Out trans pro wrestler Edith Surreal steps away from wrestling indefinitely

Out pro wrestler Edith Surreal, widely recognized as an integral figure in the growing presence of LGBTQ identities in pro wrestling, may have wrestled her last match.

Surreal announced Wednesday that she will take an indefinite hiatus from the ring effective immediately after suffering a head injury in a match at New Jersey-based promotion Wrestlers Lab’s “Oh My Glob!” event on May 26.

“Thank you to everyone who has supported and believed in me,” Surreal said in a statement released to social media. “I have achieved more than I ever thought I could. Every match has been a dream come true.”

Surreal shared that she made the decision after consulting her doctor and family citing that the injury last month was the third head injury she sustained since entering pro wrestling in 2018. As a result, Surreal stated that she relinquished her Enjoy Wrestling championship, a title she held for over a year, ahead of the company’s next event, “Immaculate,” on June 16. She was scheduled to defend her title against former AEW star Sonny Kiss in the main event of that event.

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If Surreal’s career is truly over, she leaves an indelible mark on pro wrestling history.

Surreal held championships for promotions across the country, highlighted by her Enjoy Wrestling championship reign, her year-plus run as Invictus Wrestling Women’s champion and defeating Billy Dixon to become the first Uncanny Attractions Unchampion last year. She won the inaugural Cassandro Cup tournament in 2021 and became the first out trans wrestler to challenge for the IWTV Independent Wrestling World title.

She logged another historic first in 2022, facing off against Dark Sheik and Candy Lee in pro wrestling’s first all-transfemme main event ever at “Paris Is Bumping: The Legends Ball.” She competed in another all-transfemme main event two months later against famed Japanese wrestler VENY in her first match on U.S. soil.

“The Ephemeral Queen” left her mark in tag team action, winning multiple trios tournaments alongside friends Shey McCoy and Weber Hatfield, and helped set the tone for what “EFFY’s Big Gay Brunch” would be in a classic match against Dark Sheik at the very first event in 2020.

But accolades and memorable matches only tell half the story of Surreal’s impact on the pro wrestling space. Countless LGBTQ wrestlers cite Surreal as an inspiration along their own journeys in and out of the ring. Even more specifically, many young trans wrestlers point to Surreal as a hero that helped them see that trans people had a positive place within the sprawling world of pro wrestling.

Surreal showed little hesitation in using her platform to speak out against anti-trans rhetoric and legislation as conservative governments and figures began targeting trans and other LGBTQ populations in recent years.

Few people leave that lasting of a mark on pro wrestling, much less in only six years. Its evidenced by the outpour of appreciation and celebration Surreal’s announcement garnered from fellow wrestlers, queer and allied fans, promotions and friends.

Perhaps out pro wrestler Billy Dixon put it best: “Superheroes are real.”

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