Editors note: Every article about Sonny Kiss uses different pronouns, but on her official instagram she lists “her” as the correct pronoun so that is what we’ll be using throughout this article.
Genderfluid wrestler Sonny Kiss was released from her contract with All Elite Wrestling on Monday.
The fan-favorite signed with the AEW in February 2019 when it was becoming the second largest wrestling promotion in the US next to the WWE. She made her debut in May of that same year and was regularly featured on AEW television despite never winning a championship.
Fans caught wind of Kiss’ tenure coming to an end when her name was removed from the active roster list on the AEW’s official website. But even with love from a loyal fanbase, Kiss had been getting less and less air time in the months leading up to the AEW releasing her from her contract.
At the AEW All-Out post show on Sept. 3, co-owner and president Tony Khan told journalists that Kiss is a “great wrestler” with a lot of “potential,” the Wrestling Observer reported.
"We have a roster of over a hundred wrestlers now across AEW, and Sonny is a great wrestler,” he said. “I think I've done a lot to really keep the locker room stable. I have a lot of people that I not only keep under contract but also I've done well, I think, to not do like major mass layoffs and let 20, 30 people go at a time.”
Khan continued saying that the door is open for Kiss to return in the future, “And with such a big roster and a limited amount of TV spots, I think Sonny Kiss is a great wrestler and had a lot of potential from the very beginning of AEW, and still has a lot of potential as a wrestler. And I really like Sonny Kiss. I think Sonny Kiss could certainly be back potentially, too. "
AEW Dark and Elevation both being canceled and the roster growing over time were both reasons Khan listed for needing to let some wrestlers go.
While it would be easy to assume that Kiss was cut from the roster for being queer because of the WWE’s history of homophobia, AEW has an impressive track record of hiring LGBTQ+ wrestlers. Both transgender wrestler Nyla Rose and out gay wrestler Anthony Bowns have found huge success with AEW.
Although it remains unclear exactly why Kiss was let go, we’re hoping to see her back in the ring in her signature thigh-high boots and fishnet stockings in no time!
