LGBTQ pro wrestling promotion Uncanny Attractions returns with a new home and renewed purpose

By Brian C. Bell

Uncanny Attractions, one of the most popular promotions to mix drag and pro wrestling in recent years, is coming back.

After lying dormant for nearly two years following the release of its all-cinematic pro wrestling event “Drags And Dropkicks: The Wrestlers Take Manhattan,” the brand burst back onto the wrestling scene on the last day of Pride month. The return came with a new logo, a relocation from Brooklyn, N.Y., to Austin, Texas, and the announcement of its first live event since October 2019.

This new era of Uncanny Attractions will debut on Nov. 20 at Austin staple Mohawk, but there is still plenty of connective tissue to the promotion that captured fans with its LGBTQ-led, inclusive spectacle.

Founder Lynn Frailey told Outsports that the “Drags And Dropkicks” moniker will return, with a focus on drag performers and wrestlers from Austin and the greater Texas wrestling scene alongside regular Uncanny talent.

Frailey also selected Mohawk as the company’s return venue because as a continuation of the vibe enjoyed at its regular Brooklyn venue, the off-the-wall LGBTQ night club/cabaret House Of Yes.

“House Of Yes is obviously an over-the-top queer club. Mohawk is a live music venue, but it has that same kind of funky vibe with weird mannequins that don’t have heads and maybe one finger on them or, you know, hanging all around like just weird stuff everywhere,” Frailey said. “It just has a lot of it’s like super old-school Austin funk and that’s what I wanted.”

That vibe carries over to the faces scheduled to appear on Uncanny’s return, including Roni Nicole and former Uncanny Attractions co-producer MV Young. “Roni has been such a mentor to me,” Frailey said. “She supports what Uncanny stands for and has been super happy to help.”

Frailey’s hope is to keep the promotion’s favorites intact while forming relationships with wrestling promotions in its new home, including current AEW Women’s World champion Thunder Rosa’s women’s promotion Mission Pro Wrestling and Party World Rasslin’.

But the change in location isn’t the only difference for the promotion. Out wrestler MV Young and commentator Darnell Mitchell both left leadership positions with Uncanny Attractions in the years since its last show, leaving Frailey as the only member of the trio left. After starting with zero knowledge of pro wrestling at the company’s founding in 2018, Frailey now balances Uncanny with her full-time job in live event production.

“During Covid, MV has been doing his own polyam cult stuff that’s great, Darnell really was focusing on his career in the clothing industry and fashion and I moved back to Texas on my own. But I never wanted to give up the dream we had with Uncanny,” Frailey said. “We’re sponsoring MV’s Backyard BBQ on July 23. It’s not like we cut ties with MV or Darnell. I still think of them as my sons.”

“With all the trans laws and now abortion, it really inspired me to want to do something even more to create more of a stance with our wrestling … I’d like to see it maybe even have more of a purpose.”

Frailey said she is working with LGBTQ advocacy organization Equality Texas for the group to be involved in Uncanny’s return event and is reaching out to queer-owned and inclusive businesses in Austin to build relationships to continue Uncanny’s message in its new home. Despite the undertaking, Frailey feels motivated and more than up to the challenge of bring Uncanny into a new era.

“I was really learning everything that I didn’t know about wrestling for those first shows and relying a lot on Darnell and MV, which isn’t a bad thing because they are wonderful,” Frailey said. “I had to learn enough to be able to approach it the way I want to approach it, and I’m doing it that way now.”

Uncanny Attractions’ return event will take place on Nov. 20, 2022 live at the Mohawk in Austin.

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