GLOW Season 1 Review
The panel review the first season of the Netflix original GLOW [Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling] looking at the plot, wrestlers appearances and comparisons in their characters.
GLOW Season 1 proved to be a massive surprise success. Our team attempt to review it from a wrestling perspective.
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In 2012, a documentary film was released telling the story of wrestling promotion the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (GLOW).
Founded in 1986, GLOW was very similar to other promotions of its time. It focussed on colourful characters and over-the-top sketches to create a sports entertainment product that ran for four seasons and used actresses and models as opposed to actual trained wrestlers.
Wrestling purists have never been a fan of the promotion. However, the documentary caught the attention of many. This included Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch, who made the decision to create a fictionalised series around the promotion.
The TV Series
GLOW would debut on streaming network Netflix in June 2017. The plot centred around Ruth Wilder, who is a struggling actress based in LA. Ruth goes on to auditions along with many other women in a fledgling professional wrestling promotion called the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (GLOW).
Season 1 tells the story of the journey to get GLOW on TV and producing their first show, as well as Ruth’s ongoing conflict with former best friend and retired soap opera actress Debbie Eagan.
The show has proved a hit, not just to wrestling fans, but amongst viewers in general and was nominated from a Primetime Emmy Award. Its ability to vividly make comparisons with WWE has earned the praise of critics. And for fans of sport, it was pleasing to see various wrestlers make active contributions to the product.
This included Chavo Guerrero, who served as a consultant for the show and Kia Stevens – who wrestled as Awesome Kong – who was part of the main cast.
Ahead of the release of Season 2, Steven and his panel analyse GLOW Season 1 from a wrestling perspective. They compare the plot and characters to wrestling storylines as well as discussing how they thought the wrestlers involved transitioned to the TV screen.
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