Official "Dark Side Of The Ring" Discussion Thread

[Homeboy Runny-Ray]

I only just put two and two together that Jeannie Williams in the Gino episode is Austin's ex-wife. She's the one who gave him the idea for the 'Stone Cold' name

lady blossom

i didnt know her & austin were a real-life couple until recent years.

 

[Big Jo]

The Stampede stuff is still wonky. They had initially started putting up Stampede shows on the Network in the first year or so, but had to take down shows or matches that included Bret so they dropped it entirely and as of 2020 only have a handful of random individual Stampede matches from the late 70s/early 80s and the only Bret in Stampede match is from his DVD from 2013.

Why did they have to take down shows or matches that included Bret?

 

[The Rainmaker]

"Oje is name from the Nigerian-African Descent, Oje means "KING" in some tribes"

I've never seen Cornette shook like that.

The blood in the ring. Damn.

The fukking clip they were using. It pissed me off.

The work his wife is doing...that's the real hall of fame. That's how you want your name remembered.

 

[DOGGFATHER96]

In none of those cases did a man die in the ring

question when the Rey incident happened a few years ago did they stop the show ?

Idk if they did or not with that incident as I haven't watched wrestling since '02, even now I only watch the classics.

 

[Big Jo]

Not sure if they're vague because of lawsuits or settlements or whatever but it felt to me like they tap danced a little bit around WHO was at fault

Who actually did the the rigging? Was it a 3rd party company? What was their name?

Who's dumbass decided to use a boat clip?

Martha mentioned somebody by name that was overseeing it but I couldn't figure out if they were a WWE employee, affiliated with a rigging company, the arena etc.

Its funny because everybody felt this story has been told a lot but watching it last night, it does feel like they could have easily done a 2 hour episode and it could have been captivating nonetheless.

 

[StarClout]

Owen episode def needed another hour

 

[Excellenceofelegance]

Bout to watch this Owen episode

 

[Homeboy Runny-Ray]

why is @ig88 banned?

 

[OGBobbyJohnson]

Nancy Benoit

 

[Bryan Danielson]

This is what gets me, because the Kahn family are Trump supporters and AEW has people on their staff that's done foul shyt. Pro Wrestling is a dirty business just like Hollywood, yet people still watch movies and tv shows. I don't think people realize that if the WWE were to go away then that's pretty much it for pro wrestling in America. This belief that if the WWE went away it would lead to a resurgence of the indies is not true. What we don't want to admit is that we knew all this shyt and still watched because we want to be entertained.

Ok what is this “foul stuff” the people on their staff has done and who are you speaking about specifically?

Also is it really anything fouler or dirtier than the shyt that we’ve all seen and know Vince has done?

Also y’all keep doing this “Bu the Khan are Trump supporters” stuff. Ok I get they may have donated a little bit of money to his campaign but how it that equivalent to actually being on his staff, being GREAT friends with him and doing past, present and future business with him?

Also anytime something goes away, there will always be something that comes to replace it. That’s just the circle of life in things

 

[NYChase718]

Somehow tony khan is mentioned as scapegoat for vince mcmahon

TsC

 

[TrueEpic08]

Not sure if they're vague because of lawsuits or settlements or whatever but it felt to me like they tap danced a little bit around WHO was at fault

Who actually did the the rigging? Was it a 3rd party company? What was their name?

Who's dumbass decided to use a boat clip?

Martha mentioned somebody by name that was overseeing it but I couldn't figure out if they were a WWE employee, affiliated with a rigging company, the arena etc.

Its funny because everybody felt this story has been told a lot but watching it last night, it does feel like they could have easily done a 2 hour episode and it could have been captivating nonetheless.

Technically, info on that is sealed with the rest of the details on the settlement. In reality, the legal blame for Owen's death ended up being a murky mess (due to a probably too-hastily-signed hold harmless agreement Martha signed with the manufacturers of the clip, Ellie Hart being a piece of shyt and leaking said agreement to Vince and Jerry McDevitt, and a case ruling that allowed WWE to sue said manufacturers themselves). If I remember correctly, the riggers (who misrepresented their experience and their ability to ensure the safety of the stunt) were actually named in Martha's suit, but don't quote me on that one. In any event, it all got settled, so it doesn't matter at this point.

Personally, I put the blame on the WWE and the riggers, since the clip seemed to function exactly as it should have given how Owen was strapped into his harness. But you know how the legal system can be, so...

By the way, the head of the rigging team for Owen's stunt? His name is Bobby Talbert, and he's apparently become a quite successful stunt coordinator in Hollywood. What a fukking world we live in.

As for any lingering thoughts on the episode...it easily could have been a two-parter if they really wanted to wade into the muck of the case or discuss how this completely destroyed the Hart family (the falling out between Bret and Martha is one of the saddest things about all of this. I really think they want to work toward the same goal of honoring Bret, but are divided by their relative connections to the wrestling business. Depressing stuff). But as it was, it was legitimately one of the most depressing things I've seen in recent memory. Great to see how well put together Martha and the kids are, and thank fukking goodness one of these families had the sense to completely cut themselves off from the business. You would hope that the business would have learned something from his death, but given how these idiotic, pointlessly life-threatning stunts wouldn't stop until after they stopped grabbing ratings says a lot on that subject (by the way, I watched the 2/2/98 Raw after this, which has that famous show-long dumpster angle with the New Age Outlaws, Mick Foley, and Terry Funk on it...not fun or easy, especially considering how that all resolved).

 

[Excellenceofelegance]

A 123 pin is a championship win in my eyes F*** wwe ,they let that dumb shyt Rock when it comes to heels

 

[The Ruler 09]

episode felt rushed to b honest
wasnt that good.
only thing that was really new and intriguing was them going up to the walkway in the ceiling.
the view and the blood stains were hard to watch.

this shoulda been in 2 parts just like benoit

Yeah I do feel like this should of been 2 parts, 40 something mins actual run time just wasn't enough. They could have spoke about Owen the first half and then the accident, then done the aftermath in the next episode.

 

[tremonthustler1]

Wrestling is like porn. You gotta look past A LOT of fukked up shyt to KINDA enjoy it. You have to block it out.

You’re a cool dude, but after all this shyt the E been doing, your write ups, and the Owen info being out there for YEARS, it took this episode for you to throw in the towel And stop watching this carny company in “good faith”?

Honestly, I don’t know how you dudes could watch this crap weekly. I can’t imagine going back to watching this the entire amount of hours it’s on. There’s so many other ways to use your time.

For the same reason why fans root for poorly managed teams. Deep down you love the sport so much and feel like it belongs to you even though it doesn’t.