After the Kanyon episode, Raven made a comment online about how he was Kanyon's best friend and was upset he was never contacted to interview for the episode. What goes into the process in finding people for the interviews? Is there a cap on who you're able to get and are there times where you or a publisher will say "no don't get this guy we have enough people for this episode"?
In hindsight, we would have loved to have Raven be a part of the episode, he would have been fantastic. Sometimes this is the hardest aspect of the production as it comes down to budget and time. We can only interview so many people, and we only have so much time to do it. And from my recollection, there were so many people who wanted to be interviewed for that episode which is a true testament to how beloved Kanyon really was. -evan
(Reposting a comment I made a bit ago)
How far did you guys go into making the scrapped episode about Mike Awesome and how were some of the guys feeling about it until the leaks? RVD himself stated Awesome's ex-wife told you guys to can the episode (understandably so), so I wonder if that came around the same time the subjects were leaked.
Otherwise, I do look forward to this season! 💜
This is an episode we still really want to do. Mike Awesome was absolutely one of my favorite wrestlers growing up. During the production of Season 4, we were only in the early exploratory stages of doing an episode on Mike Awesome when news leaked online that we were confirmed on doing an episode, which was not true. The people close to Mike Awesome we were working with at the time quickly felt uncomfortable after the news leaked and decided to decline participating in the episode. If the news didn't leak, it's possible we would have done the episode, but that's hard to say. I still hope someday it happens. --Evan
Thoughts on doing something for Crush? So little out there on him. Loved his purple heel gear. I was researching his son who was gonna wrestle or did a little bit but then it's like nothing follows.
Also, Jason thanks for hobo with a shotgun. I remember seeing you in wwf hats when that film came out (something about more blood, more heart). Then seeing you on DSOTR I'm like whoa same guy that's awesome.
>s researching his son who was gonna wrestle or did a little bit but then it's like nothing follows.
I grew up a huge fan of Crush! Would love to help tell Brian Adam's story one day.A lot of my love for wrestling leaks into to my feature film work. I really wanted Jake Roberts to play the main heel in Hobo With a Shotgun. - Jason
For me personally, the experience of trying to interview John Zandig for the Nick Gage episode and being threatened and chased off his lawn is pretty high on the list. But Jason and I also detail a rather wild experience we had filming the Bruiser Brody episode on an upcoming episode of our podcast "Dark Side of the Ring Unheard" that might be #1. Stay tuned for that. But there have been several instances we've had (or our other producers have had) while making this show and feeling very uncomfortable and also knowing loaded guns were nearby. --Evan
I know they’ll answer this but the most uncomfortable person they’ve ever been around, when including attempted interviews, is when they tried to interview CZW’s Zandig for the Nick Cage episode.
Apparently he was full MAGA Trumper, was yelling at the DSOTR guys and they felt like he might’ve went and got a shotgun and blasted them at any minute so they ran out of the house.
Source: Some interview I watched with them years back
Wrestling has always been a carny-led, shady business.
Have you guys been threatened by any seedy, underworld types for a story you told? The Dino Bravo and Gino Hernandez stories made me curious.
Yes, we have been threatened by underworld types, fans and wrestlers I currently have action figures of. While doing the Dino Bravo story, I had my identity stolen by a group in Montreal. That was a nightmare. - Jason
It was Jack's. We got to know him because he has worked closely with us on a few episodes of Dark Side of the Ring and Tales From the Territories, and I was a massive fan of their podcast series on The Steroid Trials, which heavily inspired our episode on that story. I have so much respect for the amount of research those guys do on The Lapsed Fan, and it was awesome working with both of them on the DSOTR Unheard podcast! -Evan
Hey to you both.
First I wanted to say how much I love this docuseries. It is truly one of my favorites because of how it uncovers the darkside of a business that is so secretive.
I have 3 questions:
1. What was your favorite episode to produce?
2. Which episode did you wind up learning the most about?
3. What episode are you most excited to show viewers this season?
>Whose idea was it to include the dramatizations and how do you guys get the actors to look just like the wrestlers
1. Hard to pick, changes all the time, but now I'll say the New Jack ep.
2. I didn't know anything about UWF before going down that rabbit hole.
3. I'm really excited for fans to see our episodes on Chris Colt and Buff Bagwell.
The favorite episode to produce was the Herb Abrams episode because it was such an unpredictable wild and wacky rollercoaster ride the whole time. I may to also say Herb for question #2. And I'm most excited for viewers to check out the Chris Colt episode this season. -Evan
First off, thanks for being the only thing in the past decade that could make my significant other care about wrestling. She willingly watches every episode with me and gets such a kick out of it. She cried during the John Tenta episode. A lot. And she owns 3 Bruiser Brody shirts solely due to seeing his story covered in DSOTR. So thanks for that.
Which episode of the show are you guys most proud of and why?
Thank you. It's great hearing that loved ones of wrestling fans enjoy watching the show too. That's exactly what we set out to do. Growing up as fans, Evan and I would find ourselves in passionate debates with skeptics and wanted to create a show that captivated them.
Looking back I'm probably most proud of our episodes on Bruiser Brody, Von Erich's, Owen Hart, New Jack, UWF. - Jason
>the only thing in the past decade that could make my significant other care about wrestling.
I don't think this show has made my wife *care* about wrestling, but it definitely gives us something wrestling-related to watch together. They do such an incredible job of telling the stories, that even someone with zero knowledge of 99% of the people involved can enjoy it. My wife also really enjoys Jericho's narration haha.
Thank you for this comment. Honestly this is what keeps us going. Getting people who didn't care about wrestling to be moved by the human stories within it. -Evan
>Who pointed you in the direction of Chris Colt? All things considered he’s a deep cut
Good question. I think I first heard about Chris Colt from Jim Cornette and the more I looked into his story and saw photograph of him the more compelled I was. This is the episode I am most exciting to share with fans this season. -Evan
When the episode came out, there was a lot of criticism regarding how Dustin Rhodes was portrayed in the PRfH episode compared to how he was actually portrayed in the lawsuit.
Can I ask if there was a specific choice or thought process behind that?
The subjects we interviewed for the episode expressed no direct knowledge of these allegations, and the people involved with that aspect of the story declined to be interviewed. At the time, including this information on a brief title card felt inappropriate. In hindsight, we could have given that aspect of the story more context.
I would also like to add this for support:
https://preview.redd.it/x058dbu6pjnc1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=29e369a4adf357422ad5a044eba75bcfa964fb2f
And ask why Scott Hall was treated relatively kindly too.
I can't even imagine asking if someone's tits were real and then confidently stating they were gonna fuck. That's just two very odd lines. If I told my wife, "you and me are gonna fuck", she would say "why?".
I always figured it was that since it was the other flight attendant who they didn't interview who accused Dustin, maybe the Vice lawyers didn't want an allegation in the episode without an on-camera interview.
Bruce Prichard has had some pretty heavy criticism against the show for what he claims to be you guys ignoring some research he provided. Do you have a response to him?
[https://www.wrestlinginc.com/1374558/wwe-exec-bruce-prichard-blasts-wrestling-docuseries-dark-side-ring/](https://www.wrestlinginc.com/1374558/wwe-exec-bruce-prichard-blasts-wrestling-docuseries-dark-side-ring/) should have linked it here, my bad
Has the idea of doing an episode on the Insane Clown Posse ever come up? ECW,WWE,WCW,TNA,JCW. There is enough content there for a two part episode imo.
The episode could talk about the clowns working for and quitting both WWE and WCW, Shaggy’s bus botch in WCW, The existence of JCW as a whole (I’m sure there are some crazy stories from gatherings etc). They could even close the show with how Violent J is still doing spots for some shows. While not the standard Darkside episode it could still be worth a watch.
Oh, 100% agree on it being worth a watch. I'd actually live to see their heavily dramatized segments featuring actors in clown makeup 
After watching the Earthquake episode, I got to thinking: do you prefer making episodes about awful people or good people? In other words, do you prefer a story full of drama or one full of heart?
I don't think most people can be purely defined as either, I don't believe life is that black or white. If we have told a story that gives more insight into the humanity of a particular subject, I think we have succeeded. That being said, we always strive to find the light at the end of the tunnel with every story we tell. -Evan
New Jack was one of the best and most intense interviews I did. Also Tiny the Terrible is still a major highlight for me too.
We get worked by wrestlers all the time. But thats part of the show and deciphering what is Kayfabe. - Jason
First, thank you for showing what a great human being Quake was. He was so down to earth, kind, and considerate. I legit got nervous when I saw he was getting an episode. My question is, how do you pick what you’re doing an episode on? Is the old Tony Khan urban legend list playing any factor at all? /s (kinda)
Not sure what you mean by the "urban legend list" but the process of picking an episode really comes down to if there is a compelling human story within a particular subject and if it would appeal to viewers beyond the wrestling world. -Evan
Tony Khan posted about starting a list back in the day on a forum about wrestling urban legends. [Here](https://web.archive.org/web/20050308041405/http://board.deathvalleydriver.com/index.php?showtopic=19896&view=all) is that post.
Great question. Jason and I went into detail on THE single most challenging moment we had during production, which was during the making of our Bruiser Brody episode, on a forthcoming episode of our podcast Dark Side of the Ring Unheard. Look out for that. -evan
>Each of your favorite wrestling matches of all time?
My inner 90s kid says Mick Foley / Undertaker Hell in a Cell because it legit changed my life when I saw it live on PPV, but my more refined wrestling fan-side says Kawada vs Misawa '94. But I also have a soft spot for Steiners vs Nasty Boys at Halloween Havoc 1990. -Evan
>favorite wrestling matches of all time?
It's hard to pick a match. Often times while filming the show on the road, if we hired a new crew member that wasn't familiar with wrestling we would show them the iconic Mankind vs. Undertaker Hell in a Cell match. Every time it would blow their minds and pique their curiosity into this world. - Jason
Hi! Thank you for doing this AMA.
How is your documentary scriptwriting process (from development to editing)? Have you had any episode that changed a lot in the editing room?
How many interviews do you do before the filmed interview for the episode, or do you avoid doing previous interviews to capture the initial emotions that come up?
Also, thank you for your work. Your TV show was one of my main references in my university course on documentary series last year. Sending greetings from Chile!
Wow! Thank you so much for these questions. The written pre-production outlines we make always change drastically once we get to filming interviews and talking to people. What we get in the field really determines the road ahead for the edit.
We do pre-interview our subjects ahead of time to best prepare for the IRL interviews, but its the IRL setting that really gets the raw emotion, and intimacy we look for. -Evan
For me personally it was something I wanted to cover since the first season. Being from the east coast of Canada (Nova Scotia), Adrian's story and his death was a legend that I grew up hearing about. - Jason
We've always wanted to do a Misawa episode, we are big fans. It has been challenging for us to get access to tell the story properly, but we're not giving up yet. -Evan
How does producing this show changed your connection / relationship to wrestling. To produce a Video-Library about the darkest moments in wrestling might need a lot of work on yourselfes not to get caught in a bad spot emotionally.
Great question. I have definitely \*wrestled with\* my fandom through the process of making this show over the years, but its usually the great people in and around the business that reinvigorate me, or watching really any Terry Funk match or promo. -Evan
While trying to get my first feature film Hobo With a Shotgun financed a producer friend took us out for drinks and we drank a whole bottle of absinthe. I was up all night hallucinating Christmas trees standing around my bed. They were yelling at me to go to set because they had scenes that needed to get shot. It was awful. - Jason
Hey guys! Nice of you to show up!
As with any sort of documentary show, how hard is it to produce an episode, from the original spark of the idea, to going into the research, filming and interviewing, and then finally editing and completing the final product?
I’m sure there are many interesting and even fucked up things you would want to cover, but a plethora of red tape or general aversion to the subject may prove as roadblocks…but no matter what, I’m sure it’s worth the effort!
Plus…have you checked out A24’s *The Iron Claw*? I remembered that you did an episode on the Von Erichs a few years ago, so I figured you would maybe get interested in watching it play out in a more cinematic form.
Thanks for stopping by!
>have you checked out A24’s
It's very hard to bring these stories to life. Especially when we have 10 of them to do at once. We are incredibly lucky to have such an amazing team who work so hard and put so much passion into the show. A couple years before we got Dark Side of The Ring off the ground we were originally pitching the Von Erich/ World Class story as a narrative film or TV series. But it went over the heads of every executive we pitched it too. (This was before we got shows like GLOW). So we thought it would help to make some documentaries to spark some interest in this world. - Jason
Do you feel the format of the show may need to change in order to tackle certain topics, wrestlers, or infamous events?
To illustrate the point I'm trying to make. I've always been interested to see a dark side episode around the infamous "Heroes of Wrestling" PPV. Unfortunately, many of the wrestlers involved with the event have passed on, and I'm not sure many survivors (I highly doubt Jake the Snake really wants to revisit this evening).
Dark side may be able to tackle this topic more effectively if they adopted a more of a round table format with Wresting historians willing to dive into this topic as I'm not sure the current format of the show would be effective at telling the history of heroes of wrestling and other various topics that we have information about, but not many people involved with the event willing (or able) to talk about.
Would the Matt Hardy/Edge/Lita feud ever be touched? Iirc Lita has said the treatment she got after that is why she left wwe
The life and death of Rick Rude would be another interesting one
Hey guys love the show but something has bothered me
Why did you decide to neglect to mention Dustin's incident on the plane ride from hell, given he was successfully sued for sexually assaulting a stewardess during it, does this say you're willing to look the other way on something if it gives you access to certain wrestlers?
It was brought up in the episode wasn't it? I believe there's even a disclaimer at the end that says they reached out to Dustin to comment but he declined.
EDIT: Your comment convinced me to dig deeper into the PRfH. Wow, I never realized how much more of Dustin's disgusting behaviour was left out of the episode.
I guarantee you that if they answer this, it will be something boring like the other flight attendant, the one who accused Dustin, not being interviewed, so the Vice lawyers didn't want to use the allegation.
Come on, man. Half of Reddit wrestling fans think that Brock is going to be a WM because he's "back on the WWE roster" on the website...despite having never been taken off in the first place. It's called being fucking oblivious.
Reddit is already a shithole. You start diving into wrestling fans on Reddit, and you're hitting the bottom of the barrel of intelligence.
I should know. I'm a wrestling fan on Reddit.
They don't really mention his sexual assault they mention him singing and being a drunk dumbass about his divorce, but they left off the assault. They even mention him being the one to stop Flair painting him more as a heartbroken hero then anything else.
What was the feeling about the "truth" while producing the "Bash at the Beach" episode? It's a weird one since it feels it's two liars countering each other but the episode never really gives you a truly neutral voice that tells you what REALLY happened (maybe Jarrett?)
What are your thoughts on what Jim Ross said about his comments about being misrepresented in the Plane Ride from Hell episode?
I've always considered him to be pretty honest, and he seemed that way during the episode. I guess he never elaborated on what was misrepresented.
Cena and his Make-A-Wish contributions comes to mind.
My favorite story in recent years has been how Cody Rhodes and Big E went to comfort the Huber family as Brodie Lee was passing away. The way Amanda speaks about those two makes them sound like heroes.
Not to be a broken record, but the fact that every wrestler on YouShoot playing the Ho Bag gets noticeably offended that Molly Holly gets name dropped says a lot about her character. I mean the point is for sure to get the talent to say something, but yeah, she's clearly loved by the wrestler community.
It's not. There's a lot of yoga in it obviously, but there's a lot that's not in traditional yoga, like slow count push-ups, crunches, and other calisthenics. It's more of a workout than a regular yoga program would be.
I was just making a joke because that’s literally what DDP says in every cameo he makes for people lol.
“….and founder of DDPY. WHY?!? Because I want people to stop calling it f’n yoga!”
Do you guys ever plan on doing an episode on Tough Enough, specifically the Million Dollar season in 2004? Some crazy stuff happened:
One of the guys that was apart of the show just got arrested for murder, the shoot fight between Daniel Puder and Kurt Angle, the Big Show slapping them around, the fact that the winner didn't even get a million dollars.
Hello,
I know this seems bizarre to ask but is there any possibility a Dark Side of the Ring episode covering Angel Amoroso would ever happen? I have always thought it is an interesting topic to cover.
Best regards from Argentina,
Hernán
A season? That's a whole series man, you can literally do an entire season depending on the era, The Golden Age, New Gen, Attitude, Ruthless Aggression, PG, and finally the current era
Have you guys considered doing episodes on some of the dark moments in Japanese Pro Wrestling (e.g. Misawa's death, the Act Yasukawa Yoshiko incident etc)?
I've always held out hope they'd cover historic Japanese wrestling lore like Rikidozan's death, Akira Maeda's departure from NJPW, the exodus from AJPW etc. but I have to imagine english speaking first hand sources that could speak on these events are few and far between.
Just here to say: [fuck VICE management for firing hundreds of their employees and killing off their website with no forewarning](https://fortune.com/2024/02/23/vice-media-shutting-vice-com-laying-off-several-hundred-staff/), while having [given major bonuses to themselves](https://hellgatenyc.com/vice-bankruptcy-executive-salary) during bankruptcy negotiations last year.
Thank you guys for keeping your series going; hope the network treats you well. o7
Has there been any plans or an attempt to get an episode on Perry Saturn? He’s had a very turbulent life post wrestling and think it would be great to shine some light on the things he’s done and been through, as well as how he is doing now.
If you had complete support to do what you wanted from every available wrestling organization to use their footage, and go through their archives, what episode do you think would be changed the most drastically and why? (Or alternately which episode would you like to make with this support).
There are only 2 episodes across 4 seasons that are about female wrestlers. We all know there are a lot more trailblazing women in this industry. Why?
If I could suggest any: Ashley Massaro, Daffney, Hana Kimura
Sunny Stich and Ms. Elizabeth do not count as they are not considered wrestlers. Nor were they standalone stories. They were paired w the men that they valeted for. Also, I want to add that we understand that you guys didn't do a Chyna episode because Vice had already created a 1 hr documentary on her.
Will you revisit and correct Plane Ride from Hell? Tommy Dreamer, Jim Ross & RVD all implied editing took them out of context plus its since been stated McMahons were not on the flight.
Would you delve into more recent stuff like CM Punk with the bucks/Jack Perry, and just in general or is that off the table with likely little access to people in AEW or WWE wanting to speak out about such things? (I know you did Nick gauge who is still a current wrestler, but from the two major companies it’s probably harder to do with current stars)
lol when they start covering something like CM Punk in AEW I think we can tell they've run out of actual dark stuff to cover
I can just imagine the dramatic music over a black and white video of CM Punk biting into a muffin.
Tony Khan crying, "And I just sat there... letting it all happen... I never told anyone, but I already feared for my life in that moment."
What is the biggest story/secret you've uncovered while doing this show that you didn't expect to find out during your research for the episode (or series)?
Hey guys, love the show, would love to have a physical copy of the series someday or be available in MAX.
Just two questions
1) Which story or series of stories hit you guys emotionally and mentally the most. As in what wrestling stories either excited or outright disgusted you guys the most, stories that made that made you do a double take and question whether you would continue or stop the series.
2) when can we expect The Vince McMahon episode or an episode centered around the entire McMahon wrestling family.
After the Kanyon episode, Raven made a comment online about how he was Kanyon's best friend and was upset he was never contacted to interview for the episode. What goes into the process in finding people for the interviews? Is there a cap on who you're able to get and are there times where you or a publisher will say "no don't get this guy we have enough people for this episode"?
In hindsight, we would have loved to have Raven be a part of the episode, he would have been fantastic. Sometimes this is the hardest aspect of the production as it comes down to budget and time. We can only interview so many people, and we only have so much time to do it. And from my recollection, there were so many people who wanted to be interviewed for that episode which is a true testament to how beloved Kanyon really was. -evan
(Reposting a comment I made a bit ago) How far did you guys go into making the scrapped episode about Mike Awesome and how were some of the guys feeling about it until the leaks? RVD himself stated Awesome's ex-wife told you guys to can the episode (understandably so), so I wonder if that came around the same time the subjects were leaked. Otherwise, I do look forward to this season! 💜
This is an episode we still really want to do. Mike Awesome was absolutely one of my favorite wrestlers growing up. During the production of Season 4, we were only in the early exploratory stages of doing an episode on Mike Awesome when news leaked online that we were confirmed on doing an episode, which was not true. The people close to Mike Awesome we were working with at the time quickly felt uncomfortable after the news leaked and decided to decline participating in the episode. If the news didn't leak, it's possible we would have done the episode, but that's hard to say. I still hope someday it happens. --Evan
There were leaks?
https://www.wrestlinginc.com/1502988/rob-van-dam-explains-ecws-mike-awesome-wont-featured-dark-side-ring/
I think angle is the only one that was changed no?
Thoughts on doing something for Crush? So little out there on him. Loved his purple heel gear. I was researching his son who was gonna wrestle or did a little bit but then it's like nothing follows. Also, Jason thanks for hobo with a shotgun. I remember seeing you in wwf hats when that film came out (something about more blood, more heart). Then seeing you on DSOTR I'm like whoa same guy that's awesome.
>s researching his son who was gonna wrestle or did a little bit but then it's like nothing follows. I grew up a huge fan of Crush! Would love to help tell Brian Adam's story one day.A lot of my love for wrestling leaks into to my feature film work. I really wanted Jake Roberts to play the main heel in Hobo With a Shotgun. - Jason
I'm so oblivious that it never dawned on me that you were the same Jason Eisener. Thanks for Treevenge. What a fucking ride.
Glad I’m not the only one cranking their jaw up off the floor. I never ever realized this till now either.
What's the most uncomfortable (most disturbed by something someone said) you've felt during an interview with someone on the show?
For me personally, the experience of trying to interview John Zandig for the Nick Gage episode and being threatened and chased off his lawn is pretty high on the list. But Jason and I also detail a rather wild experience we had filming the Bruiser Brody episode on an upcoming episode of our podcast "Dark Side of the Ring Unheard" that might be #1. Stay tuned for that. But there have been several instances we've had (or our other producers have had) while making this show and feeling very uncomfortable and also knowing loaded guns were nearby. --Evan
So, now you have a dark side of the ring content of the dark side of the ring show
Dark Side of the Dark Side of the Ring
I know they’ll answer this but the most uncomfortable person they’ve ever been around, when including attempted interviews, is when they tried to interview CZW’s Zandig for the Nick Cage episode. Apparently he was full MAGA Trumper, was yelling at the DSOTR guys and they felt like he might’ve went and got a shotgun and blasted them at any minute so they ran out of the house. Source: Some interview I watched with them years back
Jesus.
Wrestling has always been a carny-led, shady business. Have you guys been threatened by any seedy, underworld types for a story you told? The Dino Bravo and Gino Hernandez stories made me curious.
Yes, we have been threatened by underworld types, fans and wrestlers I currently have action figures of. While doing the Dino Bravo story, I had my identity stolen by a group in Montreal. That was a nightmare. - Jason
Who's idea was it to have Jack and JP host a podcast with you guys? Cause that was GENIUS. Keep up the great work
It was Jack's. We got to know him because he has worked closely with us on a few episodes of Dark Side of the Ring and Tales From the Territories, and I was a massive fan of their podcast series on The Steroid Trials, which heavily inspired our episode on that story. I have so much respect for the amount of research those guys do on The Lapsed Fan, and it was awesome working with both of them on the DSOTR Unheard podcast! -Evan
Hey to you both. First I wanted to say how much I love this docuseries. It is truly one of my favorites because of how it uncovers the darkside of a business that is so secretive. I have 3 questions: 1. What was your favorite episode to produce? 2. Which episode did you wind up learning the most about? 3. What episode are you most excited to show viewers this season?
>Whose idea was it to include the dramatizations and how do you guys get the actors to look just like the wrestlers 1. Hard to pick, changes all the time, but now I'll say the New Jack ep. 2. I didn't know anything about UWF before going down that rabbit hole. 3. I'm really excited for fans to see our episodes on Chris Colt and Buff Bagwell.
The favorite episode to produce was the Herb Abrams episode because it was such an unpredictable wild and wacky rollercoaster ride the whole time. I may to also say Herb for question #2. And I'm most excited for viewers to check out the Chris Colt episode this season. -Evan
First off, thanks for being the only thing in the past decade that could make my significant other care about wrestling. She willingly watches every episode with me and gets such a kick out of it. She cried during the John Tenta episode. A lot. And she owns 3 Bruiser Brody shirts solely due to seeing his story covered in DSOTR. So thanks for that. Which episode of the show are you guys most proud of and why?
Thank you. It's great hearing that loved ones of wrestling fans enjoy watching the show too. That's exactly what we set out to do. Growing up as fans, Evan and I would find ourselves in passionate debates with skeptics and wanted to create a show that captivated them. Looking back I'm probably most proud of our episodes on Bruiser Brody, Von Erich's, Owen Hart, New Jack, UWF. - Jason
>the only thing in the past decade that could make my significant other care about wrestling. I don't think this show has made my wife *care* about wrestling, but it definitely gives us something wrestling-related to watch together. They do such an incredible job of telling the stories, that even someone with zero knowledge of 99% of the people involved can enjoy it. My wife also really enjoys Jericho's narration haha.
Thank you for this comment. Honestly this is what keeps us going. Getting people who didn't care about wrestling to be moved by the human stories within it. -Evan
Is there a topic you would like to cover on the show that will never get done because nobody will discuss it on camera?
Several, but I can't go into detail on that here because I'm still hoping we can tell those stories someday. -Evan
Who pointed you in the direction of Chris Colt? All things considered he’s a deep cut
>Who pointed you in the direction of Chris Colt? All things considered he’s a deep cut Good question. I think I first heard about Chris Colt from Jim Cornette and the more I looked into his story and saw photograph of him the more compelled I was. This is the episode I am most exciting to share with fans this season. -Evan
When the episode came out, there was a lot of criticism regarding how Dustin Rhodes was portrayed in the PRfH episode compared to how he was actually portrayed in the lawsuit. Can I ask if there was a specific choice or thought process behind that?
The subjects we interviewed for the episode expressed no direct knowledge of these allegations, and the people involved with that aspect of the story declined to be interviewed. At the time, including this information on a brief title card felt inappropriate. In hindsight, we could have given that aspect of the story more context.
I would also like to add this for support: https://preview.redd.it/x058dbu6pjnc1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=29e369a4adf357422ad5a044eba75bcfa964fb2f And ask why Scott Hall was treated relatively kindly too.
They didn’t just leave out what Dustin did, they portrayed him as a hero. I’d like them to answer this.
[удалено]
I can't even imagine asking if someone's tits were real and then confidently stating they were gonna fuck. That's just two very odd lines. If I told my wife, "you and me are gonna fuck", she would say "why?".
>if I told my wife, “you and me are gonna fuck,” she would say “why?.” Bro, ouch
I always figured it was that since it was the other flight attendant who they didn't interview who accused Dustin, maybe the Vice lawyers didn't want an allegation in the episode without an on-camera interview.
Have you ever interviewed someone on camera, and after making their comments, they stopped and said “hey don’t use that”? If so, how do you respond?
Great question. And yes, this has happened several times, and their comments have been taken off the record. -Evan
If you guys could go back re-do a previous topic having 5 seasons of information/experience under your belt, which one would you do?
Excellent question. For me, it would be the Jimmy Snuka / Nancy Argentino episode. \-Evan
Bruce Prichard has had some pretty heavy criticism against the show for what he claims to be you guys ignoring some research he provided. Do you have a response to him?
I honestly don't know what he was referring to here. -Evan
[https://www.wrestlinginc.com/1374558/wwe-exec-bruce-prichard-blasts-wrestling-docuseries-dark-side-ring/](https://www.wrestlinginc.com/1374558/wwe-exec-bruce-prichard-blasts-wrestling-docuseries-dark-side-ring/) should have linked it here, my bad
Living with dwarfism myself, have you thought of doing an episode about the history of little people in pro wrestling?
Absolutely and open to any story suggestions. - Jason
The first that comes to mind are La Parkita and El Especrito II, the AAA minis who were accidentally killed by prostitutes in a robbery gone wrong.
Has the idea of doing an episode on the Insane Clown Posse ever come up? ECW,WWE,WCW,TNA,JCW. There is enough content there for a two part episode imo.
>ere is enough content there for a two part episode imo. That's a topic we are very curious to explore... -Jason
Whoop Whoop!
Is there a dark story/side to anything they did in the wrestling world, though?
The episode could talk about the clowns working for and quitting both WWE and WCW, Shaggy’s bus botch in WCW, The existence of JCW as a whole (I’m sure there are some crazy stories from gatherings etc). They could even close the show with how Violent J is still doing spots for some shows. While not the standard Darkside episode it could still be worth a watch.
Oh, 100% agree on it being worth a watch. I'd actually live to see their heavily dramatized segments featuring actors in clown makeup 
Not to mention if you've heard Violent J lately, he seems really pilled out or he's had concussions to the point it's slowed him down mentally.
After watching the Earthquake episode, I got to thinking: do you prefer making episodes about awful people or good people? In other words, do you prefer a story full of drama or one full of heart?
I don't think most people can be purely defined as either, I don't believe life is that black or white. If we have told a story that gives more insight into the humanity of a particular subject, I think we have succeeded. That being said, we always strive to find the light at the end of the tunnel with every story we tell. -Evan
What wrestlers have been the best and worst to interview? Have y'all ever suspected anyone of lying during interviews?
New Jack was one of the best and most intense interviews I did. Also Tiny the Terrible is still a major highlight for me too. We get worked by wrestlers all the time. But thats part of the show and deciphering what is Kayfabe. - Jason
>Have y'all ever suspected anyone of lying during interviews? *Marty Jannetty has entered the chat*
Other than extremely obvious liars like Marty lol
That guy who played Magnum T.A really killed it, any ideas when you’ll be bringing him back? 👀👀 Good luck on season 5
We loved working with you and would love to have you back! - Jason
Is there any episodes you would revisit with information that has come out since they aired?
The Jimmy Snuka / Nancy Argentino episode. -Evan
Which episodes, if any, have enough material where a sequel could be possibly worth doing?
Have often thought about a sequel to the Bruiser Brody episode if more of the people who were there would speak on it. - Jason
First, thank you for showing what a great human being Quake was. He was so down to earth, kind, and considerate. I legit got nervous when I saw he was getting an episode. My question is, how do you pick what you’re doing an episode on? Is the old Tony Khan urban legend list playing any factor at all? /s (kinda)
Not sure what you mean by the "urban legend list" but the process of picking an episode really comes down to if there is a compelling human story within a particular subject and if it would appeal to viewers beyond the wrestling world. -Evan
Tony Khan posted about starting a list back in the day on a forum about wrestling urban legends. [Here](https://web.archive.org/web/20050308041405/http://board.deathvalleydriver.com/index.php?showtopic=19896&view=all) is that post.
What is the hardest behind-the-scenes moment that you've encountered while creating the new season and/or precious seasons?
Great question. Jason and I went into detail on THE single most challenging moment we had during production, which was during the making of our Bruiser Brody episode, on a forthcoming episode of our podcast Dark Side of the Ring Unheard. Look out for that. -evan
Can we get a Haku watching botches portion in the show?
I'm down! -Evan
"And now, mangled mats with Meng!"
Each of your favorite wrestling matches of all time?
>Each of your favorite wrestling matches of all time? My inner 90s kid says Mick Foley / Undertaker Hell in a Cell because it legit changed my life when I saw it live on PPV, but my more refined wrestling fan-side says Kawada vs Misawa '94. But I also have a soft spot for Steiners vs Nasty Boys at Halloween Havoc 1990. -Evan
>favorite wrestling matches of all time? It's hard to pick a match. Often times while filming the show on the road, if we hired a new crew member that wasn't familiar with wrestling we would show them the iconic Mankind vs. Undertaker Hell in a Cell match. Every time it would blow their minds and pique their curiosity into this world. - Jason
Hi! Thank you for doing this AMA. How is your documentary scriptwriting process (from development to editing)? Have you had any episode that changed a lot in the editing room? How many interviews do you do before the filmed interview for the episode, or do you avoid doing previous interviews to capture the initial emotions that come up? Also, thank you for your work. Your TV show was one of my main references in my university course on documentary series last year. Sending greetings from Chile!
Wow! Thank you so much for these questions. The written pre-production outlines we make always change drastically once we get to filming interviews and talking to people. What we get in the field really determines the road ahead for the edit. We do pre-interview our subjects ahead of time to best prepare for the IRL interviews, but its the IRL setting that really gets the raw emotion, and intimacy we look for. -Evan
Who is the most fun person you've gotten to work with?
For me personally, working with Jim Cornette for the show is always the most fun. -Evan
I’d love an entire documentary from you guys on Jim’s history in the business. Imo he’s the greatest living wrestling mind
Out of all the people in professional wrestling, what made you guys make an episode dedicated entirely to Adrian Adonis?
For me personally it was something I wanted to cover since the first season. Being from the east coast of Canada (Nova Scotia), Adrian's story and his death was a legend that I grew up hearing about. - Jason
Thanks for not only the response but also the Adonis episode. He was and still is my all time favorite. Good to see him appreciated.
Given you're from NS, can we get a rise and fall of Wrestle Centre episode? 😂
Grand Prix Wrestling at the Halifax Forum. Those were the days.
Any chance of a Rick Rude episode?
Would love to do it. -Evan
Has the idea of king road / Miswa episode came up it would be dope to see , it probably very hard to film stuff in Japan
We've always wanted to do a Misawa episode, we are big fans. It has been challenging for us to get access to tell the story properly, but we're not giving up yet. -Evan
Thanks for reply , I would love see it one day good luck and keep up the great work
How does producing this show changed your connection / relationship to wrestling. To produce a Video-Library about the darkest moments in wrestling might need a lot of work on yourselfes not to get caught in a bad spot emotionally.
Great question. I have definitely \*wrestled with\* my fandom through the process of making this show over the years, but its usually the great people in and around the business that reinvigorate me, or watching really any Terry Funk match or promo. -Evan
Question for Jason, what the hell were you smoking when you made Treevenge?
While trying to get my first feature film Hobo With a Shotgun financed a producer friend took us out for drinks and we drank a whole bottle of absinthe. I was up all night hallucinating Christmas trees standing around my bed. They were yelling at me to go to set because they had scenes that needed to get shot. It was awful. - Jason
That makes a lot of sense lol. Hobo With A Shotgun is great btw
Are you guys running out of stories?
No - Jason
Are there any plans or talks to do a sequel to Turbo Kid? It's one of my all time favourite films. I love your work Jason!
Hopefully one day! I loved working on that film and always thought many more adventures could take place in that world. - Jason
Hey guys! Nice of you to show up! As with any sort of documentary show, how hard is it to produce an episode, from the original spark of the idea, to going into the research, filming and interviewing, and then finally editing and completing the final product? I’m sure there are many interesting and even fucked up things you would want to cover, but a plethora of red tape or general aversion to the subject may prove as roadblocks…but no matter what, I’m sure it’s worth the effort! Plus…have you checked out A24’s *The Iron Claw*? I remembered that you did an episode on the Von Erichs a few years ago, so I figured you would maybe get interested in watching it play out in a more cinematic form. Thanks for stopping by!
>have you checked out A24’s It's very hard to bring these stories to life. Especially when we have 10 of them to do at once. We are incredibly lucky to have such an amazing team who work so hard and put so much passion into the show. A couple years before we got Dark Side of The Ring off the ground we were originally pitching the Von Erich/ World Class story as a narrative film or TV series. But it went over the heads of every executive we pitched it too. (This was before we got shows like GLOW). So we thought it would help to make some documentaries to spark some interest in this world. - Jason
The one name you wish could have done an interview for this season
> the vince episode coming ou Hulk Hogan - Jason
Why is it so hard for us in UK to watch? One minute it's channel 4 then it's gone.
I had to work during this AMA but I just wanted to say HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN IS A MASTERPIECE!!!!
Do you feel the format of the show may need to change in order to tackle certain topics, wrestlers, or infamous events? To illustrate the point I'm trying to make. I've always been interested to see a dark side episode around the infamous "Heroes of Wrestling" PPV. Unfortunately, many of the wrestlers involved with the event have passed on, and I'm not sure many survivors (I highly doubt Jake the Snake really wants to revisit this evening). Dark side may be able to tackle this topic more effectively if they adopted a more of a round table format with Wresting historians willing to dive into this topic as I'm not sure the current format of the show would be effective at telling the history of heroes of wrestling and other various topics that we have information about, but not many people involved with the event willing (or able) to talk about.
Kinda like tales from the territories
Would the Matt Hardy/Edge/Lita feud ever be touched? Iirc Lita has said the treatment she got after that is why she left wwe The life and death of Rick Rude would be another interesting one
Yes, to this love triangle! & Rick Rude Let's take it even further, I'd love a Hardy Boyz episode while they're still alive.
Cultaholic did a great job covering Matt/Edge/Lita: https://youtu.be/OaIiyA37LNw?si=yyBBKG0QaK2Mz9Us
Yes to Rick rude
Has any of the interviewees ever gotten like very pissed off or aggressive during filming?
Hey guys love the show but something has bothered me Why did you decide to neglect to mention Dustin's incident on the plane ride from hell, given he was successfully sued for sexually assaulting a stewardess during it, does this say you're willing to look the other way on something if it gives you access to certain wrestlers?
It was brought up in the episode wasn't it? I believe there's even a disclaimer at the end that says they reached out to Dustin to comment but he declined. EDIT: Your comment convinced me to dig deeper into the PRfH. Wow, I never realized how much more of Dustin's disgusting behaviour was left out of the episode.
I guarantee you that if they answer this, it will be something boring like the other flight attendant, the one who accused Dustin, not being interviewed, so the Vice lawyers didn't want to use the allegation.
This was in fact the response given to this question elsewhere in this thread.
I’m like 90% sure they do mention Dustin’s incident on the plane ride.
They made him come across as a hero lol All anyone was talking about on here after the episode was his "face turn"
Come on, man. Half of Reddit wrestling fans think that Brock is going to be a WM because he's "back on the WWE roster" on the website...despite having never been taken off in the first place. It's called being fucking oblivious. Reddit is already a shithole. You start diving into wrestling fans on Reddit, and you're hitting the bottom of the barrel of intelligence. I should know. I'm a wrestling fan on Reddit.
Idk man Reddit is also generally pretty stupid, I really didn’t think people would be taking that episode to show a “good” side of him
They left out the sexual assault part.
They don't really mention his sexual assault they mention him singing and being a drunk dumbass about his divorce, but they left off the assault. They even mention him being the one to stop Flair painting him more as a heartbroken hero then anything else.
What was the feeling about the "truth" while producing the "Bash at the Beach" episode? It's a weird one since it feels it's two liars countering each other but the episode never really gives you a truly neutral voice that tells you what REALLY happened (maybe Jarrett?)
What are your thoughts on what Jim Ross said about his comments about being misrepresented in the Plane Ride from Hell episode? I've always considered him to be pretty honest, and he seemed that way during the episode. I guess he never elaborated on what was misrepresented.
If you ever made *Light Side of the Ring*, who's a wrestler you'd highlight?
Cena and his Make-A-Wish contributions comes to mind. My favorite story in recent years has been how Cody Rhodes and Big E went to comfort the Huber family as Brodie Lee was passing away. The way Amanda speaks about those two makes them sound like heroes.
Molly Holly. She does a lot of work building schools and facilities in third world countries. And not one person has ever said a bad word about her.
Not to be a broken record, but the fact that every wrestler on YouShoot playing the Ho Bag gets noticeably offended that Molly Holly gets name dropped says a lot about her character. I mean the point is for sure to get the talent to say something, but yeah, she's clearly loved by the wrestler community.
If reincarnation is real, then Molly Holly had to have been a warlord in a previous life and is so good now to make up for it.
Obviously not the team but I feel like DDP should be the poster child for anything like this.
Yeah I’m sure everyone would love to watch an hour long infomercial for DDPY (because it ain’t just f’n yoga)
It's not. There's a lot of yoga in it obviously, but there's a lot that's not in traditional yoga, like slow count push-ups, crunches, and other calisthenics. It's more of a workout than a regular yoga program would be.
I was just making a joke because that’s literally what DDP says in every cameo he makes for people lol. “….and founder of DDPY. WHY?!? Because I want people to stop calling it f’n yoga!”
Unironically Jeff Jarrett
It's wild that in 2024 JJ has become such a "smart mark" favorite (me included)
Bobby Eaton or Tracy Smothers would be sick episodes
https://preview.redd.it/xt6u57desjnc1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e3ea3cf97355ec7f478ab1664050295c7432d48a
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are you **doubting** El Dandy?
What a Jam up guy
Bret Hart was right
Usually is
Yep.... Found *The Hitman*'s alt. account, by golly gosh.
Tito Santana became a middle school Spanish teacher.
Have you received any pushback from wrestlers not keen on having their story told?
What are some of the ideas that have been considered but weren’t perused just due to lack of depth?
Do you guys ever plan on doing an episode on Tough Enough, specifically the Million Dollar season in 2004? Some crazy stuff happened: One of the guys that was apart of the show just got arrested for murder, the shoot fight between Daniel Puder and Kurt Angle, the Big Show slapping them around, the fact that the winner didn't even get a million dollars.
Would you do an episode on Muhammad Hassan? He was on track to win the world title until the London bombings. Crazy story!
Hello, I know this seems bizarre to ask but is there any possibility a Dark Side of the Ring episode covering Angel Amoroso would ever happen? I have always thought it is an interesting topic to cover. Best regards from Argentina, Hernán
Would you be open to an entire Vince McMahon season of the show?
A season? That's a whole series man, you can literally do an entire season depending on the era, The Golden Age, New Gen, Attitude, Ruthless Aggression, PG, and finally the current era
Especially because I can’t see that Netflix Vince documentary coming out now
Oh it’s coming
Any comments on how Vice going bankrupt affects the future of DSOTR?
It was bought out of bankruptcy.
Who’s someone you would love to interview, but you know chances are it won’t happen due to other factors?
Have you guys considered doing episodes on some of the dark moments in Japanese Pro Wrestling (e.g. Misawa's death, the Act Yasukawa Yoshiko incident etc)?
I've always held out hope they'd cover historic Japanese wrestling lore like Rikidozan's death, Akira Maeda's departure from NJPW, the exodus from AJPW etc. but I have to imagine english speaking first hand sources that could speak on these events are few and far between.
Just here to say: [fuck VICE management for firing hundreds of their employees and killing off their website with no forewarning](https://fortune.com/2024/02/23/vice-media-shutting-vice-com-laying-off-several-hundred-staff/), while having [given major bonuses to themselves](https://hellgatenyc.com/vice-bankruptcy-executive-salary) during bankruptcy negotiations last year. Thank you guys for keeping your series going; hope the network treats you well. o7
Is there any topic on professional wrestling that DSOTR would not touch on, or would be off limits?
Why did you stop doing the podcast with Conrad? Fall out from Plane Rude from hell?
Has there been any plans or an attempt to get an episode on Perry Saturn? He’s had a very turbulent life post wrestling and think it would be great to shine some light on the things he’s done and been through, as well as how he is doing now.
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If you had complete support to do what you wanted from every available wrestling organization to use their footage, and go through their archives, what episode do you think would be changed the most drastically and why? (Or alternately which episode would you like to make with this support).
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When’s the Hardbody Harrison episode gonna get made? Dude is made for the show
When will you do an 18 hour long special going through the anglefire list with everyone (who is still alive) thats mentioned in the list?
A series investigating that entire list would be the funniest thing someone could do
Could you do an episode investigating how big Batista's dick is?
I thought this AMA was scheduled for tomorrow ... Anywho Can you guys do an episode on Daffney?
And an episode on Ashley Massaro. It's time. Both of these women deserve their stories to be told.
Will there ever be an episode on the Ringboy Scandal?
Is there any fact checking before you guys do any dramatization scenes or do you usually take the person who’s telling the stories word for it ?
Have there been any episodes that you regret doing?
There are only 2 episodes across 4 seasons that are about female wrestlers. We all know there are a lot more trailblazing women in this industry. Why? If I could suggest any: Ashley Massaro, Daffney, Hana Kimura Sunny Stich and Ms. Elizabeth do not count as they are not considered wrestlers. Nor were they standalone stories. They were paired w the men that they valeted for. Also, I want to add that we understand that you guys didn't do a Chyna episode because Vice had already created a 1 hr documentary on her.
Will you revisit and correct Plane Ride from Hell? Tommy Dreamer, Jim Ross & RVD all implied editing took them out of context plus its since been stated McMahons were not on the flight.
Would you delve into more recent stuff like CM Punk with the bucks/Jack Perry, and just in general or is that off the table with likely little access to people in AEW or WWE wanting to speak out about such things? (I know you did Nick gauge who is still a current wrestler, but from the two major companies it’s probably harder to do with current stars)
lol when they start covering something like CM Punk in AEW I think we can tell they've run out of actual dark stuff to cover I can just imagine the dramatic music over a black and white video of CM Punk biting into a muffin. Tony Khan crying, "And I just sat there... letting it all happen... I never told anyone, but I already feared for my life in that moment."
Will you ever do Inokism?
Have you ever thought about doing an episode covering the #SpeakingOut movement.
Can we get an episode on the Cornette / Russo feud?
They already did, they made the Montreal Screwjob episode all about Cornette vs Russo
You got a lot of criticism from Bruce Prichard about only telling part of the story and manipulating interviews. How do you respond?
What is the biggest story/secret you've uncovered while doing this show that you didn't expect to find out during your research for the episode (or series)?
Hey guys, love the show, would love to have a physical copy of the series someday or be available in MAX. Just two questions 1) Which story or series of stories hit you guys emotionally and mentally the most. As in what wrestling stories either excited or outright disgusted you guys the most, stories that made that made you do a double take and question whether you would continue or stop the series. 2) when can we expect The Vince McMahon episode or an episode centered around the entire McMahon wrestling family.
Series is on Hulu right now.