Written by: Super Mastodon (@SuperMastodon) Second season of Dark Side of the Ring documentary series by Viceland has just concluded. For the unaware, it takes a look at some of the most tragic events and personalities that has occurred in the history of the professional wrestling industry. I immediately got hooked with this series on Season 1 but they really put on much better production and ways of conveying various narratives for this season. For this article, I will be covering all ten episodes of the season, share my thoughts on the topics and discuss how the episodes impacted my viewing and opinions regarding those things, how it made me feel about certain people as well. So without further ado, let's take a look back at the 2nd season of Dark Side of the Ring. Episode 1 & 2 - Chris Benoit Starting off really heavy with the most infamous incident ever in pro wrestling. I still remember this vividly, being a young kid at the time who has seen plenty of Benoit matches aired in our television on SmackDown, then one night watching the news with my family to see them reporting on the double-murder and suicide case about Chris Benoit, his wife, and son. It was my first time experiencing a major wrestling personality death on that way. I've known about Eddie's passing before but nothing shook me at such a young age more than the Benoit case. It sure made me view things a lot differently from that then on despite still being in elementary myself. As for the episodes themselves, it was divided into two parts. The first one talked about the beginning of Benoit's career. Idolizing the Dynamite Kid, whom in his own right was a controversial wrestler himself and had a lot of parallels with Benoit as his career went down. Then meeting his future wife Nancy, the whole storyline with Kevin Sullivan and how he "stole" his wife both in and out of the ring. There was a lot of showcasing Benoit's family life in this, including stories from David Benoit, his eldest son from a prior marriage. The friendship of Benoit towards other wrestlers was also discussed heavily, with guys like Chris Jericho, Dean Malenko, and Chavo Guerrero. But of course there was no one closer to him more than any other person like Eddie Guerrero. They were so close, they had a bond close like brothers. Which is why from an emotional stand point, Eddie's death factored a lot on Chris Benoit. As they say he was never the same ever since. The documentary really made you feel all these types of emotions bundle up from close friends and family of both sides, a "calm before the storm" if you will before the eventual incident and that is exactly what happened. Episode two focused on the day of the tragic event and how everyone else dealt with it. With this documentary though, it got more clear to me on what Benoit really did that weekend which is so horrifying to even talk about. He was aware of what he was doing. Yes, CTE brain injuries and all that played a part into his descent to madness, the deaths of his peers in such a short amount of time were taking a toll on his mind, as is the countless of hours he has spent traveling and working all over the world. All of that combined resulted into what happened. When the investigators described on how he murdered his wife and son, I just couldn't even fathom how something like that could happen, found his research history on effective ways of killing and possibly reviving a dead son. Things you'd expect from a slasher or horror film, not real life but it was indeed all non-fiction. As years went by, a lot of people just took the case lightly and have "glorified" Benoit, there are even apologists out there. But I do agree with the sentiment, no matter how you spin it, he should never be in any wrestling Hall of Fame, WWE or not. No amount of five star matches and great in-ring work could justify him being honored. If anyone that deserves to be remembered for their work in the business, it was Nancy. An underrated valet in her time, but then again sadly, I think it's also realistic to know that she is forever synonymous with the way she went out as well, at the hands of her own husband. I feel bad for David, he lost his family. Looked up to his father a lot, which of course I can't blame him for that, it was his father still, when he said he wanted to be tag-team champions with Daniel one day, I just got crushed on the inside. Him being bullied just for who he is, some people are plain cruel. The saying goes, "the sins of the father are not the sins of his son." It's good to know that Y2J and Chavo have taken care of him and given the support he needs. Not what WWE did. Yeah, it is a running theme throughout this season, the WWE and Vince McMahon in particular did not come out looking good for their actions with these events. It is no different with the Benoit case, David himself has resented the company for a long time, to the point of thinking that they don't even acknowledge his existence. The Chris Benoit case will be ingrained in the minds of everyone that has a connection with the wrestling business. I think Chris Jericho said it perfectly, the very industry that Benoit loved, he almost ended it himself because of his actions. Wrestling was showered with controversy from left and right, to this day debates of "roid rage" are still running amok, but let's not forget the biggest victims all of these. Family members that lost the ones they loved. There was somewhat of a "happy ending" at least where they showed, Sandra (Nancy's sister) and David together, reuniting and having a closure at the very least despite everything that has happened. More power to them. Episode 3 - The Life and Crimes of New Jack Insane. That is the most appropriate word to describe New Jack. I think he himself would agree as well. Going into this documentary, having known about all of the incidents involving New Jack and how crazy he can be as I've also seen many of his shoot interviews, which admittedly I do find entertaining, it was my first time knowing about his family background. According to New Jack, his father was an abusive husband, going as far as to shooting his mom in front of the family. Growing up in such an environment, there are those who thrived to be better, but some just fall back and become what they were surrounded, I think that is the case for New Jack. The Mass Transit incident was discussed extensively enough in this episode, quite possibly what most people associate New Jack with. Young untrained under aged kid claimed he was a student of Killer Kowalski, was put on a tag-team match with D-Von Dudley vs. The Gangstas since Axl Rotten no-showed the event. Eric Kulas who went by the ring name Mass Transit had prior wrestling experience but not to the point of being in a promotion like ECW especially being involved with workers on that level. Little person wrestler, Tiny the Terrible who has worked with Kulas before in the ring, was also said to have been involved originally but I think in hindsight he was lucky he got out of there, he appeared in the show and told that the Kulas family didn't treat him well afterwards so upon the lawsuit he was on New Jack's side. Anyway the blade job happened, blood literally flowing down the kid's head, all the legal action took place and it was interesting to see New Jack recount the story of Paul Heyman "working" the jury, backing up Jack in the process. Ultimately, the incident was on both sides. Kulas should have never been in that ring and lied about his age and experience, and New Jack he shouldn't have done what he did but that was his attitude, which is still something that should not be excused for. Other in-ring stuff like the Gypsy Joe incident where he beat up this old veteran wrestler, throwing chairs around him and such for no selling his moves. Then there's the Hunter Red incident where he just repeatedly stabbed him and then going to prison, with Red helping him to dropped charges in the promise of turning it into a local wrestling angle. Yep, the business is crazy like that and its roots from the carnival is still heavily prominent despite all those centuries later. What I really found interesting amidst all of these though is that what is the difference between New Jack and Jerome Young? D'Lo Brown, who was a stable mate of Jack in Smokey Mountain has said it best. What separates the man from the character? Or has the man lived too long enough to become the character he portrayed? Perhaps we will never know. New Jack is a talented worker, you just don't know whatever he's saying is hyperbole or the truth, his charisma is still there which made him such an effective personality in the ring. Could he work masterpiece of wrestling art like Bret Hart or Mitsuharu Misawa? Hell no. He was a hardcore wrestler, the personification of extreme. Went as far as to nearly murdering another wrestler, Vic Grimes, pushing him off the scaffold down to the ring. Whether it's for the good or bad, you be the judge of it, but one thing is certain. New Jack will go down in wrestling history as one of the most memorable workers of all time. There really was no one like him before nor after. A unique individual in an industry filled with different sets of characters. Episode 4 - The Brawl For All The worst booking catastrophe in WWE history. This isn't just some young up and comer being buried by another wrestler, or a fan favorite not getting the push he/she deserves. Professional wrestlers were pitted against one another in actual fights under absurd rules, with the end goal is to put one man over and set him up for an eventual box office feud. At least that's what they wanted to achieve, but even then it was already dumb. Why go through the troubles of shoot fights when you could just work your way traditionally in building up "Dr. Death" Steve Williams into a legit tough guy? Also, wrestling fans watch because they want to see pro wrestling, they did not want to see wrestlers who some barely have any training in other forms of martial arts, try to box others in the same situation. It was a mess that's all it was. As JR said, it got nobody over. It could have but they decide not to. What I hate the most about this with all that said is that the idea was born out of pettiness. Vince Russo wanted to see Bradshaw, a known bully backstage, get beaten up. Well he sure got what he asked for but to the cause of other wrestlers being legitimately injured and it wasn't worth it because in the grand scheme of things, no one cared about it and to this day it is viewed in a negative way as it should be. The silver lining in this though is that when JR said it got nobody over, well they could have actually. Bart Gunn plowed his way through the competition, pulled off an upset by beating up Dr. Death, and got the win in the end. Nobody probably expected him to win but he pulled it off. I'm not saying Bart should have been positioned into feuding against Stone Cold, but at the very least they should have done something with him. Give him any title, the IC Championship, you now have this man with a new tough guy reputation, it was an easy sell. Obviously he isn't main eventing WrestleMania or anything crazy like that, but the potential was there in giving him something but they shelved him instead and got awarded by being KO'd in mere seconds by Butterbean. At least he got treated better in Japan later on. Droz was interviewed in this episode too, he was one of the participants in it. To see him still have a positive outlook in life despite suffering a career ending injury and being stuck in a wheelchair forever, gives somewhat of an uplifting feeling to those that have seen it. The only thing I can say about the Brawl For All is that, it was a waste of everybody's time. Dan Severn may agree with that sentiment, he was originally supposed to be in it and could have legitimately beat everyone in the competition because of his MMA background, but he quit before going far in the tournament. The Brawl For All did no one a favor. Everyone except Russo who enjoyed JBL getting his ass kicked, that was probably it. A lot of the wrestlers suffered injuries, it caused the company a lot of money, and the winner of it all was treated like crap in the end. In that sense, all the people involved in this situation were losers. Episode 5 - Jimmy Snuka & The Death of Nancy Argentino Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka was an iconic wrestler of the business. In the late 70's going in to the early 80's at his peak his popularity was in the same vein as Hulk Hogan. He could have been the face of the WWF but in hindsight, I think we're all glad he wasn't. The way I see it, there is a lot of similarities with the Snuka and OJ Simpson case. Both men were never really charged "guilty" in the end but it's common knowledge that they really were the ones that committed those crimes. You'd be a fool to think otherwise, the evidence is too apparent to put up a blind eye. Unfortunately, justice does not always prevail that way and the corruption of the WWE and law enforcement was exposed some more when they covered this story. Nancy Argentino was Snuka's girlfriend even though he was already married to another woman at the time. Even then we can already see the foundation of their relationship was murky to begin with. Nancy's sisters were interviewed throughout the episode, shared a lot of details about the case and the abusive relationship she suffered at the hands of Jimmy. There was one time when one of the sisters met with Nancy and Jimmy and the latter was acting weird and showing signs of temper, making the situation awkward. Nancy's sisters were already warning her to get off the relationship but she persisted. She acted as Jimmy's manager out of the ring, driving him to tours and all that. At the night of the incident, Jimmy and Nancy were apparently in the car with Sam Fatu aka The Tonga Kid (1/2 of The Islanders) which the cop that was interviewed in the episode, did not know about. So already there are conflicting stories about what happened exactly that night. Even Snuka himself couldn't keep up a consistent alibi through the years, it was different from what he said decades ago to what he shared in his book. We all know how Snuka got away with it. The WWE, Vince McMahon to be exact allegedly bribed the police for him to be scot free. At a time when social media was still not around, they were able to keep the case hidden from public knowledge for a long time. Unless you're an insider then, you probably don't know and cheered on for Snuka, I was one of those fans, it wasn't until I had access to the internet to find out about the case, then during Snuka's final years is when he finally faced charges and the case was re-opened, but he was already at a decline in terms of mental health allegedly and was suffering from stomach cancer so he was too ill to face the court. But in some way, the ghost of the case still haunted him until his final breath. For a while even WWE themselves distanced away from Snuka's legacy while the case was ongoing, removing his Hall of Fame page and such. It wasn't until Snuka passed away when they acknowledged him with a video package but that is likely the last time we'll see him referenced in the company ever again. Jimmy Snuka was a wrestler beloved by his peers and celebrated by the fans, for a long time it seemed like he was just another legend of the past that entertained thousands with his innovative highflying moves and charismatic personality. But underneath all the gimmicks, lies a man who murdered an innocent young girl who left a loving family behind, never faced justice for the crimes he obviously did. It's both sad and infuriating how history can be dictated like that but such is the case for horrible tragic events like these. Episode 6 - The Assassination of Dino Bravo Admittedly before this episode, I was already aware of Dino Bravo but I only know of his career with the WWF. I didn't know how big of a star he was in his hometown of Montreal, they weren't lying when they said he was the equivalent of Hulk Hogan in that territory, going as far as to cancelling a Montreal match between Hogan and Dino out of fear of The Hulkster being boo'd. I was never a big fan of Dino but I thought he was a solid worker, whether as a babyface or heel, played the role pretty well, he got heat either way. Him and Frenchy Martin were a perfect pair for one another, I forgot he was managed by Jimmy Hart too whom they interviewed this episode. Anyway, by watching shoot interviews through the years of Canadian wrestlers such as PCO and Raymond Rougeau, I was made aware of how Dino died but not to the full extent of understanding the entire situation until this episode. He was heavily involved with the Canadian mafia and back then, the mafia were at the peak of their powers. I think just being associated with any form of mafia will already result into your inevitable death one way or another, shady businesses are that way. After his wrestling career was over, Dino turned to his known associates to make a living, acting as a bodyguard to higher ups and being involved with other illegal dealings such as with cigarettes. This is out of my expertise but from what I gather, he smuggled and hid large amounts of money and this wasn't seen in favor of the mafia he worked for. When his wife and daughter were out for the night for ballet practice, they went inside his house and shot him multiple times while sitting in his couch watching hockey. Apparently Dino's face was so unrecognizable due to the killing. I can't even imagine being in the shoes of his family, an image like that will be in your mind for life and to see a loved one's life end in such a traumatic way. To this day, the killers of Dino Bravo remains a mystery. Jacques Rougeau (aka The Mountie), a close friend of Dino and a Canadian wrestling legend himself has theorized that Dino knew who his killers were. He let them inside the house as the door was still open in a way where barging in would not be the situation. Apparently former wrestler Rick Martel knows a lot about the situation as well and he was the only person Dino told information about, but he refused to speak in the documentary and likely because he has distanced himself from wrestling altogether since his retirement. What got me emotional the most is seeing his daughter on the present day have a family of her own, she wished her father was still around and could have been a wonderful grandpa with her kids now. By all accounts, Dino seemed like a good family man and a friend to those close to him. Unfortunately he was involved in the wrong business that ultimately caused him his own life. The episode didn't really answer on "who did it?" exactly, but mainly talked about the influence of the Canadian mafia during that time and Dino is just one out of possibly many victims of the brotherhood. Episode 7 - David Schultz & The Slap Heard Around The World "Wrestling is fake." The most polarizing three-word sentence of all time. It's the most common saying to criticize pro wrestling and it can all be rooted at the very foundation of the business going back to the carnival years. Everyone has their own opinions, you've probably heard all of the arguments regarding that statement, one thing is for sure, just don't say it front of "Dr. D" David Schultz's face or else you'd get the piss beat outta you. John Stossel learned about that lesson pretty quick. The gist of the story is that Stossel was doing reports on bogus businesses and wrestling was one of the topics that he wanted to talk about. He specifically went after the WWF, of course with them being the largest wrestling company in the world. Former wrestler Eddie Mansfield aided Stossel in his endeavor as well, exposing some moves and other tricks in the ring, you wouldn't be puzzled to find out he was pretty much blacklisted from the industry afterwards. Also I find his cause admirable of wanting to work for a union and help out the wrestlers' lives but that pretty much ends there as Mansfield came off as someone full of himself in the interview and even shared a ridiculous quote: "Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves, but he forgot to free the pro wrestlers." What the hell does that even mean?! Anyway, Stossel interviewed some wrestlers backstage for his program and one of the wrestlers he talked to was Dr. D. He really picked the wrong guy there. Dr. D was trained by old school wrestler Herb Welch, they did not treat wrestling as a work but rather an actual form of competition, similar to the way of training as the late great Stu Hart. Before you can enter the business, you were stretched, felt a lot of pain, and all that stuff. If there's any word that triggers Dr. D to the fullest extent, it is the word "fake" and it pretty much is a trigger word for any pro wrestler especially ones of the past. Dr. D slapped Stossel around for asking him if it is fake and lawsuits ensued and other legal mess. Schultz claimed he was on his way to being one of the top heels in the WWF, this was way before WrestleMania and Hulk Hogan was getting on the rise. But due to this incident, he was let go and never returned to the company. The way they said it like he was blackballed from the entire industry, which wasn't true, perhaps he was not welcomed back in the WWF or other bigger promotions, but he did work for some small time territories afterwards. Needless to say he never reached the same heights of success again afterwards and he turned into the life of a "bounty hunter." Dr. D is as redneck as you can get and by all accounts, was legitimately one of the toughest men in the business ever. Stossel on the other hand came off as a douche in this episode, claiming he loss hearing from his ear, but then it "magically went away" when he finally got paid after the hearings. At least his legacy as a journalist was being bitch slapped by a wrestler, no more, no less. The bigger picture throughout this episode for me though, was neither Stossel nor Dr. D. It really was about the death of kayfabe. As a wrestling fan, I can accept that the business itself is rooted upon lies and deception, at its core it makes the audience what to believe what they see in the ring is all real. Especially when it was treated like an actual sporting competition. As the years go by as they say no secret shall ever be kept a secret for life, the cat was out of the bag, until to the point where wrestling being a work is now pretty much public knowledge. However, the term "fake" may have some truth from a technical stand point, it is still an insulting term to describe for all the wrestlers that put their bodies on the line. I've seen a take recently about this ordeal, it's like similar to an action movie, for example Jackie Chan. He presents martial arts movies and does all of his own stunts, but no one goes out of their way to sue Jackie and tell in his face that what he does is "fake" because at the end of the day, the broken bones, scars, and other injuries are real. The sacrifice they put into for the entertainment of the fans and their passion for the art, that is what is being insulted whenever someone just dismisses it as fake. These are real people playing characters and personas and we as fans enjoy that and respect those who try to give it their best. Episode 8 - Cocaine & Cowboy Boots: Herb Abrams Story Wrestling promoters can be just as odd as the wrestlers themselves. You got interesting individuals over the years like Vince McMahon, Eric Bischoff, Paul Heyman, Jim Cornette, Bill Watts, Jeff Jarrett, the list is endless. But no one I think was more ambitious to the point of literal madness as Herb Abrams. He was the founder of the Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF) in 1990. Just like many other promoters that started their own companies, Herb aimed to one day reach the pinnacle of the industry and put Vince McMahon and the WWF out of business. Well, we usually know how those kind of attempts end but his demise was both unfortunate and unforgettable. A lot of the former members of the UWF roster were interviewed, notably guys like Mick Foley, B. Brian Blair, and other workers and staff. He was so convinced of this project that he even went as far as to talk to Vince himself and said that they should split territories between the WWF and UWF, obviously Vince just laughed him off and since then, he made it a goal to grow the company and aim to topple the corporation. Realistically did he had a chance? Not really, but it would've been interesting to see at least how he would have went out of his way to do it if he wasn't so addicted to cocaine. If there is one thing synonymous with Herb Abrams, it was cocaine. It was his life, his entire being revolved around sniffing the drug. The UWF did have the potential of being a great promotion. They had a decent roster; Cactus Jack, Dr. Death, Sid Vicious, Bam Bam Bigelow, Paul Orndorff, Cowboy Bob Orton, and many more. Basically anyone who wasn't signed to either the WWF or WCW at the time, was in on the action in the UWF. They had a TV show going and even had the legendary Bruno Sammartino as a commentator. Merchandise was there too, Foley talked about the infamous "Herbie Cookie" along with the line of other wrestler-related oatmeal cookies, probably to compete against WWF's well known wrestler ice cream bars. But if the man at the very top is a cocaine addict, things wouldn't go far. Surprisingly the promotion lasted for six years, but within that timeframe they barely did a lot of shows. The ones they did, especially PPVs at huge venues, they all flopped. Low attendance and PPV sales, then wrestlers and staff morale would turn low due to being unpaid. Because Herb would drain the company's money to fund his cocaine addiction, the UWF would fold and it wasn't long before he himself was found dead in a hotel room. The funniest quote throughout this entire season belongs to B. Brian Blair and I think it is the perfect summary of the promoter's life: "Herb Abrams left this world doing what he loved. Cocaine and hookers." In all seriousness though, despite all the bad habits, it seems like there were still some co-workers that liked Herb. Former pro wrestler, Rick Allen aka Sunny Beach said that Herb was the only promoter that ever believed in him. One of the producers, apologies for forgetting his name even cried and became emotional talking about how Herb was his best friend. There were theories that floated around the time of his passing that he faked his death and is alive somewhere, but I think it's safe to say those are just pure BS and some wrestlers even said on the episode that Herb is a man who can't keep quiet and loved the attention so if he's still alive, he'd get noticed one way or another, he made a big deal of his yellow cowboy boots for crying out loud! Plus people just make these kind of things up all the time, Elvis Presley being alive somewhere as well, the real Paul McCartney being dead and the one we see now is a replacement, the world of conspiracy is often loud and crazy but rarely right. The thing that separates Herb Abrams apart from the rest of the aforementioned promoters, he won't be remembered for anything groundbreaking or memorable, he was unfortunately just an addict that got a lot of attention and money, the wrestling business was just a part of his story, Mick said it best in the end, he'll probably be in jail if he's around today. Episode 9 - The Last Ride of The Road Warriors The Road Warriors (Hawk & Animal) are the greatest tag-team in wrestling ever, certainly the most successful. Never had another tag-team reach their peak of popularity all over the world, the term Road Warrior Pop exists for a reason. The thing about that, how long tenured the career of the Road Warriors have been, it is impossible to encapsulate their entire run together in less than 50 minutes, which is why I found this episode to be my least favorite. It wasn't bad by any means, although in comparison to the rest of the episodes this one is the most underwhelming. After telling how Hawk and Animal basically became a team together and talking about their successes both in the US and Japan, the show mainly covered Hawk's bad habits throughout his life, especially the drug abuse. It has been documented in the past before, going as far as to making it into an actual storyline in the WWF which wasn't good then and still is not good now, one of the most tasteless angles the company has ever done and there's been plenty, exploiting the demons of one of their workers, really disgusting even if the wrestlers themselves agreed to do it. The problem I had with this though now that Hawk is sadly gone, they really painted him as the bad one while Animal was the saint, always checking out on him. Which was probably true but just because Hawk isn't around to tell his side of the story anymore, I felt like the way they covered the story was too one sided. It's the same issue I have with the Queen biography movie, Bohemian Rhapsody, I still enjoyed it as a film but my main gripe with it is that because Freddie Mercury has been dead for several years, the surviving band mates got off easy in terms of their portrayals and Freddie really got the bad end of the stick with how he was made to look like the only one who suffered personal issues throughout their time. This is coming from a huge Queen fan and I respect Brian May and Roger Taylor, but it's obvious that they had massive input on how their images would look like in the movie, I think it's the same with Animal, sure Hawk was the one who abused most of his demons, but to make it look like he was the solely bad one in the group, it's a little unfair for me. What's new to me here is witnessing their infamous SummerSlam 1992 match, according to Animal they were originally supposed to be in the semi main event and challenging for the tag-team championships but Hawk was in such a bad state that he could barely work, so they were relegated to the opening act. It was visible in the match too, it was too obvious to hide and props to Animal, Ted DiBiase, and Mike Rotunda (IRS) for putting out at worst a decent match with the situation they were in, it unofficially became a handicap match in more ways than one. They also briefly talked about Hawk's run in Japan with Kensuke Sasaki as The Power Warrior. What I originally thought was that Sasaki replaced Animal as a tag-team partner because he was injured but I didn't know, at least according to the episode, is that Hawk left the WWF without Animal's notice and went to Japan, reprised the gimmick with someone else without his old partner's blessing too. For a few years there, the Road Warriors had beef with one another until they were reunited once more later in the WWF and other independent promotions. The Road Warriors had their final match as a team on July 11, 2003 on a tour in Japan, sadly four months later Hawk passed away at the age of 46. Paul Ellering, long time manager of the Road Warriors, shared a beautiful message by the end there which he also spoke on Hawk's eulogy, he really is precious in his promos isn't he? They said by the end, Hawk has changed and improved his lifestyle. However, the damage has already taken its toll. Another case of success leading up to the downfall of a once mighty team due to personal demons. With that said, The Road Warriors deserve a much longer and more in-depth documentary covering their entire career, they've cemented their legacies as legends well enough to have that treatment. Episode 10 - The Final Days of Owen Hart The episode that concluded the second season covers the most tragic in-ring incident ever in pro wrestling and that is of course the death of Owen Hart. Thinking about the incident alone still gives me chills, especially with all the information I just discovered fresh off watching the documentary. There have been several wrestlers that have died in the ring, Mitsuharu Misawa and Perro Aguayo Jr. are two cases that come to mind immediately, those are very sad indeed but Owen's was totally different in a way, not because he executed a move the wrong way, not because he had history of years of injury and his body finally gave up on him, it was because of negligence and incompetence of a company towards one of their greatest workers ever. Owen was a member of the legendary Hart wrestling dynasty, no question the most influential wrestling family in Canada. In my opinion he is only behind Bret as the best worker in that entire family and that says something as they are filled with a lot of great and underrated wrestlers. The Benoit episodes, there was a dark undertone vibe with them knowing how the situation went down. The rest of the other cases it's either light hearted or less impactful. However my experience viewing this episode from start to end was depressing. My heart was literally pounding when they started to talk about the incident, I wasn't even around during Owen's lifetime but knowing what took place that night on the Over The Edge PPV, it was hard for me to watch honestly and I usually could go on and watch stuff like these straight without pausing or anything, this time it's a different feeling, too eerie for me, then they got to the part where they discussed his death, how King signaled to JR as Owen was about to fall, the emotion on Jim Cornette a man who we usually see being jovial or angry, to see him being relegated to tears, D'Lo Brown and Godfather seeing Owen's lifeless body being wheeled out, Martha and their children being informed of the news of his death. It's such a sad scenario and I couldn't imagine being on anyone's shoes experiencing that. The one that really got to me was Martha showing the clip that barely held Owen and ultimately the reason for his demise. It was so loose that it could open easily with just a human hand. Apparently the WWF decided to cheap out on the equipment and not to go with their usual stunt team that deals with the likes of Sting in WCW. Such a horrible way to go out and they said Owen's final words were for referee Jimmy Korderas to move out of the way so he wouldn't get injured in the process as well. Even in his last breath, all the man cared about was the wellbeing of others. Another scene that left me in chills was to see the image of the height where he fell from, apparently 80 feet up from the ground, I can't even fathom how that must have felt. What a horrific scene to witness and I'm glad that footage remains to be unseen and vaulted for life. I have to admit, for the longest time as a wrestling fan, selfishly I wanted Owen to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame for a long time. I was one of those stupid fans that thought Martha was being selfish with the legacy of her husband and that he deserves to be recognize for his work in the ring. But as I grew older and knew more of the details how everything truly went down, I understand Martha and this probably does not mean anything in the grand scheme of things, but I apologize for even having those kinds of thoughts in the first place. The WWE does not deserve to recognize Owen and make money off of his legacy. The HOF in itself is a debatable issue, on one hand it is a night where a lot of wrestling legends get credit for their work, it does mean something to different people, like seeing Jake "The Snake" Roberts finally make his speech after his decades of battle with his personal demons, but on the other side of the argument, there is also WWE profiting off the images and other related likeness of these individuals, in Martha's point of view, the company is the reason why her husband is gone and I agree with that. The way Vince and co. handled the situation was so poor on their part, both before and after the incident. As Cornette said, it was an unnecessary stunt that should have never happened in the first place. The way they continued the event despite what happened wasn't great on WWE's part as well. As Martha said, that was literally a crime scene, police should have intervened and stopped the show altogether, also for other wrestlers to work in the ring where one of their peers literally just died in, that emotional roller coaster they must've been going through was tough. The way some wrestlers put up the narrative on how "Owen would have wanted it to continue" looking back on it, that's an awful take on things, sure they were his co-workers and they knew him better than I do, I'm just a fan after all, but that's not how that situation should've been handled at all both from a legal and moral stand point. My blind hate for Martha Hart has turned into respect. What a tough woman she is, raised their children all by herself and they turned out to be well respected individuals of their own, despite all the legal battles with the WWE and having to deal with the Hart Family as well who sided with the company, she pushed through and aimed for a better life for the family she and Owen built. I don't usually feel sadness even with watching movies that are supposed to invoke that emotion from me, but this one got me. I didn't hysterically cry or anything like that, but it made me sick on the inside knowing how great of a person Owen was and to lose him in such a way, it's devastating and I didn't even know him personally, I'm just a fan behind a screen who enjoyed watch him perform. For the most part, besides the little harmless pranks, no one had a bad word to say about Owen Hart and that's saying something as the wrestling business is full of two-faced individuals. Yes he did accidentally injure Stone Cold's neck that one time and never got the opportunity to apologize, to me I think it's not really Owen's intention not to say sorry, but coming from a wrestling family and they pride themselves being excellent workers, especially his brother who is proud of never injuring anyone in his career, Owen must've felt massive guilt over the situation, if he was still around today no doubt him and Austin would've patch things up but sadly that is just a what if scenario. Speaking of scenarios, Chris Jericho shared a sentiment during this episode that by 1999 more wrestlers would later on go to the WWF such as Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle, Edge, etc. Imagine the matches they would've had with Owen and how many more great matches he had left in him before retiring. As fans, that is the thing that was taken away from us, to see how he would have elevated the talent and have memorable matches and moments with other great wrestlers. Such a shame. Similar feel to the Road Warriors episode though, I feel like they could made this one much longer. The incident itself was too big and to combine it in introducing Owen's beginnings and career, I felt like there were still some details we needed to find out and I think they could've had a two-parter for this one as well just for the impact of the tragic event alone. I heard the Chris Jericho podcast interview with Martha goes a little more in-depth so I'll definitely check that out. But overall, I thought it was a well-made documentary and a good sendoff for the season. I came out of this with having better views on how everything unfolded, matured in a way personally. The Owen Hart Foundation is a much better way to celebrate the legacy of Owen Hart than any Hall of Fame induction ever could. Martha Hart must be commended for her bravery as a wife and a mother. Oje and Athena as well for how they turned out and grew up to become who they are today. The King of Hearts is somewhere, smiling down on his family and proud of them immensely. Rest in Peace, Owen Hart, forever in our memories. Those are my thoughts on the second season of Dark Side of the Ring. I thought each episode was unique and great in their own little ways. Although there was somewhat of a running theme that was shared primarily with most of the episodes and that was Vince McMahon and the WWE not being shed a good light. I thought everything that was said against them though was fair and backed up with facts, whether you're a WWE fan or not, you cannot turn a blind eye with these issues, it's the reality we live in that most of these corporate companies care about one thing and one thing only no matter how much they spin their agenda: money.
Props to the staff for covering these incidents well and having the right personalities involved too. I personally enjoyed Chris Jericho as the narrator throughout the season, I thought he did a great job. Last season I feel was a mixed bag, there were some good episodes like the Bruiser Brody and Macho Man while some I feel needed a bit more extensive and unbias coverage like the Von Erichs and Fabulous Moolah. This time around, I thought they handled everything much better. I highly recommend the series if you're interested in viewing it, even to those may not be wrestling fans or casuals. Professional wrestling is an industry that has its fair share of tragedy through the years. We can critique people all day we want, have our hot takes and controversial opinions, but at the end of the day, as fans the best thing to do is to learn from these unfortunate events and become as better individuals in the process. Thanks For Reading. Follow me on Twitter: @SuperMastodon |
AuthorSuper Mastodon. Spent countless of hours throughout my life watching professional wrestling. Now I write about it, because I like that too. Archives
March 2021
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