Out pro wrestler Mercedes Martinez is going into the Indie Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Martinez, one of the progenitors of the modern landscape of women’s wrestling, will be inducted as part of the class of 2024 in a ceremony Sunday, April 7, during WrestleMania Week. Fellow women’s wrestling trailblazer Lexie Fyfe will induct Martinez.
She will be the first out LGBTQ wrestler in the Hall of Fame and will join LuFisto and Cheerleader Melissa as the third woman inducted since Game Changer Wrestling and wrestling and culture publication Orange Crush established the honor in 2022.
“Short on words for now, but thank you! Blessed & grateful,” Martinez said via X, following the announcement.
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Martinez’s induction wasn’t a question of if, but rather when, given her legacy and library of accomplishments during her 20-plus year career. She held championships in nearly every major women’s pro wrestling promotion established since the turn of the millennium, including holding the SHIMMER championship twice and top titles in SHINE, Women’s Superstars United, RISE and Bellatrix.
She wrestled for every major televised North American promotion during her career despite those opportunities not coming until nearly 20 years into her career. She reached the semifinals of WWE’s inaugural Mae Young Classic tournament in 2017, won TNA Wrestling’s Knockouts Knockdown tournament in 2021 and captured the Ring of Honor Women’s championship in 2022.
Martinez currently wrestles for Ring of Honor and All Elite Wrestling.
Beyond her collection of titles, Martinez embodied the modern style, attitude and demand for respect of women’s wrestling long before major promotions recognized it and began presenting it as equal in physicality and prominence to men’s wrestling. She was a legend long before gracing the rings of WWE, TNA or AEW, and her reputation only helped to embolden those perspectives when she did.
Outsports congratulates Mercedes Martinez on her induction and for continuing to show that Courage is Contagious.
