Cutting Promos

**Cutting Promos** is the fourth episode of the first season of the Starz original wrestling drama *Heels*.

## Synopsis

After a house fire forces Jack and his family to move in with Carol and Ace, the two brothers put their differences aside and their heads together to generate a DWL promo to further grow the league's fan base.

## Plot

Days ago, Wild Bill attends a board meeting to discuss the new redesigned title belt. However, Bill isn't impressed, as the belt now resembles a kid's toy. However, he will reluctantly endorse the belt, as it's what the company asks of him. After the meeting, he catches a plane to Cleveland. During the flight, he becomes so intoxicated that at one point, she strips off his clothes and exits the bathroom naked with nothing more than a hat on his head and a title belt around his waist for the other flyers to record.

Present day, Jack rushes to Thomas' room at the sound of the smoke detector. One of Thomas' outlets have caught fire and it quickly spreads, forcing Staci and Thomas to leave the house as Jack extinguishes the flames.

Bill has been staying with Willie ever since the plane incident. Willie's husband Ted prepares pancakes for breakfast, where Wild Bill shows them the viral video of himself on the plane with his "natural blessing" out for everyone to see. They are joined by Willie's daughter Robin, who Bill explains to that his bosses are "corporate assholes" who constantly dismiss his input.

The fire department reveals that the squirrels chewed through the house's wiring, which will cost more than they have to repair. With no type of emergency cushion, Staci is contemplating getting a job, but Jack asks that she hold off, as he has a meeting with Eddie Earl, who could be potentially interested in investing the DWL. In the meantime, they'll be staying with Carol.

Rooster, Apocalypse, and Diego are playing cards and discussing bedroom habits whilst Crystal cuts Bobby Pin's head. He questions if Ace ever said sorry for what he said to Crystal the other night, but he isn't the sorry type, Crystal replies. When she finishes his cut, he asks her to stop by his trailer before she leaves, as he has something to run by her. In the meantime, she cuts Diego's hair.

As promised, Crystal stops by Bobby's trailer, which he got from his grandfather. Bobby reveals that he likes to write, mostly rap lyrics, but he also started four graphic novels. He then looks to Crystal for answers on who is "Bobby Pin?" meaning he hardly understands his own character. Willie wants to continue his story with Ace, but she says that his gimmick sucks. So, he wants Crystal's help with generating a new gimmick. He plays her a new song he's been working on, but she isn't convinced that the rap route is right for Bobby.

Jack and Willie approach Eddie and Annie Earl with a PowerPoint in hopes that he'll continue to sponsor them with more money. However, Eddie doesn't feel as though investing further would be wise. Supporting the DWL is good for his pawn shop, but it doesn't help with his second hand car business, which could use the growth, but the DWL doesn't have the reach. Its biggest problem is in the name. Every show is a house show and no one outside of Duffy cares. The DWL has little to no chance of expanding.

Jack is enraged after the meeting, but Willie calms him and prevents Jack's feelings from getting the better of him. Their only chance is to prove Eddie wrong. In the meantime, Willie tells Jack to worry about his fire fiasco whilst she deals with Bill, who she used to be in a relationship with. Things didn't end well between Willie and Bill, so hopefully her allowing him to stay is a way to move past it. And with Bill down on his luck, he may even be willing to promote the DWL, though Jack wants nothing to do with him.

Wild Bill calls his manager, who tells him to play nice until renegotiations are done. She warns him that his behavior is toxic and that he needs to go to rehab. It’s a legitimate gesture that they may respond to with some compassion. Wild Bill is to do nothing until she says otherwise.

Staci, Carol, and Thomas go grocery shopping and discuss the possibility of Staci getting a job, which Carol never considered as she was constantly designing, cutting, and seeing wrestling costumes for her husband and boys, who she dedicated her entire life to.

Crystal sketches a picture of what she believes could be Bobby's new costume. His new name should be "Bobby '85," as he already has the mullet to match.

Ace heads to a bar, where he visits an old friend, Tricia, who works there as a bartender. She fetches him a beer and tells him that Bill is boozing and blowing oxy in the bathroom. Bill then joins Ace at the bar, claiming that he's only in town for a little while until heading back to headquarters. Ace intends to leave, but Wild Bill convinces him to stay and play pool, during which Bill instigates a fight with a couple other guys to prove a point to Ace — that he's the best at what he does. He believes that it's in Ace too, the same as Tom. Should Ace find a way to tap into that, Wild Bill promises him that riches will flow.

Ace arrives home to find Jack, Staci, Thomas, and Carol awaiting his arrival to have dinner. They form a prayer circle, and Thomas does the prayer. When Thomas ends the prayer with blessing his grandpa Spade, Carol informs him that Tom is in Hell, which is where people who kill themselves go. Jack and Ace then excuse themselves, as they're no longer hungry after Carol's tangent, which Staci was forced to end.

Crystal and Bobby Pin go for ice cream, and Bobby thanks her for helping him come up with a new gimmick. Admittedly, when Bobby asked her to come to his trailer, she thought he was going to make a move on her. Two kids then run up and asks for a photo with Bobby. Crystal remarks that he's going to be a great face, whereas Ace on the other hand wasn't so good with turning on a smile.

Ace has given up his room to Thomas, who can't sleep, as he's thinking about what his grandma said about Grandpa Spade being on fire. Ace comforts Thomas, telling him that no one knows what happens after death. In the future, he advises Thomas to just nod whenever someone says that they do know, as it's a way to end a conversation that he doesn't want to keep having. Thomas then asks who cleaned up Grandpa Spade after he was found. Ace reveals that Jack did, and that he did a good job. He goes on to say that Grandpa Spade took his own life because his spirit got broken. Hoping to cheer Thomas up, Ace gifts him a Georgia Bulldogs blanket after his got destroyed in the fire.

Jack thanks Ace for giving up his bed for Thomas while Ace sleeps in the basement with Jack, who is watching old DWL footage. Jack tells Ace how he recently cut a promo challenging the Rock. He hoped it would get shared on social media, but it didn't quite work out that way. Ace remarks how Gully's promo are more cinematic, but Jack isn't interested in his input, shutting Ace down, leaving him to questions if "you have to be an asshole to be a heel?" Jack explains that one is not reliant on the other. To be a heel, he simply needs to be able to take the heat and separate work from life. Jack then gives Ace a chance to help with the promo.

Wild Bill gets a call from his boss Maria, who reveals that he's been let go from the company.

While sketching a potential costume for herself, Bobby arrives at Crystal's with his costume and goes to the bathroom to try it on. Bobby tells Crystal that he intends to tell Jack and Willie that she helped with his gimmick, but Crystal insists that he doesn't, as she's just a valet, and she needs to fly low for the time being. While Bobby will respect her wishes, to him, she's more than a valet. She's smart and talented. If anything, she deserves the push. Crystal then comes to a realization that he should just stick to being Bobby Pin, who is a good guy by her account. They both then get a text from Jack that they're shooting a promo.

The DWL films their first promo at the gas station, where Crystal works as a cashier, a role that she maintains even in the promo as Bobby is blindsided by Ace, fresh off his heel turn. A fight breaks out between the two and around the lot, which ends with Jack knocking them both to the ground.

After shooting the promo, Ace pulls Crystal to the side and say that she did great. He asks if she wants to celebrate their first cinematic promo, but she has to get back to work.

Staci apologizes to Carol for what happened the other night at dinner. She's presumably under a lot of stress with Tom's death anniversary coming up, but Carol would prefer not to talk about it, though Staci wants to know how she feels, as she and Carol have never really talked much despite Staci and Jack having been married for nine years. Carol reveals that Tom never let her drive, not even to the store. And when she gets into a car now, she barely knows what to do. She's admittedly scared and just lets Ace take her everywhere. She occasionally thinks about that and gets so angry, which is why she sometimes says things.

Willie finds Wild Bill peeing in the lake, where he reveals to her that he was fired. He overheard Ted and Robin talking about the promo and questions why they didn't come to him, but Jack doesn't want to be anywhere near Bill, who accuses Jack of being the reasons Tom killed himself. He then goads Willie into a fight, calling Ted a wiener and saying that it's too bad he wasn't around to pay for Robin's abortion. In a fit of rage, Willie attacks Bill before returning to the house.

The following morning, Ted has thrown all of Bill's belongings outside of the house and onto the driveway, telling him that he can book a hotel by the interstate.

Ace arrives at Crystal's to find Bobby and Crystal jumping on the trampoline outside of her trailer, though he remains hidden behind the parked cars. Later that night, on his way to his car, he asks Crystal when she would like to get some ice cream again, but she doesn't think it would be a good idea for them to be seen too often in public considering that she's Ace's valet and he's Ace's rival. He arrives at his truck to discover that it has been keyed, though he isn't too upset, surprisingly.

Carol joins Ace on the back porch and tells him not to wallow in his foul mood, as his father did the same before taking his own life. While he may have taken his own life, Ace says that his father isn't in hell. He then reveals how he often hears the gunshot in his head, despite it being nearly a year since his death. Ace can't even sleep without playing music, as he hears the gunshot when it's too quiet. Carol tells him to separate himself from the sadness, but Ace would rather listen to it and sort through it. He noticed that his mother stopped smiling long before his dad killed himself and suggests that she look into why that is. Maybe she'll be happy again.

Staci calls Jack and asks about his day. She then tells him that she got a part-time job at the grocery store. Staci thinks back to Carol, and she doesn't want sewing costumes for the DWL to be the only thing she is good at. Staci also wants to go back to school eventually, but in the meantime, she needs something to occupy her time. So, Jack supports her in her attempt to find happiness.

Ace has sex with Tricia. After, he tells her about how his dad used to always tell him to "Hold it together." However, she doesn't seem much interested in what he has to say and asks if he wants to go again.

Jack visits Wild Bill at his hotel room to tell him to leave Ace alone, but when he finds him at the ice machine in complete misery, Jack simply leaves.

Bill spends another night getting drunk. He gets onto the roof of the motel and exclaims: "I am Wild Bill Hancock, and I am here! I am alive! Wake the f\*ck up, y'all! Who wants to play?"

## Cast

* Alexander Ludwig as Ace Spade
* Alison Luff as Staci Spade
* Mary McCormack as Willie Day
* Kelli Berglund as Crystal Tyler
* Allen Maldonado as Rooster Robbins
* James Harrison as Apocalypse
* Roxton Garcia as Thomas Spade
* Chris Bauer as Wild Bill Hancock
* Trey Tucker as Bobby Pin
* Robby Ramos as Diego Cottonmouth
* Alice Barrett-Mitchell as Carol Spade
* Joel Murray as Eddie Earl
* Marcia DeBonis as Debbie
* Larry Clarke as Ted Day
* Kerry O'Malley as Paula Portis
* Eliza Coyle as Annie Earl
* Sharon Conley as Maria Acevedo
* Elizabeth Posey as Tricia

Co-Starring* Jono Kirk as Chuck
* John Winscher as Gary
* Margaret Morris as Robin Day
* Di Quon as Flight Attendant
* Guilherme Apollonio as Young Exec #1
* Breck Denny as Young Exec #2
* Blake Playford as Ice Cream Kid
* George Pettrone as Motel Receptionist

## Gallery

### Videos

‘It’s All A Ring’ Ep. 4 Clip - Heels - STARZ'Cutting Promos' Ep. 4 Preview - Heels - STARZThe Cast Discusses Ep. 4 - Heels - STARZ-2‘DWL Promo’ Ep. 4 Clip - Heels - STARZ‘Tap Your Vicious Side’ Ep. 4 Clip - Heels - STARZ