ANTHONY BOWENS
“To anyone who needs to hear it right now, it all gets better,” said Anthony Bowens, the 31-year-old who became the first openly gay wrestler to win an AEW (All Elite Wrestling) championship. The sentiment not only underscores his historic win, but also the fact the New Jersey native had a late start to the sport. He began training towards the end of his college baseball career. In the ring, Bowens became an advocate for LGBTQ+ causes—he often wears the pride flag as part of his uniform—after hearing a fan yell a homophobic slur in his direction last December. After the incident, he wrote on Twitter: “I’ll just keep fighting against stuff like this till the day I die.” —K.M.