Hartwell's time in WWE came to an end after nearly five years
Her release came out of nowhere
Candice LeRae remained in WWE as a singles talent
Along with Baron Corbin and Tegan Nox, it was revealed that Indi Hartwell was being released from WWE at the back end of 2024.
Trish Adora is not one of them. In the past, wrestling has produced a lot of offensive caricatures of queer people, often reducing them to a punchline. WWE often has a hand in changing up aspects of wrestlers such as this, but it was not the case with Hartwell. In WWE, she impressed in the ring and became both NXT Women's Champion and NXT Women's Tag Team Champion.
Many may not know that Hartwell is a part of the LGBTQ+ community.
While exoticos traditionally portray offensive stereotypes, Cassandro won fans over and used his wrestling persona to live his life authentically as a queer man.
Gabbi Tuft Is Living Life As A Trans Woman
Tuft Used To Work For WWE As "Tyler Reks"
Gabbi Tuft Worked For WWE from 2008-2012.
She came out as transgender in 2021.
Today, she works as a nutrition coach.
Hirsch began training in amateur wrestling when she was 15 and made her professional debut in her early twenties. Although they have spent most of their career in their native country, they also competed in AEW in 2021 under the ring name Veny (likely to avoid confusion with WWE's Asuka).
During their time in AEW, they would team up with fellow Joshi wrestlers Maki Itoh and Emi Sakura to take on Hikaru Shida, Mei Suruga and Rin Kadokura.
On March 15, 2021, news broke that Hirsch had signed with AEW. Since then, she has feuded against stars like Kris Statlander and Diamante.
Bronson Just Came Out As Bisexual In 2024
The AEW Star Is One Half Of The Iron Savages
Bronson was born in East Islip, New York. In the moment, I was like, 'I have to go back out there.' I was begging the coaches and producers and the medical team to let me go back out there.
During his WWE career, Rosser worked as a member of the infamous stable Nexus, and as one-half of the Prime Time Players alongside Titus O'Neil. His involvement in NXT led him to WWE’s main roster, where he and the other participants of NXT debuted as The Nexus. In 2023, the two became engaged, and married in early 2024.
7 Tegan Nox
The Girl With The Shiniest Wizard
She competed in NXT from 2017 until 2021.
Tegan Nox joined the SmackDown brand in July 2021.
WWE released her in November 2021 (and again in November 2024).
The Welsh-born Tegan Nox had two notable stints in the WWE.
Her first stint began in 2017. Here are 13 WWE wrestlers, past or present, who identify as LGBTQ.
UPDATE: 2025/05/01 20:00 EST BY BENJAMIN VIEIRA
The LGBTQ+ community has come a long way in professional wrestling. She revealed this when speaking in an interview with The West Sport.
This shows that Hartwell was a very big fan going up, and would go the extra mile to even just get action figures.
Indi Hartwell Met Rhea Ripley As Fans
Two Of WWE’s Australian Superstars Met Years Ago
Hartwell is from Melbourne
Ripley is from Adelaide
They met in Melbourne at an airport
Despite living hundreds of miles away from one another, Rhea Ripley and Indi Hartwell met each other when they were just teenagers, as they were both waiting at an airport to see WWE superstars following shows in Australia.
They weren’t necessarily friends, but they have known each other from a young age - way before either of them had made it into the professional wrestling business.
Indi Hartwell Suffered A Serious Injury
She Was Forced To Vacate The NXT Title
In 2023, Indi Hartwell was ruled out for several months
This put an end to her NXT run as she was called up not long later
Hartwell wrestled through her injury in a match
During an NXT Title defense in 2023, Indi Hartwell suffered an ankle injury which looked very painful, but she went on to finish the match anyway.
There, she did have a little bit of success in a team with Curt Hawkins (TNA's Brian Myers). Today, the “Queen of Spades” relationship status is unknown.
9 Saraya
The Former AEW & WWE Star Has Spoken Candidly About Her Sexuality
via IMAGN Image Services
Inaugural NXT Women's Champion.
Two-time WWE Divas Champion.
One-time AEW Women's World Champion.
After Leaving AEW, Is There A Place For Saraya In WWE In 2025?
Soon after, Armendariz began competing as an exotico, a male wrestler who performs in drag.
On her social media, Hartwell jokingly responded to the news of her release, claiming ignorance when responding to the story online by saying "Wait, what?". Speaking to the West Sport, she regretted going through with that decision.
Skye Blue: Age, Height, Relationship Status & More
Skye Blue is a regularly featured wrestler in AEW's women's division.
The two of them compete on AEW and ROH.
Trish Adora Is One Of ROH’s Heavy Hitters
Adora Is A Military Veteran And Ring General
Before she became a pro wrestler, Adora served in the United States Army for 8 years. Hartwell was asked about the origins of her name when she spoke in an interview with David Falcon.
“I read somewhere that Australian rapper Iggy Azalea found her name by combining her dog’s name with her street name and ages ago my friend and I did that.
After an eight-year career in MMA, which included a brief stint in the UFC, Baszler turned her attention to professional wrestling - which led her to the WWE. Baszler is a two-time NXT Women’s Champion, holding the record for the longest combined days spent as champion. This has, in turn, resulted in more LGBTQ representation in wrestling today than ever before.
They’re most known for their martial arts-inspired wrestling style, agility, and striking prowess. While there's still a lot of progress to be made in the fight for equality, we can appreciate these athletes and all the accomplishments they've made so far.
Cassandro Is A Lucha Libre Icon
Cassandro Challenges Gender Roles Everywhere
Armendariz is an openly gay man from El Paso, Texas.