Transgender former WWE star Gabbi Tuft teases return to the ring

Transgender wrestler Gabbi Tuft has said she ‘absolutely’ plans on returning to the ring, but acknowledged the potential awkwardness of her using the women’s locker room.

Tuft, who was previously known as Tyler Reks during her first four-year run with WWE, came out as transgender three years ago.

And while she’s been retired from competition since 2014, a second act in wrestling could be on the horizon – with other female wrestlers even asking to train with her.

‘My intent is to absolutely make a return to the ring,’ she told NewsNation’s ‘Banfield.’

‘And if it is, just happens to be with WWE , that would be the perfect full circle story. And if I do go back, I think the entire world is going to be watching and wondering if I step in the ring with a guy, with a girl, what happens? And I know, there are some people that aren’t happy about it.’

She continued, ‘Now even when I’m in the ring training with girls and practicing, they’re the ones that have asked to train with me and they’re happy to train with me and they know that I’m going to protect them in the ring.

‘And as far as sending a message, I think it’s a wonderful message that the females are asking to work with me. They know that I’ll keep them safe, and they know that what we’re going to do in the ring will be explosive, and it’ll be incredibly entertaining.’

Tuft shared that she is not fully transitioned and therefore has concerns about sharing a locker room with other women.

‘I think my biggest concern would be a locker room situation because I’m not fully transitioned. And to be honest, I would never want to impose or invade a safe space for females,’ she said.

‘So, I think my biggest concern would be where I get changed, and if I had to figure out a way to get my own space not to impose on anybody, if I had to pay for it myself or something, I would do that just to ensure that the girls, the women, the females, they felt safe and that I was not intruding in their space whatsoever.’

The 45-year-old has dropped about 100 pounds from when she performed as Reks by changing her diet and fitness routine. Reks was billed at 6-foot-2 and around 250 pounds for her entire WWE run.

Still, while she’s happy to enter the ring with women, she said sports need ‘better standards’ when it comes to transgender people competing in athletics.

She also shared that she would not wrestle if it was a ‘legitimate, straight competitive sport’.

‘But given that it is entertainment, it’s a different story. … I recognize I have more muscle mass on my body than a natural-born female.

‘My bone structure is much different. I can feel it in the ring. I know it. It’s much different when I work with a natural-born female versus a male. And I can feel the muscle mass difference. I can feel the body frame. I know that. I’m well aware of that. But thank God this is entertainment, and that’s what we bring.

Tuft previously teased a potential return by entering a venue where All Elite Wrestling was holding a show.