Heels is a Starz’s produced show that centers around wrestling and the family drama it causes. Heels on Starz is co-directed by Peter Segal and Jessica Lowrey. The show was written and created by Michael Waldron.
The IMBD description for Heels on Starz reads, “Two brothers and rivals – one a villain, or ‘heel,’ in the ring; the other a hero, or ‘face,’ war over their late father’s wrestling promotion, vying for national attention in small-town Georgia.”
https://youtu.be/dKFfSSXavYc
Heels on Starz Episode One Recap
The water tower that overlooks the city of Duffy is only a reminder of the true lifeline and identity of the small Georgia based town. Pasted on the side of the water tower is a giant black logo that reads DWL a.k.a Duffy Wrestling League.
Jack Spade (Stephen Amell) is the sole inheritor of the historic wrestling league after his father Tom Spade’s, passing. In the opening moments of the new Starz drama, Jack is struggling with deciding on a finish for a huge blowoff match against his brother and arch-nemesis, Ace Spade (Alexander Ludwig). Ace is a hometown hero in the ring and a “babyface,” but is struggling with self identity and dealing with his brother’s questionable direction for DWL.
Jack Spade is trying to follow in his father’s footsteps in so many ways – including keeping kayfabe alive. Jack is persistent on playing his character anytime he’s in public. He’ll mean mug a group of kids on the street or make sure he’s completely invisible on the day of a show to avoid any disbelief about his “heel” persona.
Ace Spade is beloved by the entire town of Duffy. He’s seen as the more talented brother and with rumblings of interest from a bigger, newer promotion in Florida, Ace feels like he’s on a better path then his brother.
The first episode of Heels on Starz, which premiered on Sunday, August 16, was a fantastic pilot that had me hooked for the rest of the season. Episode One is centered around the Spade family and DWL’s employees, specifically Willie Day (Mary McCormack), starting to worry about DWL’s future. With Ace Spade seemingly being good as gone, everybody is concerned about the direction of the league following the big upcoming main event championship match at their next event.
Day suggests multiple ideas to keep the company relevant and popular amongst talent, including increasing pay. Jack is very stubborn and denies everything that Day proposed and seems to refuse almost any idea or help with the business. Anyone who tries to challenge Jack’s ownership tactics are met with guilt-tripping, with Jack citing that he was left in charge of the company for a reason.
Jack is sent into a family financial struggle when he tries to buy new equipment for the company. Jack ensures his wife Staci Spade (Alison Luff) that purchasing new smoke machines and GoPros will yield results in the long run, but Staci also seems shaky about the company’s future.
There were some great seeds planted for some of the side characters in the show. Crystal (Kelli Berglund) is Ace Spade’s valet, but is constantly clamoring for a chance to wrestle. While having an internal struggle with upper management, specifically Willie Day, she resorts to some questionable tactics – including hooking up with Ace Spade. Spade later claimed to Duffy Wrestling legend Wild Bill Hancock that Crystal didn’t mean much to her and that she was just a valet.
Speaking of Wild Bill Hancock (Chris Bauer), he’s not only a Duffy legend, but he now works for the new company “up north”. Hancock is the one who initiates the inference that the “Florida Wrestling Dystopia” is scouting Ace Spade. Hancock talks privately with Ace before the show, encouraging him to “take what’s his” and become the “bigger brother”. Hancock criticizes Jack for not being able to adapt and having to “stick to a script”. Hancock, being an old-timer, also encourages Ace to use drugs and alcohol before his match.
Big Jim Kitchen (Duke Davis Roberts) is another big wrestler for the league. When Jack tries to write him into the finish of the championship main event and turn him heel, Jim reveals that he plans on retiring due to his wife’s pregnancy. Jack had long term plans for Jim, so another wrench has been thrown into the future of Duffy Wrestling.
Other side wrestlers that were introduced include Apocalypse (James Harrison), Rooster Robbins (Allen Maldonado), and Diego Cottonmouth (Robby Ramos).
Jack’s final pitch for the match was him beating Ace and retaining the DWL Championship. They’ve been building to this match for a long, long time, and to have the heel (Jack) go over, it doesn’t sit well with Ace and the rest of the Duffy team. Many people within the company feel that it’s a jealousy thing from Jack’s perspective, or that Jack wants to continue the story simply so Ace doesn’t run off to the other promotion with the championship.
When Ace and Jack have a meeting in Jack’s office later on in the episode, Ace accuses Jack of being jealous of his “Babyface” fandom. Ace even goes as far as to accuse Jack of being jealous because his son, Thomas Spade, is a huge fan of Ace and doesn’t really like Jack as a wrestler.
The closing moments of the episode really portray the desperate nature of Jack Spade and the terrible, self-righteous nature of Ace Spade. Jack and Ace are both standing in the tunnel before their match, when Ace develops a no-care attitude and says he doesn’t care about winning the belt anymore. Ace taunts Jack that he gets to leave Duffy and go on to bigger things, while Jack gets to rot and ends up killing himself like their father. This obviously ticked a nerve in Jack and they both choke each other in the tunnel before Apocalypse broke up the fight.
When the match starts, Jack immediately throws Ace over his head and locks in an armbar. Jack wrenches Ace’s arm back as far as he can, even to where the referee shows concern. The crowd is trying to will Ace out of the hold, but Jack places his knee on Ace’s shoulder and pins him down even more. While Ace is screaming at Jack to let go, Jack commands the referee to call for the bell, which he does.
A silence falls over the warehouse as the crowd is completely stunned. Ace gets up and clocks Jack, which causes him to fall out of the ring. The crowd immediately roars in displeasure and they begin throwing cups, bottles, and food at not just Jack, but their beloved Ace as well. The credits roll as Jack is walking back into the tunnel.
https://youtu.be/t5441LI7IHw
Heels Episode One Review
As I stated before, I genuinely enjoyed the pilot episode of Starz’ Heels. The introduction of the two main characters Jack and Ace was done very well, as the introduction of the side characters was too. There weren’t any over-the-top corny comedy bits that I expected from a wrestling based show, and it portrayed the sport in a very serious manner. I often criticize wrestling in movies and TV shows for being casted in a silly or unconvincing light, but Heels presented something totally different and I appreciate that.
Stephen Amell’s performance is phenomenal. He’s able to shift from a depressed, struggling wrestling owner to fake-smile, happy family man and dad in a matter of one scene change and I think that’s incredible.
The last few minutes were absolutely brilliant and hooked me in for the ride that will be an eight-episode affair. With the conflict between the Spade family arising more and more and the potential of characters like Big Jim Kitchen and Crystal and the impending appearance of Ricky Rabies (CM Punk), I’m excited for where the Duffy-based show goes from here.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for the latest wrestling content. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world. As well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.
