A few things you need to know – and won’t believe – about the real GLOW

Alison Brie as Ruth Wilder in GLOW (2017). Image courtesy of Erica Parise/Netflix

It was more like a variety show than a wrestling program

Sure, the women in the real G.L.O.W. wrestled each other in the ring, and made it look entertaining and realistic, but they also put on a show of all sorts. In between the match ups in the ring,  they did sketches, music videos, and cultivated backstories for themselves and storylines among characters.

The women cultivated characters using makeup and outlandish costumes. Each had a personalized montage that introduced them as they entered the game. It was fun watching them beat each other up but you had to up the entertainment value to make it competitive with other programming.

Eileen O’Hara played MTV (Melody Trouble Vixen) and her time on G.L.O.W. allowed her an outlet to showcase her dream of being a star. She talked to Entertainment Tonight  about what it gave her.

"It’s given me license to be a rock star."

O’Hara went on to become a renowned stuntwoman. In the same Entertainment Tonight interview, Eileen talks about how it trained her for her future.

"I have just been able to use my talents to their fullest. Appearing on the series required wrestling, acting in comedy sketches, singing in music videos and staying in character for long stretches of time — sometimes within a single episode."

It was really physically dangerous

The women were under intense pressure to make it look “real”.  It took a lot of athleticism to pull off all those wrestling stunts. They had to have impeccable timing, strength, and a constant consciousness of their partner.

The women gave it their all and they sacrificed their physical safety to sell their storylines. Injuries were common place. The Washington Post reports there were “broken collarbones, broken shoulders and broken toes”.

In fact, Patricia Summerland (Sunny the California Girl) “cracked a wrist, broke two knuckles, ripped muscles and ligaments in her waist, and blacked out from being hung upside down and dropped on her head — a piledriver.”

The women committed fully and completely to their careers because they loved it. Even though they were getting hurt and harassed, they continued to come back, season after season. This becomes evident when you watch even a few minutes of the  matches.

The mats were unsafe, the moves were explicitly designed to maim and cripple, and they didn’t really have any training on how to stay safe.  But they devoted their lives (and bodies) to the program, which is part of the reason it was such a success.

It ended because of an angry wife (probably)

The program ended abruptly in 1990 after it’s financial backer, Meshulam Riklis – an Israeli billionaire – pulled his funding. The official reason is that creator Max Climber just tired of doing it. But rumors suggest Riklis’ wife Pia Zadora had something to do with it. Some say Zadora grew jealous of her husband and his constant fraternization with all the young, beautiful G.L.OW. players and insisted he pull the plug.

Either way, the show’s cancellation brought a lot of sadness to the wrestlers and fans, alike. At the time it ended, the show was enjoying some of it’s highest ratings, and the abrupt end meant that there was no official resolution to any of the storylines or character arcs.

The new Netflix series isn’t going over so well

Although some of the women went on to continue their wrestling careers, most of the women faded from the spotlight to return to regular lives as accountants, real estate agents, and pet groomers. There were also a few that dabbled in the adult entertainment industry.

When The Washington Post asked one of the former wrestlers, Tracee Meltzer (Roxy Astor) how the original cast feels about the reboot, she responded,” Some are happy. Some are sad. Some girls you can’t even bring it up.”

She goes on to suggest a bitterness over the new show, asking, “They say it’s not about us, but then why are they using our name? Why not call it something else?”

There’s an actual documentary about the G.L.O.W series from the ’80s

For some real footage of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, you can check out the 2012 documentary.

GLOW: The Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, “chronicles the rise and fall of this once successful television show through the stories of those who lived it. From the initial open-call auditions, to the grueling training with wrestling legend Mando Guerrero, to over-night success and global recognition, to the show’s sudden and unexpected cancellation in 1990, the GLOW girls recall their time on the show with a mixture of heartfelt nostalgia and tearful regret over injuries and the loss of friends.”

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GLOW is airing on Netflix now.