Rick Steiner will be back with WrestleCon despite the previous announcement that the WWE Hall of Famer was going to banned from the event.
Steiner made some transphobic comments at WrestleCon this past April in Los Angeles and those comments were directed at IMPACT Wrestling’s Gisele Shaw. Shaw was soon to call Steiner out that weekend for his actions and he was removed for the remainder of WrestleMania weekend with the announcement that he would not be allowed to return to future events hosted by WrestleCon.
The whole incident with Steiner and Shaw ended up causing Rick’s son, Bron Breakker, to having the address his dad’s actions in in interviews and it’s been reported that WWE may not be inviting Steiner back to appear on their future programming.
However, an announcement on Twitter this weekend revealed that Steiner, along with his brother Scott, would be returning to the event this upcoming SummerSlam weekend when the whole event commences from the brothers’ backyard of Detroit, MI.
Courtesy of Tony Hunter Promotions, coming back to their home state, the Steiner Brothers will be available for Autographs and photo ops on both Friday and Saturday. pic.twitter.com/oYODqgUZGg
— WrestleCon – Detroit – August 4 & 5 (@wrestlecon) July 16, 2023
Statement Issued Regarding Rick Steiner’s Return To WrestleCon
After the Tweet was made, owner Michael Bochicchio issued a statement regarding his decision to bring Rick Steiner back into the fold. The following can be found in the replies of the initial tweet made announcing the Steiners’ appearance:
“I’m going to address the Rick Steiner issue here instead of responding to every post. I hope everyone takes the time to read, but I also understand if you choose not to hear another side.
“Rick made completely inappropriate remarks to Giselle Shaw at our event in Los Angeles.
“As soon as we were made aware of what happened, we swiftly addressed the issue, but we never shared details of what happened at the event. In hindsight, it was probably a mistake not to share more details during or immediately after the event concluded. I take full responsibility- my wife died 3 weeks after the LA show at the age of 46, after a long battle with cancer, and I made a lot of mistakes during that time.
“However, at no time then or after do we condone the remarks Rick made at LA. We did not fail to act after we were notified, and as a result, we removed him from the convention for the duration of that event. Rick’s poor decision forever impacted his brand , relationships within the wrestling community, and alienated many of his fans.
“One of the positive things Rick did, and it was not publicized, is immediately apologize. He apologized to members of the Wrestlecon staff, he apologized to many of his fellow wrestlers, and offerred apologies to the members of Impact Wrestling staff that chose to hear from him at a private mediated event.
“Giselle chose not to attend Rick’s apology, which we 100% understood, supported, and still support to this day. She had no obligation to hear anything from Rick nor should she ever feel obligated to accept any apology from him then or now.
“Now that we are three months beyond this event, I feel that Rick learned a lot from his huge mistake. I know it’s easier to cancel people when they make mistakes than to forgive and help educate. However, sometimes I think it’s important that we give people a second chance. That being said, Rick will forever be on a zero-tolerance scale moving forward at any of our events. If we are proven wrong, that he has not learned from his mistakes, we will enforce a permanent ban. That is not to imply that everyone gets one free strike.
“We continue to strive to have an environment where everyone feels safe and included. If we are faced with issues that compromise that environment, we will take all necessary action.
“Michael Bochicchio
Owner of WrestleCon”