Heels Review: 10 Ups & 1 Down For Episode 1: 'Kayfabe'

8. The Impressive Athleticism And Physicality

For wrestling fans, it's common knowledge that Stephen Amell is a major wrestling nerd.

Not just is he a big fan of the business, Amell himself has actually competed in three genuine matches on large stages; tagging with Neville (PAC) to face Wade Barrett and Stardust (Cody Rhodes) at WWE SummerSlam 2015, competing as part of the Bullet Club for a five-on-four match at Ring of Honor's Survival of the Fittest 2017, and then battling Christopher Daniels in singles action at the huge All In event in 2018.

The point being, the Arrow favourite has never been afraid to get physical and step inside the ring. And for Stephen Amell, Alexander Ludwig and their supporting Starz cast, the action seen in this Kayfabe episode is impressively athletic and physical from all involved.

As Kayfabe opens up, we see Amell's Jack Spade perform a Coast-to-Coast move, ala Rob Van Dam (or, err, Shane McMahon), and later we get a crisp, smooth backflip off the top rope from Ludwig's Ace Spade. It's not just the series' two leads who get to showcase their skills, though, for there are plenty of solid, sometimes spectacular moves on display throughout this debut episode - with Allen Maldonado' Rooster Robbins and James Harrison's Apocalypse two others who get some welcome time in the spotlight.

There's very much a sense of realism - well, in the sense of professional wrestling, that is - to all of the in-ring work done in Heels, and all involved deserve huge praise for how they depicted the squared circle action spotlighted here.

Andrew Pollard

Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.

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