Wrestlers Episode Three Recap: God Bless Mississippi

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Before we get into the real meat of the episode, I feel like we should talk about what happens at the end. In a non-talent meeting at Davis Arena, Matt, Al Snow, Brian Kennison, and Doug Basham (among others) are sitting around talking about upcoming tour events. Matt then brings up a situation he’s been having with a wrestler, Amon, about schedules being provided to the wrestlers. Amon had brought up Matt’s health/hospitalization/etc. and Matt made a point that he was not going to tolerate being spoken to the way he was. As Doug is explaining the best way to handle these wrestlers, Matt has an epileptic seizure.

We have heard on the radio a number of times about Matt’s experiences with epilepsy. I think for those of us who have never seen that with Matt, or with anyone for that matter, that scene was uncomfortable, shocking, unsettling, but it was real. I think the team that was with him at the time handled that situation with grace, including the camera crew, who showed the vulnerability of the moment without the use of gratuitous up-close shots for shock.

Matt noted on the radio yesterday that Director Greg Whiteley let Matt make the call of whether it could be in the show or not. Greg explained that he thought its inclusion provided a pivotal moment where the relationship between Matt and the OVW staff changed for the positive for the rest of the series. All of this explanation should come from Matt, so check out yesterday’s podcast here.

Alright, now to the rest of the show. We get into the heart of Harlan for the Poke Sallet Festival, a yearly gathering to celebrate the indigenous mountain weed; if not prepared correctly, it can be poisonous. Not only do we get to see the OVW wrestlers interacting with the local small-town population, but the team who created the show did an amazing job interweaving the similarities/video clips of a small coal town and a struggling wrestling promotion. Coal towns were once a booming community, but now have fallen on hard times, while OVW was once the origin of huge wrestling superstars, and now they’re having a hard time getting people in the arena. Not exactly the same by any means, but a comparison can be drawn.

We also get to see Matt’s mom, Karen Blondell experience pro wrestling for the very first time. Between seeing Matt and his mom together, and just getting to see small-town Kentucky highlighted (in a positive manner) on Netflix, it was the first of a few times I teared up during the show. Fantastic job by Whiteley and the team.

In stark contrast to small town Poke Sallet Festival, we now jump to Matt Jones on a date at Jeff Ruby’s. Yep, you’re reading that correctly. While you might think it awkward to watch, it also made note of Matt’s dealing with public criticism. He talks about how people on Twitter talk horribly to him in ways they never would in person, and his need to respond to those people. The parasocial relationship on display between Matt, and those who feel like they can say things they never would to a stranger, despite not actually knowing him. Even with all that, Matt wears it and tries to understand why those people act that way. It seemed like it tied in to lead up to the events at the end of the episode.

Also, this meme-worthy shot happened:

We start to get a sense of the impending Matt “face turn” with a little highlight of KSBar. We are treated to shots of Matt hanging out with customers and KSR fans in the restaurant. We even get to see the almost guaranteed terrible answer of a KSR trivia contest. It’s great to see some of the KSR fans make it into the show.

After a fun montage of OVW making its trek through Kentucky festivals, including Pioneer Days, the Pulaski County Fair, Joe’s Palm Room, 3rd Turn Brewing, and more, Matt is approached by Al to let him know that one of their performers got arrested taking drugs in his car after the Poke Sallet festival. This leads to an all-hands-on-deck roster meeting led by Ca$h Flo, telling the crew to get it together, take responsibility in and out of the ring, and help get this place where it needs to go.

In another somber scene, we see Lawless struggling through at-home detox with his partner, Heather, and his daughter. Heather accounts for the reason why Jake is taking drugs, masking the pain of losing a child. We also get a montage of the wrestlers and how they’ve sacrificed things in their lives to make a career in wrestling, including selling their house and moving into a camper.

Locker room leader Ca$h Flo and his family are highlighted in seeing his story and what he’s gone through, with a low attendance Bullitt County show in the background. Ca$h’s wrestling is exclusively what pays the bills for his family, while his wife helps in various aspects of his wrestling marketing/career. The family has struggled over his 23 years and his desire to live his dream, despite having to miss very pivotal moments in his family. In light of this, he sees the positivity in what Matt and Craig Greenberg are trying to bring to the table to elevate OVW.

After a meeting with Al, Matt heads to the St. Paul festival where he has a few run-ins with the wrestlers about various topics. Reverend Ronnie is upset with Matt about pay and getting booked. Because of an in-ring angle at the Poke Sallet festival, the church asked that Ronnie not be involved in the St. Paul show, but he arrived anyway. He asked if he was getting paid for being there, and Matt told him no because he came on his own.

The wrestlers also felt disrespected because of the tour schedule, pay, and Matt not staying to watch the show. This boils into wrestlers coming to Al about pay, and Maria arguing with Matt about wrestlers not getting paid. This is all setting up a very high-stress, high-intensity environment that eventually leads to the final moments of the show.

Bonding that Bridge (KSR Nuggets)

Cakes on the Jeff Ruby’s Reserve Desert Menu:
- Air Ruby (shaped like Air Jordans) | $75 – Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Mousse, Salted Caramel Crispy Pearls, Chambord Crème, Cognac-Caramel Sauce
- Ruby Vuitton (shaped like a LV bag) | $75 – Strawberry Mousse, French Vanilla Cake, Shortbread Crunch, St. Germain-Strawberry Coulis, Milk Chocolate Passion Fruit Ganache
Shoutout to Tyler and her picture with Karl-Anthony Towns making it into the documentary during the KSBar portion.