IMPACT Wrestling Signs Jai Vidal To Multi-Year Deal

IMPACT Wrestling have signed Jai Vidal to a multi-year deal and he becomes the first openly homosexual man to sign with the promotion in the process. IMPACT was founded back in 2002 as TNA Wrestling.

Vidal revealed he had signed with IMPACT during an appearance on Outsports' LGBT In The Ring podcast.

"I can't even put into words how happy I am, how grateful I am for what the last few weeks has brought me. I am very happy and proud to announce that I have signed a multi-year contract with IMPACT Wrestling," Vidal said.

Speaking about being the first openly gay man to sign for IMPACT, he added:

"I found that out this morning actually, that I am the first openly gay wrestler to sign a contract with IMPACT, and it took me a few minutes for it to actually sink in. It's like, 'Oh, that's cool.' I'm like, wait, no, hold on, that's groundbreaking. It's knocking down barriers. It's everything that I've always wanted to do for my community in professional wrestling. 

"I talk about this a lot, but growing up, I had nobody to look up to when it came to representation. So I would always find certain talent that I felt I could just connect to on a different level, such as Shawn Michaels or Jeff Hardy or Eddie Guerrero, because I am Latino, or even female wrestlers. To know that maybe one day down the line somebody will see me on TV and will be inspired by me being openly gay, it will inspire them to chase whatever goals and dreams they have as an open person in the LGBTQ community."

Scott D'Amore told Outsports: "We're excited to sign Jai Vidal, a talented and charismatic wrestler who brings a diverse skill-set to the ring. We're proud to welcome another member of the LGBTQ community to the IMPACT roster and further our outreach into that community, which has a deep fanbase for pro wrestling."

Vidal has been a regular performer on the independents and he has appeared on IMPACT in recent weeks as Gisele Shaw's content creator and executive stylist. Prior to that, Vidal wrestled twice for the promotion in 2021, losing squash matches to Eric Young and JONAH.

H/T to Fightful