• Former WWE Wrestler Comments On Locker Room Reaction To Him Publicly Coming Out As Gay
During a recent interview with ESPN, former WWE wrestler Darren Young talked about the locker room reaction to publicly coming out as gay in 2013, how it felt getting released, and how he wants to be remembered.
Below are the highlights:
On locker room reaction to publicly coming out as gay in 2013:
“After Punk had his SummerSlam match with Brock Lesnar, he came up to me in catering in front of everyone while he was iced up from the match. He approached me and told me to stand up. He said, ‘Hey, man, I heard your story and I’m very proud of you for being so courageous to make that move to come out. If anyone has a problem with it in the locker room, you let me know, and I’ll take care of it.’
Same thing with Randy Orton. He’s one guy who gave me a big hug and much love, still to this day. Big Show was always complimenting me too. Just the love from those guys, and knowing that those particular guys have my back, means the world to me. I’ll never forget how much love those guys showed for me, then and after.”
On how it felt getting released:
“I’d been doing so much PR work since I’ve been signed, I was one of WWE’s main guys that always did PR work. When I was a guest at the Clipper game, and then getting released 24 hours later, it was a little rough for me. A bit of a tough pill to swallow. I didn’t know why the release had happened. What was even rougher was that the release came right before my birthday on Nov. 2. I never even received the usual birthday message, so I was a little hurt by everything.”
On how he wants to be remembered:
“I want to be remembered as a good human being who was the first in an industry to pave the way for LGBTQ athletes in wrestling and beyond to come out and live an honest and authentic life. Being the first openly gay wrestler, I’ve been able to encourage and inspire wrestling fans all over their world to chase their dreams. I’ve been able to show other LGBTQ athletes that they have a duty to instill confidence in the youth and lead by example.”
• Stephanie McMahon Wants Top Raw Star To Play An “Empowered Gay”, But Triple H Disapproves Of The Idea
According to DirtySheets.Net, Stephanie McMahon wants former Universal Champion Finn Balor to play an “empowered gay” character on WWE programming, but Triple H disapproved of the idea.
For those who are wondering if Balor is gay in real life, it doesn’t look to be the case as there were reports in the past that Balor is dating WWE interviewer Cathy Kelley.
We’ll provide more information regarding this situation when they come out.
