“EFFY’s Big Gay Brunch”, one of the premier pro wrestling events showcasing LGBTQ talent, is going international.

The WrestleMania and All Out weekend staple will head to the U.K. next year for “EFFY’s Big Gay Brunch UK,” its first event outside the U.S.

Popular British independent promotion TNT Extreme Wrestling, which announced the show Monday afternoon, will host the event in Liverpool on May 12, 2023.

The decision to partner with TNT Extreme follows a growing relationship between the company, EFFY and American promotion Game Changer Wrestling, the host of all previous editions of the Big Gay Brunch. GCW and TNT Extreme co-promoted a show as part of a U.K. weekend slate in September and a collection of top GCW names, including EFFY, are scheduled for TNT Extreme’s “Cold Day In Hell” event on Dec. 1.

Taking the Big Gay Brunch out of the country speaks to the international spirit the event has showcased since its start in 2020. Though all previous editions took place in the U.S., there has been an effort to feature international LGBTQ wrestlers, including wrestlers from Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Spain and the U.K.

The setting is also appropriate, because the British pro wrestling scene is in the midst of its own LGBTQ boom. British promotions Pro Wrestling EVE, Preston City Wrestling and World Association of Wrestling, among others, have showcased out grapplers and held Pride-themed shows this year.

TNT Extreme itself has been the backdrop for an intense feud between out wrestlers Che Monet and Visage.

“The LGBTQIA talent in the U.K. is ready to take over the world. So let’s have it then,” EFFY said following the announcement.

Monday’s announcement did come with some criticism directed at TNT Extreme ownership, due to fellow British promotion PROGRESS Wrestling announcing it will hold an event in Dubai, where LGBTQ identities are criminalized, just hours before the Big Gay Brunch reveal occurred.

PROGRESS owners Lee McAteer and Martyn Best purchased a “joint interest” in TNT Extreme in January. This connection led some fans to question the timing of the announcements and accuse PROGRESS/TNT Extreme ownership of “playing both sides.”

In a statement released on PROGRESS’ website Tuesday, McAteer and Best addressed some of the criticism.

The duo claimed the company was funding the Dubai event independently from the UAE government and that they “hope to be a symbol of expression for people in Dubai, and for us and our talent to play some small part in the progress that needs to, and is taking place.”

Don't forget to share: