Netflix's GLOW has understandably had a lot of crossover from the pro wrestling world it's dramatizing. AEW's Awesome Kong has been a core member of a cast that's also seen cameos from past WWE superstars like Carlito, Alex Riley and Chavo Guerrero Jr., as well as the recently returned John Morrison. Even indie stalwart Joey Ryan popped up as the Million Dollar Man inspired Mr. Monopoly.
GLOW cast members have also appeared on WWE television for some cross promotion. On a 2018 episode of SmackDown, Alison Brie and Sydelle Noel bantered with Naomi and Lana, who were in the process of forming a short lived tag team. Outside of a brief Russian-stereotype-off between Lana and Brie, who plays Soviet heel Zoya the Destroya, the segment was built around Naomi's catchphrase containing the show's title. It's just a shame that Betty Gilpin and Lacey Evans weren't around for the segment. It would have given the world a real life "Spider-Man pointing at Spider-Man" meme moment, as Evans is essentially a real-life version of Gilpin's character on GLOW.
Since moving to SmackDown and turning babyface in the 2019 WWE Draft, Evans has been WWE's version of Gilpin's kayfabe character Liberty Belle. Like Liberty Belle, the babyface version of Evans is a patriotic mother. Her daughter has even been menaced by her opponents, Sasha Banks and Bayley, although they haven't stooped so low as attempting to kidnap her (yet), which puts them either ahead or behind of Zoya the Destroya, depending on how you look at it. If Sasha and Bayley ever did go full super villain, it would be worth it just to hear the SmackDown women's roster singing a song like GLOW's "Don't Kidnap."
Evans' real life backstory makes her more of a patriotic hero than the fictional Liberty Belle. She enlisted in the Marines at 19 and served for five years as a military police officer and member of the Special Reaction Team, the military's equivalent of the S.W.A.T. team. While on active duty, Evans earned a bachelor's degree, started a construction company, and began her wrestling career. She was introduced to the business by a staff sergeant who promoted independent shows and wound up wrestling him at the second show she attended as a fan.
In contrast to her rivals Bayley and Banks, Evans is not a lifelong WWE fan. Although she did wrestle in high school, she was ignorant of pro wrestling before she started training, and was signed to a WWE Developmental Contract only a year or so later.
Evans was never a standout during her years on NXT's always stacked women's division. She did pick up some valuable experience there, feuding with Kairi Sane, Dakota Kai, and Candice LeRae, and competing in the first Mae Young Tournament. She defeated the recently released Taynara Conti before losing to future winner Toni Storm in the second round.
With four years of experience under her belt, Evans made her main roster debut as a heel in 2019. She was immediately put in a big spot, entering the Royal Rumble number one and lasting nearly 30 minutes before being eliminated by Charlotte Flair. She and Flair came to WWE with similar backgrounds; neither were fans of the business but had strong athletic backgrounds, although Charlotte does obviously come from wrestling royalty.
Another thing she had in common with Charlotte was that she was pushed hard when she hit the main roster. She became the number one contender to Becky Lynch's Raw Women's Championship after Lynch's WrestleMania triumph and feuded with her throughout the summer. That culminated in Evans teaming up with Baron Corbin to challenge Lynch and Seth Rollins for the Universal and Raw Women's Championship in a mixed "Winners Take All" tag match at Extreme Rules 2019.
Evans' partnership with Corbin didn't do either any favors. Both were in the middle of long pushes that the fan base rejected, and combining their feuds with Lynch and Rollins, who had a shocking lack of chemistry for a real couple, didn't change that. Evans' and Corbin's pushes were both put on pause after their main event run. While Corbin went back to be being the same detested, roll-up averse character he's always been when he came back, just with a new crown and scepter, Evans was able to refine her act when she turned face. If nothing else, she's not calling her POC opponents "societal trash" anymore, which is a definite upgrade from her NXT days.
Despite not capturing a championship yet, WWE clearly has plans for Evans. Beyond her title feuds, she also wrestled in the first women's match in Saudi Arabia, and it's easy to see why. With her strong mic skills and patriotic character, Evans could be a cross between her GLOW counterpart and Sergeant Slaughter, with the added bonus that her military record is real.