Swerve

Ace is not impressed with the promo and Jack is not happy about it. They argue until Crystal interrupts. She tells them that she knows what they’re thinking and that she can show them just how good she can be by taking them up on their offer to be in the main event. The two men are hesitant at first but then Ace finally agrees to do it.

The South Georgia State Fair is looking for a band to perform at their upcoming event and they believe that the Darlings will be the perfect choice. However, in order to make this happen, they will need to put on an amazing show. ..

Bill gives a press conference about his behaviour, but continues to act as a performer while doing so. He promises that he’ll be back and better than ever, after attending rehab of course. Jack sees straight through this though and after his scathing words to Willie, wants no part of him. So Bill naturally turns his attention to Staci, doing his best to rile her up while she’s working.

Meanwhile, Jack briefs the gang about the upcoming fair gig, while Ace shows up fashionably late. In fact, he’s decided on a new valet, which just so happens to be Tricia from the bar. ..

The line between reality and fiction continues to blur, with Crystal even pushed out from her role in the main event. ..

The meeting with the trio of fair organizes goes ahead, with Jack doing his best to win them all over. However, Thomas does a pretty decent job sealing the deal, managing to talk about the storyline and win the promoters over.

Crystal is caught offguard by Bill’s sudden change in attitude, but she decides to go with it. He tells her that he wants her to speak more on the show, and that if she does, it will be in a more natural way. Crystal is hesitant at first, but then decides to go along with Bill’s wishes.

The match between Rooster and Cottonmouth is on the brink of going off script. Behind the scenes, Rooster changes his mind and sticks to the usual script. This angers the crowd who throw debris into the ring in anger. ..

Jack speaks to Rooster about the match, doing what he can to try and help him out in the future. Given the hostilities between them, things seem to have alleviated somewhat.

The tension between Ace and Crystal has been a major issue in the ring. This spills over into the crowd as Ace takes charge of the mic and riles up the crowd. Tricia gets a cacophony of boos for her entrance – but undeniably gets the crowd going. Jack though is absolutely livid.

Ace is livid, taking his frustrations out on Bobby with some stiff shots to the face. They also go off-script, with Bobby even doing a superplex off the top of the cage. This is followed by him actually breaking Bobby’s leg for real. The crowd are completely silent, the stretchers are wheeled in and everyone heads backstage. Only, one person stays in the ring – Bill. ..

He steps on the Spade brothers and opens up a three-way ladder match for the belt. The crowd is riled up, but there’s undoubtedly a lot of simmering tensions here. He takes his opportunity to step on the other two wrestlers and open up a four-way match for the belt. The improvised promos work well, but there’s definitely potential for some heated matches down the line.

Despite everything, Jack and the DWL win their spot at the fair. However, Jack is far from happy with Ace and makes his feelings felt in the hallway, pressing him up against the soda machine. Unfortunately Thomas sees all of this transpire and hurries off in fear. As the episode closes out, there’s lots left unresolved as the future of the DWL hangs in the balance. ..

The Episode Review

Triple Threat Ladder Match: A collision of the past, present, and future is a great way to tell a solid storyline in the context of the DWL. It’s just a shame that Wild Bill’s improvising causes so many problems. ..

While Crystal’s promo was good, the amount of hostility and simmering emotions behind it makes what follows incredibly difficult to watch. The stiff punches were clearly not fake whole Ace breaking Bobby’s leg is a shocking moment, one that sees him turn into the heel after breaking his leg. Whether Bobby will be okay or not remains to be seen.

The conflict between Heels and its fans is far from over, and the drama has been solid from start to finish. What’s next for our gang? We’ll have to wait and see. ..