Blue Ridge: The Series (2024) s01e03 Episode Script
Heels and Faces
♪
[CROWD BOOS]
You want some of this?
Huh?
Come get some!
[CROWD CHEERS]
Atta baby. Come on,
let 'em have it.
MAXX: Nice!
Give it to 'em!
Is that the best you've got?
Is that all you got?
♪
It's great to be
here in Blue Ridge!
[CROWD CHEERS]
Tonight, I win back
my Southern Mountain
Wrestling Alliance
Women's Championship!
Tonight is Kodiak time!
[CROWD CHEERS]
[DOOR OPENS]
[DOOR CLOSES]
If you can't stick
to our script,
I'm not gonna stick to our deal!
I own you!!
You'll do WHAT I say,
WHEN I say it
and HOW I say it!!
And you!
You pack up
get outta here!
You're through!
♪
I don't care what I said,
I would rather die
than let a washed-up quitter
like you be champion!!
You do the job or else.
♪
[COUNTRY STYLE MUSIC] ♪
Well, I'm just a boy ♪
[MUSIC IN HEADPHONES] ♪
[BUFFER RUNNING]
♪
♪
[BUFFER RUNNING]
♪
[BUFFER STUTTERS]
♪
[BUFFER STUTTERS]
[TENSE MUSIC] ♪
[OMINOUS MUSIC] ♪
[THEME MUSIC] ♪
[THEME MUSIC] ♪
[THEME MUSIC] ♪
[THEME MUSIC] ♪
[THEME MUSIC] ♪
[THEME MUSIC] ♪
[THEME MUSIC] ♪
♪
JUSTIN: When did this start?
MADDIE: A while ago?!
When were you going to tell me?
I don't know. I mean, I didn't
think you would approve.
For good reason! Out of
every boy in the country
you choose Jeremiah Wade's
son to be your boyfriend?
Blade's not like his family.
Wait. Did you say Blade?
Blade Wade?! That's his name?
Blade Wade?
- MADDIE: Yes Dad!
Blade. He's sweet to me.
He's nice. Right Mom?
You knew about this?!
Yes I did. And yes,
he's a good boy.
MADDIE: Exactly!
And he wants to take me to
the wrestling thing tonight.
[JUSTIN'S PHONE RINGS]
If he wants to take you
he's gonna have to ask me first.
Mom?! He has to ask Dad?
That's so old school.
Honey
what about your father doesn't
scream old school?
Where?
♪
JANICE: I can't believe
somebody was killed here.
It's horrible.
I'm sorry.
I know that can be unnerving.
Thanks for coming out,
meeting me.
I thought that
Ryan would be here.
JANICE: (whispering) I
don't think he really wanted
to spend his Saturday
at a crime scene
with his new
girlfriend's ex-husband.
Besides, he thought I
might be a better help.
Why's that?
Well, as the school
administrator
it's my job to rent out the gym
so I gave him a
few sets of keys.
The wrestlers could come
and go as they needed to.
Did they have access
to the entire school?
No. Just the gym
and locker rooms.
What about the weight room?
Oh yeah that too.
Another reason why he thought
I might be better help
was I actually had tickets
to last night's match.
Oh, you're a wrestling fan?
- Yeah.
Since I was a little girl.
My whole family was into it.
And now it is my
son's dream to one day
be a part of the
wrestling business.
Barry, right?
- Mm hmm.
I think he's friends
with my daughter.
Yeah, Maddie was over at
our house for his 18th.
She's a sweet girl.
JUSTIN: She is.
So, did the event
go well last night?
I um
waited till it
was done and then,
made sure all
the guests were gone,
and locked up and
then left myself.
Did any of the
wrestlers stick around?
Most, if not all.
All right well, tell Ryan
that the matches are
canceled for tonight
for obvious reasons.
♪
What've we got?
RP: Our vic, Earl Gibson
aka Earl Jones.
He's the co-owner and promoter
for the wrestling company.
Guess it's a federation?
It's an alliance
It's an alliance. Not a
federation. Or a company.
Yeah, Southern Mountain
Wrestling Alliance.
SMWA
It's been around for a while.
Since 1987 to be exact.
Well, if you're being precise,
it was founded fall of '86.
RP: Anyway, it looks
like he died from
blunt force trauma to
the back of the head.
From the rigor right here,
I'd say time of death
somewhere probably between
10 PM and midnight.
JUSTIN: The fact that you're
even part of this conversion,
I assume you're the
one who found the body?
Oh well, the school hired me to come
in and clean the gym this morning.
Found him right
here under the ring.
Fortunately Dwayne
bumped it with the buffer.
Unfortunately he
buffed the entire gym
so any chance of
finding DNA is gone.
We aren't going to
find your fingerprints
on the corpse are we?
Oh, I might be dumb
but I'm not stupid.
[RP CLEARS THROAT]
MAXX: Right there
is probably our murder weapon.
JUSTIN: Contact Janice
Reed from the school
and see if it belongs to them.
No, that belongs
to The Contractor.
The school's contractor?
No, no, the wrestler. The
Contractor. Terry Traynor.
He wrestled in the
main event last night.
He's the top heel.
RP: Heel?
MAXX: Bad guy.
I saw him in
Chattanooga last year
for their big
Thanksgiving event.
Turkey Day Massacre.
Best match ever?
MAXX: You first.
Easy.
The Undertaker
versus Mankind. 1998.
Cage match.
Mankind takes a HUUUUGE
bump off the cage.
RP: Bump?
- Bump's a fall.
But the greatest match
is Wrestlemania 17.
Dudleys versus Hardys
versus Edge and Christian.
Edge spears Jeff off
the top of a ladder
JUSTIN: Okay
Anything else?
I was hanging out after
the matches last night
to get some selfies for my
socials with the wrestlers
and I heard The Contractor and
Earl Jones arguing about money.
I got a legal contract!
That's binding!
EARL: I don't care!
I'm not paying!!!
♪
The Contractor was real mad.
Sounds like motive to me.
Wait here for CSI
team to arrive.
Get The Contractor and
bring him to the station.
- Yes, sir.
- Anything I can do to help?
Stop being involved
in every major crime
in Blue Ridge.
And everybody knows the
greatest match of all time
Wrestlemania 3.
Ricky The Dragon Steamboat
versus Randy Macho Man Savage.
Oh yeah!
JUSTIN: You say you had
nothing to do with it?
TERRY: Just because
I play a bad guy
doesn't make me one.
JUSTIN: I realize that.
But we found this
next to the body.
Do you think I'm dumb enough
to use my signature prop
and then leave it
there for you to find?
I've met some pretty stupid
criminals over the years.
TERRY: I left my wrench in my
gym bag in the locker room.
Everyone had access.
We heard that you and
Earl got into an argument
backstage after the match.
We did. But it was a work!
- A work?
- Part of the show.
TERRY: It was
rehearsing. Earl liked to
insert himself into
the storylines.
It was acting.
It was bad acting at that.
Anybody that heard that
and didn't realize it was a work
is a complete moron.
So you weren't mad
at him? TERRY: No.
In fact, I'm the highest
paid wrestler he's got.
And I got along with him
where everybody
else hated his guts.
One of them had to have
used my wrench to murder him
trying to frame me for it.
Any guess who that would be?
Yeah.
Boots.
Dirty Boots Mcrae?
Yeah, he and
Earl got into it yesterday.
BOOTS: You gave me your word
that I could retire as champion.
EARL: That's before I
knew you were nothing but
a washed up quitter.
[SCUFFLING]
TERRY: Earl stabbed
him in the back.
If anyone used my wrench
to murder him and was
trying to frame me for it?
It's definitely Boots.
Why would you say that?
Because I have what he wants.
Which is?
His championship belt.
JUSTIN: With everybody having
access to the murder weapon
that's not gonna be
enough to hold him.
[CELL PHONE VIBRATING]
Sorry.
Whatcha got?
RP: CSI arrived and
examined the wrench.
Blood on it, but
based on the size and shape
of the wound there's no way
it could have been
the murder weapon.
All right, search
the gym top to bottom
see if you can find anything.
Got it.
All the wrestlers staying
at Connor's place?
- As far as I know.
- We need to search Earl's room
and see we can find a
clue to who hated him
enough to want him dead.
♪
[CLOSES DOOR]
CONNOR: Sheriff.
- Thanks for meeting us.
CONNOR: Not a problem.
Map of the motel. The
wrestlers' rooms are marked.
We're gonna need a key
to the promoter's room.
He was actually
staying in his RV.
It's parked down the trail
there, just past the bend.
Said he wanted to
feel like he was camping, but
I got the sense he was trying to
keep his distance
from the others.
JUSTIN: Getting new vending
machines from the Wades?
CONNOR: You know what they
say, keep your friends close.
You know him?
- Ah he's
He's my daughter's boyfriend
temporarily.
I think you and me have more in
common than you know Sheriff.
Thanks.
♪
[MUFFLED THUMPING]
[THUMPING]
Where is it?
JUSTIN: Sheriff's Department!
Freeze!!!
What's your name?
Hunter Lockwood.
I'm a wrestler.
MAXX: Never heard of you.
I wear a mask.
MAXX: Bronco?!?
- Yeah.
JUSTIN: What's so important
that you broke into
your murdered promoter's RV?
My final check.
I earned that money seven nights
a week on the road
I wasn't going to
let Earl stiff me.
Dead or not.
Go back to your motel
room and you stay there.
We'll be in touch.
♪
♪
♪
JUSTIN: Get this hauled
back to the station
see if you can find
anything interesting.
MAXX: Lotta stuff
to go through.
I can't believe I'm
suggesting this, but
get Dwayne to help.
I'm gonna start
interviewing the wrestlers.
Beginning with
Boots.
BOOTS: Sure we fought.
Earl was a hothead
with a silver tongue.
We also had history.
He and I wrestled a
series of Iron Man
matches through the
panhandle back in the 80's.
Got legit heat from them too.
Afte that I started
performing all over the world.
Multiple major promotions.
I headlined 3 pay-per-views
and I was at the
top of the card.
But
that all changed.
The bookings slowed down and
shows got smaller.
Then one day Earl called me
wanted me to wrestle for him.
Exclusively.
- What did he promise?
Small piece of the company.
Plus, more importantly,
he promised that when I
got ready to call it quits,
he'd put that World Title on me
I could retire as champion.
Has that time come?
I just want to
be with my family.
Go to football games.
Recitals.
Prom. Be able to
still walk them down the aisle.
But when I told Earl all this,
he broke his word.
On both accounts.
That's what Terry saw.
Terry said that
you needed to be restrained.
I'm third generation.
I love this business.
It's given me everything.
Yeah it's
probably going to be hard.
But I'm ready.
I saw your dad wrestle.
Oh yeah?
- Yeah.
My father, he'd
always take me when
the matches when
they came to town.
It brought a lot of
peace to my life
during a season when
there wasn't much.
Look
Earl was a slimy promotor,
no doubt,
but he was no more slimy
than a dozen others
I've worked for over the years.
And he helped make my career.
So yes
I hated the man,
but I also owe him.
So, I would never kill him.
Any idea who would?
Well, if you asked
me to name one person
I'd say Tad Williamson.
Why Tad?
- Because I wasn't the only one
that got into an argument
with Earl yesterday.
EARL: I can promise you,
that's not gonna happen!!!
What?
TAD: You stand
in my way old man
and I'll kill you.
See, back in the
day, we had a code.
Now, it's not like that.
And Tad he
wrestles like a punk.
Arrogant. Sloppy.
He doesn't care what he does
as long as he gets over.
And worst of all
he doesn't care if
anyone gets hurt
so long as he looks
good doing it.
In fact, I think he enjoys it.
Hey!
[DWYANE WHISTLES]
Officer Covington.
Who's on Mount Rushmore?
All right.
Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Hulk Hogan.
Ric Flair
and The Rock.
Not bad.
Stone Cold.
Hogan.
Shawn Michaels.
- Ahhhhhh No!
Trish Stratus.
Trish Stratus! All right!
Yeah buddy.
♪
[CELL PHONE VIBRATES]
What you got? MAXX: Sheriff
I just found something in one
of the wrestler's contracts.
[LAUGHTER]
You think I killed Earl?
Why's that so funny?
TAD: Because I'm the face.
The baby fa-I'm the good guy.
So you can't be a
bad guy in real life?
What would my motive be?
My contract's up next
month and I am outta here!
Found a document that said
that Earl owned your character
and wanted $50,000 to
let it go with you.
So?
So that's your motive.
Look.
I was never worried.
I just told you, I'm
going to the big times.
Their lawyers would
eat Earl alive.
If that's true then why'd
you threaten to kill him?
Man, I was hopped up on
Red Bull and gummy bears.
All right? That was
just locker talk.
If it wasn't you,
who killed Earl?
I don't know. Anyone.
Everyone who ever
worked for Earl
had their reasons, all right?
Although it might
have been somebody
who wanted to work for him.
Give me a name.
I don't know.
Just some kid that had
a try out yesterday.
Shoot on him.
♪
[WRESTLING]
[WRESTLING]
If you can't hold your own
with a guy twice your age
you have no place
in this business.
You're the worst excuse for
a wrestler I've ever seen.
Pathetic.
♪
It's not unusual for Earl to
give some wanna-be a try out,
this one was
different, you know?
What he had me do to
that kid it was
it was like he was
trying to humiliate him,
you know?
[CELL PHONE VIBRATES]
Don't leave town.
♪
What's up?
- MAXX: So for all of Earl's faults,
turns out he was an
excellent accountant.
One of his wrestlers was giving
him back half of their paycheck.
Any idea why?
No. Just that Earl
was putting it
in an account called
special projects.
That's interesting. MAXX:
Yeah, it gets better.
Turns out that wrestler's
wanted on multiple charges
including attempted murder.
What's his name?
Marcus Richards.
I don't remember that
name on the list.
That's because he goes by
the alias Hunter Lockwood.
Aka Bronco.
I already told you,
I just wanted my final check.
JUSTIN: Don't you mean
half your paycheck?
I can't figure it out.
Was Earl blackmailing
you to keep quiet
about the attempted
murder charge?
Or was he hiding you for a fee?
[BRONCO YELLS]
[FIGHTING]
[FIGHTING]
[FIGHTING]
[FIGHTING]
[FIGHTING]
♪
[DEEP EXHALES]
MAXX: Sheriff
So maybe, rather than having
to keep paying hush money,
he decides to kill him,
then ransack the RV
looking for evidence
that Earl was holding over him.
It lines up.
Except this Bronco
guy claims to be
tying one on over at Jeremiah's.
You want me to check it out?
No.
I'm already going over
there for another reason.
JEREMIAH: Yeah, he
closed the bar down.
Big dude.
Could drink an entire
keg by himself.
There's another reason I'm here.
I reckoned there might be.
We need to talk about the
situation between our kids
and how we're going to end it.
Who says we have to end it?
I do.
Sheriff, what's the harm in it?
Your daughter's a nice girl,
my son's a nice boy.
She's safe with him,
she's safe with us.
One thing you know
about my kin by now
is we protect our own.
And it doesn't bother
you that I'm the sheriff?
[JEREMIAH CHUCKLES] It would
not have been my first choice
but I can live with it.
Can you?
♪
MAXX: Well, at least we arrested
someone wanted for attempted murder.
JUSTIN: Yeah but we're no closer
to solving this actual murder,
and we can't keep the
wrestlers in town any longer.
MAXX: What if we get them
to move tonight's match
to tomorrow in honor of Earl?
Like
a tribute show.
They don't seem to
be too particularly
broken up over it.
MAXX: No, but
their contract stipulates
they don't get paid
if they don't perform.
So, if you need someone to
fake emotion, who better
than a professional wrestler.
That's true.
Good idea.
Contact the head office in
Atlanta and see if you can't
set that up.
- Yes sir.
See if you can
figure out who the
local guy auditioned
for Earl is.
MAXX: Oh, I think I
already know that.
Someone was emailing
Earl every day
for a couple months
requesting a try out.
Was he harassing him?
MAXX: No. More like
friendly persistence.
There it is.
Guy by the name of Barry Reed.
I know a Barry Reed.
MAXX: You do?
- Yeah, he's friends with Maddie.
Text me his address.
I'm going to check
on RP at the school.
Dwayne.
Be Dwyane.
RP: After the CSI tech
examined the wound more closely
he feels like the victim
was hit a single time
with something heavy
maybe a couple inches wide.
You've searched the entire gym?
And the surrounding areas.
Search it again.
And this time, don't look
for anything tangible.
Look for something
out of the ordinary.
RP: Yes sir.
Hey, I just had a
request to reschedule
tonight's matches for tomorrow.
They claim that
was okay with you?
Yeah.
So, why didn't you tell me that
your son auditioned yesterday?
Oh, I'm sorry.
I didn't think it was pertinent.
Is that a problem?
No, I just-
I need to ask him
some questions.
He may have witnessed
something that would
you know, help
the investigation.
Right.
Yeah, I'm pretty
sure he's home now.
Thanks.
Janice on an completely
different topic
what is your impression
of Blade Wade?
Oh, I'm not really supposed
to discuss students.
Fair enough.
But
one parent to another
he's a good kid.
That seems to be the
overall consensus,
though I find that
hard to believe.
So, I hear the try
out didn't go so well.
BARRY: No sir.
I got tossed around
like a rag doll.
Mr. Jones says I don't
have what it takes
and to give up.
So, how'd that make you feel?
Pretty bad.
Bad enough to do
something about it?
No sir. No. Definitely not.
So, what did you do after
the matches last night?
BARRY: Nothing.
I didn't go, okay?
Just you know
decided I was done
with wrestling.
Done with wrestling?
What made you change your mind?
I slept on it
and I took my Mom's advice about
it being just one
person's opinion.
And, you know, like she says,
every setback is an
opportunity for a comeback.
So, I'm using it as motivation
to train even harder.
[CELL PHONE VIBRATES]
That's a
positive attitude.
Also, I thought about it,
and I think at least
part of the reason
my audition was so poorly
was because of Mr. Jones so-
How so?
He didn't reply to
my emails for months.
And then, he just sends
one out of the blue,
saying if I want to
try out, I have to be
at the gym in 30 minutes?
I don't have time
to properly warm up
or get into character. Plus,
I think he was kind of taking
out his frustrations on me.
Why do you say that?
Well
[WRESTLING]
[WRESTLING]
Take a shot.
With her.
♪
[WRESTLING]
[WRESTLING]
EARL: AHHHHHH.
[EARL GROANING]
BARRY: Mr. Jones
started screaming
that she was fired
after the weekend.
And how he was going on about
how he was going to make it
his mission to destroy
her reputation.
It was crazy.
You stay here.
Maxx
I need you conduct an
interview at the hotel
I'm headed back to the school.
Going somewhere?
KODIAK: Earl did fire me.
But it wasn't just
because of yesterday.
We used to date.
What can I say?
I've always had bad
judgment with men.
Earl didn't take it
well when I dumped him.
First he made me drop
the women's championship
and now he's had
me jobbing out to a
different wrestler every night.
I haven't won one
single match since.
So it's fair to say you're not
exactly wallowing in grief?
Sure.
But I wouldn't wish this on him.
And the truth is
Earl did me a favor.
- By firing you?
KODIAK: I had wanted to
leave for a while, but
I didn't have the courage.
Life as a wrestler's
hard enough.
There's no need
for it to be toxic.
Well, you know him well.
Any ideas who else
might want him dead?
Let's see there's Gemini,
the wrestler Earl
dated before me.
His writer who he
berated every day.
His business partners
who I'm pretty sure he's
hiding money from
Oh, and every single wrestler
who works for him now
or has ever worked for him.
(sarcastic) That it?
Exactly.
The first time I searched,
I was looking for
blood or any signs
of a struggle.
But this time, I
took your advice
and found something different,
out of the ordinary.
See all these right here?
Dirty, smudges,
except for this one.
Spotless.
Yeah.
Just like it's been wiped clean.
RP: Exactly.
Maybe get lucky, find
the killer's DNA on it?
Get with Maxx.
Collect DNA samples from
everyone at the interview today.
You send it to the
lab with that dumbbell
and get it fast-tracked.
We've kept the wrestlers
around another day
but we're gonna lose
them on Monday morning,
so we're running out of time.
But if you're right
you not only found
the murder weapon,
but you found the
scene of the crime.
Okay. Mountaineer's breakfast.
- Thank you.
- Mm hmm.
[ELLI SIGHS]
What?
Blade's a nice boy.
They're all "nice"
boys around us.
I guess I'm
upset that she's
even considering
dating. And that you guys-
you kept it from me.
Well
I'm sorry.
Maddie asked me to keep
it a secret I felt like
I had to respect that.
You know, teenage girls they're-
kind of like deer.
One false move and
they run. Just want to make
sure that she knows that
she can come to
me about anything.
She used come to me, talk
with me about everything.
[DOOR BELLS RING]
Oh boy.
BLADE: Mr. Wise
Would you mind if
I had a moment of your time?
ELLI: Yes, absolutely.
Have a seat.
Sir. Sheriff
I know you don't know me but-
I think your daughter's great.
I mean she's-
pretty and smart
and very kind.
She's awesome!
Um, she's not like
the other girls.
She's thoughtful
and responsible
and most of all she's-
she's nice.
I realize my family's reputation
doesn't exactly help
but I'm really trying
to not be like them.
And she makes me
want to be better.
So, with your permission,
I'd like to take her
to the matches
If um that's
okay with you, sir.
♪
So, we collected all the
DNA and sent it to the lab.
All the wrestlers,
including Barry Reed.
Hometown Barry Reed?
JUSTIN: Yeah.
Hometown Barry Reed.
[DWAYNE SCOFFS]
What?
He's terrible. Hold on.
Look at this.
Feast your eyes.
Hey guys, my name is Barry Reed.
This is my audition video.
DWAYNE: His suplexes are bad.
He can't punch.
He can't throw an
elbow to save his life.
[BARRY YELLING]
DWAYNE: Certainly
can't take a bump.
Hurts my eyes to watch.
Why would Earl give him an
audition after he saw that video?
Maybe he was trying to be nice?
JUSTIN: Doubt it.
I heard he berated the kid.
Maybe he enjoys crushing
people's spirits.
I told the lab about
our time constraint;
they moved us to
the top of the list.
That's good.
In the meantime,
I may have caught
one of the wrestlers in a lie.
Who?
Remember how Terry Traynor
said he was the
highest paid wrestler
in the promotion?
Oh yeah.
- He was.
Until recently.
His salary was
cut significantly.
I found it when I was going
through Bronco's payments to Earl.
JUSTIN: It's convenient
he forgot to mention that.
Saw the books.
You were the highest
paid wrestler
but you're not anymore.
I just think it's a little odd
that the champion took
such a hefty pay cut.
TERRY: Okay
Earl paid me extra to send cash
to a three different
locations each month.
One in Montana, one in Oklahoma
and one right here
in Blue Ridge.
Why?
TERRY: I don't know.
I asked him once and
he told me to shut up,
mind my own business.
He was my boss so
what am I going to do?
I thought it was his
way of laundering money.
Which is why I didn't
admit it at first.
That still doesn't
explain the hefty pay cut.
A few months back Earl had me stop
sending cash to the one here in town.
Did he give a reason why?
I wasn't asking and
he wasn't telling.
Do you have an address?
Yeah.
Stay here. Don't leave.
Got it?
[CELL PHONE VIBRATES]
You get the lab
results? RP: I did.
But unfortunately
our killers did
too good of a job
cleaning the dumbbell.
There's no DNA on it to compare
against any of the wrestlers.
Okay.
Actually, I-
I need you to ask
them to fast track
one more test for me.
♪
♪
♪
♪
Your hunch
was spot on.
Let's bring 'em in.
♪
♪
We did a DNA test
and we discovered that Earl was
related to one of our suspects.
Ah, looking back I
remember that you
forgot to mention
the weight room,
and that turns out to
be where the murder was.
And I could not figure out why
Earl
gave your son an audition.
I met Earl
20 years ago when he
was still a wrestler.
We dated for a while and
when I became
pregnant with Barry
he made it abundantly clear
he wanted nothing to
do with either of us.
So I raised my son on my own.
And it was hard.
We barely made ends
meet for a while
but we were happy.
When I found out Earl
had bought the SMWA
he seemed to be doing well so,
I contacted him and told him
he needed to pay child support
or I was taking him to court.
He begrudgingly agreed
to give me a little money
for Barry until he turned 18.
Ever since he was a little boy,
Barry just
dreamed of being a wrestler.
It was in his blood.
And when I found out he was
trying to get an audition,
I convinced Earl
to give him one.
And he was so excited.
And I was even more so.
I was watching
from next to the bleachers.
Barry didn't see me,
[WRESTLING SOUNDS]
but Earl did.
If you can't hold your own
with a guy twice your age,
there's no place for
you in this business.
JANICE: And then
went out of his way
to destroy my son
in front of me.
Both physically
and psychologically.
[HITTING MAT]
[QUIET CRYING]
I'd never seen Barry so upset.
He refused to go
to the matches. He-
He said he was done
with wrestling.
And thanks to Earl
I watched my son
go from a boy with a dream,
to an adult
with a first-hand taste of how
cruel the real world can be.
And he graduates in the spring.
And Earl took those last few
fleeting moments of
youth away from him.
And me.
So I confronted him
after the matches
once everyone had left.
You need to reach out to him.
You need to tell him you
didn't mean what you said!
I meant it.
But why did you have
to crush his spirits?
Because I knew it
would crush yours too.
Maybe even worse.
See
this is payback
for you making me
pay money all those years
for some stupid kid,
who now that I've seen wrestle,
I doubt is even mine.
[EARL LAUGHS]
What am I supposed to tell him?
Tell him that he's a loser.
A pathetic loser.
Just
Like
His mother.
♪
[HIT] [BODY FALLS
TO THE FLOOR]
[DUMBBELL DROPS TO FLOOR]
JANICE: I needed somewhere
to hide him until
I could figure out what to do.
He was too heavy to
take out of the school.
I panicked.
I tried to throw you
off with the wrench.
[DROPPING WRENCH]
♪
And then I
cleaned the actual weapon
and left as fast as I could.
♪
As a parent
you just want to do
what's best for your kid.
JUSTIN: We haven't told
Barry yet.
I didn't think it would be fair
that he would lose his mother
and his father on the same day.
♪
[CHEERING, APPLAUSE]
BOOTS: First off, Blue Ridge,
all of us
want to thank all of you
for coming out tonight.
[CHEERING, APPLAUSE]
[CHEERING, APPLAUSE]
BOOTS: Earl loved wrestling
and he would have
loved this turnout.
So tonight, we turn up
and we do it
for Earl. RP: Oh brother.
Oh brother's right.
Dwayne saved us some seats.
Here. Popcorn?
[CHEERING, APPLAUSE]
♪
[THEME MUSIC] ♪
[THEME MUSIC] ♪
[THEME MUSIC] ♪
[THEME MUSIC] ♪
[THEME MUSIC] ♪
[THEME MUSIC] ♪
[THEME MUSIC] ♪
[THEME MUSIC] ♪
[THEME MUSIC] ♪
[THEME MUSIC] ♪
[THEME MUSIC] ♪
[CROWD BOOS]
You want some of this?
Huh?
Come get some!
[CROWD CHEERS]
Atta baby. Come on,
let 'em have it.
MAXX: Nice!
Give it to 'em!
Is that the best you've got?
Is that all you got?
♪
It's great to be
here in Blue Ridge!
[CROWD CHEERS]
Tonight, I win back
my Southern Mountain
Wrestling Alliance
Women's Championship!
Tonight is Kodiak time!
[CROWD CHEERS]
[DOOR OPENS]
[DOOR CLOSES]
If you can't stick
to our script,
I'm not gonna stick to our deal!
I own you!!
You'll do WHAT I say,
WHEN I say it
and HOW I say it!!
And you!
You pack up
get outta here!
You're through!
♪
I don't care what I said,
I would rather die
than let a washed-up quitter
like you be champion!!
You do the job or else.
♪
[COUNTRY STYLE MUSIC] ♪
Well, I'm just a boy ♪
[MUSIC IN HEADPHONES] ♪
[BUFFER RUNNING]
♪
♪
[BUFFER RUNNING]
♪
[BUFFER STUTTERS]
♪
[BUFFER STUTTERS]
[TENSE MUSIC] ♪
[OMINOUS MUSIC] ♪
[THEME MUSIC] ♪
[THEME MUSIC] ♪
[THEME MUSIC] ♪
[THEME MUSIC] ♪
[THEME MUSIC] ♪
[THEME MUSIC] ♪
[THEME MUSIC] ♪
♪
JUSTIN: When did this start?
MADDIE: A while ago?!
When were you going to tell me?
I don't know. I mean, I didn't
think you would approve.
For good reason! Out of
every boy in the country
you choose Jeremiah Wade's
son to be your boyfriend?
Blade's not like his family.
Wait. Did you say Blade?
Blade Wade?! That's his name?
Blade Wade?
- MADDIE: Yes Dad!
Blade. He's sweet to me.
He's nice. Right Mom?
You knew about this?!
Yes I did. And yes,
he's a good boy.
MADDIE: Exactly!
And he wants to take me to
the wrestling thing tonight.
[JUSTIN'S PHONE RINGS]
If he wants to take you
he's gonna have to ask me first.
Mom?! He has to ask Dad?
That's so old school.
Honey
what about your father doesn't
scream old school?
Where?
♪
JANICE: I can't believe
somebody was killed here.
It's horrible.
I'm sorry.
I know that can be unnerving.
Thanks for coming out,
meeting me.
I thought that
Ryan would be here.
JANICE: (whispering) I
don't think he really wanted
to spend his Saturday
at a crime scene
with his new
girlfriend's ex-husband.
Besides, he thought I
might be a better help.
Why's that?
Well, as the school
administrator
it's my job to rent out the gym
so I gave him a
few sets of keys.
The wrestlers could come
and go as they needed to.
Did they have access
to the entire school?
No. Just the gym
and locker rooms.
What about the weight room?
Oh yeah that too.
Another reason why he thought
I might be better help
was I actually had tickets
to last night's match.
Oh, you're a wrestling fan?
- Yeah.
Since I was a little girl.
My whole family was into it.
And now it is my
son's dream to one day
be a part of the
wrestling business.
Barry, right?
- Mm hmm.
I think he's friends
with my daughter.
Yeah, Maddie was over at
our house for his 18th.
She's a sweet girl.
JUSTIN: She is.
So, did the event
go well last night?
I um
waited till it
was done and then,
made sure all
the guests were gone,
and locked up and
then left myself.
Did any of the
wrestlers stick around?
Most, if not all.
All right well, tell Ryan
that the matches are
canceled for tonight
for obvious reasons.
♪
What've we got?
RP: Our vic, Earl Gibson
aka Earl Jones.
He's the co-owner and promoter
for the wrestling company.
Guess it's a federation?
It's an alliance
It's an alliance. Not a
federation. Or a company.
Yeah, Southern Mountain
Wrestling Alliance.
SMWA
It's been around for a while.
Since 1987 to be exact.
Well, if you're being precise,
it was founded fall of '86.
RP: Anyway, it looks
like he died from
blunt force trauma to
the back of the head.
From the rigor right here,
I'd say time of death
somewhere probably between
10 PM and midnight.
JUSTIN: The fact that you're
even part of this conversion,
I assume you're the
one who found the body?
Oh well, the school hired me to come
in and clean the gym this morning.
Found him right
here under the ring.
Fortunately Dwayne
bumped it with the buffer.
Unfortunately he
buffed the entire gym
so any chance of
finding DNA is gone.
We aren't going to
find your fingerprints
on the corpse are we?
Oh, I might be dumb
but I'm not stupid.
[RP CLEARS THROAT]
MAXX: Right there
is probably our murder weapon.
JUSTIN: Contact Janice
Reed from the school
and see if it belongs to them.
No, that belongs
to The Contractor.
The school's contractor?
No, no, the wrestler. The
Contractor. Terry Traynor.
He wrestled in the
main event last night.
He's the top heel.
RP: Heel?
MAXX: Bad guy.
I saw him in
Chattanooga last year
for their big
Thanksgiving event.
Turkey Day Massacre.
Best match ever?
MAXX: You first.
Easy.
The Undertaker
versus Mankind. 1998.
Cage match.
Mankind takes a HUUUUGE
bump off the cage.
RP: Bump?
- Bump's a fall.
But the greatest match
is Wrestlemania 17.
Dudleys versus Hardys
versus Edge and Christian.
Edge spears Jeff off
the top of a ladder
JUSTIN: Okay
Anything else?
I was hanging out after
the matches last night
to get some selfies for my
socials with the wrestlers
and I heard The Contractor and
Earl Jones arguing about money.
I got a legal contract!
That's binding!
EARL: I don't care!
I'm not paying!!!
♪
The Contractor was real mad.
Sounds like motive to me.
Wait here for CSI
team to arrive.
Get The Contractor and
bring him to the station.
- Yes, sir.
- Anything I can do to help?
Stop being involved
in every major crime
in Blue Ridge.
And everybody knows the
greatest match of all time
Wrestlemania 3.
Ricky The Dragon Steamboat
versus Randy Macho Man Savage.
Oh yeah!
JUSTIN: You say you had
nothing to do with it?
TERRY: Just because
I play a bad guy
doesn't make me one.
JUSTIN: I realize that.
But we found this
next to the body.
Do you think I'm dumb enough
to use my signature prop
and then leave it
there for you to find?
I've met some pretty stupid
criminals over the years.
TERRY: I left my wrench in my
gym bag in the locker room.
Everyone had access.
We heard that you and
Earl got into an argument
backstage after the match.
We did. But it was a work!
- A work?
- Part of the show.
TERRY: It was
rehearsing. Earl liked to
insert himself into
the storylines.
It was acting.
It was bad acting at that.
Anybody that heard that
and didn't realize it was a work
is a complete moron.
So you weren't mad
at him? TERRY: No.
In fact, I'm the highest
paid wrestler he's got.
And I got along with him
where everybody
else hated his guts.
One of them had to have
used my wrench to murder him
trying to frame me for it.
Any guess who that would be?
Yeah.
Boots.
Dirty Boots Mcrae?
Yeah, he and
Earl got into it yesterday.
BOOTS: You gave me your word
that I could retire as champion.
EARL: That's before I
knew you were nothing but
a washed up quitter.
[SCUFFLING]
TERRY: Earl stabbed
him in the back.
If anyone used my wrench
to murder him and was
trying to frame me for it?
It's definitely Boots.
Why would you say that?
Because I have what he wants.
Which is?
His championship belt.
JUSTIN: With everybody having
access to the murder weapon
that's not gonna be
enough to hold him.
[CELL PHONE VIBRATING]
Sorry.
Whatcha got?
RP: CSI arrived and
examined the wrench.
Blood on it, but
based on the size and shape
of the wound there's no way
it could have been
the murder weapon.
All right, search
the gym top to bottom
see if you can find anything.
Got it.
All the wrestlers staying
at Connor's place?
- As far as I know.
- We need to search Earl's room
and see we can find a
clue to who hated him
enough to want him dead.
♪
[CLOSES DOOR]
CONNOR: Sheriff.
- Thanks for meeting us.
CONNOR: Not a problem.
Map of the motel. The
wrestlers' rooms are marked.
We're gonna need a key
to the promoter's room.
He was actually
staying in his RV.
It's parked down the trail
there, just past the bend.
Said he wanted to
feel like he was camping, but
I got the sense he was trying to
keep his distance
from the others.
JUSTIN: Getting new vending
machines from the Wades?
CONNOR: You know what they
say, keep your friends close.
You know him?
- Ah he's
He's my daughter's boyfriend
temporarily.
I think you and me have more in
common than you know Sheriff.
Thanks.
♪
[MUFFLED THUMPING]
[THUMPING]
Where is it?
JUSTIN: Sheriff's Department!
Freeze!!!
What's your name?
Hunter Lockwood.
I'm a wrestler.
MAXX: Never heard of you.
I wear a mask.
MAXX: Bronco?!?
- Yeah.
JUSTIN: What's so important
that you broke into
your murdered promoter's RV?
My final check.
I earned that money seven nights
a week on the road
I wasn't going to
let Earl stiff me.
Dead or not.
Go back to your motel
room and you stay there.
We'll be in touch.
♪
♪
♪
JUSTIN: Get this hauled
back to the station
see if you can find
anything interesting.
MAXX: Lotta stuff
to go through.
I can't believe I'm
suggesting this, but
get Dwayne to help.
I'm gonna start
interviewing the wrestlers.
Beginning with
Boots.
BOOTS: Sure we fought.
Earl was a hothead
with a silver tongue.
We also had history.
He and I wrestled a
series of Iron Man
matches through the
panhandle back in the 80's.
Got legit heat from them too.
Afte that I started
performing all over the world.
Multiple major promotions.
I headlined 3 pay-per-views
and I was at the
top of the card.
But
that all changed.
The bookings slowed down and
shows got smaller.
Then one day Earl called me
wanted me to wrestle for him.
Exclusively.
- What did he promise?
Small piece of the company.
Plus, more importantly,
he promised that when I
got ready to call it quits,
he'd put that World Title on me
I could retire as champion.
Has that time come?
I just want to
be with my family.
Go to football games.
Recitals.
Prom. Be able to
still walk them down the aisle.
But when I told Earl all this,
he broke his word.
On both accounts.
That's what Terry saw.
Terry said that
you needed to be restrained.
I'm third generation.
I love this business.
It's given me everything.
Yeah it's
probably going to be hard.
But I'm ready.
I saw your dad wrestle.
Oh yeah?
- Yeah.
My father, he'd
always take me when
the matches when
they came to town.
It brought a lot of
peace to my life
during a season when
there wasn't much.
Look
Earl was a slimy promotor,
no doubt,
but he was no more slimy
than a dozen others
I've worked for over the years.
And he helped make my career.
So yes
I hated the man,
but I also owe him.
So, I would never kill him.
Any idea who would?
Well, if you asked
me to name one person
I'd say Tad Williamson.
Why Tad?
- Because I wasn't the only one
that got into an argument
with Earl yesterday.
EARL: I can promise you,
that's not gonna happen!!!
What?
TAD: You stand
in my way old man
and I'll kill you.
See, back in the
day, we had a code.
Now, it's not like that.
And Tad he
wrestles like a punk.
Arrogant. Sloppy.
He doesn't care what he does
as long as he gets over.
And worst of all
he doesn't care if
anyone gets hurt
so long as he looks
good doing it.
In fact, I think he enjoys it.
Hey!
[DWYANE WHISTLES]
Officer Covington.
Who's on Mount Rushmore?
All right.
Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Hulk Hogan.
Ric Flair
and The Rock.
Not bad.
Stone Cold.
Hogan.
Shawn Michaels.
- Ahhhhhh No!
Trish Stratus.
Trish Stratus! All right!
Yeah buddy.
♪
[CELL PHONE VIBRATES]
What you got? MAXX: Sheriff
I just found something in one
of the wrestler's contracts.
[LAUGHTER]
You think I killed Earl?
Why's that so funny?
TAD: Because I'm the face.
The baby fa-I'm the good guy.
So you can't be a
bad guy in real life?
What would my motive be?
My contract's up next
month and I am outta here!
Found a document that said
that Earl owned your character
and wanted $50,000 to
let it go with you.
So?
So that's your motive.
Look.
I was never worried.
I just told you, I'm
going to the big times.
Their lawyers would
eat Earl alive.
If that's true then why'd
you threaten to kill him?
Man, I was hopped up on
Red Bull and gummy bears.
All right? That was
just locker talk.
If it wasn't you,
who killed Earl?
I don't know. Anyone.
Everyone who ever
worked for Earl
had their reasons, all right?
Although it might
have been somebody
who wanted to work for him.
Give me a name.
I don't know.
Just some kid that had
a try out yesterday.
Shoot on him.
♪
[WRESTLING]
[WRESTLING]
If you can't hold your own
with a guy twice your age
you have no place
in this business.
You're the worst excuse for
a wrestler I've ever seen.
Pathetic.
♪
It's not unusual for Earl to
give some wanna-be a try out,
this one was
different, you know?
What he had me do to
that kid it was
it was like he was
trying to humiliate him,
you know?
[CELL PHONE VIBRATES]
Don't leave town.
♪
What's up?
- MAXX: So for all of Earl's faults,
turns out he was an
excellent accountant.
One of his wrestlers was giving
him back half of their paycheck.
Any idea why?
No. Just that Earl
was putting it
in an account called
special projects.
That's interesting. MAXX:
Yeah, it gets better.
Turns out that wrestler's
wanted on multiple charges
including attempted murder.
What's his name?
Marcus Richards.
I don't remember that
name on the list.
That's because he goes by
the alias Hunter Lockwood.
Aka Bronco.
I already told you,
I just wanted my final check.
JUSTIN: Don't you mean
half your paycheck?
I can't figure it out.
Was Earl blackmailing
you to keep quiet
about the attempted
murder charge?
Or was he hiding you for a fee?
[BRONCO YELLS]
[FIGHTING]
[FIGHTING]
[FIGHTING]
[FIGHTING]
[FIGHTING]
♪
[DEEP EXHALES]
MAXX: Sheriff
So maybe, rather than having
to keep paying hush money,
he decides to kill him,
then ransack the RV
looking for evidence
that Earl was holding over him.
It lines up.
Except this Bronco
guy claims to be
tying one on over at Jeremiah's.
You want me to check it out?
No.
I'm already going over
there for another reason.
JEREMIAH: Yeah, he
closed the bar down.
Big dude.
Could drink an entire
keg by himself.
There's another reason I'm here.
I reckoned there might be.
We need to talk about the
situation between our kids
and how we're going to end it.
Who says we have to end it?
I do.
Sheriff, what's the harm in it?
Your daughter's a nice girl,
my son's a nice boy.
She's safe with him,
she's safe with us.
One thing you know
about my kin by now
is we protect our own.
And it doesn't bother
you that I'm the sheriff?
[JEREMIAH CHUCKLES] It would
not have been my first choice
but I can live with it.
Can you?
♪
MAXX: Well, at least we arrested
someone wanted for attempted murder.
JUSTIN: Yeah but we're no closer
to solving this actual murder,
and we can't keep the
wrestlers in town any longer.
MAXX: What if we get them
to move tonight's match
to tomorrow in honor of Earl?
Like
a tribute show.
They don't seem to
be too particularly
broken up over it.
MAXX: No, but
their contract stipulates
they don't get paid
if they don't perform.
So, if you need someone to
fake emotion, who better
than a professional wrestler.
That's true.
Good idea.
Contact the head office in
Atlanta and see if you can't
set that up.
- Yes sir.
See if you can
figure out who the
local guy auditioned
for Earl is.
MAXX: Oh, I think I
already know that.
Someone was emailing
Earl every day
for a couple months
requesting a try out.
Was he harassing him?
MAXX: No. More like
friendly persistence.
There it is.
Guy by the name of Barry Reed.
I know a Barry Reed.
MAXX: You do?
- Yeah, he's friends with Maddie.
Text me his address.
I'm going to check
on RP at the school.
Dwayne.
Be Dwyane.
RP: After the CSI tech
examined the wound more closely
he feels like the victim
was hit a single time
with something heavy
maybe a couple inches wide.
You've searched the entire gym?
And the surrounding areas.
Search it again.
And this time, don't look
for anything tangible.
Look for something
out of the ordinary.
RP: Yes sir.
Hey, I just had a
request to reschedule
tonight's matches for tomorrow.
They claim that
was okay with you?
Yeah.
So, why didn't you tell me that
your son auditioned yesterday?
Oh, I'm sorry.
I didn't think it was pertinent.
Is that a problem?
No, I just-
I need to ask him
some questions.
He may have witnessed
something that would
you know, help
the investigation.
Right.
Yeah, I'm pretty
sure he's home now.
Thanks.
Janice on an completely
different topic
what is your impression
of Blade Wade?
Oh, I'm not really supposed
to discuss students.
Fair enough.
But
one parent to another
he's a good kid.
That seems to be the
overall consensus,
though I find that
hard to believe.
So, I hear the try
out didn't go so well.
BARRY: No sir.
I got tossed around
like a rag doll.
Mr. Jones says I don't
have what it takes
and to give up.
So, how'd that make you feel?
Pretty bad.
Bad enough to do
something about it?
No sir. No. Definitely not.
So, what did you do after
the matches last night?
BARRY: Nothing.
I didn't go, okay?
Just you know
decided I was done
with wrestling.
Done with wrestling?
What made you change your mind?
I slept on it
and I took my Mom's advice about
it being just one
person's opinion.
And, you know, like she says,
every setback is an
opportunity for a comeback.
So, I'm using it as motivation
to train even harder.
[CELL PHONE VIBRATES]
That's a
positive attitude.
Also, I thought about it,
and I think at least
part of the reason
my audition was so poorly
was because of Mr. Jones so-
How so?
He didn't reply to
my emails for months.
And then, he just sends
one out of the blue,
saying if I want to
try out, I have to be
at the gym in 30 minutes?
I don't have time
to properly warm up
or get into character. Plus,
I think he was kind of taking
out his frustrations on me.
Why do you say that?
Well
[WRESTLING]
[WRESTLING]
Take a shot.
With her.
♪
[WRESTLING]
[WRESTLING]
EARL: AHHHHHH.
[EARL GROANING]
BARRY: Mr. Jones
started screaming
that she was fired
after the weekend.
And how he was going on about
how he was going to make it
his mission to destroy
her reputation.
It was crazy.
You stay here.
Maxx
I need you conduct an
interview at the hotel
I'm headed back to the school.
Going somewhere?
KODIAK: Earl did fire me.
But it wasn't just
because of yesterday.
We used to date.
What can I say?
I've always had bad
judgment with men.
Earl didn't take it
well when I dumped him.
First he made me drop
the women's championship
and now he's had
me jobbing out to a
different wrestler every night.
I haven't won one
single match since.
So it's fair to say you're not
exactly wallowing in grief?
Sure.
But I wouldn't wish this on him.
And the truth is
Earl did me a favor.
- By firing you?
KODIAK: I had wanted to
leave for a while, but
I didn't have the courage.
Life as a wrestler's
hard enough.
There's no need
for it to be toxic.
Well, you know him well.
Any ideas who else
might want him dead?
Let's see there's Gemini,
the wrestler Earl
dated before me.
His writer who he
berated every day.
His business partners
who I'm pretty sure he's
hiding money from
Oh, and every single wrestler
who works for him now
or has ever worked for him.
(sarcastic) That it?
Exactly.
The first time I searched,
I was looking for
blood or any signs
of a struggle.
But this time, I
took your advice
and found something different,
out of the ordinary.
See all these right here?
Dirty, smudges,
except for this one.
Spotless.
Yeah.
Just like it's been wiped clean.
RP: Exactly.
Maybe get lucky, find
the killer's DNA on it?
Get with Maxx.
Collect DNA samples from
everyone at the interview today.
You send it to the
lab with that dumbbell
and get it fast-tracked.
We've kept the wrestlers
around another day
but we're gonna lose
them on Monday morning,
so we're running out of time.
But if you're right
you not only found
the murder weapon,
but you found the
scene of the crime.
Okay. Mountaineer's breakfast.
- Thank you.
- Mm hmm.
[ELLI SIGHS]
What?
Blade's a nice boy.
They're all "nice"
boys around us.
I guess I'm
upset that she's
even considering
dating. And that you guys-
you kept it from me.
Well
I'm sorry.
Maddie asked me to keep
it a secret I felt like
I had to respect that.
You know, teenage girls they're-
kind of like deer.
One false move and
they run. Just want to make
sure that she knows that
she can come to
me about anything.
She used come to me, talk
with me about everything.
[DOOR BELLS RING]
Oh boy.
BLADE: Mr. Wise
Would you mind if
I had a moment of your time?
ELLI: Yes, absolutely.
Have a seat.
Sir. Sheriff
I know you don't know me but-
I think your daughter's great.
I mean she's-
pretty and smart
and very kind.
She's awesome!
Um, she's not like
the other girls.
She's thoughtful
and responsible
and most of all she's-
she's nice.
I realize my family's reputation
doesn't exactly help
but I'm really trying
to not be like them.
And she makes me
want to be better.
So, with your permission,
I'd like to take her
to the matches
If um that's
okay with you, sir.
♪
So, we collected all the
DNA and sent it to the lab.
All the wrestlers,
including Barry Reed.
Hometown Barry Reed?
JUSTIN: Yeah.
Hometown Barry Reed.
[DWAYNE SCOFFS]
What?
He's terrible. Hold on.
Look at this.
Feast your eyes.
Hey guys, my name is Barry Reed.
This is my audition video.
DWAYNE: His suplexes are bad.
He can't punch.
He can't throw an
elbow to save his life.
[BARRY YELLING]
DWAYNE: Certainly
can't take a bump.
Hurts my eyes to watch.
Why would Earl give him an
audition after he saw that video?
Maybe he was trying to be nice?
JUSTIN: Doubt it.
I heard he berated the kid.
Maybe he enjoys crushing
people's spirits.
I told the lab about
our time constraint;
they moved us to
the top of the list.
That's good.
In the meantime,
I may have caught
one of the wrestlers in a lie.
Who?
Remember how Terry Traynor
said he was the
highest paid wrestler
in the promotion?
Oh yeah.
- He was.
Until recently.
His salary was
cut significantly.
I found it when I was going
through Bronco's payments to Earl.
JUSTIN: It's convenient
he forgot to mention that.
Saw the books.
You were the highest
paid wrestler
but you're not anymore.
I just think it's a little odd
that the champion took
such a hefty pay cut.
TERRY: Okay
Earl paid me extra to send cash
to a three different
locations each month.
One in Montana, one in Oklahoma
and one right here
in Blue Ridge.
Why?
TERRY: I don't know.
I asked him once and
he told me to shut up,
mind my own business.
He was my boss so
what am I going to do?
I thought it was his
way of laundering money.
Which is why I didn't
admit it at first.
That still doesn't
explain the hefty pay cut.
A few months back Earl had me stop
sending cash to the one here in town.
Did he give a reason why?
I wasn't asking and
he wasn't telling.
Do you have an address?
Yeah.
Stay here. Don't leave.
Got it?
[CELL PHONE VIBRATES]
You get the lab
results? RP: I did.
But unfortunately
our killers did
too good of a job
cleaning the dumbbell.
There's no DNA on it to compare
against any of the wrestlers.
Okay.
Actually, I-
I need you to ask
them to fast track
one more test for me.
♪
♪
♪
♪
Your hunch
was spot on.
Let's bring 'em in.
♪
♪
We did a DNA test
and we discovered that Earl was
related to one of our suspects.
Ah, looking back I
remember that you
forgot to mention
the weight room,
and that turns out to
be where the murder was.
And I could not figure out why
Earl
gave your son an audition.
I met Earl
20 years ago when he
was still a wrestler.
We dated for a while and
when I became
pregnant with Barry
he made it abundantly clear
he wanted nothing to
do with either of us.
So I raised my son on my own.
And it was hard.
We barely made ends
meet for a while
but we were happy.
When I found out Earl
had bought the SMWA
he seemed to be doing well so,
I contacted him and told him
he needed to pay child support
or I was taking him to court.
He begrudgingly agreed
to give me a little money
for Barry until he turned 18.
Ever since he was a little boy,
Barry just
dreamed of being a wrestler.
It was in his blood.
And when I found out he was
trying to get an audition,
I convinced Earl
to give him one.
And he was so excited.
And I was even more so.
I was watching
from next to the bleachers.
Barry didn't see me,
[WRESTLING SOUNDS]
but Earl did.
If you can't hold your own
with a guy twice your age,
there's no place for
you in this business.
JANICE: And then
went out of his way
to destroy my son
in front of me.
Both physically
and psychologically.
[HITTING MAT]
[QUIET CRYING]
I'd never seen Barry so upset.
He refused to go
to the matches. He-
He said he was done
with wrestling.
And thanks to Earl
I watched my son
go from a boy with a dream,
to an adult
with a first-hand taste of how
cruel the real world can be.
And he graduates in the spring.
And Earl took those last few
fleeting moments of
youth away from him.
And me.
So I confronted him
after the matches
once everyone had left.
You need to reach out to him.
You need to tell him you
didn't mean what you said!
I meant it.
But why did you have
to crush his spirits?
Because I knew it
would crush yours too.
Maybe even worse.
See
this is payback
for you making me
pay money all those years
for some stupid kid,
who now that I've seen wrestle,
I doubt is even mine.
[EARL LAUGHS]
What am I supposed to tell him?
Tell him that he's a loser.
A pathetic loser.
Just
Like
His mother.
♪
[HIT] [BODY FALLS
TO THE FLOOR]
[DUMBBELL DROPS TO FLOOR]
JANICE: I needed somewhere
to hide him until
I could figure out what to do.
He was too heavy to
take out of the school.
I panicked.
I tried to throw you
off with the wrench.
[DROPPING WRENCH]
♪
And then I
cleaned the actual weapon
and left as fast as I could.
♪
As a parent
you just want to do
what's best for your kid.
JUSTIN: We haven't told
Barry yet.
I didn't think it would be fair
that he would lose his mother
and his father on the same day.
♪
[CHEERING, APPLAUSE]
BOOTS: First off, Blue Ridge,
all of us
want to thank all of you
for coming out tonight.
[CHEERING, APPLAUSE]
[CHEERING, APPLAUSE]
BOOTS: Earl loved wrestling
and he would have
loved this turnout.
So tonight, we turn up
and we do it
for Earl. RP: Oh brother.
Oh brother's right.
Dwayne saved us some seats.
Here. Popcorn?
[CHEERING, APPLAUSE]
♪
[THEME MUSIC] ♪
[THEME MUSIC] ♪
[THEME MUSIC] ♪
[THEME MUSIC] ♪
[THEME MUSIC] ♪
[THEME MUSIC] ♪
[THEME MUSIC] ♪
[THEME MUSIC] ♪
[THEME MUSIC] ♪
[THEME MUSIC] ♪
[THEME MUSIC] ♪