02x05 - What Business?

[bunniefuu]

- Whoa.
- [chuckles]

So I can sit anywhere?

Ooh, can I lie down?

Oh, not for takeoff, sir.

Oh, right.

Oh.

This is so much better than
the plane we took to Upfronts.

Oh, cashews. Fancy.

Give it up for a
true American hero.

Someone who's not afraid
to speak truth to power,

Dr. Julien Echo.

[cheers and applause]

Thank you very much,
future President Taft.

When one victim is heard,
all victims are heard!

- Yes...
- [sighs]

- He's the worst.
- He is.

And I can't believe
he's speaking

at Taft's campaign
rallies like this.

Thousands and
thousands of people

are listening to this joker.

We should have taken him
out when we had a chance.

Take it easy, Trigger Finger.

Look, I grew up with
a kid like Julien too.

Her name was Anastasia.

And if I could destroy
her today, I would.

Okay.

While Sandy plays out
his revenge fantasies,

I think we should
just stay the course.

Forget about Dr. Julien.

Let's focus on
winning the election.

We're only one week out,

and this is affecting
your poll, sir.

People are feeling that you
engaging in a public feud

with an average American
isn't very presidential.

Mm, Seems like you're
at a real crossroads.

I was thinking the
same thing, Randall.

Reminds me of the
time I had to move in

with my parents back in Tampa
when I got cut from the CFL.

This is a timely issue,
Candidate Johnson.

We should really make
a decision quickly.

And we will, Casey, you know,

but sometimes you
gotta talk things out.

I agree.

So you were telling me when
you got cut from the CFL,

you had your seven bucks moment.

Yeah, that's right.

After I had dedicated
my life to football,

that was all I had to
show for my hard work.

I went back to Tampa

and started working
as a trainer.

Not wanting to get into
what happened in Calgary,

I told my boss that I'd signed
with the Washington Redskins

and this was my off season job.

- Have a good day, honey.
- You too, Mom.

See you, son.

[exhales sharply]

What'd I do?

This isn't for you.

This is for the football
Canadians who hurt him.

When people signed up
for new memberships,

they also got a free
training session,

so I trained those new members

the only way I knew
how: Way too hard.

You got this, Pam.

You're gonna look so
good in your new sarong.

Can't wait to make my
sister-in-law so jealous.

Marianne is gonna wish she
never booked that cruise.

[grunts]

Yes! Come on!

It had been weeks since
my conversation with Dany,

and I kept replaying it over
and over again in my mind.

So what do you wanna do?

Maybe I should give
wrestling a try.

As a kid, I told everyone
I wanted to be a wrestler,

but this was the first
time I said it as an adult.

And only to Dany.

I hadn't told anyone else.

Sir. Sir!

- Oh, oh.
- Sorry about that, ma'am.

Good set. Good set.

Hey.

When do the muscles happen?

Any-any chance you need a
camcorder for your vacation?

I'd also gotten in on my
dad's Circuit City hustle,

selling slightly-damaged
electronics

instead of turning them over
to the repairs department.

Let me get this out the way.

I'm not sure if you're
a wrestling fan,

but Tony Atlas and I
were tag team champs.

I can't feel my arms.

Can you get my checkbook for me?

It should be on the bottom.

Telling my family I
wanted to wrestle was hard

because I was coming off the
greatest failure of my life.

My football dream was over,

and I wasn't ready to say
another big dream out loud.

My mom was still plugging away,

selling vacation packages.

For the seven days
and six nights.

And my grandma was glued
to the O.J. Simpson trial.

She watched on that big
screen TV I bought my parents

back when I thought that
was just the beginning.

That trial really cut into
my mom's soap opera schedule.

I was struggling
with what to do,

so I exerted control
over what I could

and I cleaned that apartment
from top to bottom.

Honestly, not the worst
way to deal with stress.

In fact, you're doing
the exact same thing now.

What? No, I'm not.

Look.

[sighs]

They look better like this.

Of course.

.

My mind was going a
million miles an hour,

and I had a lot of stuff

to sort out back then.

And I'm not ashamed to say
that I needed a little boost.

So I went to a sports bar

and I wore my old Miami
Hurricanes jersey.

Oh, okay.

Thank God. I thought dr*gs.

I was hoping it was dr*gs.

[cheers]

[cheers and applause]

[upbeat music]

What can I get ya?

You got any drink
specials on the board

for a former Miami Hurricane?

Sorry. We only do specials
for Gulf w*r vets.

It's hard to push back on that.

[cheers]

Best value on our menu
is a Shipwreck'd sh*t.

It's every kind of
liquor mixed with Pepsi.

Dewey.

Yo, Carlos.

I hadn't seen my old
teammate, Carlos, in a minute,

so I'd invited him
out to watch the game.

Almost didn't recognize you
with your shirt tucked in.

Well, I recognize
you immediately

since you're wearing
your own jersey.

[both laugh]

- Oh man, Sapp.
- Mm-hmm.

He's in his first year, and
he's already dominating.

Hey, we knew he would.

So what you got going on here?

Oh, State Farm.

Oh, your boy is
a career man now.

On track to being a agent by 26.

Hey, so how did it
go up in Canada?

- It went well, went well.
- I got cut, though.

It's kind of a numbers thing.

So, you know, just
staying ready,

waiting for that next call.

And when the right
opportunity comes,

sky's the limit.

Hey. Hang in there, bro.

If football doesn't pan out,
you'll find your State Farm.

[TV chatter]

- Oh, fumble!
- [cheers]

My conversation with Carlos

just made me think even harder
about my own path forward.

[TV chatter]

A dangerous, dark
rage burns within him.

Dubbed the Undertaker...

I will fulfill my destiny.

Run the hit man hard.

The universe was
sending me a message,

and it was getting louder.

Live on Pay-Per-View...

Dwayne, did you see there's a
football league in Europe now?

There's a team in Hamburg.
You love hamburgers.

[telephone rings]

- Hello?
- Hello, Dwayne?

Coach Buono, Calgary Stampeders.

Oh, Coach.

- How are you doing?
- Not too bad.

Listen, I'm calling
with good news.

We got a spot for
you next season.

What?

Maybe on the game-day roster

if things shake
out the right way.

I can arrange a plane ticket,

get you back up
here in a few days.

This was the call I
had been waiting for

because it forced
me to make a choice.

Coach, I appreciate you calling,

but I think it's a no.

I think football's done for me.

- Really?
- Yeah.

Wait, you turned him down?

[grunts]

But he was offering you another
chance to play pro football.

He was throwing you a
lifeline for your dream.

Yeah, I was surprised too.

But, in that moment,

I just felt like this
was a confirmation

of everything that I'd
been thinking about.

So I made a choice, and I
knew it was the right one.

Unfortunately, my dad
didn't feel the same way.

It's the dumbest
decision of your life!

I thought you were gonna
give football another sh*t.

I've been thinking
about it, but I'm done.

Football isn't my State Farm.

What the hell does that mean?

I wanna get into the business.

What business?

The wrestling business.

[gasps] I knew it!

I always knew it!

[laughing] I gotta tell Mom!

Oh, and maybe open my own
psychic business after that.

[giggles]

[soft dramatic music]

- [sighs]
- And I need you to train me.

♪

No.

[Ata and Lia laughing]

Wake up, Peter.

It's finally
happening, High Chief.

The boy is fulfilling
his destiny,

and we won't ever have to
see an oblong ball again.

.

- What's going on?
- I'm your son.

And you're gonna train me.

What you think you got to offer?

Hmm?

I don't know.

Maybe I'll suck, but
I'm giving this a sh*t.

You're not going to suck.

You're going to make it.

This is your calling.

You say you won't
train my grandson?

I'm getting my slapping gloves.

If you don't train me,
I'll find someone else.

Either way, I'm doing this.

So are you gonna help me or not?

Okay. I'll train you.

You will?

Good. Don't have to use these.

But this is gonna be the
hardest thing you've ever done.

All that football training is
gonna be a walk in the park

compared to the pain I'm
gonna put you through.

I'm ready.

We can start right
now, if you want to.

- Can't right now.
- I gotta go to work.

Plus, you ate so much
breakfast, Rocky.

No one can exercise after
that many poached eggs.

Of all the things that
my dad said to me,

the thing that really kicked
me in the gut was when he said,

"What do you think
you have to offer?"

Because what he was
really saying was,

"I don't see what
you have to offer."

Well, why did he
react like that?

That's what my mom
wanted to know too.

Hey, man, what's your deal?

"Hey, man"?

Our son is finally
chasing his dream,

the right dream, this time.
You don't wanna help him?

I said I'd train him, didn't I?

Reluctantly.

Is this his dream or yours?

Of course it's my dream!

It's been my dream for
him since he was born.

What's your dream for him?

Selling laser printers out
of a van in a parking lot?

Hey, look around.

Look at where we are.

30 years in this damn business,

and this is all I
got to show for it.

Maybe I don't want
that life for him.

Just because that
was your experience,

it doesn't mean it's
going to be Dewey's.

Wrestling is in his blood,
from my side and yours.

He's going to be great.

Maybe you'll train the greatest
champion there ever was.

He's not gonna be
greater than me.

I changed the boy's diapers.

[scoffs]

You changed his what now?

The pee ones, I did.

That moment I fantasized
about as a kid,

being in the wrestling ring,
was actually happening.

It just wasn't a wrestling ring.

It was a boxing ring.

And what's the difference?

Well, the mat is a lot stiffer,

and it's got no give.

Getting suplexed on that

was like getting suplexed
on your living room floor,

which meant big moves were out.

But that was the only
option available,

so that's where
my training began.

Okay.

First things first: You
gotta learn how to fall.

You wanna thrust your hips,
tuck your chin, legs up,

and land right
there, upper back.

And smack the mat so hard
the audience can feel it.

What the hell was that nonsense?

I was trying to
pump up the crowd.

Fancy moves don't
win the crowd over.

It's psychological.

People can't feel your
pain. They can only see it.

You gotta make them feel it.

Do it again.

Protect your head.

Tuck your chin.

Will you do it how I showed you?

Again.

- You're not selling.
- [grunting]

Nope.

Again.

Again. Again.

Do you want this or not? Again.

My dad was just trying
to prove a point

by pushing me this hard.

And if I was gonna
become a wrestler,

then I was gonna have to
earn it just like he did.

And all those old-school
trainers back then,

their job was to
break the wrestler.

And if you came back
after everything

they put you through, well,
you've proven yourself.

- That's so intense.
- It is.

There's a famous Hulk Hogan
story where his trainer,

the legendary Hiro
Matsuda, went bone-to-bone

and broke Hulk Hogan's
ankle on purpose.

But weeks later,
Hulk Hogan came back,

and that's when they
knew this kid's for real.

Mm. You know, I had to
act like I broke my leg

on a wild seahorse
in "Aquaman 5."

Oh, brutal.

Brutal.

- Wow.
- Brutal.

Well, even though my dad
wasn't gonna break my leg,

he was gonna b*at my ass.

And that's exactly what he did.

He made sure that I earned it.

[grunts]

Do it to me.

[groans dramatically]

You gotta make sure everyone
who's not inside this ring

feels how bad you're hurting.

[groans dramatically]

Better.

This is your opponent.

Punch as close as you can
without moving the string.

If you break this string's nose,

you get fired

and you get your ass
whupped in the back.

[grunts]

Dewey, you're squaring up
too much on your punches.

Angle your stance.

[energetic upbeat music]

♪

Wrestling is all about trust.

If you don't trust
your opponent,

neither you will
put on a good show.

♪

[grunts]

There's another lesson for you.

You can't trust everyone.

Now, get up.

Even though my dad's training

was monotonous and punishing,

I fell in love with wrestling
like I was a kid again.

There's Vince and Pat.

Man, I haven't seen
those guys forever.

Two men with great hair.

One's is better,
but I won't say who.

It's one of the most
exciting events in wrestling.

- Boy, come here.
- [chuckles]

- Hey, hey.
- Look, look, look, look.

That is your cousin, Rodney.

- "Yokozuna."
- Japanese Sumo wrestler.

Kid's from San Fran. He
loves chicken nuggets.

But he makes one hell
of a WWF wrestler.

Wait, he's is about to do
the family move. Watch.

[cheers]

Ugh, Samoan Drop.

Always pinches my rib
skin, makes me feel fat.

I miss you, my Peter.

For every Samoan Drop is a
violent love letter to you,

High Chief.

[TV chatter]

Somebody Samoan Drop me.

Just once.

Acknowledge me!

By the way, that's
my cousin, Joe,

who would later go
by Roman Reigns,

future WWE champion.

I have a cousin Joe too,
but he's unemployed.

[sighs]

Come on, Dewey. Let's wrestle.

No, the world's not ready.

A match that big can only
happen at "WrestleMania."

That's gonna be
Samoan-dropping somebody

on TV pretty soon.

Dewey, how's wrestling
training going?

Yeah, it's going
good, Uncle Tonga.

It's mostly falling down naked.

I feel like I'm at
sexy clown school.

[laughter]

I've wrestled sexy clown before.

Solid gimmick.

I'm building him a foundation.

Can't build a house
with just fancy moves.

Need a base.

- You guys get me, right?
- Yeah, yeah. Foundation.

Yeah, like carbs on
the food pyramid.

[cheers]

See, these new kids don't
know how to wrestle anymore.

It's all about
flash, no substance.

And believe me, I love flash,
but not without substance.

Well, maybe there's a
version where I do both.

Combine the old school
with the new school.

- No, there's only one school.
- The right school.

[TV chatter]

Who wants popcorn chicken?

- Tonga.
- [chuckles]

.

I was doing everything
my dad said,

but I was frustrated.

I still had no idea
if I was any good.

I can't hear your reaction.

Well, sit closer then.

- I can't sit closer.
- You know why?

Because I'm Little Jeffy all
the way up in the rafters.

This is my first
live wrestling match.

And the only tickets
my parents could afford

were the worst
ones in the house.

Now, do you wanna
tell Little Jeffy

the reason he can't feel your
pain is because he's too poor?

Little Jeffy drinks gin at noon?

Just do it again! Louder!

We've been training
for two months

and you've barely
taught me any moves.

All I'm doing is falling and
selling, falling and selling.

- You wanna quit?
- No, I don't want to quit.

I'm tired of punching a
string and falling on my ass.

Can we at least try and
find a real wrestling ring?

Bring in other guys so
I can see if I'm ready?

I'll tell you when you're ready.

Now do it again.

How can you not
know you were good?

I... oh, thank you, Aileen.

You're The Rock.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah, but I wasn't The Rock yet.

Plus, I was coming off
the biggest failure

of my entire life.

Mm.

I mean, I just didn't know, man.

Mm.

- Nice sh*t.
- Thank you.

I had a feeling I could be good,

but with my confidence so low,
I needed to know for sure.

[telephone rings]

Pat Patterson, oui allo?

Oh. Hey, Mr. Patterson.

It's Dewey. Dwayne Johnson.

- Rocky's kid?
- Dewey!

You-you know who was
just talking about you?

Who?

- Nobody!
- [wheeze-laughs]

Pat still loved
telling that joke.

The reason I called is because

I'm getting into the business.

What business?

The wrestling business.

- Why the [bleep]
- would you wanna do that?

Well, my dad's been
training me here in Tampa,

and I was wondering

if you'd maybe come
out to see me wrestle.

Are you any good?

That's the question I'd like
you to answer for me, sir.

- All right.
- Let's do something new.

Today, we gonna work on
selling the Sleeper...

Pat Patterson?

- Rocky, hey.
- [chuckles]

What you doing up in my gym?

Nah, nah, nah, nah,
the backup gym.

Real gym is being used

for a Miami Sound
Machine music video.

Did Vince send you here to
bring me back as a heel?

Watch out now. I'm expensive.

Actually, I'm here
to see the kid.

Thanks for coming,
Mr. Patterson.

You called him?

I just wanted to
see if I'm any good.

I have to know.

Where's the ring?

This is the ring.

- It's a [bleep] boxing ring.
- I know, I know.

I can't do any big moves
or go off the ropes,

but I'll still show
you what I can.

- All right.
- Let's get this over with.

We good?

You wanna show Pat,
let's show Pat.

Were you concerned Rocky

was gonna t*nk your
audition for Pat?

No, I mean, to my dad's credit,

he never brought any
of that into the ring.

Mm.

Almost.

Sometimes I miss on purpose.

- Keeps you humble, you know?
- Mm-hmm. Sure.

And I did what he'd
been teaching me.

[groans]

I showed Pat the psychological
side of wrestling.

Most guys, when they audition,

they try to get all their
high-flying moves in.

[groans]

Since I couldn't
do any big moves,

I had to sell my
intention and my emotion.

[groans]

I sold my pain and made the
audience feel what I felt.

[groans]

All right. Stop, stop.

Let me ask you something.

Can you work as a heel?

Yeah. Sure.

[suspenseful music]

♪

[grunting]

[dramatic music]

♪

- All right, all right.
- I've seen enough.

So what'd you think,
Mr. Patterson?

Keep working, kid.

That was it? Keep working?

- That was it.
- But that was all I needed.

I was at a crossroads
in my life.

I just needed a
little validation

to let me know that I
was on the right track,

doing the right thing,
and to not give up.

Mm.

Which is why we need
to stay the course.

I'm not gonna meet with
Julien and stoop to his level,

but I'm also not
gonna att*ck him.

And look, if people think

that my behavior hasn't
been presidential,

then they haven't
been paying attention

to this entire campaign.

That's right.

Now, I've been in situations

a lot tougher than
this, Randall,

and I've gotten through them
by putting my head down,

working hard, and
believing in myself.

I mean, I went from having
seven bucks in my pocket

to less than a year later,

getting the phone call
that changes my life.

[telephone rings]

Hello. Johnson residence.

Kid, it's Pat Patterson.

Mr. Patterson. Hi.

Uh, thank you
again for coming...

Yeah, yeah. Listen.

Do you know who was
just talking about you?

[chuckles] Nobody?

No. Me. To Vince.

He wants to take a
look at you in a match.

You ever been to Corpus Christi?

[hopeful music]