Last week pro wrestler AC Mack made history by becoming the first out gay man to win a world championship.
At the end of the night, Mack shared a moment with his partner, pro wrestler Rico Gonzalez, who he kissed in the middle of the wrestling ring.
Mack defeated Alex Shelley in Tyrone, GA, picking up the title as IWTV Independent Wrestling World champion in “Southeast Fist”. According to Outsports, the win marked the end of a six-month challenge to get an IWTV Independent Wrestling World title.
My favorite video from last night ❤️@AC_Mack @WrestleACTION1 pic.twitter.com/55tNF9Firt
— Cooper (@CooperTheFan) January 23, 2022
Mack joins a very short list of out LGBTQ+ world champions, which include Trish Adora, Susan Green, Paige, Sandy Parker, and Nyla Rose.
Mama, I’ma world champion! #SouthEastFirst pic.twitter.com/FzntaEVj93
— AC. (@AC_Mack) January 23, 2022
After the championship, Mack addressed fans saying:
I started wrestling in 2016. And plenty of people told me, ‘You ain’t gonna never make it out of this state. Not with the way you look, not with the color of your skin, not with who you like to sleep with.’ They dubbed me Georgia’s finest. Don’t clap for that, because I am so much more. For those of you who still don’t understand how big of a deal this is, we did the research. We found out that now AC Mack goes down in the history books — not just the indies, not just the major leagues, not Japan, not anything — all of pro wrestling now has its first openly gay male world champion. This championship, the IWTV World championship — Iris — is staying here.
The World's first openly gay male World Champion! @AC_Mack #SouthEastFirst pic.twitter.com/OCm10NSxa4
— ACTION Wrestling (@WrestleACTION1) January 22, 2022
Source: Outsports
Don’t know why black people keep saying. ‘You’ll not make it because of the colour of your skin’ we have loads of known black people. Stop with the stigma
Another strong and healthy gay role model. Great to hear.
That was hot. Congratulations to him for the win and to the gay couple for bringing representation to the wrestling world.