The trailer park of wrestling history is open for business
Dark Side of the Ring is back for season seven, and let's be honest, we all need to clear our schedules for the inevitable trauma. Season seven drops on the heels of a massive schedule announcement from PWInsider. If you thought you were done hearing about locker room nightmare stories and the absolute absurdity of the 1990s territory grind, you were dead wrong.
We are looking at an slate of episodes that feels like a fever dream curated by a disgruntled booker. The production team is digging deep into the archives, pull back the curtain on figures who probably hoped to stay buried in the annals of wrestling history. It is the television equivalent of a car crash you swore you would look away from, yet your eyes are glued to the screen.
The booking of real-life tragedy
Here is the reality of the genre: these shows walk a razor-thin line. Is it documentary journalism or are we just fueling the gossip mill for the internet to tear apart? When they cover the rise and fall of certain names, the tone shifts from investigative reporting to a eulogy delivered in a back alley.
The issue I have with the format is the persistent need to vilify everyone involved for a clip-heavy narrative. We get the sit-down interviews with the somber lighting and the slow zoom-ins, designed to make you feel like you are privy to a state secret. Most of the time, it is just a guy in a polo shirt telling you exactly what you already read on message boards in 2012.
Why we cannot stop watching
Despite the repetitive nature of some episodes, the historical value is still there. If we lose the record of how things actually went down in the trenches, we lose the context for why the business looks like it does today. Understanding the grit of the territory days is essential for appreciating the current product, even if the delivery is drenched in sensationalism.
What remains frustrating is the lack of nuance in some of the storytelling. Pro wrestling is a mess of contradictions, yet these episodes often try to simplify decades of complicated interpersonal relationships into a sixty-minute arc. They take a thirty-year career and boil it down to the night it all fell apart at a 15 minute mark in some mid-sized arena.
A critical look at the season ahead
My biggest gripe? The cycle of rehashing the same controversies. We have seen the same tales of substance abuse and broken promises recycled since season one. There have to be stories left that do not involve the usual suspects and the well-trodden tragic tropes.
If the producers want to keep us coming back for an eighth or ninth season, they need to pivot. Find the weird, the obscure, and the stuff that doesn't just result in a tragedy. I want to see the bizarre business deals, the insane travel stories, and the oddball gimmicks that failed because they were ahead of their time, not just because someone went off the rails.
As it stands, this season is going to be another emotional grind. Grab your drink of choice, steel your nerves, and prepare to be annoyed by the editing choices while being unable to turn the channel. We are all suckers for the history, flaws and all.
