SYNOPSIS:

In a crowded board room, XWL members review taped submissions of wrestling hopefuls. All but the head of the table hate LES (24), the latest to repeat the tired cliché of how he’s wanted to be a wrestler since he was a little boy. Where the others see repetition, the head sees someone who can be taken advantage of. Les’s first day at the XWL has him coming face to face with his wrestling idols. The standard fare trailer wrestler pulls off his mullet wig and reveals himself to be a classically trained actor. The tag team Luce Duce consists of LUCE (27), a no apologies gay man, and DUCE (27), who has his eyes on CORY (22), the same girl that Les finds himself liking. After making friends with other wrestling hopefuls, Les finds himself face to face with the king of the XWL: Never Back Down NELSON (36). He makes the disappointing announcement that he will no longer be personally training the hopefuls and has left the task to Vanessa FROST (30), who seems every bit the ice queen her reputation makes her out to be. And with plenty of reasons. While the men of the XWL spend the day setting up for matches, the women are forced to endure unwanted advances and leers as they promote the matches wearing skimpy gear. After getting a firsthand look at how difficult wrestling is, bikini waxing and all, Les is still committed to becoming one, even after his smart mouth earns him the nickname “Leslie.” So much so, that he begs Nelson to be allowed to participate in a small part in tonight’s free for all match. Nelson agrees to allow it for a price to be named later. The night’s matches are all the more wonderful as seen from behind the curtain as Les gets some key bits of information, such as the difficulties that Katie COURAGE (24) has been having and how matches are planned and executed. He even gets told to shut up by the night’s star, TANK (33). However, Les’s nerves get the better of him during his first match when his sole task is to get thrown out of the ring. Instead, he panics, grabs Duce’s head, and they are both ejected from the ring and eliminated from the match. While Duce is furious, Les instantly becomes a crowd favorite. As Les and the other hopefuls clean up after the night’s matches three things are apparent: Vanessa Frost is a decent person at her core and has unrequited feelings for Duce, Nelson has every intention of exploiting Les as he originally did when he first viewed the tape, and Les is as determined as ever to follow through with his dream.