LGBT In The Ring

It's Thursday. You know what that means. Hello, Lovelies! Brian Bell is closing out 2020 with a very emotional solo edition of the show. First, Brian shares his thoughts on the passing of AEW's Brodie Lee, reflecting on his impact not just as a wrestler but as simply a wonderful human being. He also touches on AEW's tribute show to Brodie Lee on Wednesday's episode of AEW Dynamite....

Hello, Lovelies! It's Christmas Eve, which means everyone gets to open one present early! And we have the perfect gift for you: an in-depth chat with "The Anklebreaker" and 1/2 of the Kings of the District Jordan Blade! She and Brian discuss her comeback from a devastating leg injury in 2019, how a stop-and-start 2020 produced lasting memories for her both in and out of the ring and wh...

Hello, Lovelies! We're getting a second chance to chop things up with All Elite Wrestling's Nyla Rose this week! She and Brian discuss diversity within AEW and pro wrestling as a whole, Rose's experience working with grammy-nominated director Director X on AEW's "Be Boundless" campaign and the changing landscape of pro wrestling in the wake of AEW's working relationship...

Hello, Lovelies! This week Brian welcomes pro wrestling's priceless work of art Still Life with Apricots & Pears to the show. They discuss the humble origins of the Still Life persona in CHIKARA, their emotions around leaving CHIKARA after the company's demise as a result of the #SpeakingOut movement and how pro wrestling's existing structures can improve when it comes to including...

Hello, Lovelies! 2020 is nearly over, but the shows only get hotter as we enter winter, starting this week when Brian Bell welcomes "The Psycho Dyke" Rebel Kinney to the show. Kinney is brash about representing the lesbian community in pro wrestling and beyond. You'd have to be to tattoo it on your body. The two discuss what inspired her to enter the ring, how she nearly missed out in...

Hello, Lovelies! This Thanksgiving (or, as Brian refers to it, mac & cheese mountain day) we're taking a detour into the fun and chaotic realms of pro wrestling. Brian and his partner, KC, watched a battle royal between a number of Japanese regional mascots known as Yuru-Chara, including the baseball bat-wielding legend Chiitan. And New Japan Pro Wrestling legend Masahiro Chono was there c...

Hello, Lovelies! We're celebrating Trans Week of Awareness this week with Hoodslam's own The Great Bambina. She and Brian unpack her journey to and evolution within the ring, the personal philosophy she brings to pro wrestling, her history of trans advocacy and how Brechtian theory and pro wrestling intersect. It's a thoughtful conversation with plenty of inspiration within it. We'...

Hello, Lovelies! We've got two awesome guests this week talking two totally different pro wrestling projects. First, Brian sits down with Out In The Ring director/producer Ryan Bruce Levey to discuss the upcoming documentary's goal of connect LGBTQ pro wrestling's present, past and future. Then, Colette Arrand (Fanbyte/Fanfyte) returns to help Brian break down AEW's latest pay-per-...

Hello, Lovelies! We're chatting all things Paris Is Bumping this week with one of the judges on the show, The Nobodies' DJ Accident Report! He and Brian discuss the impact of Billy Dixon's pro wrestling/ballroom hybrid event, including plenty of memorable moments and lasting images. Accident Report provides his firsthand account of the event and how LGBTQ pro wrestling can continue gro...

Hello, Lovelies! With Paris Is Bumping debuting later tonight, we welcome 1/4 of the event's Divas Championship match to the podcast: Jared Evans. Evans has enjoyed some his most high profile matches ever this year despite the pandemic, making up for years of "stagnation." Butch vs. Gore, EFFY's Big Gay Brunch, going through doors at the Polyam Cult Party: Evans packed a lot into 2...

Hello, Lovelies! We kick off year two of LGBT In The Ring with our first tag team guests: The Runway. Calvin Couture and Tyler Klein's friendship is on full display in and out of the ring, epitomized by how they came together to form The Runway in the first place. The two discuss how The Runway was born, the personal freedom pro wrestling provides for each and the significance of EFFY's Bi...

Hello, Lovelies! EFFY's BIg Gay Brunch put queer identities front and center Saturday afternoon, and who better to unpack it all than two queer pro wrestling connoisseurs. Brian Bell welcomes Elm Hill (Wrestling with Gender) to chat all the battles, moments and, yes, unlimited twinks the show had to offer. LGBTQ pro wrestling is pro wrestling. Book these queens. Period. Follow Elm Hill on Twit...

Hello, Lovelies! We close out this week's two-fer with an engaging conversation with former AEW Women's World Champion and LGBTQ pro wrestling trailblazer Nyla Rose. The Native Beast has made a habit of making history since signing with AEW last year, becoming the first out transgender woman to sign with a major wrestling promotion. Rose discussing the significance of those moments and the...

Hello, Lovelies! We have a doubleheader of shows this week and we're kicking things off with an in-depth conversation with pro wrestler EFFY discussing his Big Gay Brunch event this Saturday. From living works of art to street fight realness, EFFY's Big Gay Brunch is set to showcase a litany of LGBTQ pro wrestling talent deserving of such a stage. EFFY also gets into his personal feelings...

Hello, Lovelies! Bi+ Awareness Month comes to an end this week as Brian welcomes independent wrestling staple Solo Darling to the show. Darling came out publicly as pansexual during Pride month and details that experience while getting into why she was hesitant to make the announcement. The discussion also focuses on issues like bi+ fetishization, fears of not belonging and the #SpeakingOut moveme...

Hello, Lovelies! Bi+ Awareness Month rolls along as Brian welcomes the Bisexual King "All That" Keita Murray to the show. Murray has wrestled for promotions coast-to-coast in his career, but is just now realizing the power that bringing his bisexuality to the wrestling stage truly holds. He and Brian discuss the journey to that realization and why personal expressions of identity are more...

Hello, Lovelies! We're kicking off Bi+ Awareness Month on the show this week with the Biconic Russell Rogue! He sits down with Brian to discuss his own journey as an out bisexual man in pro wrestling, how bi+ erasure affected that journey, rediscovering his passion for the business with the birth of Russell Rogue and why bi+ awareness in wrestling and beyond needs to keep rising. Good or bad,...

Hello, Lovelies! We close out 50th episode double dose extravaganza by welcoming Em Fear (PWTorch's Grit & Glitter podcast) back to the show to chat all about MV Young's Poly Cult Party 2! Fear was live at the Poly Mansion Saturday night and gives Brian a first-hand perspective. From a hard-hitting emotional battle between Billy Dixon & Jared Evans and a new intensity from Joshua W...

Hello, Lovelies! Brian rings in 50 episodes by recapping AEW's All Out event with Fanbyte's Colette Arrand. The event featured superb clashes between Jon Moxley & MJF, Hikaru Shida & Thunder Rosa and FTR & Kenny Omega/Adam Page. But the show's detriments, including AEW's mismanagement of a scary Matt Hardy injury and Jim Ross dropping some casual misogyny on commentary,...

Hello, Lovelies! Brian Bell sits down with award-winning drag queen Washington Heights this week to discuss her relationship with her father, famed deathmatch wrestler New Jack. Heights details what led to New Jack cutting off connection with her, the circumstances around her publicly calling him out on social media this week and what she hopes those posts lead to down the line. She also gets into...

Hello, Lovelies! After one of the most jam packed wrestling weekends in some time, Brian Bell welcomes his partner KC back to the show to discuss the most important show of the weekend: Saturday's Black Wrestlers Matter event. From the significance of ACH's involvement to twerking for Jesus, the two unpack the message and impact of this celebration of Blackness in pro wrestling. Worship an...

Hello, Lovelies! LGBT In The Ring welcomes back "The New Classic" Billy Dixon this week to chat about his upcoming event that brings ballroom culture and pro wrestling together, Paris Is Bumping. Dixon reveals the origin of the idea, the similarities ballroom and wrestling hold and how events like Paris Is Bumping hope to push wrestling further into new cultural spheres. We also discuss th...

Hello, Lovelies! Brian Bell is running solo again this week, but that won't keep him from speaking to one of the most frustrating yet unsurprising bits of wrestling programming to air in recent weeks: WWE's Retribution. As protests for racial equity amidst an increasingly escalating level of force from law enforcement (not to mention a global pandemic), WWE has rolled out a reductive repre...

Hello, Lovelies! Brian Bell runs through MV Young's Outdoor Poly Cult Party and Ariel Italic's exit from The Nobodies before touching on the recent closure of the Acworth, GA Shoney's restaurant owned by longtime pro wrestler Scott Steiner. The news put Brian in a nostalgic mood, so he invited his friend and fellow Scott Steiner Shoney's visitor Hollis Adler to chat about it's...

Hello, Lovelies! LGBT In The Ring goes international again this week as Riptide Wrestling Pride of Brighton champion Cassius brings his infectious energy to the show. "The Neon Explosion" joins Brian Bell to chat about how wrestling helped him find comfort in his identity, stepping in the ring with Cassandro, watching the British wrestling scene evolve and the role the WWE Divas and MIley...