Gisele Shaw: WWE Hall of Famer Rick Steiner made transphobic remarks at WrestleMania weekend
WrestleMania isn’t all about the WWE.
Sure, it’s the big show in town, but WrestleMania weekend provides a platform for a host of smaller shows and conventions – not affiliated with Vince McMahon’s brand — to set up shop and make some dough.
WrestleCon was one of the events set up in own, and as you might have guessed by its name, it was an event filled with vendors and opportunities for fans to meet, greet and maybe get a photo with or autograph from wrestling stars and legends.
But one WWE Hall of Famer — Rick Steiner – is facing some disturbing allegations coming out of the event.
Those allegations?
Well, IMPACT Wrestling’s Gisele Shaw, who was also attending the event, claims that the legendary former wrestler hurled a series of transphobic remarks in her direction at the event.
“I have been bullied all my life and have never stood up for myself because I’m scared that I would get beat up physically, mentally, or emotionally,” Shaw, who revealed last summer that she is transgender, wrote on Twitter. “The bullies in my life have always silenced me, but that ends today!”
Then Shaw detailed her allegations against Steiner.
“I was at an autograph signing event today at WrestleCon and while I was walking to my table, I hear someone yelling, ‘You’re a man, you’re a dude, you’re a piece of trash, you are filth, get the (expletive) away from here.’”
Shaw said she “kept her head down” because she “did not want to acknowledge that hate,” but that when she got to her table she told another IMPACT wrestler about it and said it wasn’t sitting well with her. That is when she said she decided she wanted to know who was saying those things to her because it was unacceptable.
“So, I decided to talk a walk in that area, and I hear that same person saying the same derogatory comments,” she wrote. “I looked up and it was Rick Steiner saying those statements. I was shocked and could not believe this was happening. To have someone saying these comments who a lot of people look up to and consider their hero was quite shocking and disheartening.”
Shaw says she was “in disbelief,” so she said to Steiner, “excuse me?”
“He kept repeating those hateful phrases and started yelling at me in a public setting,” Shaw wrote. “It was inexcusable and unacceptable!”
Shaw said that she was also disappointed because other wrestling legends witnessed it but “turned their heads away,” and “did not want to get involved.”
Shaw said that she was not writing her account for sympathy but because it was International Transgender Day of Visibility and that she was standing up for herself and others like her.
“I want everyone to know what kind of deplorable person Rick Steiner is and that this cannot be tolerated,” she added.
IMPACT Wrestling tweeted a statement saying it “stands in full support” of Shaw and was “saddened by the incident Friday afternoon.”
Steiner was a standout wrestler in college at Michigan before moving into the professional wrestling ranks in 1983. Along with his brother, Scott, he formed the popular, “Steiner Brothers,” tag team who were multi-time world champions and starred in the WCW and WWE.
While there was no response from him reported regarding Shaw’s allegations, WrestleCon tweeted about the incident.
“WrestleCon regrets the events that took place at yesterday’s convention and apologizes to Gisele Shaw,” it tweeted Saturday. “We aim to promote a safe and inclusive environment for all LGBTQAI+ members of the wrestling community. The issues has been addressed and we hope the remainder of the convention can be a positive experience for all.”