Professional wrestling is about to get even gayer.
The Professional Gay Wrestling League (PGW) is partnering with Get Me Out Productions to develop and produce a new reality series showcasing the first all-gay wrestling federation.
Boys in the Ring will be a “lighthearted and entertaining take on the original league” that “captures the league’s satirical twist on pro wrestling and its cheeky celebration of LGBTQIA communities,” according to a press release shared exclusively with PRIDE.
Founded by Jaymes Thompson in 2010, PGW served as a throwback to late-night wrestling shows of the 70s and 80s, and featured characters such as the Gay Avenger, Big Daddy, and GOP. These over-the-top personalities are said to be coming back as part of Boys in the Ring, where they will train a new generation of queer wrestlers in Las Vegas.
“Wrestling is such a beloved genre of entertainment, and Jaymes and the Professional Gay Wrestling League created a special spin on it that mixes satire, representation, and heart,” said Hali Anastopoulo, executive producer and chief creative officer of Get Me Out Productions. “At Get Me Out Productions we believe that greater representation can come from irreverence as well as seriousness–we can’t wait to shine a very bingeable spotlight on the most irreverent wrestling league around.”
Since PGW was founded, more and more pro wrestlers have come out as LGBTQ+, and a 2022 documentary, Out in the Ring, drew attention to both the history of queer wrestlers and the pervasive homophobia that has existed in and around wrestling over the years.
“As sports entertainment, historically wrestling has not been hospitable to LGBTQIA people and that’s what I set out to explore when I started the Professional Gay Wrestling League,” Thompson said. “Sweaty men wrestling each other while wearing colorful costumes is a pretty queer concept, and PGW is based on that belief.”
Get Me Out Productions previously brought the reality series Men of West Hollywood to Crackle.
