Like its then sole competitor/frequent imitator, the World Wrestling Federation, GLOW was a prime-time wrestling series, complete with elaborate characters, costumes, skits, personalized raps, and, of course, wrestling. Unlike the WWF, GLOW was a true variety show, more akin to “Hee-Haw” and “You Can’t Do That On Television,” than to any wrestling show the world had ever seen.
Because
of this, many of the women who joined GLOW were actresses who had never
set foot in a wrestling ring. That all changed after an initial boot
camp session with wrestling legend Mando Guerrero, and for four years,
week after week, women like Mountain Fiji, the Samoan giant with a heart
of gold, and Matilda the Hun, the evil German with a taste for raw
meat, battled it out for the GLOW crown.
By 1989, the GLOW girls were an
international phenomenon, attracting over seven million viewers
worldwide, touring the nation, and making big bank for the show’s
producers. One year later, GLOW was gone, and the world has been a little less fun ever since.
