A national ad campaign featuring Ric Flair has been put on pause following Thursday’s Dark Side of the Ring episode.
PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported Friday that the Carshield campaigns featuring the WWE Hall-of-Famer are on pause according to Intermedia, the advertising agency that handles the ad.
In a statement to Johnson, they said, “We take these matters very seriously. As of right now, we are pausing the campaign and we will do our due diligence.”
He added that there is no timetable for the spots to return and that they will be removed “pending additional investigation and decisions.”
In the “Plane Ride From Hell” episode that debuted Thursday, Flair was accused by flight attendant Heidi Doyle of exposing himself to her, pushing her up against the back door of the plane and putting her hand on his genitals.
Flair has denied the claims, even as recently as earlier this week on a podcast with Renee Paquette.
“We’ll see how it plays out, because I was there and I don’t care whose name I gotta drop if the heat falls on me. I know who was where and what and who and what took place. I know the whole story,” he said on the podcast.
Flair has yet to comment Friday on the episode or the fallout from it which includes Tommy Dreamer being suspended from Impact Wrestling for his comments defending Flair.
Vice TV’s Dark Side of the Ring docuseries will return with new episodes on Thursday, September 16 at 9 p.m. Eastern time.
The premiere date for the second half of the third season of the show was announced today.
Seven new subjects will be covered over the course of the season. The topics will be WWE’s infamous Plane Ride From Hell, the life and death of Chris Kanyon, Japan’s FMW promotion, the XPW promotion, the life and death of Luna Vachon, the life and death of Bruiser Bedlam/Johnny K9, plus the 1994 trial where Vince McMahon was indicted and later found not guilty of providing steroids to WWF wrestlers.
The first half of Dark Side of the Ring’s third season premiered on May 6, 2021. The first seven episodes included a two-part Brian Pillman biography, Nick Gage, Collision in Korea, Ultimate Warrior, Grizzly Smith and Dynamite Kid.
The state of emergency in Japan, combined with nine COVID test failures, has led New Japan Pro Wrestling to postpone both its 5/15 show at the Yokohama Baseball Stadium and 5/29 show at the Tokyo Dome.
It had become curious coming off the 5/4 Dontaku show at the Fukuoka Convention Center that no direct angles happened to set up matches with three major shows in the next five weeks. It was more notable when no press conference was held in the two days after Dontaku for the stadium shows.
The government announced a state of emergency through the end of May. It had already been decided that attendance at the 5/15 and 5/29 show and all entertainment events in a number of major cities in Japan be capped off at 5,000. The capacity limit had been known for some time, so the shows being called off is likely because of being cautious due to the COVID outbreak as they legally could run the events at a limited capacity. Also, most likely, the nine wrestlers affected would be available for the Tokyo Dome show, even if it would be touch-and-go for Yokohama Arena. WWE and AEW both have put people on the show 11 days after positive tests so a 5/15 date would have been touch-and-go, but New Japan as a company also may have been more cautious. Given we don’t know who tested positive, there could be other issues such as the advance for both of the shows and if they could put together a show worthy of stadium events, and certainly 5/15 would appear to have been hard to do so.
Dave Meltzer and I are back with a bonus episode of Wrestling Observer Radio. I mentioned during our last show with Kim Wood that we’d answer all the listener questions that we didn’t get to on The Fight Game Podcast, but didn’t realize that there’d be an open Sunday night slot for Wrestling Observer Radio. So here we are.
Dave answers the rest of the questions from listeners which are mostly about Brian Pillman, but there are a few Randy Savage ones in there as well.
Last night’s season three premiere of Dark Side of the Ring drew the third-best viewership in the show’s history.
Dark Side of the Ring’s two-part Brian Pillman documentary averaged 272,000 viewers on Vice TV last night. The rating in the 18-49 demo was a 0.09.
Only last season’s finale on Owen Hart and last season’s two-part premiere on Chris Benoit have drawn better viewership for Dark Side of the Ring.
Last night’s episode of Impact Wrestling averaged 123,000 viewers on AXS TV. That’s up slightly from the 120,000 viewers that last week’s Impact averaged. The rating in the 18-49 demo was a 0.04, down from last week’s 0.05 rating.
Last week’s Impact went against night one of the NFL Draft.
The second hour of Impact went head-to-head with the first hour of Dark Side of the Ring’s Pillman documentary last night.
Next Thursday’s Dark Side of the Ring documentary is focused on Nick Gage, while next Thursday’s Impact is the go-home show for the promotion’s Under Siege Impact Plus special.
Here’s a look at Dark Side of the Ring ratings throughout the show’s history:
Season one —
Macho Man & Ms. Elizabeth — 154,000 viewers (0.06 rating in 18-49)
The Montreal Screwjob — 181,000 viewers (0.07 rating in 18-49)
Bruiser Brody — 214,000 viewers (0.07 rating in 18-49)
The Von Erich family — 234,000 viewers (0.08 rating in 18-49)
Gino Hernandez — 225,000 viewers (0.08 rating in 18-49)
The Fabulous Moolah — 200,000 viewers (0.07 rating in 18-49)
Season two —
Chris Benoit — 320,000 viewers (0.14 rating in 18-49)
New Jack — 229,000 viewers (0.11 rating in 18-49)
Brawl for All — 226,000 viewers (0.09 rating in 18-49)
Jimmy Snuka — 209,000 viewers (0.09 rating in 18-49)
Dino Bravo — 221,000 viewers (0.10 rating in 18-49)
David Schultz — 255,000 viewers (0.11 rating in 18-49)
Herb Abrams — 246,000 viewers (0.10 rating in 18-49)
The Road Warriors — 264,000 viewers (0.12 rating in 18-49)
Owen Hart — 349,000 viewers (0.18 rating in 18-49)
Season three —
Brian Pillman — 272,000 viewers (0.09 rating in 18-49)
And here are Impact’s ratings since the start of December:
December 1 — 166,000 viewers (0.05 rating in 18-49)
December 8 (Kenny Omega’s first Impact appearance) — 221,000 viewers (0.08 rating in 18-49)
December 15 — 177,000 viewers (0.04 rating in 18-49)
December 22 (Best of 2020 part one) — 133,000 viewers (0.03 rating in 18-49)
December 29 (Best of 2020 part two) — 103,000 viewers (0.01 rating in 18-49)
January 5 — 148,000 viewers (0.04 rating in 18-49)
January 12 — 161,000 viewers (0.05 rating in 18-49)
January 19 — 147,000 viewers (0.03 rating in 18-49)
January 26 — 186,000 viewers (0.05 rating in 18-49)
February 2 — 173,000 viewers (0.05 rating in 18-49)
February 9 — 153,000 viewers (0.04 rating in 18-49)
February 16 (Juice Robinson and David Finlay’s first Impact appearance) — 197,000 viewers (0.06 rating in 18-49)
February 23 — 170,000 viewers (0.04 rating in 18-49)
March 2 — 134,000 viewers (0.03 rating in 18-49)
March 9 — 144,000 viewers (0.04 rating in 18-49)
March 16 — 146,000 viewers (0.04 rating in 18-49)
March 23 — 116,000 viewers (0.04 rating in 18-49)
March 30 — 149,000 viewers (0.04 rating in 18-49)
April 8 (first Thursday episode, Omega in action) — 168,000 viewers (0.06 rating in 18-49)
Dave Meltzer and I are back with Wrestling Observer Radio and special guest, Evan Husney, co-creator of the Dark Side of the Ring series on Vice TV.
Evan joins us to talk about season three of Dark Side of the Ring, which starts May 6 on Vice with the Brian Pillman two-parter.
We talk about the Pillman episode which features Dave. Pillman’s story is one that Dave was very close to as it was happening. We go back and talk about some of the memorable episodes and moments from the first two seasons.
Evan also talks about their research process, how to distinguish the real from the embellished stories, his dream episode, as well as competition in the wrestling documentary space.
How the NHL deal affects both WWE and AEW is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
We look at the deal, have Tony Khan’s comments on it, update on AEW and TNT, AEW vs. NHL ratings, declining ratings equals larger right fees, notes on the next WWE and AEW deals, and key contract years for AEW and WWE.
Also in this issue:
A complete rundown of UFC 261, background of the show, match-by-match coverage, poll results, business notes, as well as what categories UFC won in television ratings this past week.
Peacock subscribers, Supreme Court ruling on a WWE case, WWE going back on the road, Mickie James talks her issues with her final run, why no second Evolution PPV show, front office changes in WWE, Daniel Bryan talks his future goals, Paul Levesque talks physical Hall of Fame, new WWE announcer, new WWE signings, how wrestling fared as compared with other sports on television, former headliner says he’s returning to WWE, upcoming major TV matches and the most-watched segments on YouTube of recent shows.
CMLL and ROH relationship falling apart, how Mexico is changing with a new promotion, the question a lot of the CMLL and AAA wrestlers have to ask themselves and money figures the top talent is getting with the new promotion.
What other wrestlers held three major world titles in three different companies besides Kenny Omega and details of that.
Impact Rebellion with match-by-match coverage, star ratings and poll results, as well as early PPV notes, where the company is going forward and what happened in the Omega vs. Swann match.
WWE’s highest stakes television match in a long time with Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan.
A feature on Jake Paul, Triller’s lawsuit, and Paul challenges involving Daniel Cormier, Nate Diaz and Kamaru Usman.
PPV numbers from television from every company over the past six months.
More on last week’s feature about historical world title unification matches from different companies, including a reference to Babe Ruth.
How long the average fan watches the key wrestling shows, how many different people are actually watching, what show is watched live the most and what show is time delayed the most.
More into detail on the ratings than any other source, how every segment on NXT and AEW did as well as how it did with different age groups, genders and more, plus a look at all other wrestling shows of the past week.
Results of the major pro wrestling events of the past week.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
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If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE
Bryan and I have a new show with Chris Jericho talking AEW, Wednesday’s promo, Blood and Guts, his new book and more up on the site right now. Garrett Gonzalez and I will have a show up tonight talking about Dark Side of the Ring with co-creator Evan Husney. We will also have a news show on Saturday night.
Smackdown tonight has one of the highest stip matches on the show in years with Roman Reigns defending the Universal title against Daniel Bryan, who has to leave Smackdown if he loses. Plus Apollo Crews vs. Big E for the IC title and Street Profits & Bianca Belair vs. Bayley & Robert Roode & Dolph Ziggler.
205 Live has Ever Rise vs. Ariya Daivari & Tony Nese and The Singh Brothers vs. Austin Gray & Jake Atlas.
Sunday’s WWE’s Most Wanted Treasures episode has Jerry Lawler looking for items related to his feud with Andy Kaufman.
UFC tomorrow night from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. Eastern on ESPN 2:
Luke Sanders (145.5) vs,. Felipe Colares (145.5)
Andreas Michailidis (185.5) vs. KB Bhullar (186)
Loma Lookboonmee (116) vs. Sam Hughes (115.5)
Kai Kamaka (146) vs. TJ Brown (145.5)
Gabriel Benitez (150.5) vs. Jonathan Pearce (146) – Benitez was fined for missing weight
Randa Markos (115) vs. Luana Pinheiro (115.5)
Poliana Botelho (125.5) vs. Luana Carolina (128.5) – Carolina was fined for missing weight
Merab Dvalishvili (135.5) vs. Cody Stamann (135.5)
Sean Strickland (185.5) vs. Krzysztof Jotko (185.5)
Ion Cutelaba (206) vs. Dustin Jacoby (205)
Cub Swanson (145.5) vs. Giga Chikadze (146)
Dominick Reyes (205.5) vs. Jiro Prochazka (204)
On Wednesday’s AEW show, there were several points in the Pinnacle/Inner Circle promo that topped 1 million viewers and the show ended with the post-match of Darby Allin vs. 10 with more than 500,000 18-49 viewers.
Alberto Rodriguez’s aggravated kidnapping and sexual assault charges from an incident with an ex-girlfriend in May goes to trial on Monday in San Antonio.
New Japan Strong tonight at 10 p.m. Eastern has:
Karl Fredericks vs.Clark Connors
Ren Narita & Fred Rosser vs. Alex Coughlin & Kevin Knight
Brandon Vera defends the ONE heavyweight title against Arjan Bhuller, a former Canadian national wrestling champion, on 5/15 at Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Dragon Gate announced that Oji Shiiba is leaving the company due to injuries.
MLW debuts on Vice tomorrow at Noon with an old episode headlined by MJF vs. Marshall Von Erich and Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Simon Gotch.
The Shooting the Shiznit podcast on the new Championship Wrestling from Memphis airs at about 2:30 p.m. on Facebook every Saturday at stspod.club It isn’t on Twitch as we reported earlier in the week.
Wrestlefest tomorrow on FITE TV features Laynie Luck vs. Jordynne Grace for the women’s title and a ladder match for the Zelo Pro championship with CJ Esparza vs. Brubaker vs. Robert Anthony vs. GPA vs. Mason Conrad vs. Bryce Benjamin. Colt Cabana is also on the show.
Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship tonight from Boutwell Auditorium in Birmingham. Main event has Frank Tate (257.3) vs. Josh Burns (257) in a heavyweight bout.
NFC on 5/8 at District Atlanta with an MMA show.
LFA tonight on UFC Fight Pass from the Grand Casino Hotel & Resort in Shawnee, OK features Joshua Silveira (4-0) vs. Rafael Viana (6-1) and Luis Gavinho (10-4) vs. Terrance McKinney (8-3) in the top fights.
Combate Globo on 5/7 on Univision at midnight Friday night Easter time is headlined by Juan Puerta (1-6) vs Lloyd McKenney (14-7)
Glory announced Badr Hari (108-15, 92 knockouts) vs. Arkasdiuz Wrzeosek (12-5, seven knockouts) in a heavyweight main event from the Rotterdam Ahoy on 7/17.
Cage Fury announced a return with shows on 5/28 and 5/29 at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia. These shows air on Fight Pass with C.M. Punk announcing. 5/28 is headlined by Jamelle Jones (11-6) defending his heavyweight title against Rakim Cleveland (20-13-1). Saturday has strawweight champion Elise Reed (3-0) defending against Hilario Rose (5-2).
Lio Rush vs. Myron Reed for the middleweight title headlines Wednesday’s MLW show on YouTube.
Celebrity Boxing on 6/11 in Atlantic City features NBA star Lamar Odom vs. Aaron Carter, brother of Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys.
Jersey Championship Wrestling returns tomorrow with a live show streaming on YouTube from the Showboat in Atlantic City, NJ headlined by Joey Janela vs. Slayer.
Vice TV has revealed the full list of topics that will be covered in the third season of Dark Side of the Ring.
Dark Side of the Ring season three will kick off with a two-hour episode focused on Brian Pillman airing on Vice TV at 9 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday, May 6. The 14-episode season will be broken up into two parts, with part one also covering Collision in Korea, Nick Gage, The Ultimate Warrior, Grizzly Smith, and Dynamite Kid.
The second half of the season will premiere in the late summer and will cover the WWF steroid trials, Atsushi Onita’s FMW promotion, Luna Vachon, WWE’s Plane Ride From Hell from 2002, Rob Black’s XPW promotion, Johnny K-9 (also known as Bruiser Bedlam), and Chris Kanyon.
“This third season, Dark Side of the Ring, VICE TV’s most watched show of all time, will venture even deeper into wrestling’s shrouded past, revealing the hidden, heartbreaking, and untold stories of professional wrestling with intimate access to its subjects,” Vice TV wrote.
“Wrestling legend and AEW superstar Chris Jericho will return as the series’ narrator for a second consecutive season. He will be joined by an enormous and star-studded cast, including Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts, Jon Moxley, Mick Foley, Diamond Dallas Page, Eric Bischoff, Jim Ross, Jim Cornette, David Arquette, Antonio Inoki, Rob Van Dam, Terry Funk, and the former wife of Ultimate Warrior, Shari Tyree.”
“With this epic, fourteen-episode season, we’ve had the opportunity to push the series to new heights and dig even deeper into a world that has captivated us our entire lives,” said Dark Side of the Ring executive producers and co-creators Jason Eisener and Evan Husney. “We’re excited to unveil a season that encompasses a whole new spectrum of stories, ranging from legendary icons of the past, to contemporary snapshots from wrestling’s underground, to mind-blowing sagas overseas.”
The trailer for the Pillman episode was released today and is available to watch below:
Vice TV has revealed the premiere date for Dark Side of the Ring season three.
It was announced today that season three of Dark Side of the Ring will premiere on Vice TV at 9 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday, May 6. Six of the topics that will be covered in season three were also confirmed. They are: Brian Pillman, Nick Gage, Collision in Korea, The Ultimate Warrior, Grizzly Smith, and Dynamite Kid.
Season three of Dark Side of the Ring will feature 14 episodes in total. The Pillman episode will be the season premiere. Vice TV noted that an announcement revealing more of this season’s “electrifying roster and explosive storylines” will be made later this month.
“Dark Side of the Ring, VICE TV’s most watched show of all time, exposes the hidden, heartbreaking, and untold stories of professional wrestling with intimate access to its subjects. The series chronicles the deeply personal and often controversial legacies surrounding the larger-than-life brawlers of the wrestling world, in a sport that draws tens of millions of fans around the globe to this day,” Vice TV wrote.
“This season will continue the rich storytelling that defined seasons one and two, exploring some of the most dramatic moments in wrestling history with a compelling cast of insiders, many of whom are baring their souls on camera for the very first time.”
Interviews with Chris Jericho, Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts, Jon Moxley, Eric Bischoff, Jim Cornette, David Arquette, and Shari Tyree (the former wife of Ultimate Warrior) are featured in the trailer for Dark Side of the Ring season three. The trailer is available to watch below:
The story of Jim Crockett Jr., and the rise and fall of Jim Crockett Promotions is the lead story in the current double-sized issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
We look at the death of Crockett, the Crockett’s family original involvement in wrestling, how Jim took over the moves he made in building a small market territory into one of the big three companies in the U.S., original plans and why they changed, the rise of Ric Flair, where Jm was a Hall of Fame promoter, the fight with Vince McMahon from 1984-88, getting the TBS deal, what led to JCP selling to Turner, the framework of the NWA in the 70s and 80s, the rise of the super show concept, mistakes made at the end, what happened when TBS took over, attempts to get back in wrestling and life after wrestling.
Also in this issue:
NXT to Tuesday, why, what should be expected for the unopposed shows, WrestleMania plans, Takeover plans and how this affects the industry as a whole.
We also look at the next four PPV shows in pro wrestling with current plans and what happened this week to change plans.
A court case that has major ramifications on major wrestling companies.
A new documentary from a WWE star away from WWE.
Raw conflicting with college basketball, how other sports do on TV against AEW or WWE, Canadian rating updated, where wrestling stands with mother major sports programming, WWE losing a time slot to AEW, WWE injury dates, Ric Flair talks his angle being dropped, WWE market value and the most-watched shows of the past week on the WWE Network.
New Japan Cup and company plans going forward, Castle Attack shows, injury update, business notes and stadium shows.
Stardom’s biggest show in its history at Budokan Hall.
Life and times of Dean Higuchi, or Dean Ho, one of the major babyface stars of the 70s and his debut in Hawaii, his notoriety prior to wrestling, and his biggest career runs in WWWF and for Roy Shire.
Saturday’s UFC show.
The life of Art Michalik, who was responsible for a major change in pro football, his NFL career, getting into pro wrestling, headlining in Japan and life outside of wrestling.
The life of Johnny DeFazio, one of the most famous local stars in Pittsburgh, the heyday of Studio Wrestling and his life outside of wrestling including being a union head and for decades later a councilman.
The career of Don Serrano, who spent decades in wrestling and certain firsts he was involved in.
The life of Ann Casey, a noteworthy woman wrestling star of the 60s and 70s.
More into detail on the ratings than any other source, we have how every segment on NXT and AEW did as well as how it did with different age groups, genders and more, plus a look at all other wrestling shows of the past week.
Results of the major pro wrestling events of the past week.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.
For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
HeelbyNature reported that WWE has voluntarily dismissed its lawsuit against US Citizenship and Immigration Services. The details of the lawsuit have been sealed to the public.
In an interview with the New York Post, Shawn Michaels discussed a potential NXT move to Tuesdays: “It’s always clearly easier when [you’re] sort of destination programming, so to speak. Nothing would change certainly for us. We still try to put the best show out there that we can. Clearly, I know that’s everybody’s goal. I think it would only be fair to say everyone knows that when you are not competing against another similar show that it makes it a little bit easier. It allows people to enjoy that. And then you think about the follow from Raw the next night. So, clearly, it certainly wouldn’t hurt.”
Michaels also talked about the use of leg slaps by wrestlers.: “Clearly I look back and I go, OK I did it. I just did one. I’m always of the cloth, I can remember when I started people telling me too fast, too much, too this and there’s a balance there. They were right in some respects and at the same time, the business also evolves and changes. Football isn’t played the same. Basketball isn’t played the same, so I don’t know. I’m somebody that embraces those changes. I feel like somewhere in the middle and balance is so important. I appreciate the style of today. I appreciate the athleticism of the performers of today. Are they perfect? No. But neither were we.”
The company has trademarked “Symbiosis” and “Franky Monet”.
Other Wrestling
The NWA has announced that Jordan Clearwater, Crimson, and Slice Boogie will be part of their return on March 21 on the Back to Attack pay-per-view on FITE TV.
Last night’s Dark Side of the Ring: Confidential on VICE placed 133rd for the night, averaging 79,000 viewers.
Matt Taven and Vincent will take part in a “summit” moderated by Brian Zane that will stream at 7 pm ET on ROH’s YouTube page.
Mick Foley commented on the ending to Sunday’s AEW Revolution event: “SAD, BUT TRUE! I’ve been there – at the 1995 KOTDM when the exploding ring underperformed. I feel bad for Mox & Omega, but suggest that@AEW deep-six the Kenny built a crummy ring story, and just admit that mistakes happen…and will learn from this mistake. Just my opinion.”
Dark Side of the Ring is adding a new talk show that will premiere next week.
Dark Side of the Ring: Confidential will premiere on Vice on March 9. The show, which will consist of eight 90 minute episodes, will take a look into episodes of the past two seasons of Dark Side of the Ring. A roundtable, featuring creators Evan Husney and Jason Eisner and hosted by Conrad Thompson, will explore unanswered questions and secrets.Guests will include Tommy Dreamer, the Blue Meanie, Savio Vega, and former WWE referee Mike Chidoa. You can watch the trailer for the premiere below:
Previous subjects explored in those episodes include The Montreal Screwjob, Gino Hernandez, and the Von Erichs.
Dark Side of the Ring’s third season is slated to premiere later this year. Topics confirmed for the season include Brian Pillman, Dynamite Kid, Collision in Korea, Nick Gage, Chris Kanyon, XPW, the Smith family (Grizzly Smith, Rockin’ Robin, Sam Houston, and Jake Roberts), and Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling.
The premiere episode of Dark Side of the Ring’s third season will be focused on the career and passing of Brian Pillman.
Steve Austin revealed the news on a Vice podcast Thursday, adding that he was interviewed for it. Austin and Pillman had an extensive history together, including a run as the Hollywood Blonds tag team in WCW and as rivals during the early portion of WWE’s Attitude Era.
Pillman was just 35 years old when he died of a heart attack in a hotel room in Minnesota while still with WWE. Austin later said Pillman had the same heart disease as his father, but it was undetected.
Our Dave Meltzer was also interviewed for the episode.
Vice announced last October that Dark Side would return for a third season. The 14-episode run will kick off at some point this year with focuses on the Dynamite Kid, Grizzly Smith, XPW, and the WCW/NJPW show in North Korea.
Dark Side of the Ring is officially returning for a third season.
Vice TV made the announcement today that Dark Side of the Ring has been renewed for season three. The season will premiere in 2021 and will feature 14 episodes.
Dark Side of the Ring is the highest rated show in Vice TV history. Season one aired in 2019 and had six episodes. Season two then debuted this March and had 10 episodes, including a two-part documentary on Chris Benoit.
“‘Dark Side of the Ring’ is a knockout show for Vice TV. The tag-team executive producers Evan Husney and Jason Eisener are true heavyweight champions of the world (of TV), and we are so excited to pin down a third season of this incredible series,” said Morgan Hertzan, executive vice president and general manager of Vice Television. “Seasons 1 and 2 of ‘Dark Side of the Ring’ are examples of the compelling, thought-provoking, and engaging storytelling we champion here at Vice TV. We can’t wait to see what the series will throw down in the third round!”
Vice TV hasn’t announced the topics that Dark Side of the Ring season three will be covering. In the Wrestling Observer Newsletter last week, Dave Meltzer gave an update on some of the episodes that are being worked on:
Vice is working on a third season of Dark Side of the Ring after the second season set record viewership numbers for the station. Vice is also coming off this commissioning a first season of Dark Side of Football. The idea the station has is Dark Side of Wrestling worked because it was a deep dive on nostalgic subjects as opposed to the idea wrestling in the past wasn’t well covered mainstream so most viewers knew next to nothing behind-the-scenes on these subjects. But it was notable that those at Vice were not interested in a pro wrestling television series based on the ratings of Dark Side and instead chalk this up to interest in as many different Dark Side subjects as they can. We know they are working on shows on Brian Pillman (I’d say the key people to get would be Kim Wood, Mark Madden, Brian Jr., Melanie Pillman, Liam O’Rourke and myself but obviously I’m not going to be asked but without Wood or O’Rourke it’ll be filled with flaws because O’Rourke is the student of Pillman and Wood worked with him on all his ideas), Dynamite Kid (Bret Hart hasn’t been interested in their shows in the past because of how Montreal was covered and he would be by far the best person to talk with, with Ross Hart second so hopefully they’ll at least get Ross), Grizzly Smith (getting family members which will be one dark story) and going back to WCW talking about the two shows in North Korea in 1995, which really is a fascinating story. I don’t think they can get Ric Flair, who would be tremendous, because WWE doesn’t allow its talent to participate in that series, but Scott Norton is somebody they need to talk with on that one, as well as Eric Bischoff and some of the other guys like Too Cold Scorpio who were on the trip or Antonio Inoki, which at this stage would be very difficult.
A look at recent concussion and head trauma issues in wrestling as it relates to Matt Hardy and other recent situations in other companies is the lead story in the new issue of the Observer. We go through Hardy vs. Sammy Guevara, how it was handled, Reby Hardy’s reactions, AEW’s releases, as well as look at many other high profile situations in the last few years in New Japan and WWE, including Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar and how that match pretty much tells you that there will always be exceptions to concussion protocol.
Also in this issue:
Other risks taken in AEW of late, along with complete coverage of All Out, with business notes inculding PPV numbers, poll results,match-by-match coverage and star ratings.
WWE’s new policy on third party bookings, with WWE clarifying many issues, talent reactions, how things seemed to change during the week, as well as reaction from others in wrestling along with Andrew Yang.
G-1 Climax tournament including the blocks and favorites.
Appellate court ruling that threw out a series of lawsuits against WWE on different grounds. We look at the legal technicalities regarding why these cases had little chance from the start, the one aspect still open and reactions from both lawyers.
Latest firings by WWE, who was involved , why they were done now, plus a look at the career of Gerald Brisco.
Finn Balor vs. Adam Cole, Clash of Champions card, PPV schedule change, NXT UK TV show note, Styles talks retirement, AOP firing notes, Canadian ratings, Where WWE ranks in sports ratings, Cena new TV show, Lawler talks why WWE announcing has changed, WWE star nominated for an award, next week’s TV, WWE current market value as well as the most watched shows for the week on the WWE Network.
Complete coverage of this past Saturday’s UFC show.
The formation of a new pro wrestling group by a major corporation and how it differs from any group in the world as far as its main platform.
Ratings of all the major shows, the key demos and quarters for AEW and WWE, what happened head-to-head and what can be learned from them.
Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
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MONDAY NEWS UPDATE
Bryan and I will be back tonight talking a ton of different stories as well as Raw and taking your e-mail questions at [email protected]
Photos surfaced today of Ronda Rousey in the ring training with JTG and Ariel Toombs (Teal Piper, Roddy’s daughter).
Raw tonight is a major rating of importance coming off the disappointing number on Monday. This is week one of the NFL season so there is a traditional drop. But Raw is loading up with a theme show with Drew McIntyre vs. Keith Lee non-title, Seth Rollins vs. Dominik Mysterio in a cage match, Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Street Profits non-title and Asuka vs. Mickie James for the women’s title.
The AEW one hour show that was originally set for Wednesday night will now air on both TNT and TSN on 9/22 after NBA coverage.
Someone wins who has won in the past +108 Block A wins +100
A Japanese wrestler wins -600
Winner goes undefeated +700
This is the championship match: Okada vs. Sanada +550, White vs. Sanada +650, Ospreay vs. Sanada +650, Okada vs. Evil +850, Okada vs. Naito +850, White vs Evil +1000, White vs Naito +1000, Okada vs. KENTA +1000, Ibushi vs Sanada +1000, Ospreay vs. Evil +1000, Ospreay vs. Naito +1000
Star rating of the best match in the tournament: More than ***** +100, ***** +150, Under ***** +130
Will the final get the highest star rating: +350
Will this G-1 set a record for ***** ratings: +700
Will this G-1 set a record for overall star ratings for the entire tournament: +300
Will any match break the ****** rating: Yes +1000
And you can get over and under for this weekend: Ishii vs. Suzuki ****1/2, Takagi vs. White ****1/2, Okada vs. Ibushi *****. Goto vs. KENTA ****1/4, Sabre vs. Evil ***3/4, Tanahashi vs. Naito ****1/4
And winners of the first weekend’s matches: Will Ospreay -500 vs. Yujiro Takahashi +300, Jeff Cobb +100 vs. Taichi -143, Tomohiro Ishii -154 vs. Minoru Suzuki +110, Shingo Takagi +108 vs. Jay White -150, Kazuchika Okada -118 vs. Kota Ibushi -118, Juice Robinson -500 vs. Yoshi-Hashi +300, Toru Yano +225 vs. Sanada -350, Hirooki Goto +300 vs. KENTA -500, Zack Sabre Jr +250 vs. Evil -400, Hiroshi Tanahashi +108 vs. Tetsuya Naito -150
WWE
NXT U.K returns on Thursday with new action with Amir Jordan & Kenny Williams.vs. Gallus
Loop Capital boosted its analysis of WWE stock from sell to hold
Updated Clash of Champions odds from BetOnline.ag:
Bayley -400 vs. Nikki Cross +250
Drew McIntyre -120 vs. Randy Orton -120
Roman Reigns -2500 vs. Jey Uso +800
President Trump did a speech yesterday in Nevada which drew the ire of Governor Steve Sisolak for holding it indoors with so many people not wearing masks. He talked during his speech about Dana White being a good friend and pointed out and talked about Colby Covington, Justin Gaethje and Henry Cejudo all in the crowd who are all supporting him
Dana White’s Contenders show on Tuesday at 8 p.m. Eastern on ESPN+:
Gregory Rodriguez (185.5) vs. Jordan Williams (181)
Muhammd Naimov (145) vs. Collin Anglin (145.5)
Korey Kuppe (170) vs. Michael Lombardo (168.5)
Danyelle Wolf (146) vs. Taneisha Tennant (143.5)
Dinis Paiva (145.5) vs. Kyle Driscoll (146)
Tyson Nam, who was supposed to fight Saturday against Matt Schnell but it fell through when Schnell collapsed trying to make weight, is looking like he will fight this coming Saturday against Jerome Rivera.
AEW
Miro was on Busted Open radio and said that he doesn’t want to take any more shots at WWE going forward.
Dark lineup for tomorrow:
Ivelisse & Diamante vs. Skyler Moore & Rache Chanel
Santana & Ortiz vs. Griff Garrison & Brian Pillman Jr.
Brandi Rhodes vs. Red Velvet
Penelope Ford vs. Dani Jordyn
Will Hobbs vs. Jessy Sorensen
Colt Cabana vs. QT Marshall
Best Friends vs. Maxx Stardom & Dontae Smiley
Butcher & Blade vs Daniel Garcia & Kevin Blackwood
Private Party & Austin & Billy Gunn vs. Dark Order
Peter Avalon vs. Brandon Cutler
MISCELLANEOUS
Impact tomorrow night on AXS TV:
Deonna Purrazzo & Kimber Lee vs,. Susie & Kylie Rae
Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley & Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz vs. Josh Alexander & Ethan Page & Mad Man Fulton & Ace Austin
Willie Mack vs. Brian Myers
Cody Deaner & Cousin Jake vs. Acey Romero & Larry D
Taya vs. Kiera Hogan
Impact in 60 on AXS at 10 p.m. tomorrow has a 2/3 fall match theme with Low Ki vs. Sonjay Dutt and Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Jarrett
The United Wrestling Network debuts on PPV tomorrow night with:
Nick Aldis vs. Mike Bennett for NWA title
Alexander Hammerstone vs. EJ Sparks for West Coast Pro title
Dan Joseph vs. Levi Shapiro for UWN TV title
Kamille vs. Heather Monroe
Will Alday vs. Jordan Clearwater
Chris Dickinson vs. Dick Mayor
Hawaiian Lion & Navajo Warrior vs. Bad Dude Tito & Che Cabrera
The Champion Carnival for All Japan continues on All Japan’s streaming service at 5:30 a.m. Eastern time tomorrow morning
Yoshitatsu vs,. Yuma Aoyagi
Kento Miyahara vs. Shotaro Ashino
Zeus vs. Jiro Kuroshio
Suwama vs. Jake Lee
United Wrestling Coalition had a fund raiser for the son of Daisy Murder with an outdoor show at Kelly’s Bar in Wrightstown, NJ on Saturday at 5 p.m.. Fans need to bring their own chairs and tickets are $15 and you can donate more if you would like. With limited seating they recommend calling 609-792-9328 for reservations. Mr. Spectrum vs. Biggie Biggs headlines the show.
My one big takeaway from “Cocaine and Cowboy Boots” is that Herb Abrams was a crazy motherf**ker in a business full of crazy motherf**kers.
Part of the second season of Vice’s entertaining Dark Side of the Ring series, this installment is about someone I’m fairly certain a majority of modern wrestling fans aren’t familiar with in Abrams or his Universal Wrestling Federation.
The tl;dr if you haven’t seen this yet: Abrams was a New York businessman that made his money selling dresses to big and tall women, a fact that apparently was unknown to most. He was a wrestling fan that wanted to start his own promotion (stop me if you heard that one before), founded it at a convention where there were dozens of available talents signing autographs, and used his money and big dreams to not just launch an indie group but a would-be competitor to the big guys filled with recognizable names and a national TV deal.
The episode focuses on the creation of the UWF and its alignment with Abrams’ bizarre lifestyle and subsequent decline which was more rock star than CEO. As the show title indicates, there was plenty of cocaine and also plenty of money being thrown around…until it wasn’t. This feels like a fever dream of someone writing a movie about a wacky wrestling promoter where the facts seem like more fiction than fact.
A positive for fans of the series is that we hear from some new voices in UWF GM Lenny Duge, Mick Foley, recent WOR guest John Arezzi, Sonny Beach, the non-Harlem Heat Stevie Ray, manager Marty Yesberg, and B. Brian Blair. They are all honest about this strange time with a strange man with some (Foley) looking back with a “What are you going to do, right?” attitude while others (Duge and Ray) are still profoundly affected and emotional in talking about Abrams.
Yesberg and Blair both tell especially memorable stories they can hardly believe themselves as the words come out of their mouths.
We learn that Abrams wanted to work with Vince McMahon early in his UWF tenure, but was rebuffed in his offer to run the U.S. west coast, prompting him to try to go head-to-head with WWF instead. You can guess how that went, but he did help get Andre The Giant more money from McMahon after he appeared on a single UWF broadcast.
And in another tale we’ve heard so many times, when things aren’t going great, the promoter often puts themselves right in the middle of the fray. A crazed Abrams eventually thinks he’s the star of the show as the lead voice and almost heelish figure, but it fails badly as does the promotion. A focus on gimmick matches bombs, two big swing attempts at pay-per-views bomb at the box office, and the money disappears as quickly as the powder into Abrams’ nose.
After four years, the UWF holds its final event, a 1994 PPV in Las Vegas that completely flops, with the true end coming when Abrams is found dead in July 1996. There are differing details if Abrams was found dead in his office, the police station, or a police car after a night of drugs and apparently chasing hookers with a baseball bat — a mysterious and fitting end that people still can’t put the pieces together to all these years later.
Amazingly, despite all of the bounced checks and failed promises, Abrams still holds a special place in the heart of his best friend Duge and Ray who he got behind as a promotional star. Both get emotional talking about their friend with Ray’s words being particularly heartbreaking.
“Cocaine and Cowboy Boots” is a quick and entertaining watch, helping the Abrams name survive for future generations who might have forgotten him all together.
And yes, he named his dog Cokey. And yes, someone thinks he’s still alive.
Notes & Thoughts:
I believe our own Dave Meltzer (not Davey Meltzer) can be seen in a still image when they talk about the promotion launch. I also have no idea why he or Bryan didn’t discuss this episode on WOR.
UWF had a decent amount of names for a 1990 launch including Bruno Sammartino, Steve Williams, Bob Orton, Cactus Jack, Lou Albano, Paul Orndorff and a young Louie Spicolli, among other WWF and WCW castoffs.
Somebody must have a box of Herbie cookies in their basement, right?
This should come as no surprise but you can watch most of the UWF’s run, including those PPVs, on YouTube.
I wanted to know more about who Abrams’ internal champion was for getting him one final show (Blackjack Brawl) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas after all the financial failures.
