WrestleCon Welcomes Back Rick Steiner Following Transphobic Remarks At Previous Event

WrestleCon has announced that Rick Steiner will be among the guests at an upcoming convention in Detroit, Michigan, which is set to take place in August. The news arrives in the wake of Steiner's last WrestleCon appearance back in April, which saw him lobby transphobic insults at Impact Wrestling star Gisele Shaw.

Following the incident, WrestleCon apologized to Shaw for Steiner's transphobic behavior, suggesting that they were backing the Impact star and cutting ties with Steiner. As such, the decision to bring him back for next month's event has been receiving blowback on social media. However, the fan convention's owner, Michael Bochicchio, has defended his decision to let Steiner attend the event. The statement, which can be found on the event's Twitter page, claims that Steiner reached out to make amends after the incident.

"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 offered 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."

Bochicchio went on to say that Steiner has learned from the experience and that he believes in giving people second chances. However, the statement also claims that Steiner will be given a permanent ban if he demonstrates the same type of behavior at future events. As of this writing, Shaw has yet to comment on the matter.