Dark Side of the Ring could have had a very different name, and honestly, it sounds like Evan Husney knew right away that Vice was about to walk into a branding disaster.
During Chris Jericho’s Talk Is Jericho podcast, Husney pulled back the curtain on the original title that was being considered before Dark Side of the Ring became the name fans know today. The show has gone on for seven seasons and turned into one of Vice’s biggest wrestling staples, but before that happened, someone at Vice had another idea. Husney said the worst title pitched for the show came from inside Vice, and he was basically told they needed something better fast or they were stuck with it.
“Oh, the worst one. Literally, this is a real conversation. One of the internal producers at Vice called me and he says, ‘If you don’t think of a better name than this, this is going to be the name. I’m sorry.’ And the name was Ring of Pain was the name.”
That title did not sit right with Husney, and his response was as blunt as it gets. He immediately pointed out the problem with calling a wrestling documentary series Ring of Pain.
“And I was like, ‘Dude, that’s hemorrhoids. You can’t call it Ring of Pain.’”
The name never made it to air, and Dark Side of the Ring ended up winning out. Husney then gave credit to the person who actually came up with the final title: his mother.
“I have to say, too, before I get called out, shout out to my mom, of course, who came up with Dark Side of the Ring as a title.”
Husney explained that everyone was having a hard time landing on the right title when his mom casually dropped the name during a phone call. That one suggestion changed the entire identity of the series.
“We were struggling so hard to come up with a title for the show and she just blurted it out on the phone. She’s like, ‘What about Dark Side of the Ring?’ And I was like, ‘Whoa, that actually might work.’”
Chris Jericho immediately understood how bad things could have been if Ring of Pain had actually become the show’s name. Husney joked about how strange it would be to now promote Season 7 under that title.
“So just imagine we’d be here doing the seventh season of Ring of Pain.”
Jericho shot that idea down quickly, “No, we wouldn’t. I don’t think.” Husney agreed, making it clear that the show probably would not have made it this far if it had launched under that original name.
“We wouldn’t. I don’t think made it this far.”
Dark Side of the Ring has since become a major wrestling documentary brand, spawning several other “Dark Side” projects under the Vice banner. Still, the fact that it was almost called Ring of Pain is the kind of behind-the-scenes detail that could have completely changed how fans saw the show before it even started.
What do you think? Would Ring of Pain have doomed the show from the start, or would fans have watched it anyway? Drop your thoughts in the comments and let us know.
Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.
