The Vice documentary series Dark Side of the Ring focuses on many of the controversial subjects and often tragic moments happening behind the scenes in pro wrestling. Having just recently finished its third season, Dark Side of the Ring in previous seasons has covered sobering topics like the Chris Benoit murder-suicide and the death of Owen Hart as well as wilder subjects like WWE’s Brawl For All tournament and the life of deathmatch legend Nick Gage.

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With any given episode of Dark Side of the Ring, there’s always at least one surprising revelation that even many die-hard fans who know the stories well weren’t aware of. Let’s take a look at what was learned in the third season.

10 Dynamite Kid: Underground Fighter (Episode 7: The Dynamite Kid)

Dynamite Kid

The overarching theme of the episode focusing on innovative high flyer and ring technician Dynamite Kid concerns the sacrifice of pro wrestling, and how a wrestler can suffer for their art so much that it’s actually a detriment not only to their art, but also their health.

Retiring in the early 1990s, Thomas Billington made a brief and depressing comeback in the mid ‘90s before finding a frankly shocking source of employment: underground bare knuckle fighting. According to the Dark Side episode, Billington would fight while encircled by cars, lit only by their headlights.

9 Kanyon’s Struggles With Bipolar Disorder (Episode 9: The Double Life Of Chris Kanyon)

chris kanyon

It’s fairly well known that the underrated Chris Kanyon struggled as a closeted gay man in the world of professional wrestling in the 1990s and 2000s, though many may not have known just how much personal torment he experienced.

But the Kanyon episode of Dark Side Of The Ring offered additional revelations, as viewers found out about Kanyon’s struggle with bipolar disorder, which manifested in shockingly violent ways. At one point it got so bad that, in one notable episode, he had to be tied up by his house mates.

8 Hogan vs. McMahon (Episode 14: The Steroid Trials)

Courtroom sketch of Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon

The final episode of Dark Side of the Ring Season 3 covered United States v. McMahon, the 1994 court case regarding the suspicion that WWE boss Vince McMahon was giving steroids to his wrestlers. One of the biggest moments of this trial involved Hulk Hogan testifying on behalf of the prosecution.

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One of the biggest stars of wrestling at the time, Hogan would have been the make-or-break witness for the whole trial, but he ended up surprising the prosecution by testifying that McMahon DIDN’T distribute steroids. Despite this positive, Vince was still mad that Hogan took to the stand to begin with.

7 The Story Behind David Arquette’s Deathmatch (Episode 3: The Ultra-Violence of Nick Gage)

Nick Gage re-enactment on Dark Side of the Ring

Though not without its tragedies, the story of deathmatch legend Nick Gage is one of the more positive episodes in the show’s three seasons, as Gage fell on hard times but managed to turn things around to be one of the most beloved stars on the independent wrestling scene. Gage made mainstream headlines in 2018 thanks to his match with actor/wrestler David Arquette, which got too extreme for Arquette, but the episode revealed just what happened in the match.

Arquette, not used to the deathmatch style, had requested that Gage avoid the face -- he is an actor, after all -- but Gage got too excited during the match and cut Arquette’s face with a pizza cutter.

6 Grizzly Smith’s Non-Wrestling Son (Episode 6: In The Shadow Of Grizzly Smith)

Grizzly Smith on Dark Side of the Ring

One of the more rough episodes of Dark Side of the Ring, the sixth episode of Season 3 covers Grizzly Smith, abusive father of wrestlers Jake Roberts, Rockin’ Robin, and Sam Houston. One of the more surprising revelations is that there was a fourth sibling, Richard Nabors, who was put up for adoption early in his life but took care of his father in his later ailing years.

He never got into the wrestling business, but expressed a feeling that he dodged a bullet considering how his siblings suffered.

5 The Life and Death of Johnny K-9 (Episode 11: Bikers, Bombs & Bedlam: Johnny K-9)

johnny k-9

Much of Dark Side of the Ring has covered incidents and topics fans already knew about, but it’s a safe bet most fans were unaware of Canadian wrestler Johnny K-9 (a.k.a. Bruiser Bedlam). Initially a WWE jobber in the 1980s, K-9 found success on the indies and in Smoky Mountain Wrestling for a period up to the mid-1990s.

But K-9 was also involved in organized crime via an outlaw biker gang, and had multiple stints in prison to the point where some believe his death in 2017 was the result of a conspiracy.

4 Stainless Steel Chopsticks (Episode 4: Collision In Korea)

2 Cold Scorpio on Dark Side of the Ring

Collision in Korea is one of the strangest wrestling shows ever, a publicity stunt that had New Japan and WCW talent perform in North Korea in order to benefit NJPW founder Antonio Inoki’s political aspirations. But one thing fans learned about in this episode is just how tense the situation was for the wrestlers in Korea, particularly between 2 Cold Scorpio and Road Warrior Hawk.

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After a couple of physical altercations, Scorpio had enough and actually stole a set of stainless steel chopsticks in order to shank Hawk. Eventually Hawk came clean and explained that a lack of drugs had him flying off the handle at all times.

3 The Plane Ride From Hell Is No Joke (Episode 8: The Plane Ride From Hell)

Dark Side of the Ring: the Plane Ride from Hell

Dark Side of the Ring came back from a five-month break with an episode on The Plane Ride From Hell, an incident where the WWE roster got too drunk and wild on a flight back from the UK. Often presented as an Animal House-like incident where “the boys” got too rowdy -- even in some official WWE content -- the reality is far more harrowing.

While for “the boys” it was just some wild misadventure, for some members of the flight crew it was a traumatic experience, especially at the hands of Ric Flair.

2 Brian Pillman Jr. Is Afraid Of Spiders (Episode 1 & 2: Brian Pillman)

Brian Pillman Jr. in AEW

The opening two-parter of Dark Side of the Ring Season 3 is just as much about Brian Pillman Jr. as it is about his iconic father. The younger Pillman certainly experienced a harsh upbringing after his father’s untimely death, but the episode also gives us one of the more charming, funny moments of the season.

During an interview with Brian Jr.’s aunt Linda, a shriek comes from off screen, prompting her to remark that Pillman probably encountered the spider that was hanging out in the bathroom. It’s very cute.

1 The Warrior And The Snake (Episode 5: Becoming Warrior)

jake-roberts-ultimate-warrior-snake

Despite what Dana Warrior says, the Dark Side of the Ring episode on The Ultimate Warrior episode offered a surprisingly balanced look at the controversial figure: a man who let success get to his head, burning a lot of bridges and tarnishing his legacy along the way, but ultimately sought a bit of redemption before the end.

One such moment of redemption came at a surprising time. At the 2014 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony, Jake Roberts was preparing to deck Warrior with a roll of quarters due to a failed storyline, but before he could make his move, Warrior did something unexpected: he apologized.