Oklahoma commission turns heel on AEW

AEW Women’s Wrestler Nyla Rose is currently in the news, not because of the former AEW Women’s Champ’s wrestling, but rather her sexuality.

Rose, a transgender woman, is the target of complaints from the state of Oklahoma.

On Thursday, in a story first reported by Real Rasslin, news was released that in January, AEW received a warning from Oklahoma State Athletic Commission over the company’s recent event in the state, near the end of 2023. It seems that there are laws discriminating against transgender athletes in numerous states, including Missouri and Oklahoma.

According to KOKH, the OSAC issued a warning to the company for allowing Nyla Rose to wrestle Alejandra Lion during a December 20, 2023, event, which was the first time AEW had made a visit Oklahoma. The warning was issued because of the state’s 2021 law against transgender athletes competing against cisgender athletes, even in pro wrestling, which is scripted entertainment.

The Athletic Commission unanimously voted to “warn AEW not to do this again or there will be punitive action made against them if they do.” The commission was tipped off by an unnamed promotion, that had been issued a similar warning. OSAC chose to reprimand AEW to stay consistent after reprimanding the other organization.

In a report from okcfox.com, OSAC’s rules stated:

The Commission will not approve sanctioning permits between human participants and non-humans or between males and females. A male participant is a person of the heterogametic sex born with XY chromosomes. A female participant is a person born of the homogametic sex with XX chromosomes.

AEW owner Tony Khan commented on the issue during a meeting with several media members that was held to discuss AEW’s Dynasty pay per view, which will be held here in St. Louis, at Chaifetz Arena on Sunday at 6 p.m.

“I was really surprised by this, it was not something I was expecting,” Khan said to the media members. “I was disappointed by the commissions position and by that warning.”

Khan said the company did nothing wrong during the show.

“I’m really, really shocked by it,” he said. “I don’t think there should be discrimination against Transgender wrestlers, or transgender people at all. They have rights, and to that end, I absolutely stand by Nyla Rose. AEW stands by Nyla Rose and all transgender people who want to play sports. This is wrestling, there was nothing wrong with it.”

AEW’s owner went on to compliment Rose on her role with the company.

“Nyla Rose is a great wrestler, she’s been a great world champion,” Khan said. “I love Nyla and I love working with Nyla. She’s been a great part of our history. She was the first transgender world champion ever, and she’s a great part of the AEW Together program. She does a ton for the community. She’s a great person and has a great heart. She’s very supportive of the other wrestlers.”

Khan went on to say that Rose is one of the standouts on social media for the company.

“She’s one of the funniest people on social media,” he said. “I personally have nominated Nyla to TBS for the Best Social Media presence, more than once over the years.”

Rose has been with AEW since the inception of the company.

“She’s an AEW original,” Khan said. “She’s been part of this since 2019, going back to the very first year of AEW, the first shows, the first Dynamite.”

The wrestling fanatic turned owner said it’s a shame that the state commission feels the way it does.

“Look at everything Nyla’s accomplished, and to just put that label on her is not right,” Khan said. “She’s much more than that, she’s a great athlete. I hope everybody can look at Nyla and see she’s a great person and a great wrestler. She deserves the same chances as everyone else.”

The AEW locker room is one of the more diverse groups in pro wrestling.

“The AEW locker room features people from all over the world and has all kinds of different backgrounds and beliefs.” Khan said. “If everybody in the locker room can embrace Nyla, I would hope that the Oklahoma (State Athletic) Commission could do the same thing.”

Rose will be working Dynasty in St. Louis, as a special guest host for ppv.com/AEW Dynasty event.

“We were thrilled when she accepted the invitation weeks ago,” Khan said. “I’m glad Nyla’s going to be hosting that. I think the world of Nyla, and that’s how I feel about it.”

Rose took to social media to comment. She jokingly said that she would find the “dastardly Transgender,” referring to herself. The wrestling company currently has not announced any other dates in Oklahoma for the future.

The warning is just the latest effort by Oklahoma’s officials to regulate transgender participation in sporting events. A campaign to “save women’s sports” has been waged by the state’s political leaders, to require anyone competing in school-based women’s sports to be born a female.

For those who may be wondering where Missouri stands on this issue, On June 7, 2023, Republican Governor Mike Parson signed a bill banning gender-affirming treatments for minors and limiting participation in school sports based on gender. Many Missouri agencies are still unclear on how to handle the situation. It seems that neither the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education nor the Missouri State High School Activities Association have decided how the restrictions should be administered.

So, how does this pertain to pro wrestling here in Missouri? Well, according to Ross W Berman of Wrestling Inc., some female wrestlers have complained that the Missouri State Athletic Commission has women list the date of their last period.

At one point there was a rule in Missouri, banning men from wrestling women, but it was overturned in 2018.

Missouri is one of 19 states that has banned gender-affirming treatments for minors. In fact, since 2020, there have been 156 proposed bills affecting LGBTQ rights here in Missouri.

Prior to the 2022-2023 school year, a MSHSAA policy allowed transgender athletes to compete as their gender identity if they had undergone hormone treatments for at least one year.

Enforcement of the ban at the college level also relies on individual schools’ interpretation of the law. The NCAA continues to take a sport-by-sport approach, while looking at the hormone levels of each athlete, despite the state law that bans transgender athletes from competing according to their gender identity.

The NCAA continues to take a sport-by-sport approach while looking at hormone levels of individual athletes. This, despite the state law that bans transgender athletes from competing according to their gender identity.

While Nyla Rose’s situation in Oklahoma is starting to pick up steam with the media, it’s clear that AEW stands behind its wrestler and who knows, maybe this could turn into something groundbreaking for the LGBTQ community. In Missouri, with a ban on government diversity efforts and gender affirming care, it’s clear that like Oklahoma, transgender people may be feeling increasingly threatened in the Show-Me State.

(Photo Credit/AEW)