The debate about whether professional wrestling is “real” or not is one that fans have been having with non-fans for decades. After all, while the results of matches–and the storylines that lead up to them–are pre-determined, wrestling is still a very aggressive and painful activity. How painful? Even on Starz’ new series Heels, about a small professional wrestling company in rural Georgia, the cast got beat up training to act like pro wrestlers.
While series star Stephen Amell has some history with wrestling, appearing in both WWE and Ring of Honor, as well as having a match at 2018’s All In, the same cannot be said for his fellow cast members. They all came to wrestling with no prior experience and learned the hard way just how “real” sports entertainment can be and by the end of filming Season 1 has sustained some serious injuries, even with stunt doubles standing in for the most dangerous spots. And that’s after training in Los Angeles with wrestling legend Chavo Guerrero and in Georgia with a number of independent wrestlers.
“For me, the thing that hurt the most is I flipped out [of] the ring. And when I landed, I didn’t bend my knee,” recalled former NFL player James Harrison, who plays a wrestler named Apocalypse. “So I actually got a tear in my knee and ended up having to get some stem cells and stuff shot in there to heal that.”
According to Harrison, he practiced the move repeatedly and was able to successfully pull it off. However, due to the unpredictable nature of performing in the ring, once cameras started rolling things went wrong. “The very first time I did it on the actual day of the shoot, I felt it. I just didn’t realize what it was,” he said. “Later, through the course, it just got worse and worse… Thank God I didn’t have to get surgery or anything but it healed itself over the course of eight weeks or so.”
Allen Maldonado, who plays Rooster Robbins on the series, also found himself injured while performing a move outside of the ring. “If you’re diving out of that ring, you’re dealing with the ground,” he said. “You’re no longer dealing with the mat anymore, that’s a real ground, even though they put a mat on top of it.”
While there are thin mats on the ground around a wrestling ring, even in WWE, it’s important to remember that just below those mats is solid concrete. For Maldonado, that came back to bite him. I literally basically did a front flip out of the ring onto the floor,” he recalled. “The pad moved one time and I hit my butt pretty hard, smacked on it. It could have been bad, but luckily, I survived.”
Knowing just how hard the hits on the show were, it might come as a surprise to you that some of the cast is interested in having actual wrestling matches with a company. And yet, Amell is ready to return to the ring and Alexander Ludwig, who plays his brother, wants to join him.
Until that happens, you can see the cast fight it out every week when Heels airs Sundays on Starz.
Source: Gamespot
