Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling , also known as GLOW or G . L . O . W . , was a professional wrestling promotion for women , begun in 1986 ( the pilot was filmed in December 1985 ) and continued in various forms after it left television . Colorful characters , beautiful women , and over - the - top comedy sketches were integral to the series ' success . Most of the performers were actresses , models , dancers , and / or stunt women hoping to get into show business through wrestling . History . Early years . GLOW ( also known officially in the beginning as the International Women ' s Wrestling Federation ) was co - founded in 1985 by David McLane , a promoter who got his start in the sport as an announcer and commentator with Dick the Bruiser ' s World Wrestling Association promotion in Indianapolis , Indiana , and Jackie Stallone , the mother of action movie star Sylvester Stallone . Formed as a television - oriented promotion , GLOW was the first full - time American women ' s wrestling company to have a regular television program ( following Japan - based All Japan Women ' s Pro - Wrestling , which started its TV show in 1968 , the same year as that federation ' s founding ) . Unlike earlier and later women ' s promotions which took a more serious approach to the sport and focused on in - ring action ( like All Japan Women and the Ladies Professional Wrestling Association ) , GLOW oriented its product more toward sports entertainment , with beautiful women in character - driven wrestling roles and sexy costumes , music video clips and comedy skits being emphasized over the action in the ring . The women involved in GLOW were primarily actresses , models , dancers and stunt performers who got into wrestling as a means to enter show business . The initial crop of wrestlers in GLOW were trained by Mando Guerrero , a member of the famed Guerrero family and a star in the American Wrestling Association and in Los Angeles and other NWA - affiliated territories in the 1970s and ' 80s . for a planned TV show was taped on December 5 , 1985 at the Riviera Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas , Nevada . In the main event of that show , Tammy Jones defeated Matilda the Hun to become the first GLOW Champion , while Tina Ferrari and Ashley Cartier defeated Hollywood and Vine in one of four tag team bouts as part of the undercard . With the Independent Network Inc . assuming distribution of the series , the " GLOW " program was picked up for air and made its debut in syndication in the United States and Canada on September 13 , 1986 . " GLOW " also differed from other TV wrestling shows in that , while the other shows aired on a continual weekly basis throughout the calendar year , " GLOW " aired in seasons ( usually beginning in September and ending around May , with reruns also airing during the season and in the off - season ) where wrestlers came , went or were changed during the off - season . Throughout the show ' s run , TV tapings for the program took place at the Riviera . Jackie Stallone appeared on the show periodically as GLOW ' s storyline owner and the manager of Stallone ' s Sweethearts , the face faction in GLOW , while Kitty Burke ( as Aunt Kitty ) managed the heel faction Kitty ' s Killers . The promotion became known for innovating gimmick matches that were used from time to time during the program ' s run , including the following : After David McLane . In late 1987 , David McLane , who had wanted to focus his GLOW product more on in - ring action , left the show in a dispute with its producers over its format and sold the promotion to the Riviera Hotel . Returning to Indianapolis and taking a number of his original GLOW Girls with him , McLane then went on to form a new women ' s promotion , the Powerful Women of Wrestling , which placed its emphasis on actual wrestling and which would also hold matches in collaboration with the WWA ( McLane ' s original employer ) and the AWA . Forced to start over with just a handful of original GLOW Girls remaining , the company held auditions and trained a new group of wrestlers under the guidance of original GLOW Girl and reigning GLOW Champion Col . Ninotchka . The " GLOW " program went on to make its third season debut in September 1988 with the new generation of stars competing alongside GLOW originals Hollywood , Vine , Ninotchka , Sally the Farmer ' s Daughter and Mt . Fiji . Around this time , GLOW also began touring the United States with live shows to introduce the new competitors to fans prior to the start of the new season . Steven Blance , who was GLOW ' s senior referee during the second season , became the figurehead commissioner and the show ' s head writer during the final two seasons , while John Cafarella ( as Johnny C ) became the new ring announcer . " Motormouth " Mike Morgan served as the play - by - play announcer for the program from the fourteenth episode of Season Two to the end of the show ' s run . During " GLOW " ' s third season , Ninotchka ( who had won the GLOW Championship from Tina Ferrari in the Season Two finale ) vacated her title in Episode 12 following a title defence against top contender Daisy after Ninotchka had a falling out with tag team partner Major Tanya during the match , leading to a 20 - woman tournament for the vacant championship called the Run for the Rubies . The tournament final , which took place in the Season Three finale , saw Cheyenne Cher defeat Godiva to capture the title thanks to an assist from Roxy Astor , who had earlier been cheated out of a chance to move to the final when Godiva ' s interference caused Roxy to lose to Cher by countout in a scientific semifinal encounter the previous week . With the debut of the fourth season of " GLOW " in September 1989 , two new segments were introduced on the show — " Life in the GLOW House " , a comedy sketch segment focusing on the misadventures of the GLOW roster while living in a dormitory , and " Another GLOWing Moment " , a classic match segment presenting previously - unseen matches from the third season . Although the show did quite well in syndication in many markets in North America ( and later when it was sold into international syndication ) , " GLOW " eventually ended production after four seasons and 104 episodes , airing on May 26 , 1990 ( in which Daisy defeated GLOW Champion Cheyenne Cher to win the title in the main event ) . A fifth season of the series , as well as a feature - length theatrical movie , had been planned , but financial issues with " GLOW " distributor Independent Network Inc . led to both the fifth season and the film project being cancelled before either could get underway . While most of the company ' s stars faded from the wrestling scene following the TV show ' s demise , several of its alumni , including Tina Ferrari ( later known as Tina Moretti , then Ivory in WWE and now going by her given name of Lisa Moretti ) , Lightning and Hollywood , later moved into legitimate competitive wrestling and became successful , with some continuing to compete into the present . Revival . GLOW alumnus Ursula Hayden ( who competed as Babe the Farmer ' s Daughter ) purchased the company , its intellectual properties and its TV archive in 2001 with the intention of reviving GLOW with some of the stars from its original 1986 - 1990 incarnation ( including Babe , Hollywood , Roxy Astor and Lightning ) along with a new generation of stars for a reunion tour and a planned new TV program , along with an official website for GLOW . DVDs of episodes of the original " GLOW " series , along with other related merchandise , are currently sold on the promotion website . Championships . There was also a GLOW Tag Team Championship , but it was an in - name - only title which was not physically represented by title belts or , as with the GLOW Championship , crowns . The teams of The Beverly Hills Girls ( Tina Ferrari and Ashley Cartier ) and Hollywood & Vine were the only two teams known to have held this title . After Vine ' s departure from GLOW , the title was never mentioned on TV again and was quietly dropped .