Former WWE Star Gabbi Tuft Comes Out As Transgender

Gabbi Tuft is ready to be unapologetically herself and live her truth.

The former WWE star came out as transgender on Instagram, writing in a lengthy caption, "This is me. Unashamed, unabashedly me."

"I am no longer afraid and I am no longer fearful. I can now say with confidence, that I love myself for WHO I am," Tuft wrote. "The previous eight months have been some of the darkest of my entire life. The emotional turmoil of being transgender and having to face the world has almost ended me on multiple occasions. 

"However, the day I stopped caring about what other people thought, was the day I truly became limitless and allowed my authentic self to come into the light."

The 42-year-old wrestled in the WWE from 2009 to '12. Tuft became known for the move the “Burning Hammer,” where she lifted opponents around her neck before throwing them down. She retired from professional wrestling in 2014 after a six-year career with the WWE.

Tuft spoke about her transition in an interview on Extra, sitting beside her wife, Priscilla. 

“When I was 10, when my parents weren’t home, I would sneak into my mom’s closet and try on her clothes, and it just felt right,” Tuft said. “But I suppressed it my whole life.”

She hopes that by coming out and being open about her transition will help other trans individuals. 

“I promise that I will share my story,” she said, “because knowing that there is a light at the end of the tunnel can just be that ray of hope that keeps somebody with us, that keeps them alive and lets them know, ‘Yes, I can do this too.’ ”