5 Requests For GLOW Season 2

I think most of us would agree that pro wrestling has been pretty great in 2017. The vaunted star match rating system has been broken several times. Wrestling shirts are topping sales at Hot Topic. WWE Network is releasing new classic content every week, and all kinds of stream services are bringing us all kinds of great wrestling.

To me, the highlight of pro wrestling in 2017 has been GLOW. The Netflix series based on the 1980s women’s wrestling TV show got rave reviews and was successful enough to warrant being granted a second season. More Alison Brie, Betty Gilpin, Marc Maron and the rest of the GLOW crew making the magic of televised drama happen can only be considered a good thing from where I sit. The show might not have been 1000% perfect, but it was an entertaining ride through an entertaining era for pro wrestling and the world in general.

With that in mind, I thought now would be as good a time as any to make some requests for Season 2. Second seasons can make or break a show. The American version of The Office hit its stride in its second season. Too many shows to name went downhill and bit the dust. If the GLOW producers listen to these requests, they will obviously take the next step towards immortality. Or at least a third season.

WARNING: If you still haven’t seen Season 1 of GLOW, I recommend closing out right now because we’re going to spoil the heck out of it. I’m not apologizing, it’s been on Netflix for a couple of months now so you’ve had plenty of time. Go watch it right now if you haven’t already, then come back and read this column later.

1. A Long Reign For The Welfare Queen

I wasn’t a fan of how the GLOW Crown changed hands three times during its first day of existence at first. After some time to think, I understood why it had to happen that way. Ruth & Debbie went into business for themselves, and Sam had to keep the Crown under his control. It was just like how Vince had to screw Bret. You can’t have talent making decisions like that.

As it turned out, the woman Sam went with as champion was the absolute best choice for the role. Tamme Dawson had stood out during training as somebody that was getting it. She was a fast learner when it came to moves and she was a natural at exhibiting personality in the ring. She was a bit hesitant to protray a woman living rich off of government subsidies at first, but she bought into it and played the role perfectly. The Welfare Queen can be put out there for laughs, but she’s also a dangerous woman that’s believable against anybody on GLOW’s roster. Giving the Queen the GLOW Crown makes perfect sense.

It also helps that Kia Stevens is the most experienced wrestler on the show by a country mile. During her years under the persona of Awesome Kong she was the most dominant force to ever step foot into TNA’s Knockouts division. Wrestling fans might have scoffed at the idea of untrained actresses trying to be wrestlers on a Netflix TV show, but the addition of Stevens to the fold gives the project some credibility.

Speaking of which…

2. More Appearances By Established Wrestlers

One of the best parts of watching GLOW was keeping an eye out for wrestlers making appearances as guest stars. John Hennigan got to be trainer Salty Johnson for an episode. Brodus Clay & Carlito’s appearances as Machu Picchu’s brothers were well received. We also saw the likes of Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, Joey Ryan & Brooke Hogan make brief appearances, and Alex Riley probably had more success in his appearance than he did in his entire WWE career.

Having actual wrestlers appear on the show is great for everybody. They know how to make a wrestling match work. They can do their own stunts. Wrestling fans love to see them. Wrestlers get paid. It’s all good.

There are plenty of ways to work more actual wrestlers into the show. As GLOW grows, they will need to expand their roster and bring in more women. Bringing in women with experience means they’ll have to spend less time training newbies. I’m not saying that all future GLOW girls need to be established wrestlers, but they can get away with giving less featured roles to women that can already work.

3. Love For Machu Picchu & Sam

The idea for the GLOW series came when creators Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch watched the documentary GLOW: The Story of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling on Netflix. One of the subplots of the story involved Mountain Fiji’s secret crush on GLOW’s director, Matt Cimber. Fiji has had some serious health problems since GLOW, and one of the high points of the documentary was when she got to see many of the other girls at a reunion. Cimber also made a brief appearance to see the girls, and Fiji couldn’t have been happier to see him.

Machu Picchu is the GLOW TV show’s equivalent to Mt. Fiji in many ways, including having some feelings for the director of the show. Sam has had some pretty serious problems in the love department over the years and seems unable or unwilling to settle down. It’d be a really nice tip of the cap to the original GLOW to put these two characters together…just because Fiji & Matt didn’t get together doesn’t mean Picchi & Sam can’t. I’m sure if Fiji watches the show that she would appreciate it.

4. Friendship For Ruth & Debbie

One of the main stories of Season One involved the friendship, or lack thereof, between Ruth Wilder & Debbie Egan. They had been best of friends until Ruth had an affair with Debbie’s husband. Debbie’s attack on Ruth at the gym led to Debbie joining GLOW & slotted into the top spot on the roster, understandably so as she had more name value than anybody else due to her acting career. Ruth nearly got booted out of the group due to Debbie’s distaste for her, but she won Sam over and came up with the Zoya the Destroya gimmick to feud with Debbie’s Liberty Belle.

It took some convincing, but eventually Debbie & Ruth made up to the point where they could work the other girls into a shoot. The tenth episode was a masterpiece of acting from both ladies designed to get Liberty Belle the GLOW Crown in dramatic fashion. They were foiled in the final moments by the director, but it was great to see Ruth & Debbie working together in the ring.

I’ve seen shows try to sell me on women being good even if they slept with their friends’ guy. The original Twin Peaks really wanted me to believe that Shelly Johnson was a good person even though she cheated on her husband (a psychopath) with her friend’s boyfriend (a douchebag). They never sold me on it. Even though her husband was a terrible person, Shelly and her boy toy weren’t excactly sympathetic characters. That whole storyline didn’t do anything for me at all. No wonder the show only lasted two seasons.

Ruth was more than sympathetic in the episodes following her mistake. That may be mostly due to Alison Brie being so adorable in every role she’s ever had…except her role on Mad Men, which I can’t blame her for because no character on that show was remotely likeable. In any event, it was hard not to root for Ruth to find her place in GLOW, and once she figured out the Zoya the Destroya character, it was perfect. The only thing that would be better is if Debbie would forgive her and they could be best friends again.

Sisters before misters. Ruth & Debbie together makes for good television and would be best for GLOW’s long-term survival. The two top stars need to be able to work together. If they can’t, everybody else suffers. GLOW will be better off for their reconciliation, and Ruth deserves the redemption. I love a happy ending, what can I say?

5. More Rapping

We only got to hear the GLOW girls rap one time, at the end of Episode 7 when they had to save the show after the main event with Ruth & Debbie fell apart. Since the GLOW rap was such a huge part of the original show, I assume it will become a huge part of Season 2.

I’m also hoping to see more call-backs to the original GLOW. The GLOW House would seem like a natural fit, but it may be a bit repetitive as they lived in a hotel during Season 1. Would David McLane be up to doing a cameo? The GLOW series doesn’t need to be exactly like the source material. Some would argue the less it is, the better. I see that school of thought, but at the same time I find it appropriate to pay homage to the originals.

If nothing else, a new Farmer’s Daughter would be nice. We don’t see nearly enough of those in 2017.

For more of Steve Cook’s thoughts on pro wrestling, fantasy football and other entertaining sports topics, follow him on Twitter!