4 recently released WWE Superstars who are LGBTQ
A few recently released WWE Superstars have previously disclosed that they are members of the LGBTQ community.
Over the past few years, several WWE Superstars have openly spoken about their sexuality. Some disclosed that they are members of the LGBTQ community. For example, Sonya Deville is openly lesbian. Former WWE Superstar Darren Young also came out as gay a few years ago.
Meanwhile, a few recently released WWE Superstars are also members of the LGBTQ community. One of these wrestlers came out only a few months ago, announcing that she is bisexual.
Here are four recently released WWE Superstars who are LGBTQ.
#4. Mercedes Martinez
After competing in the 2017 and 2018 Mae Young Classic tournaments, Mercedes Martinez officially signed with Vince McMahon's company in 2020. Nevertheless, her run only lasted for nearly a year and a half.
In August 2021, WWE released Martinez from her contract due to budget cuts. Nearly a year before joining Vince McMahon's company, Mercedes Martinez came out as a lesbian.
In an interview with NowThis, the 41-year-old disclosed that she is married and has a child.
"I am married. I do have a child. I play mom first. Everything else comes second. He is ten years old, regular life. He doesn't care if his mom is a wrestler or not," she said. (3:58 - 4:07)
Following her release, Martinez had a brief run in IMPACT Wrestling. She is currently active in AEW and ROH, where she is now the ROH Women's World Champion.
#3. Jake Atlas
In 2019, Jake Atlas officially signed with Vince McMahon's company after a brief run on the independent circuit. The 27-year-old spent nearly two years in WWE, during which time he competed on NXT and 205 Live. Last August, the company released Atlas from his contract due to budget cuts.
Atlas came out as gay nearly five years ago after being named the 2017 Southern California Rookie of the Year.
"I am proud to fulfill my promise of coming out publicly about my sexuality (...) I'm proud to be the first openly gay Southern California Rookie of the Year," he tweeted.
Following his release, Atlas returned to the independent circuit. Nevertheless, he decided to step away from the ring last September due to health issues. Three months later, Atlas came out of retirement to join AEW.
Atlas has not competed in over four months after sustaining an injury during a match against Adam Cole last January.
#2. Tegan Nox
After competing for a few years on the independent circuit, Tegan Nox signed with WWE in 2017. The 27-year-old then tore her ACL, which prevented her from participating in the Mae Young Classic tournament later that same year.
Nox returned to action in 2018, participating in that year's Mae Young Classic. However, she suffered another knee injury during her quarter-finals match against Rhea Ripley. After nearly another year of absence from in-ring competition, Nox returned to NXT in July 2019.
Two years later, Nox made her main roster debut alongside Shotzi. Last November, however, the company released her from her contract due to budget cuts.
Nox is openly bisexual. In an interview with The Bump in 2020, she disclosed that gender does not matter to her.
" My life has always been don't ask, don't tell situation. And it's not so much, for me it's always been like not about gender. If someone makes me laugh and they make me feel good and they're nice people, I'm all for that. It doesn't matter if they're man, woman, it doesn't matter to me," she said. (37:13 - 37:30)
Nox has not yet made any wrestling appearances since her release. She last competed nearly seven months ago when she teamed up with Shotzi to defeat Natalya and Tamina at a live event.
#1. Former WWE NXT UK Women's Champion Toni Storm
After participating in two consecutive Mae Young Classic tournaments, Toni Storm became a regular competitor in WWE in 2019. In January of that year, she defeated Rhea Ripley to capture the NXT UK Women's Title. She held the championship for nearly eight months before losing it to Kay Lee Ray.
Last July, Storm made her main roster debut after competing on NXT and NXT UK for a few years. However, the company granted Storm her release upon her request five months later.
The former NXT UK Women's Champion is openly bisexual. She came out last June in an Instagram story.
"So, when it was announced that I would be taking over the Instagram for Pride month, I noticed a lot of people were like, 'Toni, are you an ally? Are you in the community.' Well, now's a good time to say, well, both. I'm an ally and I can't exactly say that I'm straight. I'm bi," she said. [H/T: Outsports]
After leaving Vince McMahon's company, Storm signed with AEW. She made her debut last March on Dynamite.