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Over the years, WWE has seen countless storylines carved, which either pushed superstars to the pinnacle of their glory or completely ruined their careers. One of the most burning examples of someone finding his stride with a particular storyline is Cody Rhodes. Ever since his return and his feud with the Bloodline, Rhodes shot through the skies and continues to be a major heartthrob for WWE fans.

Similarly, there have been storylines which the company had to cut short midway, or such was the drastic ilk of the same that wrestlers tasked with carrying it got buried under. One of the most specific angles that WWE wanted to utilise was that of a stalker. A popular example of this involved two legends, one of them being the legendary WWE Hall of Famer, The Undertaker.

How did Ddp’s career arc go from an Ecw Champion to a layman after The Undertaker got involved?...

In the upcoming episode of “Dark Side of the Ring,” fans are in for a treat with the extended cut of Season 5 titled “The Double Life Of Chris Kanyon.” This season promises to delve into the darkest stories from the golden age of professional wrestling, where reality often blurred with fantasy. Viewers can catch the gripping exploration of Chris Kanyon’s life, a talented wrestler who struggled with his identity and the complexities of his personal life.

Airing at 9:00 Pm on Tuesday, May 28, 2024, on Vice, this episode promises to shed light on the challenges and triumphs of Chris Kanyon’s journey in the wrestling world. Audiences can expect a raw and emotional portrayal of the struggles Kanyon faced, as the show attempts to uncover the truth behind his double life. With exclusive interviews and never-before-seen footage, this extended cut offers a deeper look into the complexities of Kanyon’s story.

“Dark Side of the Ring” returns next month with the back half of its third season — but we can get the Vice TV show some heat right now.

Watch the Season 3B trailer via the video above, which is exclusive to TheWrap.

In our sneak peek, fans will get a sense of just how troubled Luna Vachon (pictured above) was, and see just how bothersome Jim Ross finds talking about the infamous WWF Plane Ride From Hell. And that’s just two of seven remaining episodes.

Additionally, the second half of Season 3 incudes: “The Double Life of Chris Kanyon,” “Blood & Wire: Onita’s Fmw,” “Bikers, Bombs & Bedlam Johnny K9,” “Extreme & Obscene: Rob Black’s Xpw” and “The Steroid Trials.”

With “The Plane Ride From Hell” up first and the steroid stuff set as the Season 3 finale, WWE fans of a certain age are going to want to make this one...

“Dark Side of the Ring” will debut Season 3 on Vice TV on May 6. In an interview with Variety, series narrator Chris Jericho says the show allows non-wrestling fans to learn to appreciate what wrestlers go through in their careers.

“I think one of the reasons why the show is very important and very relevant is because you’re learning and maybe getting a little more respect for these guys,” Jericho says. “We’re playing these characters, and not just doing it for three months making a movie. We’re doing it every single day of our lives. And in some ways that’s great and in other ways, it’s not so great.”

“Dark Side of the Ring” has been a breakout hit for Vice TV since it debuted in 2019, quickly becoming the highest-rated show in the network’s history. Season 3 is set to tackle topics such as the career of Brian Pillman,...

Watch the trailer for season-premiere episode about Brian Pillman here

TheWrap is tagging itself in to debut the trailer for the two-hour “Dark Side of the Ring” Season 3 premiere episode, which centers on the life and death of Brian Pillman — but that’s not all. We can also exclusively reveal the people and storylines chronicled in the back half of the season, when the WWF Steroid Trials and The Plane Ride From Hell get the Vice TV treatment, among other pro-wrestling subjects.

But first up is Pillman, who clawed his way to infamy by playing an unpredictable and outrageous character dubbed “The Loose Cannon.” His unwavering commitment to a 24/7 performance put Pillman on a path to self-destruction that left his family in financial and emotional ruin.

Watch the trailer for Pillman’s episode via the video above.

The second half of the season, which kicks off in late summer, will also include the Steroid Trials,...

WWE’s stable of performers are on the road more than 200 nights a year, told when and where to perform, and sign exclusive contracts that bar them from appearing on any other wrestling company’s programming. In spite of all that, they aren’t granted full-time-employee status by Vince McMahon’s publicly traded company — rather, they’re independent contractors who must provide their own health insurance.

That — and the overall well-being of WWE wrestlers, a startling number of whom have died early — was the subject of a deep dive on last night’s episode of “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver.” Oliver pulled no punches during the 23-minute segment, beginning with this opening salvo: “While the character Vince [McMahon] is an asshole, it’s important to know that the real Vince is also an asshole,” he said, “and many fans legitimately hate him because, while the WWE has made him a billionaire,...

Today brings some very sad news for wrestling fans, as wrestling legend "Mean" Gene Okerlund has passed away. Having appeared in the spotlight for decades interviewing various major wrestling stars, fans will never forget Okerlund's unmistakable voice. News of the WWE Hall of Famer's passing comes from a press release issued by the company, with no specific details on the cause of death. The famous wrestling personality is survived by his wife of nearly 54 years, Jeanne, and their two grown children. Okerlund was 76 years old.

Okerlund's "Mean" nickname was first coined by Jesse "The Body" Ventura during an interview for the American Wrestling Alliance, where Okerlund first got his start. The name stuck, and Okerlund would use the moniker for the remainder of his career across various promotions. Okerlund would spend 14 years working for the Awa, where he'd interview many future wrestling stars before they'd later become very famous. Along with Ventura,...

I will admit I was much more of a WWE fan than WCW, but even with that being the case I remember some classic matches from Nitro that caught my interest. With The Best Of WCW Monday Night Nitro – Volume 3 being released I was wondering if we’d get some, but the cracks are starting to show, and a lack of focus is at play.

My problem with this release may come from the fact that over the last month or so I’ve reviewed WWE: The Kliq Rules, and WWE: Monday Night Wars Vol. 1 which had a focus on the Nwo. This wasn’t a bad thing, it showed them at their best and when they were entertaining. The problem is The Best Of WCW Monday Night Nitro – Volume 3 decides to once again give their years a focus, which weren’t some of Nitro’s best.

With the fact...

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If you want to make it in pro wrestling, you’ve got to have a gimmick…

In fact, your level of career success can depend greatly on your gimmick.

If you’re lucky enough to be Mark Callaway, you get to become The Undertaker, being presented to fans around the world as the ultimate badass for 20+ years.

However, if you’re Fred ‘Shockmaster’ Ottman, they simply squeeze you into an effeminate fur coat, give you a Star Wars helmet covered in glitter and get Ole Anderson to do his cookie monster impersonation whenever you’re supposed to be talking.

Then, you’re pretty much boned.

Whether you’re Perry Saturn being told that you’re about to embark on a televised love affair with a mop, Shawn Stasiak getting the nod to play an underwear model, or Chris Kanyon being packaged as a Mortal Kombat character, a bad gimmick is a bad gimmick.

The 2001 WWE Invasion PPV was held on July 22, 2001 in Cleveland, Ohio. It was the only time that WWE used the Invasion title for a PPV because it was the only occasion where it would have fit. That’s because the main story at the time was about the WCW brand led by Shane McMahon and the Ecw brand led by Stephanie McMahon & Paul Heyman were trying to take over Vince McMahon’s WWE. It was a dream storyline that fans had wanted to see for years.

While it wasn’t perfect for a lot of reasons, they did a fantastic job of building up the event, which did great business for WWE with a reported 775,000 PPV buys. From a financial standpoint it was one of the most successful WWE PPVs ever.

This show was unique because there wasn’t a WWE Title match in the main event slot. That’s...

WWE.com

A lot of successful WWE performers can trace their lineage through Paul Heyman’s Extreme Championship Wrestling. Rob Van Dam became WWE Champion (and Ecw Champion) in 2006. Tazz parlayed his wrestling character into a successful announcing career starting in 2002. The homicidal, genocidal, maniac that was Sabu played an important role in the re-launch of the Ecw brand beginning with 2006′s One Night Stand PPV (facing Rey Mysterio for his World Championship). To varying degrees, the Ecw experience helped shape the careers of many former WWE World Champions such as Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, Mick Foley, Eddie Guerrero and Steve Austin.

However, there’s the other group. Those are the many Ecw performers whose experience in the WWE was far less thrilling. While these wrestlers have mostly been relegated more to footnotes of WWE history we’ll take a moment to recall their time as superstars in the world’s biggest pro-wrestling company.

Most wrestling fans will be aware that last week, WWE superstar Darren Young publically came out of the closet and revealed himself as a gay man, with a boyfriend of 2 years. WWE have done nothing but support Darren since the announcement, with Vince McMahon himself even wishing Darren all the best and praising his courage.

In wrestling, like many other showbiz genres, the issue of homosexuality has always been a hot button topic. Over the years we have seen it all, and while WWE’s support of Darren Young is encouraging and bodes well for the future, the industry hasn’t always been as “progressive” when it comes to such sensitive material.

In this article we take a look back to see how professional wrestling has handled the issues of homosexuality and other controversial sexual issues in the past, and the impact it had on the business and those involved.

Christopher Klucsaritis, known during his wrestling career as Chris Kanyon, died over the weekend at his NYC apartment of an apparent suicide at the age of 40. According to reports he suffered for years from bipolar disorder and depression:

Jason Powell, of prowrestling.net, said: "Kanyon has battled severe depression issues over the years."

"He told one friend as recently as Monday that he was having problems and was contemplating suicide."

"The friend is said to have contacted one of Kanyon's family members to express his concern — despite the fact that he and several of Kanyon's friends have heard similar statements over the years.

Kanyon was let go from the WCW in 2004, and later revealed that his sexuality may have been to blame:

At a 2006 Blood, Sweat and Ears show in Ontario, he claimed her was fired from WWE for being homosexual. After initially claiming that the character of Kanyon was gay,...