#DARK SIDE OF THE RING

[astoriachef]

[itsexclusive]

The inevitable dark side of the ring episode about Vince Mcmahon will be God tier. They wouldn't be able to cover his shenanigans in an episode or two, they would need to dedicate an entire season to his fuckery.

[demoralizedreprobate]

Marty banned from multiple countries Jannetty. thank you dark side of the ring for blessing me with this clip of MJ driving into a hotel fountain.

[lazywolfwiccan]

Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler had ten seconds to prepare to announce Owen Hart's death. Ten. Seconds.

Kevin Dunn, you can fucking rot.

Rip Owen, you deserved better 💔

[wrestlinghistorywithkay]

Kerry Von Erich posing with tribute robe in memory of his brother , David and the NWA World Championship , 1984

[84reedsy]

In your opinion what is the saddest episode of Darkside of the Ring?

Oh, anon, by FAR the Von Erichs.

The sheer tragedy within one family is nearly incomprehensible. Thinking of what Kevin and his parents have experienced just feels like a nightmare. I felt that "helpless" feeling the most during that episode. I haven't seen all of them, but none are really too light-hearted.

I have a few queued up to watch soon when I recover from Scott's legends doc 😂😭

[abs0luteb4stard]

W A T C H I N G

[littletroubledgrrrl]

[mysharona1987]

[dalekofchaos]

Dark Side of the Ring season 6 ideas

Season 5 is over, so here are my ideas for season 6 of Dark side of the Ring

The Ringboy Scandal

Bill DeMott

The Knight Family

Wrestlers Court

Ashley Massaro

Daffney

Rikidozan

Buck Zumhofe

Hardbody Harrison

Heroes Of Wrestling

Adrian Street

The Kliq

Perry Saturn

IWA Mid-South

Rick Rude

Mr Perfect

Juana Barraza

Raven

Art Barr

Larry Sweeney

Ludvig Borga

Jerry and Brian Christopher Lawler

Buddy Landel

Test Martin

Tom Zenk

Demolition

The Shiek

Muhammad Hassan

[flytohurt]

i finally watched the iron claw since it’s on max now

& wow, that was a beautifully shot movie. the cinematography & direction was fantastic. i do wish they had explained a bit more though. if you don’t actually know the story of the Von Erichs there’s a lot of context missing.

i also don’t think it was fair to the family to not include Chris. the director said the film “couldn’t withstand another tragedy” but like, you’re making a film about the Von Erich family & that was in fact another tragedy they had to experience…? there were six sons, not five. you can’t just rewrite their history while claiming it’s the true story.

i’d highly recommend their dark side of the ring episode if you’re interested in the family, the whole history, & Kevin’s life now. it’s also just a really good show for wrestling fans, lots of untold details of controversies & tragedies over the years. as a warning, Cornette is in nearly every episode & his feud with Russo is still present & just as insufferable as ever but that only comes up in two episodes if i remember correctly.

[austinramsaygames]

Me, remembering Dark Side Of The Ring exists: I wonder if there are any new episodes since I last checked.

Me, immediately remembering Vice went bankrupt like 2 months ago: ... probably not.

[chdatz9000]

I HATE old school wrestling

[context: watching dark side of the ring]

it's just. I REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY HOPE that drug use and alcoholism have gone down dramatically. fucking hell. it's fucking disgusting that it was so popular and welcomed and in fact encouraged. i just. ugh. to think of all the countless deaths that could have been avoided.

[yungcrybby-anonymousbosch666]

wow there sure are a lot of dead dads in here

[wrestlinghistorywithkay]

Jim Cornette: A Wrestling Icon

In honor of Jim Cornette’s birthday, I wanted to write an article celebrating his storied career in professional wrestling.

Jim Cornette is a wrestling manager, agent, booker , promoter, trainer , photographer, color commentator, promoter, and a part time professional wrestler . He is also an author , wrestling historian, and the host of popular podcasts , ‘ The Jim Cornette Experience’, and ‘ Jim Cornette’s Drive Thru’ alongside producer and co-host, Brian Last. Cornette began his storied career in professional wrestling at the age of 14, working at the Louisville Gardens in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. He would have jobs such as a photographer, ring announcer , magazine correspondent, PR Correspondent, and a time keeper. Cornette also befriended Christine Jarrett, a wrestling promoter , and the mother of the promoter of the CWA ( Continental Wrestling Association ), Jerry Jarrett ( The father of Jeff Jarrett. Christine is Jeff’s grandmother.) . The CWA is also known as the Memphis Territory. The photos that Cornette took while in the Memphis Territory would be published regularly in a Japanese wrestling magazine , called ‘ Gong’. The photos would be a regular occurrence from 1977 to 1982.

In 1982, Jim Cornette would begin writing the programs for local arena shows , continuing to have his photography work published in popular wrestling magazines , and being a contributor to Championship Wrestling Magazine . Thus, the same year , Cornette would be hired as manager by Jerry Jarrett after attending a match between Jerry ‘ The King ’ Lawler and ‘ The Nature Boy ’ Ric Flair. Cornette would also state that this would be the first time he would be allowed to enter the locker room after being tolerated at live wrestling shows and TV tapings for almost ten years. Cornette would choose the name , James E. Cornette as the one he would use during shows. This was a tribute to promoter, James E.Barnett. On September 25,1982 , Cornette would make his debut as a manager for Sherri Martel , who would become a manager herself and later be known as ‘ Sensational Sherri’. Cornette adopted the gimmick of a spoiled rich kid turned clumsy manager who would be fired by his clients after their matches. Wrestlers in this angle would consist of Crusher Broomfield ( also known as Akeem and One Man Gang ) , and Dutch Mantell. Cornette would go on to make his Mid-South Wrestling debut in 1983 and manage the tag team, The Midnight Express. He would also adapt his signature tennis racquet. Cornette said that he got the inspiration for that from a movie. He would have feuds with stars such as Magnum TA before taking The Midnight Express to WCCW in 1984. They were looking for more bookings as they couldn’t get a huge rivalry with the Von Erich family . Therefore , they would leave Dallas, Texas, and head to Charlotte , North Carolina to Jim Crockett Promotions.

While in JCP, Cornette would lead The Midnight Express ( Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane ) , to success as the three time NWA United States Tag Team Champions. Nevertheless, Cornette would be known for the tennis racquet and his extremely loud mouth. He was a Heel manager as The Midnight Express were a Heel Tag Team. They would have to have a police escort making their way to ring and going back to the locker room at house shows as well as to the city limits due to being hated by fans. This was also a precaution to their safety due to worrying about being attacked by fans as well. Cornette would suffer a knee injury at Starrcade ‘ 86 after falling off of a scaffold. Cornette said the stunt went too far due to his fear of heights , also known as Acrophobia. This stunt happened during a match between The Midnight Express and The Road Warriors. Thus, Big Bubba Rogers ( Big Boss Man / Ray Traylor ) , an ally of The Midnight Express, would be the one to catch Cornette instead of Bobby Eaton after he fell. He became a Color Commentator in 1989 , while Jim Ross ( JR ) , would be the play-by-play commentator for JCP’s Saturday Night TV shows. He would also become a Booker for WCW the same year. He would return to WCW in 1993 after leaving in 1990 as a part of a talent trade with Smoky Mountain Wrestling ( SMW). He would manage The Heavenly Bodies ( Stan Lane and Tom Pritchard ) and feud with The Rock N Roll Express ( Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson ). He would start his own promotion, Smoky Mountain Wrestling , in 1991.

With SMW, Cornette would begin a partnership with Vince McMahon and the World Wrestling Federation ( WWF) in 1993. Thus, SMW would have financial trouble and in November 1995, would shut down. Cornette would sell the promotion’s rights and videos to McMahon the same year . He would say that he chose the wrong time to start Smoky Mountain Wrestling due to a recession in the business.

While in the WWF, Jim Cornette would be a booker , color commentator, and a manager. He would be in his most well known role as a manager for being the American Spokesperson for the WWF Champion , Yokozuna, in 1993. He would be a full time employee of the WWF in 1996. He would take on the role of scouting talent and developing them for TV and house shows. Cornette would start his own Heel stable called, ‘ Camp Cornette ’ , which consisted of himself , Owen Hart , Yokozuna , Vader , and The British Bulldog ( Davey Boy Smith ). Cornette would become a full time color commentator in 1997. Therefore , he would leave the company the same year due to having conflicts with Vince Russo and Kevin Dunn. At the height of the Attitude Era, in 1998, he would return with a stable consisting of Barry Windham , The Rock N Roll Express, and Jeff Jarrett. They would be known as the NWA Invasion. He would also manage a new Midnight Express and Dan Severn. He would also provide color commentary the same year . Cornette would also participate in the Gimmick Battle Royal at Wrestlemania 17 in 2001.

Cornette would go on to be the head booker and part owner of Ohio Valley Wrestling ( OVW ) in 1999. OVW was the lead developmental territory for WWE before FCW ( later to be known as NXT.). He would influence the careers of John Cena, Randy Orton , Batista , and Brock Lesnar as they were training there. He did the same for stars from the Attitude Era such as Al Snow, Sunny , D’ Lo Brown , and Kane in SMW. He would be let go from WWE in 2005 after being involved in two separate incidents . One being slapping Anthony Carelli ( WWE Legend and TNA Director of Authority, Santino Marella. He is the father of WWE NXT Wrestler and Liasion , Arianna Grace ). He would also appear in TNA , ROH, and ECW. He would return to OVW in 2010. He would make an appearance in What Culture Pro Wrestling ( WCPW ) in 2016 and 2017. He would make appearances in WWE from 2017 to 2020 and return to TNA in 2017. Cornette would also appear in NWA in 2018 and 2019 before appearing in Major League Wrestling ( MLW ) in 2019. He retired from managing in 2017 and announcing/color commentary in 2019. He would go on to make a numerous appearances on ‘ Dark Side of The Ring ’.

Jim Cornette’s most well known match would be with Paul E.Dangerously ( Paul Heyman ) in a Tuxedo Match in 1989 at the Great American Bash in WCW. He would be defeated by Dangerously.

Jim Cornette is considered one of the greatest managers of all time according to fans, including myself.

My Final Thoughts:

Jim Cornette is a legend of professional wrestling. In my opinion, he deserves to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. To me , he has one of the most storied careers and it amazed me how he paid his dues in the business at a young age. I also admire how he honest he is about wrestling now and on DSOTR. Knowing he is a wrestling historian , I’ve studied him and he is also a reason I started this blog . So, happy birthday, Jim! Hope it’s a good one!

Love You All,

- Kay

[alcreed]

Doink the Clown (WWF)