EXCLUSIVE: Alex Riley Says Timing Of GLOW Was “Eerie”

Alex Riley says GLOW was a good sign for his acting career. 

GLOW is a Netflix series which premiered in June. Multiple wrestlers had roles in the show including former NXT wrestler Alex Riley. On Fightful Wrestling's podcast The List and Ya Boy, Alex Riley was asked about his transition from being under WWE contract to becoming an actor. Riley told podcast host Sean Ross Sapp he always wanted to try acting and got into it as soon as he left WWE. 

"I had come to the end of a ten year career with WWE. We obviously had some creative difference, I'll put it that way. I always wanted to give Hollywood a shot. When Dusty Rhodes was hired in FCW, it was the first time they instituted a promo class," said Riley. "I very much enjoyed it. I thought I had a decent aptitude for it. I wasn't great by any means to start…When I and WWE decided to part ways, I was fortunate enough to get some immediate attention out of Hollywood from a manager," he continued. 

Riley mentioned he also had amateur acting experience from high school classes and other places. He said the role in GLOW came soon after he found his manager. 

"The Glow opportunity came, two or three weeks later across (his manager's) desk. I did a tape, I auditioned for it, and I heard that I got it. Timing was eerie in a way…For it to be that type of role, that quickly after we decided to part ways was pretty cool. It made me think that 'maybe this is the path that I should be on,'" said Riley. 

While working with GLOW, Riley said he was only on set for three days and only one of those he was being filmed. In GLOW, he played Steel Horse, a wrestler. He revealed he had a lot of input regarding what he did in the ring while filming. Riley also said the GLOW was "the perfect transition into the acting world" because of the familiar faces he saw there like Chavo Guerrero Jr. and Joey Ryan and the wrestling content of the show. 

The List and Ya Boy airs Wednesdays on FightfulPods.com.