Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (GLOW) was a syndicated wrestling-based variety show that featured an all-female cast of more than 60 actresses, models, stunt women, and dancers who were trained by professional wrestler/stuntman Mando Guerrero. The show consisted of over-the-top comedy sketches, rap battles (the show’s theme song was inspired by the Chicago Bears’ Super Bowl Shuffle) and wrestling matches.
GLOW ran for four years from 1986-1990, funded by the owner of the Riviera Hotel and Casino, Meshulam Riklis. The women who attended the casting call were not aware that they were auditioning for a wrestling program until they arrived. Some women stayed while others left.
For those who were selected for the show, they left their homes and moved to Las Vegas, staying at the Riviera where the show was also produced for Seasons 1 and 2. For Seasons 3 and 4, filming took place at a former warehouse building just a few miles away from the Riviera (currently a Harley-Davidson outlet).
This is my fav pic from my GLOW wrestling days. Rooftop of Riviera Hotel in #LasVegas Was weird to see hotel get imploded and dropped. pic.twitter.com/CEnLhqETIM
— Cindy Ferda (@CindyFerda) October 4, 2016
Outside of filming, the ladies were not allowed to break character nor call each other by their real names. Split into two groups, the Good Girls and the Bad Girls (heroes and villains), the cast could only socialize with other characters who were a part of the same group. Jackie Stallone, Sylvester Stallone‘s mother, appeared on the show as the owner and manager of the Good Girls while Kitty Burke was the manager of the Bad Girls.
By 1989, GLOW drew over seven million viewers worldwide. While the sound stage at the Riviera held approximately 200 fans for tapings, 2000 fans would line up outside, so the production got a bigger set. Unfortunately, GLOW‘s primary backer, Riklis, decided to stop funding the production after its fourth season, ending the television show.
The Documentary
After the production ended, a documentary titled GLOW: The Story of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling was released in 2012. Filmed in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, the documentary followed up with more than 25 of the original GLOW cast members and won the Best Documentary award at Comic-Con International Film Festival in San Diego, CA as well as the Audience Choice Best Documentary at Sidewalk Film Festival in Birmingham, AL.
Watch the trailer below:
The Reboot
Netflix will soon be releasing a new show on June 23, 2017 called G.L.O.W., inspired by the original GLOW series. The new G.L.O.W. stars Alison Brie who plays an out-of-work actress in the ’80s who happens upon one last chance at stardom in the form of women’s wrestling.
You can watch the teaser trailer below:
UPDATED July 24, 2018
G.L.O.W. Season 2 is now available on Netflix!
