But what happens when a very 'out' professional wrestler, whose catchphrase is 'Fear the Gay Agenda' comes to Laramie and puts on a wrestling match? It's to be expected because people are human and opinions differ. Scroll any social media comment section and you'll see a mix of pro-gay, anti-gay, anti-trans, pro-choice, etc. It's been 23 years now since the death of Matthew Shepard, and a lot has changed in terms of how the gay community is perceived in Wyoming. "Once people find out I'm from Laramie, Wyoming, they still zero in on this hate crime," former Laramie Mayor Trudy McCraken told the Associated Press. When outsiders thought about Wyoming, or spoke about it, many people identified it as "the place where Matthew Shepard was murdered." The death of Matthew Shepard pointed a spotlight directly at Wyoming and, for a long time, it was what the state was most known for. In 2009, President Obama signed the Matthew Shepard Act, a law which defined certain attacks as Hate Crimes if they were motivated by victim identity, such as being gay. The two assailants, Aaron McKinney and Russel Henderson were sentenced to prison and Matthew's parents, Dennis and Judy Shepard, created the Matthew Shepard Foundation, a non-profit organization designed to "amplify the story of Matthew Shepard to inspire individuals, organizations and communities to embrace the dignity and equality of all people." The Guardian calls it "one of the worst anti-gay hate crimes in American history." Opinions vary on the actual reasons for his slaying, but the general consensus is that Shepard was murdered because he was gay. In 1998, a University of Wyoming student named Matthew Shepard was brutally beaten and left to die, tied to a fencepost on the outskirts of the city. This is Effy, in a nutshell, and he completely captivated an audience that, twenty years ago, may have had a vastly different response to the show he was putting on. This performer was clad in fishnet tights, trunks that said 'Daddy' on the back of them, and a half-cutoff t-shirt that said, quite simply, 'Wrestling is Gay.'
There was one wrestler, however, who completely stole the show. Wrestling legends like Ricky Morton, 2 Cold Scorpio and Nick Gage were joined by up-and-coming talent like Warhorse, Chris Dickinson, and Joey Janella. Fans knew going in that they were in store for something special. That is, until GCW descended on Laramie's Albany County Fairgrounds on a hot Saturday in June and literally tore the house down. And independent wrestling organizations, like GCW, never come to this side of the country.