Dark Side of the Ring
The Biggest Stories in Wrestling’s Darkest Secrets.
Finding truth at the intersection of fantasy and reality in the veiled world of professional wrestling.
Seasons
1. The Match Made in Heaven
Air Date: 2019-04-10
Art collides with real life when the mythical love story between wrestling icons Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth explodes beyond the ring with tragic consequences.
2. The Montreal Screwjob
Air Date: 2019-04-17
In one of wrestling's most infamous off-script moments, wrestler Bret Hart is stripped of his championship title through a backstage plot of betrayal that forever changes the sport.
3. The Killing of Bruiser Brody
Air Date: 2019-04-24
Wrestlers discuss the tragic evening in 1988 when they witnessed a locker room confrontation that resulted in the death of legendary wrestler Bruiser Brody.
4. The Last of the Von Erichs
Air Date: 2019-05-01
The last surviving brother of the legendary Von Erich wrestling dynasty revisits the tragedy that plagued his once iconic family
5. The Mysterious Death of Gorgeous Gino
Air Date: 2019-05-08
New revelations about her son's death are revealed to the mother of wrestling star Gino Hernandez, whose 1986 death was believed to be a drug-related murder.
6. The Fabulous Moolah
Air Date: 2019-05-15
The legacy of wrestling's biggest female star, The Fabulous Moolah, is re-examined after controversial allegations surface following her 2007 death.
1. Benoit Part One
Air Date: 2020-03-24
In 2007, wrestling superstar Chris Benoit murders his wife and 7-year-old son, then ends his own life; those closest to the tragedy never speak openly until now.
2. Benoit Part Two
Air Date: 2020-03-24
The conclusion to wrestling's darkest hour, including startling revelations about the troubled mind of Chris Benoit before he killed his wife and son, and then took his own life.
3. The Life and Crimes of New Jack
Air Date: 2020-03-31
One of the most feared and controversial wrestlers of all time, New Jack's career reads like a criminal rap sheet; revealing the man behind the monster and his hardcore legacy
4. The Brawl For All
Air Date: 2020-04-07
Known as the worst idea in the history of professional wrestling, a legitimate boxing tournament leads to career-ending injuries and has audiences begging for the final bell.
5. Jimmy Snuka and the Death of Nancy Argentino
Air Date: 2020-04-14
Investigating the mysterious story of Jimmy Snuka, whose girlfriend Nancy Argentino died in their motel room in 1983, and revealing her family's 30-year struggle for justice.
6. The Assassination of Dino Bravo
Air Date: 2020-04-21
Family and friends of Dino Bravo relive his descent from Montreal's favorite wrestling son to mob enforcer, and the deadly consequences that followed.
7. David Schultz & the Slap Heard Round the World
Air Date: 2020-04-28
The cautionary tale of David Schultz, set to become a superstar until his violent run-in with "20/20" reporter John Stossel saw him exiled from the business he'd sworn to protect.
8. Cocaine & Cowboy Boots: The Herb Abrams Story
Air Date: 2020-05-05
One man's fanatical attempt to build a wrestling empire to rival Vince McMahon's goes tragically haywire as his ego and cocaine addiction kills his dream -- and him along with it.
9. The Last Ride of the Road Warriors
Air Date: 2020-05-12
The inside story of how wrestling's ultimate tag-team partnership is undone when one half of the powerhouse duo slides into alcohol and substance abuse.
10. The Final Days of Owen Hart
Air Date: 2020-05-19
In 1999, Owen Hart fell 80 feet to his death in a stunt that went tragically wrong. Bravely reliving his final day, his widow Martha reveals the mistakes that took his life.
1. Brian Pillman Part One
Air Date: 2021-05-06
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
Air Date: 2021-05-06
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
Air Date: 2021-05-13
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
Air Date: 2021-05-20
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
Air Date: 2021-05-27
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
Air Date: 2021-06-03
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
Air Date: 2021-06-10
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
Air Date: 2021-09-16
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
Air Date: 2021-09-23
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
Air Date: 2021-09-30
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
Air Date: 2021-10-07
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
Air Date: 2021-10-14
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
Air Date: 2021-10-21
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
Air Date: 2021-10-28
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.
1. Chris and Tammy
Air Date: 2023-05-30
Chris Candido and Tammy Sytch were high school sweethearts whose talent and ambition had them on a path to wrestling stardom. Along the way, drugs, injuries, and ill-fated choices sent them down another road altogether.
2. Shattered: The Magnum T.A. Story
Air Date: 2023-06-06
Wrestling hearththrob Terry Magnum T.A. Allen was destined for worldwide stardom, but one rainy night altered his career and the future of wrestling forever.
3. Breaking the Cycle: The Graham Dynasty
Air Date: 2023-06-13
Florida became a wrestling mecca for decades under patriarch Eddie Graham and his son Mike, but a series of shocking and unrelenting tragedies threatened to eclipse their legacy.
4. What Happened to Doink the Clown?
Air Date: 2023-06-20
Matt Borne, the man behind Doink the Clown, lived a life of unhinged violence and substance abuse until his shocking death left his family questioning if it really was an accident.
5. The Junkyard Dog
Air Date: 2023-06-27
One of the first Black megastars in wrestling, the Junkyard Dog's journey to the top of the business is marked by addiction and unrealized potential.
6. The Tragic Fall of Adrian Adonis
Air Date: 2023-07-11
A real life street fighter, Adrian Adonis turns flamboyant wrestling heel, but his life cuts short in an horrific accident that has been shrouded in mystery for the past thirty years.
7. Abdullah the Butcher: Legacy of Blood
Air Date: 2023-07-18
Infamous for his in-ring bloodbaths, Abdullah the Butcher was a money-making phenomenon. But after fifty years of pushing boundaries, one cut cost him everything.
8. Bam Bam Bigelow: The Beast from the East
Air Date: 2023-07-25
Convict; bounty hunter; flame-skulled wrestling legend; addict; the lore of Bam Bam Bigelow has only grown since his death; his family tells his improbable tale for the first time.
9. Bash at the Beach 2000
Air Date: 2023-08-01
At the end of the '90s, WCW's greatest battles played out backstage between scheming executives and writers, until one off-script rant against Hulk Hogan changed everything.
10. The World According to Marty Jannetty
Air Date: 2023-08-08
Known for their raw athleticism and sex appeal, Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty's run as The Rockers was eclipsed by Marty's excess, drug abuse, and possible murder.
1. The Ballad of 'Earthquake' John Tenta
Air Date: 2024-03-05
John Tenta couldn't be further from the monstrous Earthquake character WWF fans loved to hate; as his career faded, a health battle threatened to take him from the family he loved.
2. Buff and the Bagwells
Air Date: 2024-03-12
Marcus "Buff" Bagwell's brash persona in the ring was easily matched by his wild antics outside of it, made even wilder by the eccentric family he brought along for the ride.
3. Terry Gordy: Final Flight of the Freebird
Air Date: 2024-03-19
Already a wrestling star as a teenager, Terry Gordy's time with the renowned Fabulous Freebirds made him a living legend until an accidental overdose robbed him of everything.
4. Saving Face: The Brutus Beefcake Story
Air Date: 2024-03-26
Brutus 'The Barber' Beefcake's path in the wrestling world was defined by his decades-long friendship with Hulk Hogan and a horrifying accident that almost took his life.
5. The Life and Legends of Harley Race
Air Date: 2024-04-02
Harley Race achieved near mythical status for wrestling fans as the ultimate tough guy, but behind closed doors his life was haunted by violence and unimaginable personal tragedy.
6. Chris Colt: Welcome to My Nightmare
Air Date: 2024-04-09
The wildest wrestler never to break through, Chris Colt’s life took him from LSD trips in the ring to the world of porn but his self-destructive ways kept him from becoming a star.
7. Chris Adams: The Gentleman and the Demon
Air Date: 2024-04-16
'Gentleman' Chris Adams had the charm, prowess and instinct to become a wrestling sensation, but a violent relationship with alcohol led to a tragic end at the hands of a friend.
8. Sensational Sherri
Air Date: 2024-04-23
An icon of the 80s and 90s as the 'Sensational' manager of top wrestling stars, Sherri Martel left her family behind to pursue her dreams in the ring.
9. Enter Sandman: Legacy of a Hardcore Icon
Air Date: 2024-04-30
A legend of hardcore wrestling, The Sandman made his mark in ECW as the ultimate beer-chugging dirtbag — but lines are blurred when his real family is brought into the ring.
10. Black Saturday: The Rise of Vince
Air Date: 2024-05-07
The day that has gone down in infamy as the launch of Vince McMahon’s absolute takeover of the professional wrestling industry, Black Saturday changed wrestling forever.
1. Hell in a Cell
Air Date: 2025-03-25
2. Big Van Vader
Air Date: 2025-04-01
3. Tony Atlas
Air Date: 2025-04-08
4. Ludvig Borga
Air Date: 2025-04-15
5. Billy Jack Haynes
Air Date: 2025-04-22
6. “Hot Stuff” Eddie Gilbert
Air Date: 2025-04-29
7. “Superstar” Billy Graham
Air Date: 2025-05-06
8. Daffney
Air Date: 2025-05-13
9. The Original Sheik
Air Date: 2025-05-20
10. Muhammad Hassan
Air Date: 2025-05-27
Select an episode to start watching
Rating
8.3/10
Release Date
2019-04-10
Episodes
51 (6 seasons)
Status
Returning Series