![]() ![]() I figured it was a moment to highlight what athletes like myself go through. I don’t respond to negativity and I brush it off my shoulders. So I didn’t hear it in that instance, but I happened to be on Twitter and the broadcast audio picked it up. How have your dealings with homophobia been with fans, in the business, and how are you choosing to navigate through it? You also experienced an unfortunate side of being out in wrestling, dealing with homophobia as a fan used the F-slur and insulted you during one of your matches back in 2021. While there are good fans and people in the world, we still have to deal with some bad apples sometimes. He thanked me, looked me in the eyes, and shook my hand. It made him realize his anger was directed at one person and had him understand there are a lot of good people out there. He shared that he held a grudge against people in the community, but changed his mindset after watching that chanting moment I experienced in the ring. A couple of years later, that same person took his life. I was hesitant at first, but we spoke and he shared a story with me about his brother who had an unfortunate incident and was attacked by someone who identified as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community. ![]() this one random man who wasn’t in line to meet me wanted to chat for a second. I had a moment at a meet-and-greet in Detroit. Especially on X (formerly Twitter) these days where there’s so much anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric going on, I expected the platform to be bombarded with a ton of negativity, but it was filled with so much positivity. I turned to Billy and he said this was amazing and incredible. To have a full arena standout and give a standing ovation, it’s one of my favorite moments since joining AEW because it was such a cool, genuine moment for everyone in the arena and in the ring too. Now, 11 or 12 years later, it’s starting to pay off. After five minutes at his academy, I knew this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. After chatting it up with Santino, he gave me ’s number, who is the founder of Creative Pro Wrestling Academy in New Jersey and now a producer at AEW. I had a fifth-year eligibility to play baseball and decided to not proceed, so I was trying to figure out how to fill my time creatively. After we took the photo, he stopped me and asked if I ever thought about becoming a pro wrestler, which I was at the time trying to figure out what to do next with my life. After being there for two hours, my buddy Will convinced me to take a picture with him, saying I wouldn’t meet him again. The last person I met was Santino and he was doing an ab workout. They had a show in the area, so I called in sick to my professors and went to the gym with my buddy, Will, and took pictures with everyone. What was that meeting like and were you a fan of his before meeting him?Īnthony Bowens: I was in college and I found out a lot of the wrestlers would go to the gym I used to go to in New Jersey. Out: You were discovered by Santino Marella, one of the greatest Intercontinental Champions in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) history.
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