Minneapolis, MN
Rising star from Minneapolis brings LGBTQ+ representation to pro wrestling
When Devon Monroe enters a wrestling ring, he’s loud, energetic and oozes sex appeal.
“He’s a show off, but a humble show off. I like to call it humble showing off, because it’s never my intention trying to be better than anyone else. But you know, when you’re kind of that girl, it just kind of comes off that way,” said Monroe.
Devon Monroe greets the crowd before the match at Uptown VFW.
Kerem Yücel | MPR News
Since 2018, Monroe — whose real name is Rahgeme Snider — has been dazzling wrestling rings in the Twin Cities with bold outfits and a signature move exclusively using his “booty.”
“Who doesn’t like using their ass?,” said Monroe with a laugh. “I don’t know, it’s fun. It wins the matches.”
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Local wrestling fans know him through his larger-than-life personality. Everything about him is flashy and authentic to Monroe — his outfits, his wrestling moves and his storyline.
“Devon is kind of just the confidence, the showmanship, the femininity, like just the gorgeousness that I feel like I never really got to live out in my real life,” said Monroe, 25.
Devon Monroe kicks his opponent Jordan (left) during the fight at Uptown VFW.
Kerem Yücel | MPR News
From a young age, Monroe loved wrestling. He grew up in Minneapolis and watched World Wrestling Entertainment with his cousin, who introduced him to wrestling. He came to love Sasha Banks and Naomi, both Black female wrestlers who inspired him to pursue wrestling.
“It was always something that I loved, and I wanted deep down to do, but I never believed that I truly could,” said Monroe.
Devon Monroe and his opponent Jordan grapple during the fight at Uptown VFW.
Kerem Yücel | MPR News
That’s because wrestling is a “macho man” sport. Everything from Devon Monroe’s gear to the way he struts into the ring and works the crowd comes from female wrestlers like Banks.
“The first thing you notice about Sasha when she steps out from the curtain is her confidence. You can tell from her facial expression, the way that she walks, that there’s just an air of star power. That is kind of the one thing that I took from her,” he said.
Watching Banks, now known as Mercedes Moné, and LGBTQ+ wrestlers like Sonny Kiss pushed Monroe into pursuing wrestling on his own. He says the uniqueness that he brings as a Black gay man has helped make his mark as a professional wrestler in Minnesota.
Devon Monroe exits the ring to kick his opponent Jordan during the fight at Uptown VFW.
Kerem Yücel | MPR News
Monroe currently wrestles under F1RST Wrestling, a local promotion company known for its flagship event “WRESTLEPALOOZA” at Minneapolis’ First Avenue.
And he will often enter a wrestling ring with dramatic makeup and colorful ensembles, like cropped jackets and strappy briefs. Monroe says no one has seen anyone like him before.
“They don’t push types of characters like us, like we’re usually the comedy trope, or we’re usually used for a quick ‘haha.’ But I think especially this year in 2024 it’s been almost kind of, like, revolutionary to see a character like mine not be the ‘haha,’ but instead be a serious character and actually put up a fight and hang with the rest of the boys,” said Monroe.
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According to Arik Cannon, owner of the company and mentor to Monroe, he’s a top talent at F1RST Wrestling.
“He’s been a star from day one,” said Cannon. “He knows that he has a connection. He knows that these people want to see him, so it allows him to do his job as a wrestler when he’s in peril and fighting from underneath to get that crowd sympathy, which is ultimately what makes him such a quote, unquote, good guy in what we do,” said Cannon.
Archaic ‘straight, white, misogynistic’ wrestling is ‘dead and gone’
Cannon has been a wrestler since 2001 and founded F1RST Wrestling in 2007. He said wrestling culture has changed over the years to include more queer talent like Monroe.
For any given event F1RST Wrestling hosts, Cannon said he books anywhere from four to six LGBTQ+ wrestlers.
“The archaic 80s, straight, white, misogynistic wrestling is, in my opinion, dead and gone. We’re doing things today in pro wrestling that back then would be unheard of. Guys are wrestling girls, we have Black champions all over the landscape. We have queer champions all over the landscape, like it is just not what it used to be. And I think that people are not only seeing it, but they’re recognizing it and more importantly, they’re appreciative of it,” said Cannon.
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Ken Anderson, who coached Monroe early in his career, said Monroe is part of an explosion of new wrestlers that are openly queer in the Twin Cities wrestling scene. Anderson did a stint as a professional wrestler with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) from 2005 to 2009 and founded a wrestling school in Minneapolis in 2016.
During his time at WWE under the name “Mr. Kennedy,” he says there were gay wrestlers who were closeted.
“I feel like the world is becoming safer for everybody, in the sense that people are allowed to be who they authentically are. And wrestling, to me, has always been the most accepting group of people. I think if there were more closeted people before the 2000s, it wasn’t due to wrestlers themselves not being accepting of it, it was more like fans weren’t accepting of it,” he said.
Anderson coached Monroe early in his career at his wrestling school, The Academy. Monroe was the first openly gay wrestler to graduate from The Academy.
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“I go around the room on day one and I always ask everybody, ‘What do you plan to get out of this business?’ Because success is different for everyone. People say, ‘I want to go to WWE — WWE or bust.’ I have people that say, ‘I just want to wrestle on the weekends with my buddies.’ And I remember him specifically saying that he wanted to be a beacon of hope for other LGBTQ kids,” said Anderson.
Anderson said Monroe is now doing that and believes he can make it to WWE if he wants to go that route. Cannon also helped train Monroe early in his career and said he’s helping bring more attention to LGBTQ+ wrestlers in the Twin Cities.
Devon Monroe has his arm raised by the referee after winning the fight at Uptown VFW.
Kerem Yücel | MPR News
“I think he’s a bigger part of making that happen than he realizes, especially here in Minnesota. Not just because he’s bringing eyes to queer talents within pro wrestling, but he’s on top here in Minnesota. And I think that not only does that bring more eyes to queer talents, but I think that it says to other queer talents, I can do that too,” said Cannon.
The wrestling world is ready to see ‘a new type of superstar’
Monroe’s biggest dream is to do wrestling full-time and make it to national television. He currently works as an accountant at a hotel in Minneapolis, but does wrestling in his free time.
So far, his wrestling career has taken him to Chicago, California, Canada, Florida and Texas. In the next few years, he hopes to travel across the world and visit wrestling hubs like Japan to get his name out there.
He was also recently recognized by Outsports, a sports news website focusing on LGBTQ+ athletes, as one of the top 20 LGBTQ+ wrestlers in the world. On their fan-generated list, he was ranked at number 15.
“I feel like in 2024 the wrestling world is ready to see a new type of superstar. And I think that’s kind of part of the reason, you know, why people are drawn to me so much is just my energy and just the ready to see something new,” said Monroe.
Devon Monroe has his makeup done by his friend Kayla Colegrove before entering the ring at Uptown VFW.
Kerem Yücel | MPR News
In November, he squared off against former WWE wrestler Matt Cardona at the Mall of America to one of the biggest crowds he’s ever seen. The crowd was eager to see a rematch: Monroe held the WRESTLEPALOOZA championship title for 420 days before he lost it to Cardona in August.
The hundreds of fans at the show — mostly those classic macho men — chanted “Black Sexcellence” as he wrestled Cardona. In the end, Monroe lost. But it’s OK — the loss continues the storyline for Monroe to fight to claim the title back from Cardona in his next few matches.
Devon Monroe catches his breath while heading to the locker room after the fight at Uptown VFW.
Kerem Yücel | MPR News
“For me, it proves that there are people out there who can look past seeing a man in makeup,” said Monroe. “They can look past this and see the talent, see the hard work that I’m putting in.”
But of course, his LGBTQ+ fans have a special place in his heart.
“The biggest thing is just knowing that, like you know, they can see someone that they can relate to. They can see someone that you know kind of has their story, and I love it,” said Monroe.
Monroe will next appear at Wrestlepalooza Night 1 on Jan. 3 at First Avenue in Minneapolis. Tickets start at $35 before fees.
April 21, 2016.
Ten years later, that day still doesn’t seem real to me.
I was sitting in the newsroom of The Montclair Times in the early afternoon when word came that Prince had died.
I was incredulous. One of my musical heroes was gone. No way.
I was skeptical because I am a reporter. But also because it was Prince — a superstar so secretive and controlling of his music and public image that you could imagine he would have to give his permission to let the world know of his demise.
As the day passed, videos showed grieving fans standing outside his home and music studio complex, Paisley Park, not far from his beloved Minneapolis. That’s when the reality dawned on me.
Prince Rogers Nelson had gone 2 the afterworld at only 57 years old.
He was gone so young — he had so much more music in him to record, release and perform in public for an adoring audience. He died alone after collapsing in an elevator at his complex.
Those things made me sad.
But I was also annoyed at myself. For not being a better aficionado of his music — by never seeing him in person and not collecting every piece of music he ever recorded.
After a few days of listening to the radio and online to “Purple Rain” and “1999” being played ad nauseam, I also heard lesser-known cuts like the heartbreakingly melancholic and sadly appropriate “Sometimes It Snows In April.”
When I heard the depressing reports that he died due to an accidental fentanyl overdose, I resolved to pay proper tribute to The Purple One.
I would go to Minnesota on a Prince Pilgrimage.
‘Nothing Compares 2 U’
April to June 2016.
I said I would go to Minneapolis, to Prince’s home ground, to pay my respects to him. I didn’t think I would go through with booking a ticket on United Airlines from Newark for the weekend before his birthday.
I had used up most of my vacation days and had one to spare, but not another to stay through Prince’s actual born day. Just my luck.
At least I was fulfilling a commitment to an artist I adore.
I wouldn’t say I was a fanatic for his Royal Badness (one of the many nicknames he carried in his lifetime). But he’s one of the few musicians who really moved me.
I heard his music growing up in the 1980s in Jersey City as a matter of course when the radio dial was set on R&B or pop music stations like KISS-FM and Z-100.
When Prince’s sixth studio album, “Purple Rain,” was released in the summer of 1984, it was a revolution that pushed the rising star into the stratosphere.
I couldn’t go anywhere without hearing the screeching guitar and chanting of Prince that provided the intro to “When Doves Cry,” or the rhythmic strumming of the guitar and the clashing electric drums that start off the album’s title song.
However, it was watching “Purple Rain,” the movie, that put me on the Prince Express. It didn’t matter that he couldn’t act to the satisfaction of critics or that the plot seemed corny. I was just absolutely enthralled by him and his band, The Revolution, tearing through numbers that were a mélange of funk, rock and new wave, while in a musical rivalry with another badass, Morris Day, and his group.
My 13-year-old self also developed a crush on the leading lady, Apollonia Kotero, for her sultry voice and because she stripped nude to purify herself in the waters of Lake Minnetonka. It blew my mind then (and still blows my mind now).
Prince would remain in the background of my music listening as the years passed.
If it wasn’t his voice, it was the voice of others singing his songs, because he was as adept a songwriter as he was a performer. “I Feel for You” (Chaka Khan), “Manic Monday” (The Bangles) and “Nothing Compares 2 U” (Sinéad O’Connor) are some of the major hits that came from his pen.
The first vinyl album I ever got, in my teens was “Around the World in a Day,” his 1985 anti-commercial and purposely obscured follow-up to “Purple Rain.”
In college and afterward, whenever I had a few bucks in my pocket, I bought various albums on CD: “Diamonds and Pearls,” “The Black Album,” “The Gold Experience” and “Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic,” and “Lovesexy” on cassette. I paid for a ticket to watch what may be Spike Lee’s worst movie, “Girl 6,” in part to hear Prince’s music.
But it wasn’t just Prince’s virtuoso musicianship that made me a believer. It was also his personality, confounding and infuriating at the same time, that intrigued me.
I chatted with NYU classmates about how he slept no more than two hours a day because he worked so hard in the studio, playing all the instruments and producing every track. Yet he looked like he hadn’t aged a minute.
You would hear stories of him boosting artists that he admired by having them play on his albums and in concert. Then you would hear stories of his unkindness and controlling nature toward his bandmates and others in his inner circle.
He was a man who attained a level of stardom that demanded he bask in the spotlight at all times. Then there was the man who operated in secrecy and would alternate between the public, large-scale appearances and his surprise late-night concerts at small venues.
He was a true Gemini.
In the late spring of 2016, I was taking in all of who Prince was, as he was no longer among us mere mortals, while preparing to pay homage to him.
‘MPLS’ and ‘Uptown’
June 3 to 5, 2016.
“Rock ‘n’ Roll Is Alive! (And It Lives in Minneapolis)”
Prince’s 1993 song popped into my head as the United Airlines plane landed at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport around 10:30 p.m. on June 3.
In the morning, my Prince Pilgrimage was underway as I took a bus near my hotel toward downtown Minneapolis.
While on the bus, I could see out my window why he spent nearly his entire life in or near this city, and created songs like “MPLS” and “Uptown” that presented his hometown to the world.
The widest boulevards I have ever seen outside of Paris. The streets where you saw yards with no fences and many trees. The heat normally expected in late spring was tempered by the Minnesota coolness.
I had an itinerary of the stops I needed to make on a sunny Saturday.
First Avenue and 7th Street Entry was a Greyhound bus depot converted into two music venues starting in the early 1970s. On the wall outside, a giant painted gold star etched with the name PRINCE. Only fitting, as the “Purple Rain” movie was filmed inside First Avenue.
539 North Newton Ave. in the northern part of Minneapolis is where a teenage Mr. Nelson lived with his dad for a short time until he was thrown out.
When I stopped by to view the three-bedroom house, an African American couple was chatting up a man standing outside the house. After they were done, it was my turn to engage Maurice Phillips, Prince’s former bodyguard, who married his boss’ sister Tyka.
I went into reporter mode to get the inside scoop from him on my favorite recording artist.
What was Prince like? “He’s just a normal kind of guy like us. He put on his pants the same kind of way.”
Are there other thoughts about Prince you want to share? “No. But I know Prince is looking down. I got to get done with this yard work.”
Later, I made my way to the Parkway Theater in South Minneapolis for what I thought was the best way to mourn the man: “This Thing Called Life — The Prince Tribute.”
Julius Collins, on lead vocals, was backed by members of Prince’s 1990’s band, the New Power Generation, along with other singers and instrumentalists. They regaled attendees with renditions of Prince songs while photos and videos of him played on a screen behind them.
Collins’ voice boomed as he sang, “Good times were rolling/She started dancing in the streets,” (“Uptown”), “Do I believe in God?/Do I believe in me? — Controversy” (“Controversy”), and “Police ain’t got no gun/You don’t have to run” (“DMSR”).
It was the perfect end to day one of the pilgrimage. I got back to my hotel in the late evening to have a meal and prepare for day two.
I should have skipped the takeout from the nearby fast-casual joint, because the resulting heartburn had me down for the count — and nixed plans to visit the last stop on the pilgrimage: Paisley Park.
Yet I had a Plan B for the following day, so I wouldn’t let Prince down.
At 2000 Fourth Avenue South in Minneapolis is Electric Fetus, the iconic record store where Prince reportedly made his last public appearance and last music purchases five days before he died.
On my shopping list was his shopping list:
- Stevie Wonder, “Talking Book.”
- Chambers Brothers, “The Time Has Come.”
- Joni Mitchell, “Hejira.”
- The Swan Silvertones, “Inspirational Gospel Classics.”
- Missing Persons, “The Best Of Missing Persons.”
- Santana, “Santana IV.”
I got only three of those CDs, as the others were (unsurprisingly) sold out. I couldn’t have regrets, because, in a weird way, it was the closest to being there when he was there, the closest I would ever get to meeting him.
His famous opening line to “Let’s Go Crazy” also came to mind: “Dearly beloved. We are gathered here today to get through this thing called ‘life.’”
RIP Prince (June 7, 1958-April 21, 2016).
Ricardo Kaulessar covers race, immigration, and culture for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: kaulessar@northjersey.com
Twitter/X: @ricardokaul
Minneapolis, MN
Man convicted of murdering Mariah Samuels set for sentencing Monday after skipping previous court date
A Minneapolis man convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend is set to learn his fate Monday after he skipped his original sentencing date on Friday.
A jury found 51-year-old David Wright guilty of first-degree premeditated murder, first- and second-degree murder and illegal possession of a firearm last week. The premeditation conviction automatically triggers a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Wright was scheduled to be sentenced Friday afternoon, but did not show up to court. The judge asked Wright’s attorney if he was ill or refusing to show up, but the attorney declined to answer on grounds of attorney-client privilege.
Monday’s sentencing is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
Wright killed 34-year-old Mariah Samuels in September outside her home in the Willard-Hay neighborhood of Minneapolis, minutes after she posted about his abuse on social media. Family members said Samuels had broken up with him after a few months of dating. She had a restraining order against him.
Samuels’ sister Simone Hunter called Wright “a dangerous person” who “should never see the light of day again” after his conviction.
Friends and family say Wright acted out throughout the trial, including missing previous court dates and removing himself from the stand.
Both Samuels’ family and Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty criticized the court for not doing more to ensure Wright showed up at the sentencing.
“This is why people think they can murder people in front of their dad’s house and get away with it. There’s no repercussions for these things, they don’t care about these women who are dying on a daily basis. And the least that they could have done is demanded that he come over here in shackles like the monster that he is,” Hunter said Friday. “I’m astounded.”
Samuels’ family has also accused the Minneapolis Police Department of not doing enough to keep her safe. Chief Brian O’Hara last year ordered her case to be reviewed and officers to be retrained on domestic violence.
For anonymous, confidential help, people can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or 1-800-787-3224.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – A 21-year-old man was killed after a motorcycle crash early Friday morning in Minneapolis, according to the Minnesota State Patrol.
Fatal motorcycle crash
The backstory:
The State Patrol responded to the crash at about 1:20 a.m. on April 17 on northbound I-35W at Johnson Street in Minneapolis.
Authorities say a man operating a Suzuki motorcycle was heading northbound on I-35W when it made contact with the left side median guard rail before it continued to head north. It traveled for about another quarter mile before coming to rest on the right side guard rail.
Authorities located the motorcycle’s operator on the left side shoulder. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Crash under investigation
Crash victim ID’d:
The State Patrol identified the motorcyclist as 21-year-old Andrew James Neuberger of Minneapolis. According to a GoFundMe set up for the family, Neuberger is the oldest of seven children.
What led up to the crash remains under investigation.
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