Dark Side of the Ring Boss Stands by Ric Flair Episode Despite Massive Backlash

Evan Husney isn’t backing down. The Dark Side of the Ring executive producer is finally speaking out about the 2021 backlash that followed the show’s explosive “Plane Ride from Hell” episode—which placed WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair at the center of a sexual assault allegation made by former flight attendant Heidi Doyle. Flair denied the accusation, but WWE quickly pulled him from its signature intro video, and public heat came fast.

Now, in a new interview with Sportskeeda Wrestling, Husney is standing firm on what his team put out—and calling out those who tried to walk back their on-camera comments after the fact.

“It was a pretty intense experience,” Husney admitted. “I think that episode came out at a time where stories like that would cause an uproar on social media and backlash… Me, personally, I stand a hundred percent by the things that are in that episode, and what people said is what they said.”

He also addressed the criticism from those involved who later seemed to change their tune under public pressure. “There was a lot of backtracking that was going on based upon the pressure or the heat,” Husney said, “and I can understand that from a public point of view, I guess, but yeah, that was really tricky.”

The VICE TV series, known for its raw look at wrestling’s darkest chapters, has often been accused of intentionally making certain wrestlers “look bad.” But Husney denies that was ever the goal.

“We’re never out to intentionally make anyone look bad. That’s not our job,” he stated. “I think there’s a knee-jerk [reaction] in the wrestling business about, ‘Well, they buried that guy, they buried this guy…’ That’s not how we approach it. We’re telling the story as it’s being told to us.”

Still, Husney admitted that the backlash from that episode forced the team to rebuild credibility with fans. “It was frustrating to see how people went back on the things they said, and us knowing the truth… That was tricky,” he added.

Love it or hate it, the Dark Side team isn’t backing down from its most controversial episode. And with season six now underway, the question remains: will they ever touch the Vince McMahon scandal?