Every real wrestler in Heels plays a fun role in the series about the world of small-town professional wrestling. The Starz drama centers around the family-owned wrestling promotion of Duffy Wrestling League (DWL) and the two brothers, Jack and Ace Spade (Stephen Amell and Alexander Ludwig), who have conflicting views about how DWL should move forward in the wake of their father’s suicide. The series features an impressive ensemble cast of characters, all of whom, for one reason or another, have favored the life of in-ring warriors.
Heels, at times, functions as its own wrestling universe. The show minimizes the impact of promotions like WWE and AEW in an effort to drive home that, for the residents of the fictional Duffy, Georgia, DWL is as big as it gets. Heels includes cameos from well-known real wrestlers. In the first three episodes, two real-life wrestlers play significant roles. Throughout the series, several familiar faces make appearances. Here’s every wrestler that was a part of Heels, and what they’re most known for.
PJ Hawx
A Promising Debut
The first wrestler to appear in Heels is the independent wrestler PJ Hawx. The son of independent wrestler Luke Hawx, who is a consultant for the Starz show, PJ portrays the referee Denny. In his first scene, while attempting to raise Jack’s hand in victory, Denny gets thrown out of the ring for his troubles. Later, in the premiere’s closing, he stops the match between the Spades to keep Jack from legitimately hurting Ace. While not much is initially revealed about DWL’s resident referee, it is suggested that Denny hopes for a bigger role in front of the camera.
Denny guest stars in multiple episodes.
In real life, the younger Hawx made his debut in 2017. He participated in Ring of Honor’s Supercard Of Honor XII event, teaming with his father in a pre-show as part of a triple threat tag match which included the renowned team of The Motor City Machine Guns. The following year, the father-son tandem made their TV debut at ROH’s Glory By Honor event. They wrestled The Briscoes for the ROH World Tag Team Championship.
PJ and Luke have likewise competed in other promotions, including WildKat Sports and Reality of Wrestling, the latter of which is owned by Booker T. In both promotions, PJ has won championships. On top of PJ’s work on Heels, his dad, Luke Hawx, worked for the production behind the scenes as a consultant.
Luke Gallows
A Former WWE Tag Team Champion
Near the end of Heels episode 1, the wrestler Doc Gallows shows up in a small cameo. He’s one of the participants in DWL’s battle royal, and he can be briefly seen fighting Robbins. He even wears a t-shirt for Talk’N Shop, the podcast he co-hosts with his frequent tag partner Karl Anderson. Gallows is perhaps best known for his second stint with WWE, performing under the ring name Luke Gallows. Gallows mostly played himself in the episode.
During his second run with the company, Gallows wrestled The New Day and The Usos as part of his team with Anderson. He also won championship gold with Anderson, as the duo held the WWE Raw Tag Team Championships on two occasions.
Gallows finally returned to WWE with Anderson.
Gallows, who had previously wrestled with WWE under the ring name Festus, was among the wrestlers released by WWE during the pandemic. After his departure in April 2020, he continued to work in the ring with Anderson as The Good Brothers in New Japan Pro Wrestling and Impact Wrestling. However, Gallows finally returned to WWE with Anderson in 2022, where they have since worked on Raw, SmackDown, and even extensively on NXT as The O.G.
CM Punk
The Legend Returns
CM Punk first appeared in episode 3 of Heels. After sabotaging his match with Ace in the premiere episode, Jack has caused the DWL crowd to turn on both Spade brothers. He cost the fans a highly-anticipated match. And, as a result, the fans no longer want to cheer for Ace as a conquering hero. In an attempt to remedy the situation, Jack recruits veteran wrestler Ricky Rabies (CM Punk) to show up for one DWL match.
Ricky’s beloved among followers of independent wrestling, thanks to his outlandish gimmick, which is modeled after a wild animal, and he’s guaranteed to put a smile on the faces of fans. Unlike Punk, however, Ricky is not especially well-regarded for his wrestling skills or his ability to speak on the microphone. As he’s presented in Heels, Ricky is a journeyman competitor who knows his craft and generally sticks to it.
Since that appearance, Punk returned for episode 8 and then was back in a bigger role in season 2, where he appeared in four episodes.
Punk, on the other hand, is one of the wrestlers that helped revolutionize modern wrestling. During his time with WWE, he had memorable rivalries with everyone from John Cena and The Rock to Jeff Hardy and The Undertaker. He also had a record-setting reign as WWE Champion, holding the company’s top prize for 434 days. But perhaps more notably than all of that, Punk delivered the infamous Pipebomb promo which helped to alter the course of WWE in significant and long-term ways.
Punk recently returned to the ring, signing with AEW after a seven-year retirement. Speaking on his decision to come back to wrestling following his famously tumultuous WWE departure, Punk joked that it was his experience filming Heels that ultimately helped him to reach the crucial decision. That was only the start. In a shocking move, CM Punk is back in WWE after so many years away and is once again working the main events for the biggest wrestling company on the planet.
AJ Lee
A Former Champion & CM Punk’s Wife Joins The Show
With CM Punk appearing in the first season of Heels, the second season had a huge surprise for wrestling fans. Punk’s real-life wife, AJ Lee, joined the cast as professional wrestler Elle Dorado. The season had Crystal (Kelli Berglund) out to prove herself as a legitimate women’s wrestling superstar, but she might have met her match with the veteran Elle, who came to DWL to show everyone how it is really done in the women’s division. It also gave Punk and Lee a chance to work together on the small screen.
When Punk left WWE, AJ Lee followed, and she has yet to return to wrestling.
AJ Lee is a former WWE women’s champion. She came up in the company as a manager for wrestlers like Dolph Ziggler and Big E Langston. However, she found her biggest success when she started wrestling and won the women’s title. She became an authority figure when she was placed into a love triangle with Daniel Bryan and CM Punk, which eventually led to a real-life romance between her and Punk. When Punk left WWE, AJ Lee followed, and she has yet to return to wrestling.
Mick Foley
A Wrestling Podcaster On Heels
Arguably, one of the most popular professional wrestlers to appear on heels is Mick Foley. He appeared in the sixth episode of Heels, playing a pro wrestling podcaster named Dickie Valentine. It is almost a comedic idea to have the Hardcore Legend appear as a podcaster who just wants to interview real wrestlers, and it only lasted for one scene, which was important since he interviewed Jack Spade for his podcast, and it helped impact his role on the show.
Foley is best known for the match where Undertaker threw him off the top of the 16-foot Hell in a Cell
Mick Foley is a WWE Hall of Fame superstar. He got his start in the territories before moving on to WCW, ECW, and eventually WWE. Foley is best known for the match where Undertaker threw him off the top of the 16-foot Hell in a Cell and through a table at ringside. He is also a former multi-time world champion and remains one of the most beloved wrestlers in history. Since retiring, he has written several best-selling novels and remains an icon to this very day in the world of wrestling.