Friday, LuFisto took to Twitter to call out Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) over re-releases that rebrand women’s wrestling as “softcore porn.”
Over the last few months, many indie promotions have given fans access to their library of matches or released old content. CZW did the same as they repackaged some of their best matches as On Demand or pay-per-view products.
The specials featuring women’s wrestling include CZW Girlz: Top Heavy and Tough, CZW Girlz: Hot & Sweaty, and CZW Girlz: All Assets Revealed. LuFisto took umbrage with the way she and her peers are presented in both the titles and descriptions.
“I am a professional wrestler. I am not a cat fighter. I am not a sweaty girl getting involved in dirty fights, and although, yes, I am top-heavy and a very proud bottom-heavy girl, nothing gives them the right to promote me as such,” LuFisto said. “That’s not what I signed up for. I am a professional athlete and I should be treated as such, so are my colleagues.”
Many women’s wrestlers have fought hard to be seen as equals and cast aside outdated stigmas. So, LuFisto’s grievances with CZW and WSU are understandable. She went on to say that she spoke to the promotion before she went public.
“When I did contact CZW about the issue, I was told that the footage was sold to a third party that wanted to promote us as such, and that CZW couldn’t do anything about it . Apparently they tried, which I think is total bullshit. When I mentioned to them that it was already very hard for us to deal with the creepy messages we get, the dick pics, borderline harassment that we get daily from people that think professional women wrestlers are actually pornstars or that are available for sexual favors, they just brushed it off, saying, ‘Guys get that, too.’”
Then, LuFisto explained that she believes CZW is contributing to negative stereotypes and poor treatment of women’s wrestlers. Although the 25-year veteran was proud of accomplishments with the company, she felt it was important to express her disappointment.
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