Starz series Heels is a show that piqued my interest when I first heard the concept. Since I tend to catch television shows late and watch when I can binge, it took a while to get around to it.
Created by Michael Waldron (Rick and Morty, Loki, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness) and starring Stephen Amell (the Arrowverse) and Alexander Ludwig (Vikings), the show features a strong cast and some super dramatic storytelling.
We’re starting with the first episode of Heels, “Kayfabe” before diving into the rest of the first 8-episode season.
Welcome to the Duffy Wrestling League
The show takes place in fictional Duffy, Georgia, the home of the Duffy Wrestling League. I’m guessing the DWL was a territory since there is a lot of history to the small indy.
Running the promotion is Jack Spade, who is a second-generation wrestler being the son of late local hero Tom “King” Spade.
Willie Day is a woman who has been around the business for some time and works with him as far as booking, promoting shows, organizing the locker room—the day-to-day stuff.
A year prior, King Spade commits suicide. Wanting to keep his father’s promotion alive, Jack Spade—the top heel in the company—takes the reigns. Unfortunately, the DWL is dying. It’s in a small town, it hasn’t expanded at all, and attention for their product is minimal.
The costs of keeping this ship afloat eat up what the attendance arrives to the DWL Dome. Plus, the upstart, extreme Florida Wrestling Dystopia promotion has singled DWL as its competition.
DWL’s product is old-school face versus heel and family-friendly traditional wrestling. The FWD isn’t exactly new school as hardcore is a very 90s-early 00s product but it is getting a ton of attention.
At least way more than the DWL is getting.
Despite this, Spade tries his best to keep things going. He has a supportive roster of talent, a loyal business partner, and loyal, die-hard fans.
He does his best to balance his wrestling life with his family life. Add on to this that he tries to remain a good citizen and balance it with kayfabe.
I mean, he goes to church as a heel in a town where everyone knows him and his family. Like, go to church a town or two over.
Big Family Problems in a Small Town
Oh, things get more complicated! In need of a big draw, he has brought in his younger brother Ace Spade. Good-looking, charismatic, and popular, he’s a perfect foil to Jack who is a badass rule-breaker.
However, Ace has his own problems. In his personal life, he’s wild and brash—a good ol’ boy to the almost worst extreme.
In our introduction to him during the first episode, he says “F*** you” on the mic during an angle involving Jack. Going off-script with an F-bomb in what is supposed to be a family-friendly promotion irks Jack.
Ace doesn’t seem to care because the fans loved it and love him. Apparently, they’ve been butting heads for a while so this is nothing new.
Just another situation in their odd relationship.
Jack knows his run as DWL World Champion is fizzling out and that Ace is the next best choice to reinvigorate things but his behavior makes him hesitant to push his brother.
His decision to not push the young Spade is made easier after an incident where Ace belittles a storekeeper who used to come over to their house when they were children.
Word gets back to Jack who decides not to put Ace over as champion. While their estrangement and his reckless attitude are factors, Ace is a face acting like a heel outside of the ring.
You’re Going to Be a Star, Kid
You could say that Jack feels that Ace isn’t all the way committed to the survival and growth of DWL and just isn’t grasping the story he is trying to tell. This is compounded with the arrival of Wild Bill Hancock.
Wild Bill is a former DWL star who was a good friend of the family and close to King Spade. He has since retired and gone on to become a scout for a large promotion.
Now he’s back in Duffy to pick up Ace. Jack clearly disapproves of Ace following Wild Bill. Ace is young, still immature, and just not ready. As the discussion goes on, Wild Bill basically told him that the DWL is cooked. Hell, it’s why he left the promotion.
There was nothing left for him in Duffy. Bill begins talking to Ace who isn’t pleased with the booking of his upcoming match with Jack. He’s whispering sweet nothings in the kid’s ear and it looks as though Ace is going to bite.
The veteran scout even introduces Ace to his own vice of opiates while relaying to him the story of Cain and Abel. Seeing that she wasn’t included in Will Bill and Ace’s conversation about his future, his girlfriend and valet Crystal seems concerned about her own future.
She was trained as a wrestler but works as a valet for DWL. Crystal aspires to do more but the company doesn’t feature a women’s division or intergender wrestling.
It’s a Shoot, Brother
Jack has numerous problems in this episode of Heels. While he’s successful in promoting the next show in town, he also wants to turn Ace’s best friend Big Jim Kitchen face but Jim is planning to retire since he has a kid on the way.
When the night of the match comes, the outcome is set in stone. Jack Spade is going over and it will be one-two-three. He’s always made his decision and tells his wife it doesn’t matter what the outcome is. Wild Bill is in the balcony to watch the match.
At the curtain, Ace is still fuming about it. He tells Jack that he’ll be going on to big and better things while Jack stays in Duffy and will eventually kill himself like their father.
Wrestler Apocalypse stops them from fighting just as Big Jim comes through the curtain, excited after winning a battle royal.
During the match as Ace is posturing to the crowd, Jack strikes! He downs Ace with a German Suplex and applies an armbar! This wasn’t in the plan! It wasn’t discussed!
The referee is unsure what to do and tells Jack to ease up or he’ll break Ace’s arm. Ace is in pain but can’t escape. The ref calls for the bell and Jack retains the title.
There’s dead silence from the crowd. They don’t believe what just happened. Ace was expected to win but not only is he defeated; he loses by submission in the main event, in seconds.
They paid for this show and the Spade brothers match was the draw…and it ends like this. Boos erupt in the DWL Dome as Ace is left in the ring alone and Jack heads to the back with the belt over his shoulder.
Showered with boos, Ace clutches his arm and drops to his knees crying in front of everyone. Jack’s wife doesn’t believe what just happened and his young son begins crying.
Wild Bill seems pleased by this piece of Cain and Abel action and leaves. It should be easier to pry Ace from the DWL.
Heels (S1 E1) Verdict: Gold Medal (4.25/5)
This was a great first episode. It played out like a small-town family drama with wrestling as the backdrop for parts of it but it let you know that wrestling is the family business.
There were some mild pacing issues. The episode was an hour-long and felt like it but that’s because it used its whole hour since there are no commercial breaks.
I really liked the bits where we were introduced to the other wrestlers in the DWL and I’d like to see more of their stories and issues. I’m sure we’ll get more of that as the show goes on.
As readers know, I’m big on wrestling history and I’d also like to know more about the history of the DWL and what kind of guys King Spade and Wild Bill Hancock were.
You kind of get a good idea with Wild Bill but I’m sure there was a lead-up to his current state. Heels has a lot going on story-wise and a lot to dive into lore-wise.
The featured wrestler I spotted in this episode was Luke Gallows. Also, the show used archival footage from TNA Impact from around 2004-2005 to represent the FWD promotion.
This first episode is really encouraging and it gained another fan. Stick around for episode two: “Dusty Finish”.
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