Rose became the first openly
transgender wrestler in history to sign with a major American
promotion when signing with AEW in 2019. She also became the first trans wrestler to win a title in a major American promotion when she won the AEW Women's World Championship the following year.
At
Fyter Fest, she was involved in a triple threat match with
Riho and
Yuka Sakazaki; after the match, Rose attacked both women, establishing herself as a heel in the process.[15] Rose took part in the AEW Women's
Casino Battle Royal at
All Out, which she went on to win, earning the opportunity to compete to become the inaugural
AEW Women's World Champion.[16] On the premiere of Dynamite on October 2, Rose was defeated by Riho for the title, and attacked Riho after the match ended.[17] On February 12, 2020, Rose defeated Riho to win the AEW Women's World Championship on Dynamite, becoming the first transgender woman to win a world championship in a major United States wrestling promotion.[18] She successfully defended the title against
Kris Statlander at
Revolution on February 29.[19] On May 23 at
Double or Nothing, Rose lost the title to
Hikaru Shida.[20] On July 15, Rose introduced
Vickie Guerrero as her
manager.[21]
In February 2021, it was announced that Rose would be competing in the
AEW Women's World ChampionshipEliminator Tournament. In the opening round of the U.S. side of the bracket, Rose picked up a victory over
Tay Conti, and on the February 24 edition of Dynamite, she picked up a victory over
Britt Baker to advance to the tournament U.S. tournament finals.[22] There, Rose defeated
Thunder Rosa on March 1. She lost to
Ryo Mizunami in the overall tournament finals on the March 3 edition of Dynamite.[23] On July 21 at
Fyter Fest Rose faced Britt Baker for the AEW Women's World Championship which Rose lost by
submission.[24] On November 17 episode of Dynamite Rose took part in the
AEW Women's TBS championship tournament where she faced Hikaru Shida and defeated her making Rose advance to the next round.[25] On the December 22 special episode of Dynamite being AEW Holiday Bash, Rose faced
Ruby Soho in the semi-finals of the tournament which Rose lost.[26]
In December 2023, Rose faced Alejandra Lion for an episode of
Ring of Honor Wrestling, which was taped alongside
AEW Holiday Bash at the
Paycom Center in
Oklahoma City. Because of
Oklahoma's laws regarding
transgender participation in sport, the state's athletic commission – which still regulates professional wrestling – met and censured AEW for violating their rules regarding "
intergender wrestling".[28] In response, AEW and ROH owner
Tony Khan stated his disappointment with the decision and offered his support to both Rose personally and
transgender rights in general, although he was non-committal over whether AEW would run events in Oklahoma in the future.[29]
Acting career
As an actress, she starred in the 2016 Canadian television series The Switch as the lead character.[30]
Writing
In 2022, Rose co-wrote the comic Giant-Size X-Men: Thunderbird #1 with
Steve Orlando and artist David Cutler.[31]
Personal life
Rose is both
Native and
African-American, with her Native side being of
Oneida heritage.[4] She grew up watching wrestling with her grandmother, and began training as a wrestler in college.[32] She began transitioning at the same time.[32]