Dark Side Of The Ring almost debuted under a very different name.
Speaking on Talk Is Jericho while promoting the show’s upcoming season on VICE TV, co-creator Evan Husney reflected on how the series got its iconic title. Husney revealed that the name actually came from his mother after the creative team struggled to settle on one.
“I have to say, too, before I get called out, shoutout to my mom who came up with ‘Dark Side Of The Ring’ as a title,” Husney said. “We were struggling so hard to come up with a title for the show, and she just blurted it out on the phone, ‘What about ‘Dark Side Of The Ring?,’ and I was like, ‘Woah, that actually might work.'”
Evan Husney Reveals The Alternate Name For Dark Side Of The Ring
Chris Jericho, who has narrated the series for nearly its entire run, then asked what other names had been suggested before Dark Side Of The Ring was finalized.
Husney recalled one pitch from a VICE producer that he immediately rejected.
“Oh, the worst one, literally this is a real conversation. One of the internal producers at VICE called me and said, ‘If you don’t think of a better name than this, this is gonna be the name, I’m sorry.’ And the name was ‘Ring Of Pain.’ I was like, ‘Dude, that’s hemorrhoids! You can’t call it ‘Ring Of Pain!’ Just imagine if we were here doing the seventh season of ‘Ring Of Pain.'”
Jericho laughed at the story and suggested the series likely would not have lasted under that title.
“No, we wouldn’t. I don’t think we would’ve made it this far.” [H/T WebIsJericho.com]
The next season of Dark Side Of The Ring will feature episodes on Jeff Jarrett and TNA Wrestling, the infamous Samoa Joe vs. Necro Butcher match, Big Boss Man, Paul Orndorff, and several other notable stories from wrestling history.
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