Anticipated Dark Side of the Ring Episodes
If you’ve fallen down the Dark Side of the Ring rabbit hole, first, welcome to the spiral, second, are you fascinated, haunted or both? (’cause, same)
My partner and I have been doing a deep dive through WWF/WWE pay-per-view archives now that they’re on Netflix Canada, and Dark Side also became a bit of a date night for us as Crave aired each episode. The show has a way of cracking open stories you thought you knew, or shining a light on ones that have slipped through the cracks of mainstream or current day conversation.
While we await the newest season, here are some wrestlers and stories that deserve the Dark Side treatment in the next round
Content may be heavy
Possible Dark Side of the Ring Episodes
Jerry the King Lawler
To me, Jerry always deserved a closer look, but what better year than that during which society is taking a closer look at not just pedophiles but also previously excused or ignored perversion in media industries.
Lawler has had one of the longest, most visible announcer table careers in professional wrestling, and yet the full picture of who he is and what he did has never really been told in a singular format that reaches the masses. An episode here would be genuinely eye-opening for fans who only know him as “the announcer guy” who really liked “puppies.”
The Speaking Out Movement
This one is bigger than any single wrestler or wrestling personality.
In 2020, the wrestling world had a reckoning with dozens of women coming forward with allegations against performers across every level of the industry, including within WWE, AEW, Impact Wrestling, MLW, NWA, NJPW and ROH among many others.
A Dark Side episode, or two, that centres the movement itself, not just the names, but the pattern, the culture that allowed it, and where things stand now could be some of the most important TV the show has ever made.
Ashley Massaro
The story of Ashley Massaro has been one of the most quietly devestating ones in WWE history but is slowly becoming louder in the organic audience demand for attention and possibly a little justice or accountability wherever possible.
Ashley was a Diva Search winner who became one of the most recognizable faces of mid-2000s WWE. Her life in wrestling, after wrestling and her death in 2019 at 39 deserves far more observation than what’s been received, including her allegations against WWE, her struggles, and her participation in a CTE class action lawsuit before her passing.
Stone Cold Steve Austin (& Debra)
This one really hit me watching those late 90s, early 2000s PPVs. Debra had such a warmth and spark to her, she was so genuinely charming and entertaining. And then she was gone.
Steve Austin’s arrest for domestic violence is well known. What’s less talked about is Debra’s account of their relationship, including what she described in her police report, and how quickly the wrestling world moved on because he was a star.
Austin remains a beloved legend of wrestling history to this day, and that complicated truth is exactly the kind of thing that Dark Side exists to sit with and discuss. They’ve covered the domestic violence stories of Jimmy Snuka, Billy Jack Haynes, Brian Pillman. Stone Cold is fair game.
John Laurinaitis aka Johnny Ace
A longtime WWE executive as Head of Talent Relations, and the short-term stepfather of Nikki and Brie Bella, John Laurinaitis’ arc is dark, especially given the significant amount of power he wielded over the careers of superstars, especially women, for years.
You might say his level of power in the company was second to Vince, if you really wanted to unofficially rank it.
The allegations that have emerged around him in recent years are serious, and they deserve the kind of deep investigative storytelling that Dark Side does best. Even if he has (legally) turned on Vince in the Janel Grant case by agreeing to settle and cooperate with Grant, which means providing evidence to help her case against Vince and the WWE.
Curt Hennig and Rick Rude
This one is less of a scandal and more of a tragedy. You have two childhood friends from Minnesota who rose to the top of the wrestling world together just to have such self-destructive tendencies that they both cost themselves their lives.
Curt Hennig passed away in 2003 at age 44 and Rick Rude passed in 1999 at the age of 40.
A duo-tale of friendship, talent, excess and the tolls of life on the road, this could be one of the more human episodes of a season.
Rob Feinstein
This one is uncomfortable to even type about, which is why it needs to be said.
Rob Feinstein, co-founder of Ring of Honor, was caught in a 2004 predator sting operation ON CAMERA, attempting to solicit who -he- believed to be a 14 year old boy.
While he did step away from Ring of Honor, he’s remained actively involved in the wrestling industry in various capacities ever since, and that gives me the absolute ick.
The fact this faded from mainstream memory, or that people stopped caring, is its own kind of story, but let’s have Dark Side focus on the whole darn thing.
The List Goes On
There are certainly many more names I could add to this list. It’s just one of those things where the longer you sit with it, or rewatch the shows, the more the wrestling industry’s history reveals itself to be a genuinely wild and often deeply troubling place.
But these seem like valid starting points to tack on the board.
Feature Image Credit: Vice TV
