The Chris Benoit tragedy will kick off season 2 of Vice TV's Dark Side Of The Ring wrestling docuseries
We were big fans of Vice TV’s Dark Side Of The Ring, a docuseries from director and executive producer Jason Eisener that dug deep into the darkest corners of professional wrestling, an industry that, by virtue of its relentless blurring of reality and fiction, can’t help but invite mystery.
Last season explored the death of Bruiser Brody, the curse of the Von Erich wrestling dynasty, and the icky legacy of women’s wrestling trailblazer Fabulous Moolah, among other stories, and the show’s sophomore outing will expand its scope even more, beginning with what’s perhaps the most taboo topic in all of professional wrestling: the Chris Benoit tragedy.
In 2007, Benoit, a 40-year old veteran who’d already established himself as one of the best in the business, killed his wife, Nancy, and their seven-year old son, Daniel, before hanging himself. It’s a tragedy the WWE has taken great lengths from which to distance itself, not to mention one riddled with head-scratching details, absurd conspiracies, and vital discussions of drugs, mental health, and CTE as it exists within the industry. As such, the show’s exploration of it will unfold across a two-hour premiere on Tuesday, March 24.
The series will also tackle the 1999 in-ring death of Owen Hart, the vicious murder of Canadian wrestler Dino Bravo, and the inner workings of doomed tag team The Road Warriors, as well as the controversial Brawl For All, the legacy of New Jack, David Schultz’s violent run-in with a 20/20 reporter, Herb Adams’ wrestling empire, and the death of Nancy Argentino, Jimmy Snuka’s girlfriend.
Watch a trailer for the series below.
WCW and WWE (and now AEW) legend Chris Jericho narrates the series, which Eisener and executive producer Evan Husney says features many wrestlers and family members who “have never spoken out before.” Each episode will be followed by an after-show hosted by comedian Chris Gethard, who will dissect the episodes alongside a panel of guests, at least one of whom will powerbomb him through a table at some point. Well, we hope, anyway.