The Concrete Rose: Sonny Kiss

Sonny Kiss is a star, a beautiful badass, and known as The Concrete Rose of AEW. The New Jersey native has faced the likes of Private Party, Joey Janela, and Cody Rhodes. The match between Sonny Kiss and Cody Rhodes is important to the history of AEW and displays the importance of change.

The name, Concrete Rose, is the true representation of who Sonny Kiss is. Kiss talks about the origin of the name in an interview with Sports Illustrated. Kiss explains the name connection to R&B singer, Ashanti.

“Ashanti’s version of that was infusing her soulful vocals over a hip-hop beat. With me, it’s very similar. I’m a very unconventional, avant-garde person, so it’s a mantra I came up with as a teenager. It’s when two things that aren’t necessarily similar come together to make one awesome product.”

Kiss discusses the importance of representation within the community saying, “LGBTQ+ people are more than what you’ve seen in the past as ‘gimmicks.’ People need authenticity, and I’m that for them. If you’re not authentic, how can people relate to you? I won’t change, I’ll always be me.”

Sonny Kiss is the representation that we all need. A fun-loving spirit who’s not afraid to give a good ole beat down. Many have tweeted and taken to social media to express their want to see more of Kiss.

Allies of the community such as Sami Callihan and Tommy Dreamer have stood publicly for Sonny Kiss. We need more of this to change and reshape the mold of representation. There is still work to be done and with the progression of talent like Kiss anything is possible.

“I’m not a gimmick, I’m myself. I don’t want to do anything that isn’t real.” – Sonny Kiss

#SonnyKiss