Showtime - The Garden
Genre : Drama / Comedy / Sports
Showrunner: Steven Soderbergh
Writer : Chad Taylor & Mo Buck
Cast: Joe Manganiello, Sofia Black-D'Elia, Max Minghella, Channing Tatum, Rachael Harris, Nick Frost, Dalip Singh, Lake Bell, Jackson Robert Scott and Zackary Arthur
Nadine (Lake Bell), Ricky Santana’s ex-wife, answers the phone and Ricky is on the line. He’s standing outside the arena, he just wrestled his first show for APW. She’s cold towards him, but Santana asks him if the kids watched him. She says they did and they invited their friends over for it. He asks him if he can speak to them and she doesn’t answer. He asks her if they at least enjoyed it and she hangs the phone up. Ricky hits his head against the wall out of anger and sadness. He’s interrupted by a reporter, Gwen Szymanski (Rachael Harris) and she asks if he’s willing to speak to her now. He lashes out at her, saying he already told her that he wouldn’t and he leaves.
When he gets back home to Shirley (Sofia Black-D’Elia), he complains that he told his boss that it wouldn’t work and he made a fool of himself. She says it wasn’t that bad. They are interrupted by another phone call. It’s Ricky’s sons, who hid from their mother and they called their father. Kyle (Jackson Robert Scott) and Justin (Zackary Arthur) say that although he lost, they are proud of him and they are sure he will win the next time. He tells them he loves them with all his heart and they tell him the same. Nadine picks up the phone and hangs up when she realises who they are talking to. Ricky was moved to tears by his sons’ call and he tells Shirley that he will forever disappoint them. He’s jobber and nothing else. He misses them dearly. She hugs him and says it’s going to be alright.
Earlier today, Ricky arrives at the arena for his first ever match with APW. He carpooled with Happy Gallagher (Nick Frost), a happy-go-lucky loudmouth and perennial jobber for the company. He’s proud to show Ricky his latest attire. Ricky looks confused. He asks Happy if he really wants to compete as a mailman and he’s sure, saying kids will have a laugh and people will laugh at him, but at least he’ll be entertaining. Ricky’s glad that Happy enjoys his job despite always losing and Happy says he doesn’t do it for glory and fame, he does it to entertain and to put smiles on the kids’ face. Ricky says it’s honorable, but he’s in it for the glory, especially at his age. He will work his way to the top here. Happy wishes him luck with that, their stars will be hard to replace and the bottom card is basically a purgatory for everyone, except for him, who enjoys being in this position. They enter the arena and Ricky looks for Buck to talk about his gimmick, he has good ideas that he wants to pitch to him.
Ricky meets face to face with Buck Gordon and he shakes his hand confidently. Ricky is anxious to ask him who he will face in his first match, as he's ready to shock the world and make a splash in APW. Buck smiles at his ambition and he tells Ricky that he will be billed as "the best thing the independent scene has to offer". Ricky thanks him for the compliments, but he also notes that it's true. Buck asks him if he has his gear with him and when Ricky says he does, he asks him to throw it all away, as they have brand new gear for him. He unveils a mariachi costume to Ricky, complete with the sombrero and the guitar. Ricky is perplexed and asks if it's a joke, but Gordon is serious. He tells Ricky that he will come out as a mariachi. He's Hispanic, so it won't be racist. They needed a good gimmick for someone working in the undercard other than Happy and Ricky fits the bill perfectly. Ricky is furious because Buck promised him the moon and Buck says he never did. Ricky reminds him about his salary, but Gordon laughs it off. He gave him an undercard salary, but of course it's a lot for him. Gordon doesn't play by the indies rule and Ricky has no input on his character. Gordon didn't build his company by listening to complaints. He will face Mighty Shiva tonight and he will lose. That's a final decision and he better accept it. Ricky says it will never work, but Gordon simply doesn't care.
In the locker room, things feel out of place for Ricky as he is used to be the big man on campus. This is clearly not the case here, especially when APW's top star enters: "The Diamond" Ken Simon (Channing Tatum). Simon is everything that Santana used to be: charming, creative control, the loudest voice in the room. Simon struts with his cronies, giving Santana Brad Wolfe vibes and has him becoming self-aware about his own pompousness. Simon introduces Ricky to APW and tells him that he has a task on this day of his initiation: he must run a complete rotation around the concourse of the arena, Madison Square Garden. Ricky asks what's the catch. Another wrestler tells him he has to do it in the nude. While Ricky's not ashamed of his body, he is still firmly against this. Simon insists that all wrestlers here had to do it on their first day. While Ricky thinks his status should abstain him from hazing, he resigns to doing it so he doesn't make a bad impression on his first day.
Using his sombrero to cover his nether regions, Ricky streaks around the concourse of the arena before the fans have arrived - awkwardly waving to concessions workers as he does. He passes Buck's office and tries to scurry past without being seen. However, he hears his name come from the office so he backtracks and stands next to the door to listen in. Buck is joking to someone about how he gave Ricky the mariachi gimmick to piss him off since he's a Mexican. They laugh about how he's going to hate it. The conversation moves to a different topic and Ricky tries to sneak away but Buck spots the tip of the sombrero from the door frame. He encounters Ricky in the concourse and asks what the hell he is doing dressed like that. Ricky isn't sure what to say so he just waves goodbye and runs off back to the locker room.
In his debut match, Ricky is fed to the towering 7-foot Mighty Shiva (Dalip Singh). Not only is Ricky humiliated by his gimmick and not being allowed to show his skill in the ring, but he also starts to hear racist jeers from the crowd (something he never heard in Texas). Shiva is not a good wrestler at all so the match is dreadful.
The next day, Ricky is driving to the arena with Happy and venting about the day before. He asks how Happy's streaking went on his first day and Happy doesn't know what he's talking about. Ricky soon realizes that he was set up and the only one who was hazed that way. He is seething in anger. After he parks, Happy walks into the arena but Ricky hears some strange noises and stops to follow them. He finds a storage room where it is clear that it is kissing that he hears. The kissing stops as a voice says he hears footsteps. Ricky goes to hide and sees Ken Simon emerge from the room and says that the coast is clear. He straightens up his shirt and heads leaves. Instead of a female groupie, it is a handsome man who follows Simon out of the room. Ricky's eyes light up.
He heads to a payphone and calls Shirley. He asks her if she is working on her newsletter and she confirms. He tells her he might have some good dirt for her.
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