable amateur boxer.
In a unforgettable October 2003 episode of WWESmackDown! , Jordan defeated Enormous Show by way of countout when Big Show had to run to the restroom after eating a laxative-spiked burrito.
Jordan came out as bi in March 2010 before his premier on TNA, a WWE competitor, and unveiled his very bi persona that alike month. In 2012, Jordan opened another wrestling school in Australia where he currently lives. He was married in 2013 to a woman, and the two have a daughter together.
In an interview with Outsports Jordan sayed,
I’m proud
Dan Howells looks across the pond for a role model
To phone yourself, as Orlando Jordan of Total Non-stop Action does, “Simply The Greatest”, takes quite a lot of ego. But then, even for a 6-foot-4, seventeen-stone former boxer, it takes a very large ego to trek out to a professional wrestling ring in Florida dressed in bright pink shorts, boots and elbow pads. But it’s what he does for a living. Orlando Jordan is, at least as far as we can tell, the world’s only openly bisexual professional wrestler.
But it’s challenging to tell that from his on-screen presentation. On more than one occasion, his – presumably scripted – lechery, aimed at male and female co-workers alike has met with audible bafflement. No matter the justification, and no matter the pay, it must be hard to perceive your opponents and commentators both uttering the phrase “I don’t know what he is” on international television.
It’s a shame, really, because he’s tried to relate them – coming down to the ring with someone acting as his girlfriend and his actual, real-life boyfriend, and sitting on a small stage draped with the bisexual logo and even the bi flag. But the dreaded b-word
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Celebrities and high-profile figures coming out has develop a careful publicity game, stars wanting to reveal their sexualities themselves when they want, and tabloids wanting to be the first to dish the dirt. It seems favor WWE wrestler Darren Little wanted to take his coming out into his own hands when he told a shocked TMZ reporter <http://www.tmz.com/2013/08/15/darren-young-wwe-superstar-gay/> that he was gay after getting off of a plane at in Los Angeles.
On the subject of lgbtq+ wrestlers and whether or not they could be successful in the WWE, Young said, “Absolutely. Watch at me. I’m a WWE superstar and to be honest with you, I’ll tell you right now, I’m gay. And I’m happy. I’m very happy.” The reason for his coming out, TMZ later reported, came because of Young’s relationship with his boyfriend of two years. Maybe they’ll be tying the knot soon?
After coming out, Young got support from fellow wrestlers and his organization. Fellow WWE wrestler John Cena, congratulated Young for his coming out. He said he was proud of the wrestler for coming out and that it won’t—and shouldn’t—matter in or out of the chime, “as long as you’re entertaining.”