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The population of out LGBTQ pro wrestlers under the WWE banner grew by one on Tuesday when Toni Storm publicly came out as bisexual.
The news came by way of an Instagram story from the WWE NXT Instagram account. Control of the account’s stories has been placed in the hands of various talents currently wrestling for WWE’s NXT brand during Pride month, and Storm took her turn on Tuesday to announce herself to the world.
“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,’” Storm said. “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 and it feels good to say it,” She continued. “It’s something I’ve been really comfortable with for a long time. I just never expressed it.”
Storm becomes the 14th known pro wrestler to come out during Pride month 2021. She becomes the eighth out LGBTQ wrestler currently under WWE contract.
Storm’s Instagram takeover also featured conversations about the meaning of Pride with fellow NXT talents, including NXT Women’s champion Raquel Gonzalez, NXT GM Willian Regal and NXT North American champion Bronson Reed.
The Instagram story also showed Storm exploring the meaning of Pride for herself in a quiet moment backstage.
“Pride month is very important to me. It’s just important to be able to be exactly who you are unapologetically. It’s important to love exactly who you want to love, to be your true, authentic self and not feel ashamed of that,” Storm said. “You should be able to be free and be who you want to be and love who you are.”
The official WWE NXT Twitter account released the video of Storm’s coming out announcement with a message of support. “A member of the community and an ally. Thank you for sharing this with us, Toni Storm. We couldn’t be more proud,” the company said.
Prior to joining WWE in 2017, Storm held championships in promotions across the globe, including in Germany, Japan, Australia and the U.K. The New Zealand native continued that trend in WWE, winning the 2018 Mae Young Classic tournament and capturing the NXT UK Women’s championship in 2019.
Outsports congratulates Toni Storm for living her truth and proving that courage is contagious.
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