Dark Side of the Ring has become one of wrestling’s most successful documentary series, but according to co-creator and executive producer Evan Husney, it almost never made it to television.
As it turns out, AEW’s emergence played a surprising role in changing the show’s fortunes.
Speaking with POST Wrestling, Husney revealed that the series faced significant skepticism from network executives in 2019. Fortunately, one major industry development helped swing the momentum in its favor.
Sometimes the biggest babyface for a project isn’t even in the same ring.
Evan Husney says AEW’s TV deal changed everything
Reflecting on the early days of the series, Husney admitted there was little confidence that a wrestling-focused documentary could succeed on cable television.
“There wasn’t a lot of belief that a show like ours could work on cable TV at that point in time… and it actually… our show was going to be shelved for a very long time. That was a big possibility that was about to occur in 2019.”
After putting extensive work into the first season, Husney said the creative team feared the project would never reach viewers. That changed when news broke that AEW had secured a national television deal.
Husney explained that he and another producer used AEW’s television announcement to make a new case to executives at Vice.
“Me and another producer inside Vice took that information… and we brought it to them and we’re like, ‘Look guys, first time maybe in a very long time… where you’re going to see two wrestling companies effectively competing for fans’ attention on cable. This is our time.'”
According to Husney, that argument proved to be a turning point.
“And that’s really a huge part of what pushed the show to finally get on air was because of that.”
He also said the team had to overcome outdated stereotypes about wrestling fans, with some television executives believing they were not valuable to advertisers.
Husney argued that fans were proving the opposite by traveling to events, purchasing tickets, and investing heavily in the product.
Years later, Dark Side of the Ring is preparing for the release of its seventh season. Looking back, Husney believes AEW’s arrival created the perfect environment for the series to finally avoid getting buried before it ever had a chance to make its entrance.
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