
It was nice while it lasted.
SEScoops reports that WWE is working with “Dark Side of the Ring” creators Evan Husney and Jason Eisener on a new project for VICE TV. The project is said to have a “much softer, sanitized tone” than VICE TV’s original “Dark Side of the Ring” program.
“Dark Side of the Ring” aired for three seasons on VICE TV, but preparations for the fourth season were halted when several on-air talents felt they had been misrepresented in previous episodes. The Plane Ride from Hell episode became something of a flashpoint, and the show eventually lost support from wrestling luminaries like Jim Ross.
According to SES, WWE’s partnership with Husney & Eisener is designed to create an all-new spectacle. A source in the article described it as “campfire chats” about the old days of wrestling, which resembles the “WWE Legends Roundtable” shows that aired on digital cable channel WWE 24. /7.
Husney & Eisener would have access to WWE footage archives, as well as WWE personalities. Stone Cold Steve Austin has already filmed for the project, with more WWE legends scheduled to film. It’s unclear if this is the same project that Jake Roberts, Jim Ross and Michael PS Hayes reportedly recently filmed for, but it seems likely.
Between this project and the growing WWE programming on VICE TV’s parent station A&E, there is genuine concern about WWE’s current attempts to control the history of not just WWE, but professional wrestling in general. From DVD documentaries released in the 2000s to the less-than-accurate Monday Night War and Ruthless Aggression documentaries released on WWE Network/Peacock, there’s been a flood of WWE content over the past 20 years designed to control the conversation in this regarding the history of professional wrestling.
CORRECTION: The article originally attributed this news to “SES Scoops” instead of “SEScoops” and has been edited accordingly.
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