Nyla Rose is grateful for the support.
In April, records from a 2024 Oklahoma State Athletic Commission meeting revealed that OSAC had issued a warning to AEW after the company sanctioned a match between Nyla Rose, who is transgender, and Alejandra Lion, her female-born opponent, in Oklahoma City. Noting this to be a violation of their rules, OSAC urged All Elite Wrestling to refrain from repeating these match dynamics, or else “punitive action” would be taken.
On a recent episode of Close Up w/ Renee Paquette, Nyla Rose recalled her initial reaction to this development.
“It definitely caught me blindsided,” Rose said. “I had no idea any of that was going. Kudos to our company and to our team who was like the ozone layer up there protecting me and us from it, but I had no idea that was even going on. They’re like ‘Hey, something’s coming out. You should be aware of this.’ Our team was up there defending and protecting. Then it was like ‘Hey, okay listen, we got to rope you in. This is what’s been going on. This is what we’ve been dealing with.'”
Minutes after the news broke, fans and colleagues greeted Rose with an outpour of support. Naturally, Rose was touched by this gesture. At the same time, though, she believes it threatened her status as a heel.
“I was frustrated because it forced me to turn baby[face], Rose joked. “I had some very evil plans on the table. Everybody was so nice and loving and accepting and supportive that I had no choice. I had no choice. The evil cloak has been put away for a while. I owe you guys because you were so good to me.”
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