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Netflix has churned out some top-quality web television series over the past several years catering to a rather vast variety of viewers. While there wasn’t much for wrestling fans on the platform up until 2017, the company released the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (GLOW) on Netflix which is based on the characters and gimmicks of the 1980s syndicated women's professional wrestling circuit of the same name.
Over the past three years, we’ve seen the show top charts and bag several nominations, with WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle giving the show a positive reception.
The show which stars Alison Brie, Betty Gilpin, and Marc Maron, also has several cameos and big roles from men and women who have also graced the WWE ring at some point in their careers.
The show has already released three seasons, with the fourth and final season waiting in the pipelines for release later this year.
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In this article, we will look at 12 men and women who have appeared both in WWE and on screen for GLOW.
#12 Frankie Kazarian
In the fifth episode of the first season, Debbie, played by Betty Gilpin, heads to a local wrestling show with some of the girls to see some real wrestling action and learn from it.
It’s there where we see some top independent wrestlers, including Frankie Kazarian performing in the ring for a few seconds.
Kazarian had signed with WWE in 2005 where he performed a few shows before he asked for his release, as he later revealed that the company did not have many plans to revamp its cruiserweight division.
#11 Christopher Daniels
Another former Superstar who appears with Frankie Kazarian in the episode is none other than ‘The Fallen Angel’ Christopher Daniels.
Daniels in the man competing with Kazarian in the ring during the episode, even though both men only appear for a minute or so.
Daniels was signed to WWE for only a few years during the initial days of his career and has since become a living legend outside the company. Currently, he is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), but is best known for his time in TNA and Ring of Honor with Frankie Kazarian.
#10 Marty Elias
While most of you will not be familiar with the name Marty Elias, he is one of the top referees to have set foot in the wrestling business. Elias plays the role of a referee in the fifth episode of the first season in the match involving Frankie Kazarian and Christopher Daniels.
Elias has been in the wrestling business for over two decades and has seen some top Superstars such as Samoa Joe and John Cena kick off their careers.
Some of you will remember him for refereeing one of the greatest WrestleMania matches of all time between Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker at the Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas.
#9 Joey Ryan (with Laura James)
Playing the role of ‘Mr. Monopoly’ and appearing with his then-wife Laura James who plays his valet ‘Crystal’, Joey Ryan makes an appearance in the fifth episode of the first season.
Ryan (in the show) is set to compete against Steel Horse (Alex Riley, more on that later). The two have a rather interesting backstory and the match sees Steel Horse steal the show.
Joey Ryan is extremely famous on the independent circuit and competed as an enhancement talent in WWE on several occasions, losing matches to big stars such as Mark Henry, the Big Show, and John Morrison.
#8 Alex Riley
Appearing in the fifth episode of the first season, former WWE Superstar Alex Riley plays the character of a wrestler named ‘Steel Horse’. He gets much more screentime than Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, and Joey Ryan, as his acting is not restricted to the ring.
We see the girls take a special interest in him and meet him backstage where he and Debbie end up having more than just a conversation.
Riley signed with WWE in 2007 and had several good runs including his partnership with The Miz. While injury took a toll on Riley and cut his career short in the mid-2010s, he recently revealed that he will be returning to wrestling in 2019.
#7 Brooke Hogan
In the eight-episode of the first season, Hulk Hogan’s daughter Brooke Hogan appears in a rather interesting role. Playing the character of Amber Fredrickson, we see Brooke at the Mayan Theater as its manager.
Unlike her father, Brooke did not have an illustrious career in the ring as a wrestler. However, she did appear in WWE during mid-2006 to build up towards Randy Orton’s match against Hulk Hogan for SummerSlam. The match between the two wrestling icons at SummerSlam was also refereed by Marty Elias.
#6 Brodus Clay
Brodus Clay signed with WWE in 2006 and had a rather lengthy tenure with the company. Even though he competed in the ring until 2014, he never managed to get over and remained in the mid-cards where he never won any Championships.
However, the Superstar had some interesting gimmicks such as G-Rilla and Funkasaurus, the latter of which gave fans some great laughs.
In GLOW, we see Clay appear as one of the brothers of a full-time cast member, Machu Picchu. His ring name in the show is ‘Mighty Tom Jackson’. Machu Picchu, played by Britney Young, is one of the permanents of the show.
She is shown as the most experienced wrestler as her father and bothers, including Carlito, are famous indie wrestlers.
During the show, Clay appears in a couple of episodes in the first season where he first appears with his brother and father and tries and bring back Machu Picchu from taking part in the show. Later on, he helps train a couple of cast members on the request of Machu Picchu.
In the world of wrestling, Clay last competed for the Fighting Evolution Wrestling promotion earlier this year.
#5 Carlito
The former United States and Intercontinental Champion Carlito was most popular in WWE when he was put up in a feud against John Cena. He had some great rivalries during his time in WWE, but Mr. Carribean Cool never managed to go over like several other Superstars.
In GLOW, we see Carlito appear several times. The reason is that he plays the role of Carmen "Machu Picchu" Wade's other brother ‘Big Kurt Jackson’.
During a memorable moment of the show, we see the former Superstar appear with an apple in his hand, a throwback to his character in WWE.
Not only does Carlito appear on the show, but he is also shown training some of the wrestlers on screen, such as Liberty Belle and Zoya the Destroyer.
Later in the show, we see Carlito being furious at Machu Picchu for stealing some of his moves, and he enters the women’s Battle Royal match to get some screen time as a return favor from the show. Unfortunately, he does not end up winning the GLOW crown.
#4 John Morrison
Three-time Intercontinental Champion and one of the hottest Superstars in WWE today appeared on GLOW before he resigned from the company. At the time of appearing on the show, he was signed to Impact Wrestling.
John Morrison made a surprise appearance in the pilot of the show where things were just getting started for the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling. Under the name of ‘Salty "The Sack" Johnson’, Morrison appears as a trainer for the ladies who audition to get a spot on the show. He’s the man that picks who gets to be on the show or not along with the director.
Later on in the show, we see Morrison teach some moves to the ladies, but he surely isn’t impressed with their talent as he is far more superior than them. While 'Salty Johnson' is fired by Sam Sylvia, the director of GLOW, he still manages to make a big enough impact on the fans!
Morrison has made a great return to WWE earlier this year and has already bagged the SmackDown Tag Team Championships along with longtime friend and partner, The Miz.
#3 Chavo Guerrero
Who doesn’t know Chavo Guerrero? The former ECW Champion and four-time Cruiserweight Champion from WWE has done a lot of work in the ring all around the world.
His uncle Mando Guerrero served as a Fight Coordinator for the original GLOW series back in the 80s, and Netflix thought it’d only be right to have Chavo fill in his uncle’s boots.
Chavo serves as the Fight Coordinator for GLOW and trains the cast to become professional wrestlers. During the initial seasons, we can see that the gym in which the cast performs in is called Chavo’s Gym.
While the former Superstar does not appear on-screen during the first season, we see him play the role of an indie wrestler named “Chico Guapo” during the second season. He appears in the final episode of the second season where he interrupts an all-women Battle Royal match and enters the match himself too. He is ultimately eliminated by the premiere babyface, Liberty Belle.
Chavo was once a huge part of WWE, and he seems to be doing a great job training the cast of GLOW, and we will possibly see him once again in the final season.
#2 Kharma/Awesome Kong
Unlike most of the names on this list, Kia Stevens, famously known as Kharma during her time in WWE and Awesome Kong in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), All Elite Wrestling (AEW), and elsewhere, was prominent in WWE and has been on GLOW.
Kharma joined WWE in 2010 and was put up against Michelle McCool. She couldn’t get much further as she had to take some time away due to pregnancy.
Kharma competed in the 2012 men’s Royal Rumble, intimidated Michael Cole, and eliminated Sin Cara before being eliminated by Dolph Ziggler. She was released from the company later on.
Stevens joined GLOW after she was cast as Tamme Dawson and became one of the most important characters of the show who competes in the ring as “Welfare Queen”. She is the only fulltime member of the cast who has a lot of prior wrestling experience, and she has made good use of it on the show.
She is still part of AEW and will continue her role in GLOW for the fourth and final season of the show.
#1 Alison Brie
Alison Brie, who is the premiere actress of the show GLOW, plays the role of Ruth Wilder who is a struggling actress looking for a chance to become a breakout star.
She manages to land a role on GLOW after trying extremely hard, but things still don’t get easy for her. After a lot of thinking, she picks up the heel character of Zoya the Destroyer, a Russian heel to Debbie’s Liberty Belle who is a pro-American babyface.
While Brie is the heel in the cast, she is the most beloved character on the show and helps the cast in several other ways by building their characters, guiding them, and later directing the show.
Netflix took Brie all the way to an episode of SmackDown on June 26, 2018, where the cast of "GLOW" meet Naomi and Lana led by her.
She is also seen with several other Superstars of WWE on several other occasions, and has also graced the cover of The ESPN Magazine along with ‘The Man’ Becky Lynch.
While Brie had no prior wrestling experience before coming on the show, she now seems like a natural in the ring and we could watch her compete in a celebrity match against one of WWE’s top women at WrestleMania sooner than later!
