Pro Wrestler AC Mack Makes History as First Gay World Champion

Alex Cooper
·1 min read
2
AC Mack in the ring with a crowd
AC Mack in the ring with a crowd

Pro wrestler AC Mack made history on Friday when he became the first out gay man to win a pro wrestling world championship.

Mack bested Alex Shelley for the IWTV Independent Wrestling World title at the “Southeast Fist” in Tyrone, Ga., according to Outsports.

“With a standing-room-only crowd and other wrestlers surrounding the ring, the building erupted when Mack reversed Shelley’s Border City Stretch submission into a rollup to stun the 20-year veteran and take his place in the pro wrestling record books,” the website reported.

Mack’s win comes after a six-month quest to get an IWTV Independent Wrestling World title match after winning the Scenic City Invitational tournament last year.

After the match, the wrestler spoke about what the win means to the sport.

“I started wrestling in 2016. And plenty of people told me, ‘You ain’t gonna never make it out of this state. Not with the way you look, not with the color of your skin, not with who you like to sleep with.’ They dubbed me Georgia’s finest. Don’t clap for that, because I am so much more,” Mack said, according to Outsports.

“For those of you who still don’t understand how big of a deal this is, we did the research. We found out that now AC Mack goes down in the history books — not just the indies, not just the major leagues, not Japan, not anything — all of pro wrestling now has its first openly gay male world champion,” he added. “This championship, the IWTV World championship — Iris — is staying here.”

The night ended with Mack sharing a moment with his partner, kissing him in the ring.