Dark Side of the Ring — Season 3
The Biggest Stories in Wrestling’s Darkest Secrets.
About this season
Finding truth at the intersection of fantasy and reality in the veiled world of professional wrestling.
Episodes (14)
1. Brian Pillman Part One
8.0Aired 6 May 2021 • 44 min
Brian Pillman clawed his way to infamy with a groundbreaking performance that blurred the lines between fact and fiction until it led to his ultimate destruction.
2. Brian Pillman Part Two
8.0Aired 6 May 2021 • 44 min
After enduring a horrific car wreck, Brian Pillman masks his injuries while pushing his body to the brink. His untimely death leaves his young family struggling to cope.
3. The Ultra-Violence of Nick Gage
7.7Aired 13 May 2021 • 44 min
Nick Gage is the self-proclaimed king of deathmatch wrestling, but his road to the top has been marked with a six-year prison sentence for armed robbery and personal tragedies.
4. Collision in Korea
7.5Aired 20 May 2021 • 44 min
In one of the most bizarre acts of political theatre ever conceived, professional wrestlers deployed to North Korea faced a terrifying ordeal that had them fighting for their lives.
5. Becoming Warrior
7.2Aired 27 May 2021 • 44 min
The Ultimate Warrior was a divisive force in and outside of the ring. His first wife reveals how an aspiring chiropractor morphed himself into wrestling's most polarizing figure.
6. In The Shadow of Grizzly Smith
8.5Aired 3 June 2021 • 44 min
Having survived familial abuse at the hands of their father and the mysterious abduction of their sister, Jake "The Snake" and his siblings struggle to reconcile with their past.
7. The Dynamite Kid
6.8Aired 10 June 2021 • 44 min
The Dynamite Kid earned worldwide fame with a riveting, self-sacrificing style, but violent confrontations outside the ring would destroy his family, his body and his legacy.
8. The Plane Ride From Hell
7.8Aired 16 September 2021 • 44 min
A private 757 flight descended into a nightmare as intoxicated wrestlers clashed with their flight crew, erupting into one of wrestling’s most infamous scandals.
9. The Double Life of Chris Kanyon
8.5Aired 23 September 2021 • 44 min
In a culture that celebrates machismo and negative gay stereotypes, wrestling innovator Chris Kanyon kept his own sexuality a closely guarded secret for decades.
10. Blood & Wire: Onita's FMW
7.7Aired 30 September 2021 • 44 min
After Japan's Atsushi Onita creates FMW and its spectacular matches featuring explosions and gratuitous gore, his handpicked successor takes his own life while drowning in debt.
11. Bikers, Bombs & Bedlam: Johnny K9
7.0Aired 7 October 2021 • 44 min
Johnny K9 led a double life as an in-ring brute and the leader of a biker gang implicated in drug trafficking, the bombing of a police station, and a gruesome double murder.
12. The Many Faces of Luna Vachon
8.0Aired 14 October 2021 • 44 min
A striking villain in the ring, Luna Vachon was a groundbreaking physical performer who battled mental illness and addiction while seeking to champion women's wrestling.
13. Extreme & Obscene: Rob Black's XPW
7.0Aired 21 October 2021 • 44 min
XPW merged Rob Black's passions for hardcore porn and deathmatch wrestling, but after he waged a war with federal authorities his empire imploded.
14. The Steroid Trials
5.7Aired 28 October 2021 • 44 min
In the mid 90s, wrestling was rocked by accusations of rampant steroid abuse. With star witness Hulk Hogan, prosecutors set out to prove that Vince McMahon was the one responsible.