New Controversy
Earlier in the week, Glenn Gilbertti (better known as Disco Inferno from his time in WCW) created a stir when he made a peculiar tweet referencing a slip up between Bea Priestly and Mayu Iwatani during their World of Stardom match on November 4th.
When the girls try to do the moves the boys do… https://t.co/Iv3pjBibVh
— Glenn Gilbertti (@TheRealDisco) November 5, 2019
Despite the mistake, the match has been highly regarded by those who watched it outside a short gif. However, the pushback from both fans and members of the wrestling business has decried Gilbertti’s narrative of women cannot perform at the level of men.
https://t.co/WZKt09fzEd pic.twitter.com/N1Ytr8Q3oJ
— Michin 미친 (@MiaYim) November 6, 2019
You can't even do the moves the boys do. You did master the art of failing upwards, though. https://t.co/Vvsv7e9uqp
— Catch Wrestling U (@CatchWrestling) November 6, 2019
The moves the boys do:https://t.co/YKaTipQVMw
— Rick (@Corteran) November 6, 2019
Except those “girls” have been creating spots that have been copied by the boys for the last 30 years. If you had been 5% as good as Aja Kong, Akira Hokuto, Manami Toyota, Meiko Satomura, etc. you wouldn’t be regarded as the compete fucking joke that you are. https://t.co/2qROTH3mbN
— Eric Koenreich (@erickoenreich) November 6, 2019
Several fans of Gilbertti shared their various opinions on the matter, many of which received immediate challenges due to their misogynistic nature.
When you have never watched AJW, have no respect for women in wrestling, and are insanely ignorant….
This is what you tweet. https://t.co/QW0pxrls1T
— Women's Wrestling (@WomensCertified) November 7, 2019
Curiously Gilbertti has made a habit of attacking women’s place in wrestling over the past several years.
Gilbertti’s History of Attacking Women In Wrestling
In 2017, Gilbertti drew fury over a tweet suggesting men at wrestling shows should take pictures of women without their consent, and send them to him for his podcast. The message is captured below in another tweet.
Creep. pic.twitter.com/Cgttjbzhpj
— Gabs (@gloriousgabs) August 8, 2017
He would later go on to apologize, claiming his statement was a joke. However, he has continued to publicly critique women’s place in wrestling and give his since. Wrestling Inc highlighted Gilbertti’s comments on women’s wrestling earlier in the year during an Impact Wrestling media call.
I am not a big fan of women’s wrestling. To me women’s wrestling is kind of like the WNBA. They’re the best female basketball players in the world, but they’re not as good as the guys. I’m not saying that there’s not a lot of talented women’s wrestlers. But the formula has shown in the past that regardless of your in-ring work, the more attractive you are determines how over you are. I am a fan of the women’s wrestlers that can combine good looks with good work. If there’s a girl out there whose work isn’t as good but she’s hotter and has sex appeal, I’m a fan of that.
“But collectively, I’m not a big fan of women’s wrestling. They had that Mae Young Classic – I can’t watch that. Pro wrestling to me is based around grown men that want to fight each other….That’s just what I’m a fan of,” he continued. “When I say this stuff, I’m speaking from a standpoint of a person who’s been in the business for 26 years, been on booking committees and been an agent.”
While Gilbertti has been a member of booking committees (creative) and an agent (coach/producer), he ignores the commercial and critical success of All Japan Women’s Pro Wrestling (AJW) and the promise Stardom has after being purchased by Bushiroad, who also owns New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW).
His view of what is acceptable women’s wrestling puts women in a box, which remains a challenge in nearly every wrestling region outside of Japan. They are also ignorant of history; many popular wrestling maneuvers and sequences today were born from the minds of women in the industry.
Megumi Kudo’s Kudome Valentine (Vertebreaker/Gringo Killer/Etc), and numerous other popular moves make the list. Jaguar Yokota is lauded as an innovator to fans and wrestlers alike.
Peculiar Timing of Comments
The current Ring of Honor (ROH) Women of Honor Champion, Kelly Klein was recently at the heart of a labor discussion involving the company. Former ROH producer and highly regarded coach and trainer Joey Mercury took to Twitter to explain her situation and critique the company’s treatment of wrestling talent.
In several additional tweets, Mercury detailed that Klein was currently suffering from a concussion, and questioned management’s dealing with head trauma.
https://twitter.com/JOEYnRetrograde/status/1190293940534218755
https://twitter.com/JOEYnRetrograde/status/1191548419036332034
While Gilbertti did not mention Klien in his latest questionable tweet, her situation shows the struggles women face while attempting to be seen as more than eye candy in the business.
