"Disco fever, disco fever, disco fever yeah yeah yeah yeah"
Glenn Gilbertti (born November 12, 1967) is an American professional wrestler best known for his work in WCW from 1995 to the bitter end as Disco Inferno. He debuted in the Georgia independent scene in 1991 and also competed in the USWA in Memphis. He debuted in WCW in Fall 1995 as a midcarder, winning matches against low-ranked competitors but losing to bigger names, including Eddie Guerrero and, in his last WCW appearance, Sabu. Over the course of his WCW career, he would hold the WCW World Television Title
twice and the WCW World Cruiserweight Title once. He has also competed for Impact Wrestling, Dragon Gate, Juggalo Championship Wrestling and many other promotions. In 1995, The Wrestling Observer Newsletter gave him their "Best Gimmick" Award.
Not to be confused with Disco Inferno.
"I know you all came here tonight to read the Disco Inferno's tropes":
- Affectionate Parody/Shout-Out: At WWA The Inception, he introduced...The Village People's Elbow
- Arch-Enemy: La Parka, Ernest "The Cat" Miller
- Big Applesauce: Billed from Brooklyn.
- The Bus Came Back: On the May 26, 2011 TNA Impact. Mr. Anderson was feuding with Sting at the time and walked down to the ring dressed and made-up as old-school Sting for a Talk Show with Fists segment called the "Scorpion Sitdown." Disco was the guest. They talked for a while until Anderson beat up and bloodied Disco, with Sting making the save.
- Disco Dan
- Gratuitous Disco Sequence: A disco ball would come down from the ceiling as part of his entrance.
- "Staying Alive" Dance Pose: Of course.
- The Ditz: Mark Starr defeated him on the November 25, 1995 WCW Saturday Night, and Disco didn't even realize it. After the match, he went back to dancing and said, "I'm on a roll!" When he was walking to the ring before the match, he said he was "undefeated," which was inaccurate.
- Expy/Legacy Character: WWE's Fandango has been compared to him.
- Finishing Move: A standing reverse figure 4 leglock called the Last Dance. He phased the leglock out in favor of The Chartbuster (Stone Cold Stunner). When The Disciple usurped the move, Disco began using a piledriver. After The Disciple's run ended he went back to using the Stunner, but now called it... the Last Dance
- The Friend Nobody Likes: As a member of the Filthy Animals.
- Fun Personified: As a face.
- Hated by All: Had become this during WCW's later days. On the August 23, 2000 WCW Thunder, WCW Commissioner Ernest "The Cat" Miller insisted that, despite the other wrestlers' wishes, he couldn't fire Disco because he had a "no-cut contract." This led to a scene of the Filthy Animals walking out of Miller's office and coming face to face with Jimmy Hart and a hallway full of wrestlers and other WCW employees. Hart asked and the Animals had to tell everyone that they couldn't do anything.
- He-Man Woman Hater: Notoriously quit WCW for a short period rather than allow Jacqueline a run-in and bodyslam in one of his matches. He changed his mind and ended up agreeing to lose an entire match to her.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Or lack of one, in a way. In late 1996, he had a storyline where he supposedly had come up with this great leglock submission hold called the Last Dance, and he would threaten his opponents with it before his matches. He'd be winning the match and would go to apply the Last Dance...and he would "forget" how to apply it. This, of course, would lead to him losing the match.
- Improvised Weapon User: That disco ball that would descend during his entrance? He used that as a weapon more than once.
- Made of Iron: Or whatever was in his hair that enabled him to get up from Dean Malenko's brainbuster during their match at WCW Bash at the Beach 1996.
- Negative Continuity: With finisher names. His original finisher was a standing reverse figure 4 leglock called the Last Dance. He switched it for a stunner called the Chartbuster. Later he renamed the Chartbuster to the Last Dance.
- Power Stable: The Filthy Animals and the New Blood. He was never actually in the nWo.
- In TNA, Vince Russo's Sports Entertainment Xtreme.
- Pretty Fly for a White Guy: While with the Filthy Animals. He renamed to Disqo, and would bungle the Filthy Animals catchphrases with outdated slang, e.g. saying "It's all swell" instead of "It's all good".
- Small Name, Big Ego/Third-Person Person: "I know you all came here tonight to see the Disco Inferno dance."
- Song of Song Titles: From his entrance theme:
- Spell My Name With An S: At one time, his real name was listed on some websites as Glenn Gilbernetti.
- Tag Team:
- (in WCW): The Boogie Knights, with Alex Wright (and briefly as a trio with Tokyo Magnum)
- (in TNA): The New York Connection, with Johnny Swinger, Big Vito and Trinity
- Tagalong Kid: When he was claiming to be a member of the nWo Wolfpac.
- Talk Show with Fists: "Jive Talkin'", which debuted on NWA TNA #7, July 31, 2002 and was cancelled after NWA TNA #9 on August 14th.
- Talkative Loon: He was supposed to have faced Stevie Richards at the MEWF's (Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation in Maryland), as Disco was the MEWF Heavyweight Champion at the time. It turned into a tag match with Disco and Earl the Pearl vs. The Blue Meanie and a partner whose name appears to have been lost to time. Here's Disco's pre-match promo:
- Tempting Fate:
- On the December 21, 1998, WCW Monday Nitro, he came to the ring serious, claiming to be in the nWo Wolfpac and threw out a challenge to anyone from nWo Hollywood, naming Vincent, Horace Hogan and Buff Bagwell, who hadn't competed in 8 months due to a neck injury. The nWo music hit and he got...the Giant (Paul "The Big Show" Wight). You can guess the rest.
- He returned to TNA on the October 18 (taped October 15), 2007 TNA Impact saying that he wanted to be taken seriously for once. His opponent that night? "The Monster" Abyss. He wouldn't have another match in Impact Wrestling until 2018.
- Took a Level in Badass <- -> Took a Level in Dumbass: He would literally go back and forth between these during his matches, as he would get some good moves in but pause to check his hair before going for a cover.
- Wouldn't Hit a Girl: After the quitting over refusing to let Jacqueline bodyslam him, the 'dues' he had to pay for his return was that he'd have to lose an honest to god wrestling match against her. In the match he did nothing but arm drags and drop toe holds. He nearly won anyway by rolling through a cross body block.
- Xtreme Kool Letterz: In 2000 he joined The Filthy Animals and changed his name to 'Disqo' as a play on 'Sisqo', whose 'Thong Song' was popular at the time.
