For years, they got to wear outlandish costumes, rap on TV, show off their athleticism and form real bonds and bruises with their colleagues. Others continued to wrestle professionally, but nothing was ever the same as GLOW - despite the insults and injuries, the women interviewed in the documentary look back on that time as the highlight of their lives. Post- GLOW, most of them changed careers entirely, becoming real estate agents, auto mechanics and accountants, among other jobs. When the program was abruptly canceled in 1990 over financial issues, the women found themselves suddenly without work or a clear path forward. But you’re getting hit by a car every day,” Moretti says. It doesn’t mean that women can’t do it and do it really well. “Wrestling is probably not the best thing for a woman’s body. Fiji, struggles in the 2012 documentary with knee problems, which, combined with other health issues, had forced her into a nursing home. Getting thrown around in the ring resulted in health problems that hit some of the women decades later. Laurie Thompson, who played Susie Spirits, hurt her elbow so badly, the bone tore through her skin. Angelina Altishin, who played Little Egypt, tore her ACL. Although the storylines were produced by the show, the women did actually have to fight each other in the ring. More painful was the physical toll of wrestling. Patrisha King, who played the character Jailbait, recalled Cimber saying to her: “Jailbait! Your ass looks like a bunch of mashed potatoes!” Moretti compared Cimber’s behavior to that of an abusive husband, but said it came “with being a genius and creative as he was.” Many of the women said they are now able to look back on his insults and laugh. Show creator Matt Cimber, who declined to be interviewed in the documentary, was known to be particularly harsh, often calling the women fat. “It was hard to kind of feel like you had a life,” Moretti, who played Tina Ferrari in the original GLOW, says in the documentary.

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