Wrestlers (2023) s01e04 Episode Script

This is my first car in America.
This car is a Nissan Maxima 2011.
But it looks like a new car
because I take care very well.
This is kind of my first love.
Because I love this car so much.
And she's saved me
so many times in bad situations.
So I take care very well.
Soon as I find something wrong,
I immediately take her to hospital
to mechanic, to make sure she's fine.
Remote key, yes.
You know, big-ass trunk.
Lot of space.
It's so beautiful.
When I was driving Lyft,
someone broke this.
Andthat hurt me so bad.
Like, I wish I knew who did that.
And I will be really pissed off.
But, yeah. Seat's fully loaded
with leather and everything. It's so nice.
If I wanna reach to trunk,
I can reach from here to my trunk.
Because there is a big hole here.
That's really sweet.
Look, the steering and seats.
It automatically adjusts.
So now I will show you the music.
And this is a moonroof.
Uh, you wanna see that?
Yeah.
Like, whole room.
Hi.
So, yeah, this is my baby.
This is my car. I love this.
I'm from Sikh culture.
I go to temple.
I pray to Hanumanji. That's a Hindu god.
Hanumanji has a big tail,
and he was, like, 30-foot tall, you know?
All the sportsmen in India,
we pray for him
because we want
all the strength like Hanumanji.
You know? We want
all the power and a great mindset.
And he never got married.
- He didn't ever get married?
- No.
What about you?
I'm kind of the same way.
The first thing is, I wanna succeed
where I want to be, you know?
So that's why I haven't married yet.
I'm so scared with love
because, you know
I'm a very emotional person and
if I get attached, it's hard for me
to be brokenhearted after that.
So it's really hard
to trust these days, you know?
I'm okay. I'm happy, you know?
I don't need anyone.
I'm not a puppy. I need love from one,
just keep whimpering
I don't need this shit. I'm a lion.
I do what I wanna do.
I don't care. If she don't care about me,
I don't care about anyone.
So I'm just trying to focus
on my career right now.
I don't need anyone.
When I trust people, they hurt me.
I've been working hard for 20 years
to become who I wanna become.
God, I know you're with me.
I'm gonna be roaring like a lion
when I'm on the mountain.
Who are the three best
quarterbacks of all time? Brady?
- Montana?
- Brady, Manning, and Aaron Rodgers.
Three guys you'd group together.
That's a debate.
There's no debate, Tim.
It's game day here on ESPN Radio.
I'll tell you a story. I want your take.
To be on the radio,
you have to be confident,
and you have to be
really forceful in what you believe
just to be an interesting personality.
People probably think
that's what I'm like all the time.
You know you're famous
when where you decide to sit
and who you sit next to is a story.
That's LeBron James now. He's so famous
But I live by myself.
I have the same sort
of insecurities everybody does.
I consider radio
it's almost like a therapeutic way
to sort of talk about whatever's
going on in my existence.
My next-door neighbor,
'cause I'm gone a lot from this house,
will pick up my mail.
Right? So it doesn't
just sit there for a week.
I ring the doorbell, and she comes down.
And clearly, there was
some afternoon stuff happening.
And I just felt awkward, and I got
out of there as quickly as I could.
About 20 years ago,
I had a seizure for the first time.
So I have a mild case of epilepsy.
I just sort of blank for a little while.
And then,
a couple minutes later, you're fine.
I'm not embarrassed by it.
I don't like that it makes
other people feel scared.
It bothers I hate
I hate the looks
on other people's faces when it happens.
When I came to, I could see
all of your y'all's face, and I hated it.
I just hated how scared everybody looked.
So I'm sorry I put you all through that.
No, don't apologize.
- We just we care about you.
- I know. I just
Also, Al cares about you.
I know he does. You know, I
That's the thing.
What's hard for me with Al
is that I genuinely think
he's a really good guy.
We have differences,
but you have differences with everybody.
I genuinely think he's a really good guy.
I express when I like people
a certain way.
He does not.
That's hard for me.
You never see Al sweat.
He doesn't get particularly happy.
He doesn't get mad.
He's kind of like an old-school man.
Right? That's what you're taught
men are supposed to be.
Well, I'm not like that.
I'm like a ball of emotions.
Am I a human being that would like
Al one time to say, "Good job"?
Yeah, 'cause he never has.
I have an absurd desire
to make people happy.
It's probably why I went into radio.
Welcome back. Kentucky Sports Radio.
By the way,
if you have any video production skills,
we are looking for
a full-time KSR video person.
My parents are here.
I'm gonna say hi to them. Be right back.
All right. Hey there.
When I was a kid, I was quiet. It's odd
to think now since I yap all the time.
But I actually was not a huge talker.
I was very shy growing up.
I was tall and awkward.
And I wasn't good at sports.
I was kind of a nerd.
I never totally fit in anywhere.
And my mom was really
sort of my hero growing up.
I'm kind of a mama's boy, right?
Wave to my mom there.
Hi, Amber. Whoever Amber is.
My father was not around,
and she felt a lot of pressure for me
to have success and to be a good person.
It was very important to her
that I do well in school,
that I not get in trouble.
And I always wanted to please her.
And so I did those things.
She was a single mother. She was
the first female commonwealth attorney.
First female prosecutor
in the state of Kentucky,
during a very contentious time.
There were people
who threatened to bomb our house.
And yet here was this woman
in the middle
of eastern Kentucky and Appalachia,
and she'd get up and be a badass.
And, like, she did it
because she wanted me
to not be affected by what my dad did.
Well, so my biological father and I,
we don't have a relationship.
He was driving drunk
and was in a wreck that led to deaths
and ended up in jail
for a period of time.
And it was, you know,
a very traumatic experience.
When I was growing up,
you would just hear people whisper,
"You know, Matt's dad went to jail."
It was a big deal.
But that's why I'm so close to my mom is
it was just me and her for a while.
I saw, during that period of time,
what it did to her.
And all I wanted to do
was just make her happy.
So I think I'm a people-pleaser
because I started as a mom-pleaser.
He's been protective of me,
and, like any mother,
I've been protective of him.
Matthew is my life's greatest blessing,
without a doubt.
Right after he was born,
when the two of us
were in the room together,
I said to him,
"I will always be here for you."
Everybody needs to know, everybody,
that there's at least
one person in his or her life
that is always there.
Even when I bought this company,
one of the first things I think is,
"What's my mom gonna think?"
Honestly, I knew very little
about an interest in wrestling.
I mean, I went
to my first wrestling match,
watched my first wrestling match,
just a few weeks ago.
How many people in the crowd,
it's your first time at a wrestling show?
Make some noise. Hold your hand up.
It was really important
for Matthew to take me to meet Al Snow.
And he's told me over and over
all that he's done.
I think he probably feels
unappreciated on a certain level.
The hardest part for me
is the dynamic with Al.
I grew up watching Al.
I respect Al. Now, we disagree.
He frustrates me sometimes.
But I totally respect him,
and I want him to respect me.
Last thing I wanna say, we were here
last time we were here,
I obviously had the incident.
And
You know
I That happens to me some. It was
the first time you guys had seen it.
I wanna thank you. I know
we've had a lot of really good moments.
We've had some tense ones.
But it meant a lot,
you reaching out and checking on me.
- Of course.
- I know that.
But still, you're not the easiest shell
to crack sometimes in showing emotion.
And I'm a very emotional person,
and you're not.
You showed some,
and that meant a lot to me.
So I want to thank you for that.
One day, you're gonna learn
to take a compliment.
God. A pat on the back
is two feet higher than a kick in the ass.
See? There you go.
But seriously, thank you all.
Um
I'll be at the show, Saturday.
Just I won't get involved
in the wrestling.
But there are some boxes
we gotta check, Saturday.
So help me do that.
OVW, for me, it's certainly
not been financially about the money.
It's been about trying to put
a product out that makes people happy
and make the wrestlers
sort of help fulfill their dreams.
I think, when I first came in,
I knew I didn't know
everything about wrestling,
but I probably thought
I knew a little more than I knew.
So, I came in and said,
"Let's do X, Y, and Z."
Al saw that as me trying
to tell him how to do wrestling.
And you pick your battles, right?
Al's a legend.
Al's forgotten
more wrestling than I'll know.
I realize that's a battle
I'm not ready to fight yet.
I think he's seen that I'm not gonna
tell him what to do all the time.
And things are better. But I do think
They say the most important two days
at work are your first day and last day.
I didn't do the best first day.
He probably didn't either.
And so we're still trying to get
to the point that when there's a last day,
it's a really good last day.
And I hope it happens.
Freya the Slaya
overpowering Kaitland Alexis.
Alexis is not backing down. Ooh!
As I chew my peanuts.
Freya the Slaya just too strong.
Big leg drop from Freya the Slaya,
coming down like an avalanche.
That's all she wrote.
Here is your winner,
Freya the Slaya!
What's up, Shera?
What's up?
- Good to see you, baby.
- Good seeing you.
- You good? You doing all right?
- I'm good.
You look good.
- That belt's a little big for you, dog.
- You want it?
I'm gonna go out there.
I'm gonna wrestle
Malibara Malibala Malibara Shera.
- Mahabali.
- Mahabali Shera. Um
Good fella. I'm just tickled pink
to get in there with him tonight.
You go this way. He's going this way.
You might get attention.
I'm talking to you.
He slides in, blasts me.
- There it is.
- Yeah?
I can't do a lot
'cause I'm older than dirt.
I'm gonna protect you, man.
It doesn't matter.
I don't have to do too much.
I gotta hook your foot.
It can be three monster clotheslines
if you want.
That's what I was thinking.
Maybe a clothesline elbow.
Pick you up. Body slam. Boom.
- Easy night, brother. We'll get you over.
- Easy night.
- Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
- Easy night with me? No, fucking no.
For this match tonight,
I made it at the last minute.
I don't have somebody sufficiently
within the roster built up enough
to have an opponent for Shera.
Here is your OVW
National Heavyweight Champion
Shera comes walking out,
and people are like, "Whoa."
That guy, you know,
he looks like he could stomp
a mudhole in somebody and walk it dry.
Shera is an incredible competitor.
One of the best professional wrestlers
on the planet right now.
Come on!
I don't think we've seen
anyone with the intensity, focus,
heart and desire of Mahabali Shera.
It's danger for anybody on the other side.
Your winner of this match,
Mahabali Shera!
Give it up one more time
for our National Heavyweight Champion,
Mahabali Shera!
- Thank you.
- I was trying to talk to him.
You guys did good.
Thank you, sir. That was fun, brother.
I enjoyed working with you.
I've been building Shera
as an unstoppable,
almost Goldberg-esque
type of character within OVW.
Now we have to create
an opponent for Shera.
I gotta figure that out.
I'm literally stress eating.
Stress eating?
Last night,
Tony Khan got back with me.
We, for the first time,
had a long conversation via text.
Usually, he sends a text, I respond
and hear from him five days later.
He went back and forth with me.
And he said,
"What would you like to see us do?"
Suggestion one was
that some of our wrestlers
go to AEW Dark or Elevation,
and he puts them in three
or four matches on those shows.
Have you seen those shows, what he does?
He uses an indie wrestler
against an established wrestler.
Here's what I want out of it.
I think it would be huge
for this organization
to be seen as having any kind
of working relationship with them.
Tony Khan, he's a billionaire
who helped create and buy AEW,
which became
kind of the WWE's primary competition.
His dad owns the Jacksonville Jaguars,
and, I think, a soccer team in England.
What he's done with AEW
is very impressive.
He's created a wrestling organization
that has risen to close to the top
out of nothing.
I think AEW is a place that OVW
could kind of become a feeder to.
So I hope we can find
a way to work with them.
If they're gonna do business,
they need to do business.
Because if they're gonna bring us
to AEW Dark, that ain't gonna do us good.
They're gonna put
our guys there to get beat
and get beat in a fashion that's not
- Not complimentary.
- Not complimentary.
I want to get that rub from them.
And that's why I wanna do something,
to be quite frank with you.
If we were to take five wrestlers,
three guys, two women,
to AEW Dark or Elevation,
who would we take?
Give us a few days
to let it marinate and think.
I don't have days.
- I'm talking to him tomorrow.
- Shit. Give us
Will you text me tonight
or tomorrow with thoughts?
- Yeah.
- Okay. Text me tonight or tomorrow
In regards to AEW, I'm gonna
try to navigate the waters as best I can.
But ultimately, at the end of the day, um,
I'm gonna continue
to pursue the track that I've had,
which is that I'm going
to make them want to come to us.
We need them more than they need us.
We need to understand that.
They're making money and we're not.
I think Matt
is more willing to beg than I am.
With hat in hand
"Please, sir. May I have another? Oh?"
You know? "Can I have some more?"
OVW is very revered amongst wrestlers
because it produced
John Cena, Brock Lesnar, etc.
I mean, all these wrestlers
want to be stars.
But they all wanna be in the WWE or AEW.
That's what they want.
Al's entire worldview is OVW.
Al will brag that he doesn't watch
the other wrestling programs.
To me, that's crazy.
How are you not watching
the other programs
to find out what our competition is doing,
to learn about new things
that are working?
You have to realize
there's a world outside of this.
Am I interrupting as you open up,
or am I good to talk in your ear?
- Do whatever you wanna do.
- I appreciate that openness.
I don't wanna give you a deal
that makes no sense.
- Hello.
- Hi, Meg.
Here's the deal.
We need to do something. The sign makes it
look like we're going out of business.
It looks horrible.
You said it was faded.
I was like, "It lost some color."
- No. It fucking sucks.
- So the idea with August 27th
Like 'Mania, it's a reset button.
What I wanted to do
was have Destination be a sponsor
on the August 27th show.
That includes banner space in the arena.
I know you have banners.
I've seen them at all the cons.
We can throw that up
for the next two months
leading up to the show.
Pay-per-views, we literally plug
12 times per show, basically.
And the radio spot.
And I know you like to interact
and be on camera and stuff with folks.
We'd have you interact with the talent.
We did with Dan-O.
He did commercials.
They knocked it out of the park.
Instead of being a one-off,
like we put your name on the poster,
it can be a full relationship.
My thought was,
all this total for about 1,500.
But it gives you a ton of exposure
over the next couple months.
- And we get to work together again.
- We do get to work together again.
It's been a minute.
Is there anything that you want from us?
You've seen what we do.
Is there anything, like, I can give you?
A cheaper price.
- I'm kidding.
- Okay.
Let's talk. What's the price
you'd feel comfortable with?
What's the price I feel comfortable with?
You said 15?
- Yes.
- I feel comfortable with a grand.
Okay.
I think I did it.
I think I did it. I think I did it.
Welcome to the show.
We're usually filled up around the ring
and got people standing.
The last two or three we've had
has been standing-room only.
Crowd looks better today.
We're putting asses in seats, brother.
I'm about to go. Game time.
We're on the right track.
It takes so long to build an audience.
You gotta create an atmosphere
where they get so caught up in
what you're doing that they venture here
and are filling the building.
So, how do you get people
to pay attention?
You have to have characters
that people care about.
"Mr. Pectacular"
Jessie Godderz.
The face that runs the place.
He's so handsome.
You have to have
quality performances.
about to choke-slam
Dustin Jackson from the ladder. Oh God!
Oh my good God!
- You gotta have a story people talk about.
- I am not going to fight my child.
What? What? What?
You're not gonna fight me?
Or a wrestler
that people are talking about.
Um, I'm gonna cheer for Haley.
I've been waiting 22 years for this.
You're not gonna take my opportunity away.
- I love you, Haley.
- Somebody take this mic, bro.
- Hey! Get her back!
- Yes!
Ooh!
Hell yeah. That was awesome.
She shoved her momma down.
If I was her momma,
I'd put her over my leg right there
in the ring and whoop the crap out of her.
If you can make you memorable
and make them wanna come back
and buy a ticket to see you
It's all a game. Our goal
is to get them to come back and see us.
Haley has one of the most
dynamic personalities I've been around.
You could make a strong argument she's got
the most dynamic personality we have.
She walks out, and within seconds,
she elicits a reaction.
She will have them
hating her in four seconds.
That's a special quality.
And nobody's better at it than Haley.
I need to look better than Leila.
Understand? She's sexy.
I need to be sexier.
You're supposed to be working.
I'm chilling. Let me tell you what I like.
I like my lashes long. I like
Boujhettoest baddie around.
Queen of the skreets.
- She's got something you can't teach.
- Pretape! Pretape!
Mmm-mmm-mmm!
Looking good today.
Three-time champ coming soon.
- Oh my God!
- I know I look great.
I don't need all that.
You're supposed to be a holy man.
Everything she said
in the pretape was believable,
and it built to that point.
Leila's the pretty one. I'm the funny one.
- We all got roles to play.
- Yeah.
She's a wild card,
but she knows when to do business.
Do you wanna crumble?
Do you wanna take the bulldog?
Yes. I think I'm gonna crumble.
And when I'm selling,
I'll slide the belt underneath me.
So you're here,
and I come get you.
What the hell just happened?
She hit Leila with the freaking belt.
Are you kidding me?
And then I'm gonna stand there
with the title.
Easy peasy.
Haley just wants to
She wants to be a star.
Watch how
a real superstar does it. Take notes.
- Get this party started.
- Are my lashes on?
There's gonna be some jealousy.
You know,
it's just happened so fast for her
that her ego definitely
can get the better of her at times.
Let me do that.
It looks like I didn't do anything.
This, like, alpha female energy?
Fucking
It's crazy, dude,
and it's too much for me.
If we can get her to focus,
I think the potential
for her to be a draw is really there.
She has all the tools,
but she has to have the maturity,
or she's going
to shoot herself in the foot.
No fans? No. We're good!
The less I think about it,
the better of a performer I am.
I go out there and it's genuine.
Everything's genuine.
So, yeah, I just smoke
and chill and be prepared.
- Does it relax you?
- Yeah. Well, I'm epileptic.
It's my medicine, if we're being honest.
I started smoking when I was, like, 15.
And then I haven't had a seizure since.
Yeah. In real life,
my brain's all messed up.
So it definitely helps.
It definitely helps.
This is an adult business. You have
to learn to handle things like an adult.
If you don't, you're gonna burn bridges.
And you're gonna burn them
before you even cross them.
For Haley, if she doesn't get
her head out of her ass,
she's gonna blow them up.
She's gotta grow up.
She's gotta grow up a lot quicker.
Who is it?
Who goes there?
I'd be scared too.
Anybody upstairs? Let's go!
Let's go, guys.
Let's go.
We'll make it short and sweet, okay?
Tomorrow, for Our Lady of Perpetual Hops,
the show, call time's 3:30.
Truck is leaving at 2:30.
Uh, Saturday, call time is at 2:30.
All right?
The last thing,
um, we are continuing
to build a relationship with AEW.
And as such, on August 21st,
um, we're going to take several wrestlers,
and we're going to go to AEW Dark.
I think it's Dark.
Fuck if I know. I can't keep track.
It's not me.
The people we take,
we're gonna use this to continue
to build that relationship
so that more and more of you
will get opportunities, okay?
So Cash will be going, Hal,
Omar, Kal, Luke, and Freya
will all be coming with us on that day.
And then we will build that relationship
and get even more going forward.
So that's a big deal
because we will try
to build that relationship
so that we have a direct route from here
to, uh, their platform and then beyond.
So
- Well done, bud.
- Yeah.
Be aware that everyone
is watching you. Okay?
And I wanna clear up because,
apparently, there was a misunderstanding.
When I said that I don't care
what you do on your time,
I want it clear
that your time is your time.
Once you show up
anywhere near me, it is now our time,
and what you do affects
each and every one of you.
I cannot make that clear enough.
I will not tolerate, will not allow
anyone to derail this for everyone else.
- Um, did you hear? That's about me.
- Clear?
On your time, which is nowhere near me
Or this building.
or this building, you do what you want,
how you want, when you want.
But when you're here, it's our time.
And that means it affects everyone else.
And I will not tolerate it.
Okay? Thank you, guys, very much.
Might need to drink after that.
I'm hurting.
I just got caught smoking.
Jess caught me. She was not happy.
Popped up out of nowhere.
But it's fucked up.
She took me to Al's office.
Al told me he was gonna fire me
if it happens again.
I was like, "Okay. Sorry." Lo siento.
They're gonna blame that.
They're gonna probably say that's
the reason why I'm not going or whatever.
It's just frustrating. It's frustrating
for us that's been here this whole time.
- Thank you.
- That's all.
I'm sorry, baby.
It doesn't matter.
I'm working on something. Fuck it.
Uh,
they just chose not to choose me. So
They had their reasons.
They had their reasons.
I don't need to know them.
- Hi, Carol. Hi, Louinda.
- Hey, Mike. How are you?
- Good. How are you?
- Great.
- I brought my water today.
- All right. Awesome.
Johnny, what are you doing?
- How's wrestling treating you?
- It's treating me good, I guess.
The new owner,
is he doing all right?
- Matt's doing okay.
- Yeah?
Yeah. Some people like him.
Some people don't.
Me, I don't have issues with him.
He gives me as much respect as I give him.
I think the opportunities within OVW,
Matt has a share in it.
Because before then,
yeah, it seemed like it was just
it was stale.
For the first time in 25, 26 years,
I will be able
to go work for a larger stage.
I will be doing a dark match at AEW.
I've never had that opportunity.
So this, for me, it's a first.
I've been doing this a long time.
I don't get many firsts.
So I'm gonna take full advantage of it.
And I'm super stoked.
And if they see something in somebody
that they wanna hire,
they will bring that person on.
That's the business in a nutshell.
It just is.
I love wrestling.
- Hello?
- Hey, James.
- Hey, Al.
- How are you, boy?
Good. Pulling up to the airport.
- Oh, are you? Where are you going today?
- Yeah. Oh, Canada.
Oh, are you?
Yeah. I go to Canada for three days,
then turn around and fly down to Orlando.
Thursday, you're open, right?
- Next Thursday?
- Yeah. Yeah.
- Yeah.
- Okay. I just wanted to make sure.
Why? Did you need me next Thursday or?
I was hoping that I could have you
and Shera work next Thursday.
- Yeah, no problem. All right.
- All right, man. You be safe.
- All right, see you, Al.
- Bye.
Well, that was James Storm.
Within the wrestling world,
James has a significant name.
Everybody!
Everybody to their feet
here in Arlington, Texas, at Slammiversary
to back the Cowboy
His demeanor, his character,
the way he conducts himself,
he is an attraction.
That's what James brings.
Control. Oh!
He's the perfect opponent
for Shera to face
for the National Heavyweight title.
James Storm, we
I gotta do something with him,
even if I just bring him in one time.
But I wanna bring him
and put him with Shera on TV.
But again, it's the money.
James Storm, like, that's $600.
And he is not gonna sell 60 tickets.
And so
- I need an opponent. He will.
- Disagree.
All right,
so let's do this. Is it $600?
All right.
If he makes an impact I'm for it.
I can't lose any more money
bringing these people in, okay?
James physically
matches up with Shera.
It'll give me a viable opponent
that could have what we call "heat,"
interest, a desire
to see the match between
because you won't be able to predict
the outcome with James and Shera.
And then I'll use it to start off a story
that potentially, I'm hoping,
I can carry through the end of the summer,
and pay off
on August 27th at the big final show.
Does he look like me?
He's my favorite hero.
Arnold Schwarzenegger.
When I was growing up,
and I have the big, huge poster
on my wall for Arnold Schwarzenegger.
And the man, he was a bodybuilder.
And he's from Austria,
came to America and succeeds.
So my career
is kind of going same direction.
You only can help if you become something.
So now it's my whole purpose to
I wanna be
get bigger as much as I can,
so I can help others, you know?
And I always remember words he said,
Arnold Schwarzenegger, one time.
"I was poor."
"I don't have refrigerator.
Like, I have nothing."
"But I was rich
because I have a bigger dream."
That same story is mine.
I grew up in a small village,
maybe 50 houses, you know?
My family, they have,
like, a, really, one-room home.
And we were living in a bad situation.
My father was a very alcoholic person.
I saw so much disrespect for him.
That's built in me, inside, so much pain,
because I love my father, love my family.
When I was growing up,
sports was in my blood.
I did bodybuilding for a couple years.
In 2012,
TNA Impact Wrestling visited India,
and they found me.
And then we go to Mumbai.
We trained for three months.
And after that, they saw something in me.
And then I became the first
Ring Ka King Heavyweight Champion.
And the whole room, standing for me,
and saying my father's name
very respectfully.
And he was like this. Like, "Thank you."
He's my father.
The first year, when I came here,
I had to go to India because my father
Soon, I figured out he had a cancer.
Immediately, I took a flight, went home.
So, soon, he knows I'm coming.
He said he feels so happy.
He's like, "Now my son is coming,
he'll save me."
Excuse me.
And believe me,
I tried everything to save him.
But I don't know what happened,
why he left me, but
he was
he was an amazing person.
I came back here, in America.
And I've just become
a very different person. Serious.
I'm just very focused.
I'm trying to push myself
to the next level.
And I want my father Make him proud.
I got audition for WWE.
Everywhere in news, like, you know,
"Shera got hired from WWE."
And all the stars
talk about me in the media.
And then, after eight months,
they let me go.
When I was fired from WWE,
I said, "My career is over."
"Like, what am I gonna do?"
I was thinking,
"I'm gonna commit suicide."
And then I think about it,
over in my head,
"Because these people fired me,
and then I'm gonna commit suicide,
or I'm gonna just give up?"
"No. I'm the Lion."
And I called Al Snow.
I said, "Sir, I wanna talk to you."
And I just tell him, you know,
"I'm only going back to India
when I make a huge name on my own."
"Other than that,
I'm not going back to India."
"I will do the best I can."
"I want to be a star.
I want to be representing my country."
"I'm gonna be very serious."
"I just want you to please help me,
as much as you can,
so that one day, WWE is gonna come to me."
"They're gonna ask me,
'We wanna hire you.'"
Al sees something in me,
and I will never forget this.
He has all the tools.
He's got the looks. He's got the size.
Al believed in him enough
to carry the torch of OVW,
being our National Heavyweight Champion.
When a company puts titles on you,
we're counting on you to carry the torch.
This title, for me,
is kind of my heart.
I came to America for a reason.
I want my father, make proud,
my family, make proud,
and never forget who was my father
and who I am today.
So we got black Timbs.
If you want the white one,
do you not want this?
- No.
- Okay.
- I'm trying not to be HollyHood Haley J.
- You're Holly Swag. You still
- Doesn't matter. I'm a honky.
- You are a
Yee-haw! Dur-dur-durn!
Not HollyHood Haley J. Honky.
So leave the cheetah
to HollyHood Haley J, the bad bitch. Okay?
All right. So you
you're trying to be a character.
Please, tell me, Mom,
where you get "mechanic" out of this?
'Cause I definitely get "jailbird."
They only need
the picture to build a costume off of.
And I told JB
this was the best we could do
on short notice.
I heard from WOW,
from Jessie Belle,
which is, like, my mom's wrestling sister.
Jessie Bell called me and asked me
if I could come do a week of tapings.
AEW, they're all men's companies
with women's matches sprinkled in.
WOW is literally all women.
Women of Wrestling.
WOW. What does that stand for?
"Women of Wrestling."
Back in the day,
there used to be a company called GLOW.
"Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling."
Oh my! A chain!
So WOW was
kind of modeled off of GLOW.
And it's the first time in history
that an all-women's promotion
is gonna be on national TV.
Not a tow truck driver, bro.
Oh God.
It's okay. This is what your mother wants.
And this is a challenge for you,
to see if you can act.
This is not a challenge for me.
This is very comfortable, matter of fact.
And so Haley and I are going
to California to wrestle.
My character for OVW
is just me when it comes to wrestling.
Like, I'm a brawling,
ass-kicking, like, tough lady.
My character at WOW
is a different persona.
Like, I'm a truck driver.
My name is Big Rig Betty,
and I drive an 18-wheeler.
- I'm gonna be a fine-ass tow truck driver.
- Yeah, you are.
She's always been herself.
Now she's playing this little redneck,
tow truck-driving country girl.
She talks like this and asks if she could
take a gander under your hood.
But it's just it's fun.
Yeah, make me look thick.
Pull it up there. I'm just kid
Just kidding.
- There.
- All right.
You look like a tow truck driver.
- Or an inmate.
- Or an inmate.
Ooh! Big Rig Betty in the house.
Hey, there's a semi right up front.
We're just gonna steal
these people's truck?
Yeah. If they say something,
I'll pay 'em $5.
That's it? Okay!
- Whose truck is this? I'm gonna stand
- Stand on it. I know, right?
It's not more of a this.
It's more of a this.
We're in a tag team. It's me
and Mom together, like a package deal.
It's my 18-wheeler.
It's different.
It's not my personality, not my name.
What do you want me to do?
It's a good challenge for me.
Honk-honk, motherfucker.
I'm Holly Swag. I'm pretty.
There you go.
Be pretty on your truck.
I thought I could
take this time with another promotion,
take the time to get my body right,
and get the "look" like a wrestler.
And then
I'll go up to the big leagues, you know?
But, yeah, that's the goal. The goal
is to keep going and do better and better.
Not saying that WOW's
better as a wrestling business,
but in the business
of Haley J's pockets, it might be better.
So, you know
Shawna's gonna start laughing at her,
and that's what pisses Haley off
and what causes her
to take the fight to Shawna
and be so aggressive.
Because Shawna's laughing at her.
How does Al feel about this?
Um
Good question.
You've not talked to him about it?
No. No, not really.
Yeah. Spread your legs, honey,
like you're birthing me. I'll sit here.
Should I smile?
- Say cheese?
- Say cheese.
Got enough?
All right. Whoo!
Am I done?
- I'm finished.
- Let's get out.
You better make sure they're good.
Good enough. That's all I got for you.
Welcome back.
Kentucky Sports Radio.
Ryan, a big show Saturday night.
You know, we brought in
from OVW, we brought in an outside talent.
You know him. He's James Storm.
He's one of the biggest stars
in independent wrestling
across the country,
and he's coming in
to take on your guy, Ryan Lemond.
The guy you managed at one time, Shera.
Two big heavyweights going at it.
Who you got?
How are you guys?
You're fighting Shera?
- Yeah.
- Mr. Storm!
- How are you?
- Nice to meet you.
How you doing?
- Good. You?
- Good.
I am the Lion.
I got this OVW
National Heavyweight Championship.
That means a lot to me.
- There's nothing like Shera.
- There's nothing like James Storm.
He's a lion in the jungle.
A cowboy's coming for that lion.
That cowboy's gonna get his butt kicked.
- We'll see tonight.
- That lion's gonna eat him up.
- Oh, James Storm.
- No way. No way.
There's no way Shera's
gonna let James walk into his arena
His arena?
- Yes.
- His arena?
It is now.
He holds the heavyweight championship.
- You nervous?
- No.
- Yeah, you are.
- Seriously, I'm excited.
Oh, you're excited?
- It's a big deal.
- It's a lot of pressure.
Now you're putting
the pressure on me.
All right.
The real heat is on
your personal relationship
and the betrayal of that.
So what I would like to do is,
I'd like to have James beat Shera
for the title.
You cool with that?
Business-wise, my gut says
that the right thing to do at this moment
is to have James beat Shera,
so that I can then have Shera chase James
throughout the rest of the
at least summer, if maybe not longer.
I wanna try to put as much heat
on you doing this, as much as we can.
- Uh, yeah. I mean, yeah.
- Okay?
When you ask them to let
somebody else win and not themselves,
you can see their demeanor
and their body language change.
We call it the boo-boo face, where they
If you need anything, let me know.
That's what I wanna do, is I wanna
try and do some business.
- Yes, sir.
- See if we can draw money.
Some people,
you can see it crushes them.
Some, it motivates.
It drives them to be better.
Um, some, I've watched where,
when they walk through the curtain,
you can tell they're already beat.
And, you know and I'm hoping
that that's not the case for Shera.
I'll come right up on that, grab you.
- Body slam. Boom. Big elbow drop. Boom.
- Got you.
- You all having a fun night?
- Yeah!
Thirty seconds till we're live.
I'm hoping that it'll help him.
There's a saying in wrestling,
"There's more money in the chase."
The hell's wrong with you?
Scared the shit outta me.
Knock it out of the park.
Do good business.
He's the best OVW champion ever!
He is undefeated
in singles competition here,
your OVW National Heavyweight Champion,
Mahabali
Two, one.
This is a big deal for Shera,
quite honestly.
He's got to work up to James's level.
With other people,
he's not had any challenge like that.
"The Cowboy" James Storm!
The crowd is ready.
It's a powder keg in here,
about to explode,
as this OVW National Heavyweight
Championship match is about to take off.
Ring the bell.
Shera, Storm,
National Heavyweight Championship.
Let it breathe, boys.
Let it breathe.
- go, Cowboy!
- Let's go, Shera!
Let's go, Cowboy!
James Storm, a former friend.
Once the best of friends,
now competitors.
Arm drag!
You got nothing, Cowgirl!
Look at Shera becoming primal.
James Storm, trying to take
the thing Shera fought tooth and nail for.
Shera will rip him limb from limb.
Gonna rip his heart out!
Let's go, Shera!
Clearly, that National Heavyweight title
means everything.
You know
how much that championship means to Shera?
Two!
- Hey, do your job, ref! Do your job!
- Come on, ref! Come on!
Hurricanrana.
Leaving it all on the line.
Going hell-for-leather
out here in this OVW main event!
Storm is in firm control,
ladies and gentlemen.
What we are seeing
is the end of Mahabali Shera's reign
as the National Champion here in OVW.
One, two, three!
OVW changed my life.
OVW, the company
who's given me the best opportunities,
and they keep doing that for me.
James Storm!
The title carries a bit of respect,
and it carries a bit of honor,
and it carries a bit of acknowledgment
that you've kind of made it,
and you're on a different level
than the rest of the locker room.
And acknowledgment that you're
more of a star than the average wrestler.
The titles are props.
So therefore,
a title shouldn't mean anything,
but it can mean everything.
It's gonna twist him up, and I know it is.
- He's so strong, man.
- Fuck. I know.
Thank you. Are you okay?
Yeah, definitely.
Thank you for working with me.
- So easy.
- Of course.
- Good. You gave me what I needed.
- Thank you, sir.
- Now we do business.
- I'm gonna make you proud.
- You always do.
- Love you, sir.
- Love you too.
- I don't have words to thank you.
No one gave me
the opportunity you gave me.
- I believe in you. I know you can do it.
- Thank you, sir.
I believe in you.
When they lose
those titles, it stings. It hurts.
I've lost titles. And when I have,
it's like a kick in the balls.
He's got to learn to handle that.
Thank you, sir.
- I love you, kid.
- Love you.
Al gave me the opportunities.
I trust him.
Everything he does, there is a reason why.
You've got to come
from a place where they respect you,
and they understand that you know
what it is that you're doing,
and that you're protecting
everyone's interest, even if, at the time,
it may not serve
their interests or their ego.
We need everyone to believe in me.
It's Maria.
Hello, Maria.
Okay.
Well, no, you guys are needed because
Remember, we've started
this whole angle between you and Haley.
You start a direction.
You have to follow through.
Otherwise, it hurts business.
I know that, but now it's too late.
I'll figure something out,
one way or another.
Bye.
So I just got word
that Maria and Haley
have made the decision that they've
committed to WOW for three weeks.
They are willing
to take themselves out of the picture,
and then handicap me
in regards to telling your story
that the both of you wanted to tell.
Playing out these angles, these stories,
it comes down to timing.
All right.
Fuck me. I swear to God.
We are starting to garner
a bigger and bigger audience.
All of that momentum you'd built up
and hard work you had done,
trying to get up that hill,
now could get lost.
- Be quick.
- I will.
They won't let me go nowhere.
- Careful.
- Everybody wants a big stage.
Until OVW proves
that they're one of the larger stages
in professional wrestling,
everybody's always gonna have
one foot in and one foot out.
I know what I'm doing.
I know why I'm doing it.
This is a process
that takes a lot of time.
And it takes a lot of investment.
It doesn't happen overnight.
I wanna be HollyHood Haley J,
on the biggest platform ever.
The main stage, which is WWE or AEW.
I'll take either one of those.
I'll take either one of those.
For now,
WOW is a great place for me to learn.
There's plenty of things
I could be doing at WOW to help me out.
I just wanna be a wrestler,
and I have this ego.
I hear all these people.
"You'll never make it.
Can't make it that far."
Oh yeah? Stay tuned, bitches.