MVP has no problem watching Dark Side of the Ring dig through wrestling’s ugliest stories, but he definitely has a problem with some of the people they bring in to talk about them. The former WWE United States Champion basically wants to know one thing when certain faces pop up on screen — who the hell are you, and why are you telling this story?
During Marking Out with MVP and Dwayne, MVP was asked whether Dark Side of the Ring is preserving wrestling history or cashing in on tragedy. He made it clear that he actually enjoys the series, but his praise came with a pretty big asterisk.
“Dark Side of the Ring is, uh, it’s pretty entertaining. I don’t watch it regularly, but I have watched more than a few episodes. And, um, for the most part, you know, I find it pretty entertaining.”
MVP then got into the part that clearly gets under his skin. He likes hearing from people who actually lived through the eras and stories being covered, and he specifically pointed to Jim Cornette as someone who belongs in that role.
“You know, I like some of the talking heads on there because they are actually experts that know what they’re talking about. Jim Cornette being one of them.”
Cornette has been one of the familiar voices tied to the series, including appearances connected to Dark Side of the Ring’s Season 7 lineup. MVP’s issue starts when the show hands the microphone to somebody who wasn’t there and, in his eyes, doesn’t have much business acting like an authority on what happened. That’s when MVP dropped the line that really says it all. Borrowing from Conor McGregor, he admitted there have been moments where he has watched the show and had absolutely no clue why a certain person was even being featured.
“And then sometimes they have people on there that I’m like, as Conor McGregor would say, ‘Who the f** is this guy?’”*
MVP didn’t stop there. He openly questioned what some of those commentators could possibly add when they weren’t even around for the wrestling history they’re breaking down.
“You got people on there that—you weren’t even around. You don’t know. There’s some guy, Shoemaker or somebody. Hey, what do you—what do you—you don’t know.”
That doesn’t mean MVP thinks only wrestlers should ever speak on wrestling history. His point was that Dark Side of the Ring hits a lot harder when the people talking actually knew the subjects, worked with them or were standing somewhere nearby when everything went down.
“Anyway, so I have a little criticism of some of the people that they choose sometimes, you know, to give their—but I love it when they have people who are actually there, who are involved, who knew the people, who were around, because that gives it a certain depth.”
That firsthand connection has actually been a sticking point behind the scenes too. Dark Side of the Ring co-creator Evan Husney previously explained that a possible episode about Test has been difficult to put together because producers struggled to find enough people who were truly close to Andrew Martin and could help tell his story. MVP also wasn’t naive about what makes Dark Side of the Ring work. Wrestling tragedy sells, fans are curious, and he admitted the show is doing more than simply documenting history for the archives.
“So, to your question, I think it’s definitely a little bit of both. Because, I mean, let’s just keep it real, man. People love a train wreck, you know? Like, who doesn’t? Every time there’s an accident, people—you get a traffic jam. Not because the traffic can’t continue to flow, but because people want to slow down and look and see what happens.”
Even with that comparison, MVP stopped short of accusing the series of exploiting people just for shock value. He believes there is a difference between telling dark stories and turning somebody’s tragedy into cheap entertainment, and he doesn’t think Dark Side of the Ring has crossed that line.
“I think sometimes, you know, when you’re just profiting on tragedy just for the sake of tragedy, it can be a little tasteless, but I don’t think that Dark Side of the Ring does anything tastelessly. I don’t believe they do.”
MVP even admitted he has enjoyed basically every episode he has watched, although he couldn’t resist taking a swipe at some of the reenactments and their rough-looking wigs. His view is much different from Kevin Nash, who has explained why he refuses to watch Dark Side of the Ring because too many of the stories involve people he personally knew.
MVP isn’t trying to cancel Dark Side of the Ring, and he clearly isn’t done watching it either. He just wants the people telling wrestling’s darkest stories to have actually been close enough to know what they’re talking about instead of showing up years later with a microphone and an opinion.
What do you think about MVP questioning some of Dark Side of the Ring’s talking heads? Should the series stick closer to people who actually lived through those stories, or do outside voices still have a place? Drop your thoughts and feedback in the comments below.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
