If the uproar and faux outrage of gender politics soured this year’s summer Olympics for you, there is a refuge for you in the most unlikely of sports arenas: professional wrestling.
Yes, you read that right.
Nonbinary transmasculine professional wrestler for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), Max the Impaler, is making waves in the wrestling world taking on both male and female opponents and taking champion titles on both sides of the gender fence. We would have loved to interview Max the Impaler for this story but, as it was explained to us, their wrestling personae is quite feral and answering questions and coming across as articulate in print would not be ideal for their animalistic mystique. Luckily for us, NWA Public Relations Head, Paul E. Pratt, offered to share his perspectives of the LGBTQ+ representation in the world of professional wrestling.
Before working behind the scenes for NWA, he was an out wrestler for the company under the name Pollo Del Mar. Professional wrestling, especially at the level NWA operates (i.e. smaller venues in a lot of red states) might not come across as the most welcoming place for LGBTQ+ individuals who enjoy watching men and women in speedos and tights getting thrown around like rag dolls, but he says the representation and fandom has always been there and it is growing.
“Interest from the LGBTQ+ community in professional wrestling has always existed,” Pratt said. “What has evolved in the last many years is the acceptance of that community as part of the overall umbrella of fans who love professional wrestling. Certainly, the inclusion of people from within our community on-air being represented in positive ways. The inclusion of people from within the LGBTQ+ community in the last ten years has been explosive.”
Pratt added Max the Impaler’s ascent in professional wrestling is especially inspiring considering most of the queer representation in the field has mostly been gay, lesbian or the “invisible” bisexuals.
“Max falls into the intersectionality of people who are nonbinary,” Pratt said. “So, it’s more than just the sexuality spectrum, it’s the gender spectrum that Max represents. The nonbinary transmasculine element is very underrepresented in the world of professional wrestling. That’s why the nature of Max and all of the historic things they are doing are so incredibly impressive, even to me as a person who is from our community and works in the industry.”
Professional wrestling is notorious for creating characters that reinforce stereotypes that even the most ardent supporters of the sport have difficulty defending on an academic level. Pratt said that while Max’s character definitely relies on wrestling tropes, their queer identity provides an interesting twist on those characterizations.
“The character that Max plays is one that has been tried and true,” Pratt said. “They are a monster. This character is the Warlord of the Wasteland, somebody who decimates their opposition and is physically dominant over their opponent. But what makes it so special and turns that trope on its head is that Max is nonbinary and is playing a character that has almost exclusively been played by males. They are competing against both men and women and doing so successfully. Max has dually held a title that’s exclusive to women and a title that has always been exclusive to men. So, it’s been really historic.
Pratt also praises his colleagues and allies within the wrestling world for giving queer performers and fans space to feel accepted.
The National Wrestling Alliance, which has always had a stronghold in the South, is very much on the front lines of what LGBTQ+ are fighting for in terms of visibility, rights and representation,” Pratt said. “My experience is that it’s increasingly becoming a safe space for fans to come out and be authentically who they are because there is increased representation within the community. The tremendous support that Max and I and others within our company who identify as LGBTQ+ receive from our colleagues and coworkers makes it a more comfortable space for us. The National Wrestling Alliance specifically has been incredibly accepting of us.”
Max the Impaler enters the ring for NWA Wrestling at 7 p.m. on Aug. 31 at 2300 Arena, 2300 S. Swanson St. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 267-758-2173 or visit www.2300arena.com.
