With the announcement of the third season of Dark Side of the Ring, there is a lot of interest from fans on what dark elements will be included in the upcoming season.
If last season was any indication, Vice does not have a threshold when it comes to sensitive and emotional topics and the subjects for the third season will not be any different.
As discussed on our podcast this week ( visit https://www.3fallspodcast.com for the episode), we went over the subjects and what we may see once the episodes air, but for the purpose of this blog, I would like to continue to conversation and give some more context on what is very likely to appear this season:
Brian Pillman
If you were a wrestling fan in the 90's, you know who Brian Pillman was. After a lengthy battle with throat cancer as a child, he went on to play Football and the Collegiate and Professional levels as a walk - on player. After his last Pro Football stop in Calgary, he entered the business via the Hart family and began his career in Stampede Wrestling, teaming with Bruce Hart as Bad Company.
Pillman's contributions to the business grew from here. Without going long form, here are some of his many contributions.
Pioneer of the WCW Cruiserweight Divison
First match on WCW Monday Nitro against Jushin Liger
Member of the 4 Horseman
Legendary match with Kevin Sullivan where he broke the fourth wall and exited the company (much disputed)
Short ECW run breaking 4th wall
WWE commentary
Gun angle with Steve Austin
Member of the reformed Hart Foundation in 1997
Tragically, Pillman passed away in 1997 and the tragedies did not stop there. Personal and financial issues within his family have been headline news and also the tragic passing of his daughter Lexi in 2009 (also an aspiring wrestler).
Pillman's son Brian Jr. has now entered the business and will be a part of this two part special. This has the potential to be the most emotional story of the third season.
One final note on Brian Pillman, it is widely believed that due to his onscreen persona and his willingness to protect this character off screen (as many of his peers were never sure if he was working them or not), that he would have been a major player behind the scenes in wrestling had he lived.
FMW (Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling)
The brainchild of Atsushi Onita, FMW is often referred to as "Garbage Wrestling" due to the hardcore nature of the matches. Many of the bouts were violent and bloody affairs, often seeing the loser of the match losing much of their bodily fluids.
Even with it's revival, the most memorable moments are from yesteryear. Which it was Mic Foley vs Terry Funk in a barbed wire explosion match, Onita's emotional crying after matches, launching the career of Mike Awesome, or the rise of Hayabusa, there is plenty of meat on the bone with this topic.
Sadly, Hayabusa was paralyzed in a match, grounding their biggest star and ending what could have been an even more legendary career.
XPW (Xtreme Pro Wrestling)
Porn producer Rob Black threw his name in the wrestling game in 1999, forming XPW. Competing with ECW at the time, they engaged on a very real promotional war that saw XPW invade the front row of a Pay-Per-View, starting a fight with the ECW wrestlers.
This story got some notice from the wrestling world and once ECW folded, much of the talent who did not get signed by the WWE, began working there. Unlike ECW though, the in-ring work was not as solid and there was much more reliance on the "Garbage Wrestling" style that permeated the wrestling business for much of the 2000's. This story will be an interesting piece as there was a lot of incorporation of the Porn industry within the story lines.
WCW/NJPW - Collision in Korea 1995
Think some of the combined efforts with wrestling companies in 2021 are out of the blue? None of them compare to WCW and New Japan sending their talent to North Korea in 1995.
The brain child of Antonio Inoki, many North American based wrestlers flew over to North Korea under heavy surveillance to wrestle under the guise that the matches were legit to the public. Inoki also listed this as a "Peace Festival".
Stories include phones being listened to, passports being held onto, and Muhammad Ali cussing out the locals.
Nick Gage
While not known to the mainstream public as a rule, independent death match wrestler Nick Gage has developed quite the name on the circuit.
Working primarily in CZW in death matches, he has been known as one of the most violent wrestlers in that field of the profession. His career was halted as he was sent to prison for five years for a bank robbery.
In recent years, he made news during a death match with actor David Arquette, who was seriously injured with a throat injury and was very close to passing away.
The Smith Family
At first glance, you may think this is Davey Boy Smith, but that would not be the case. This story will be about the family of Grizzly Smith, long time territory wrestler in the Kentuckians Tag Team. From there he was a long time agent, primarily working in Mid-South with Bill Watts.
Grizzly had three children who became wrestlers in Sam Houston, Rockin' Robin, and Jake "The Snake" Roberts.
This however will not be a pleasant family story as his children have publicly stated that there were serious abuse issues in many different areas. This episode will not be for the weak of heart as the allegations by the Smith family are frightening.
Bruiser Bedlam
While not a mainstream name, this episode will be highly memorable. Bruiser Bedlam (or Johnny K9) was a territory wrestler in the 80`s, a mainstream enhancement talent in the early 90`s and then an independent wrestler into the 2000`s. He worked in every major company in some capacity, spending his time in both the United States and Canada regularly.
His notoriety however is mostly known for his life outside of wrestling as he was very involved at different levels of organized crime and faced charges for murder as well as bombing a police station. This will be an interesting topic as finding people to talk about organized crime can always be an interesting task.
What do you want to see out of this season? Send us an email at 3fallspodcast@gmail.com .
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