Kiera Hogan didn’t spend much time in the ring during Impact Wrestling’s Bound For Glory event on Sunday, but that didn’t dampen the impact of her advocacy-filled press tour surrounding the event.
Dubbed her “Coming Out Party,” Hogan filled her slate with speaking engagements, an appearance during the Chicago Wolves’ inaugural Pride Night and her very first drag show. She also took time to discuss the weekend’s festivities on the Outsports LGBT in the Ring podcast on Thursday.
The packed itinerary comes a few months after Hogan came out publicly in late June, in a personal Instagram post. The July announcement of her relationship with fellow pro wrestler Diamante came shortly after. The news drew celebration from LGBTQ pro wrestling circles, but Hogan didn’t know those posts would thrust her into a position to share her story with fans across the Chicago metro area.
“I had no idea what either of those posts were going to mean or what doors they would open.” Hogan told Outsports. “I never, even in my past, thought once could I ever be an advocate for the community like I’m becoming so it’s just crazy to be in this position”
According to Hogan, her two most powerful events bookended the weekend: Thursday’s pizza party hosted by 13-year-old Molly Pinta and the Pinta Pride Project and Sunday’s intimate Q&A at the Center on Halsted. The Girl on Fire relished the opportunity to speak with LGBTQ youth on Thursday, but came away more impressed with Molly than anything. “She was a complete inspiration… just to be able to talk with her and see how comfortable she is in her skin at only 13 It’s so inspiring,” Hogan beamed.
Sunday provided a more intimate setting for Hogan to tell her story, but having Diamante there in person made that moment even more special. “I’m glad that she was there and she got to kind of chime in. It was just awesome. I love that she was able to do this,” Hogan said. “She kept telling me how she wanted to be there the whole weekend, but she had other opportunities she had to take care of, which I completely understand, but she was supporting me every single day, every single step.”
Her Saturday started at the LGBTQ non-profit Chicago Metropolitan Sports Association flag football games, but Saturday night’s appearance with the Wolves proved overwhelming at times to Hogan. But having Pinta by her side, along with a surprise call from her partner, eased her nerves. “It really just made my night and it kind of kicked the nerves away and gave my heart a little flutter and a little extra reminder of why I’m doing all of this,” Hogan said.
Hogan followed that by watching her and Diamante’s debut as a tag team on Saturday night’s episode of WOW Women of Wrestling before rushing to co-host the PREGAME drag show at Scarlet Bar. The show drew a great crowd, including fellow Impact competitors Alisha and Eddie Edwards and Impact legend Gail Kim.
“I had a blast with the team and my knockouts Alicia Edwards and Gail Kim came and Eddie Edwards as well. It was so awesome to again have people from my roster able to support what I was doing and they had a great time as well,” Hogan recalled.
Hogan is still unpacking the experience as a whole, but the Knockout seems ready to continue advocating for the LGBTQ community as part of Impact Wrestling and beyond.
“I would love to be an advocate full-time for the community because it is such an amazing community that just continues to grow and grow and grow. I would love to be a part of that growth,” Hogan said.
Check out the full interview on this week’s edition of Outsports’ LGBT in the Ring podcast.
You can also listen on Apple’s platform, as well as on Spotify, Spreaker, Castbox and Player FM. And you can catch Kiera Hogan on Impact every Tuesday night and WOW Women of Wrestling every Saturday night, both on AXS TV.
