| Show After kicking off the third season with a powerful and heart-wrenching look back at the life of Brian Pillman, Vice TV and producers Evan Husney and Jason Eisener's Dark Side of the Ring heads in a completely different direction this week with a look at Nick Gage– otherwise known as the "King of the Deathmatch." In the following trailer, viewers get a preview of how the hour will focus not just on Gage's epic, mind-blowing matches inside of the ring but also his personal battles outside of the ring to survive jail time and overcome personal tragedies.  Now here's a look at the trailer for this Thursday's episode "Nick Gage"- including thoughts from AEW wrestler and IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Jon Moxley, actor/part-time professional wrestler David Arquette ('Scream" franchise), and more: Now here's a look at what went into making the re-enactments for the two-part, two-hour season premiere, "Brian Pillman": The third season of Dark Side of the Ring will venture even deeper into wrestling's shrouded past, revealing the hidden, heartbreaking, and untold stories of professional wrestling with intimate access to its subjects. "With this epic, fourteen-episode season, we've had the opportunity to push the series to new heights and dig even deeper into a world that has captivated us our entire lives," said Eisener and Husney. "We're excited to unveil a season that encompasses a whole new spectrum of stories, ranging from legendary icons of the past to contemporary snapshots from wrestling's underground, to mind-blowing sagas overseas." Along with Pillman and Gage, viewers learned the season would also be kicking off with looks at the "Collision In Korea," the Ultimate Warrior, Grizzly Smith, and Dynamite Kid. Wrestling legend and AEW superstar Chris Jericho returns as the series' narrator for a second consecutive season- joined by an enormous cast, including Jake 'The Snake' Roberts, Jon Moxley, Mick Foley, Diamond Dallas Page, Eric Bischoff, Jim Ross, Jim Cornette, David Arquette, Antonio Inoki, Rob Van Dam, Terry Funk, and the former wife of Ultimate Warrior, Shari Tyree. Then last month Husney and Eisener revealed the topics for the second half of the season– set to air late summer. Those will include Vince McMahon and "The Steroid Trials" from the 1990s; a look at the formation of FMW, created by Japan's Atsushi Onita and known for its spectacular matches and gratuitous gore but took a dark turn in the hands of Onita's protégé; and Luna Vachon, who faced immense personal loss and battled addiction while making a name for herself in wrestling history. In addition, the docuseries will examine "The Plane Ride From Hell"– the infamous party onboard a private 757 charter that forced the WWE to reprimand some of its biggest stars; the story of Johnny K9 aka Bruiser Bedlam, and his double life as a wrestler and as the leader of a biker gang implicated in drug trafficking, the bombing of a police station, and gruesome double murder. XPW, which merged Rob Black's passions for porn and wrestling- until a fallout with a young wrestler started a chain of events that led to jealous rage and a terrifying amputation; and the incredible story of Chris Kanyon, who kept his sexuality a closely guarded secret for decades.
Enjoyed this? Please share on social media! About Ray FlookServing as Television Editor since 2018, Ray began five years earlier as a contributing writer/photographer before being brought onto the core BC team in 2017.Dark Side of the Ring returned for episode two of season three this week with Nick Gage as its subject. Despite having been in the business for the better part of two decades, there's a very real chance you have never heard of Gage. That's because he has dedicated his life to deathmatch wrestling. A niche corner of the business in which some of its most violent matches take place. This week's episode begins with a very brief introduction to the deathmatch scene for Dark Side fans who might not be all that familiar with it. One of the most prominent names to emerge from it in the west is Jon Moxley, who appears frequently during this episode. Both he and Gage explain that deathmatch wrestling isn't about the money, especially since it pays very poorly. It's about a love for the art. Seven Minutes In HeavenAfter that intro, viewers are plunged right into what might well be the scariest moment of Gage's very scary career. Gage comes up against a German wrestler named Thumbtack Jack in CZW's Tournament of Death in 2009. The ring is surrounded by what is effectively a wall of light tubes, and Gage is thrown through that wall very early on. It is immediately evident something has gone very wrong as blood pours out of Gage's side. Gage is taken away from the ring, at which point Moxley cuts in and explains if Gage is walking away, you know it's bad. Footage is shown of Gage asking the nurse to tape him up and let him go back. That doesn't happen, and on his way to the hospital, Gage dies for a full seven minutes. Even that doesn't stop him from continuing his craft, or even slowing down.
The doc then goes all the way back to the start as Gage explains what got him into the business. He recalls discovering deathmatches, watching Mick Foley and Terry Funk tear each other apart in Japan. That evolves into a love of ECW, and then eventually CZW where he would eventually compete on a regular basis. He and his brother start their own backyard wrestling show, the clips of which demonstrate Gage's love of the deathmatch really does stem from his childhood. Cue the next clip that might want to make some viewers look away. In another CZW match, Gage is shown pouring gasoline over a table before he and another wrestler go crashing through it, once it has been set alight, of course. Gage explains he was told to stop, drop, and roll, but points to the clip and argues that tactic doesn't really work. The fire doesn't go out until Gage removes his shirt, by which point he is badly burned. Jail, Drugs, And Deathmatch WrestlingAs you might have guessed by this point, deathmatch wrestling comes with a lot of pain. Pain that doesn't disappear when you go home at the end of the day. Like so many before him in the business, Gage turns to pain medication to help him through and develops an addiction. The trouble is, pain meds are expensive, and as touched upon above, deathmatch wrestling doesn't pay too well. Gage makes the switch to the cheaper but far more scary option of heroin to help manage his pain. His addiction coupled with the death of his mom leads to Gage's life spiraling out of control. In an act of desperation to help ease his financial woes, after finding himself on the verge of homelessness, he robs a bank. Since the act was very much a spur-of-the-moment decision, Gage was ill-prepared. He may have escaped with an unspecified amount of money, but multiple cameras clearly catch him in the act. Moxley jokes that Gage almost always wears a mask to the ring, yet when he robbed a bank, he went without. After a week of spending the money he had stolen in Atlantic City, Gage calls his friend and says he is ready to turn himself in. He is sentenced to five years in prison, of which he serves four. Upon release, the same friend who helped him turn himself in has started GCW. He kicks the promotion off with the Nick Gage invitational. However, it isn't too long before Gage finds himself back in prison. Gage is required by law to take a drug test. The wrestler attempts to falsify that test by using someone else's urine. After being caught out, Gage returns to jail for two more years. By the time he gets out, GCW is in full swing and he gets a hero's welcome when he returns to the wrestling scene. You Cannot Kill David ArquetteThen comes the part of the doc teased at the start and perhaps the most infamous moment of Gage's career, which is really saying something considering everything else he has done. If you had heard of Gage before today, it was probably because of this match. His deathmatch with David Arquette. The doc gives a quick recap of the time Arquette won the WCW Title 21 years ago, and also Arquette explaining that he wanted to make up for that and prove to wrestling fans he's not a joke. The actor thought a deathmatch, which he admits to knowing little about at the time, would be the perfect way to do that. To show fans how tough he is. Arquette went for dinner with Gage the night before at which point the seasoned pro tried to make it clear what he was getting himself into. That there would be a lot of blood and pain. Arquette said he understood and asked that Gage not cut him on purpose, but that he knew he would bleed. Cut to the match, the highlights of which are shown in the doc, and things get out of hand, fast. It is clear that Arquette is very much out of his depth very quickly. Gage ties him up in the ropes and uses a pizza cutter to slice open Arquette's head, even shoving it in his mouth. Arquette is already mad at this point, and probably pretty scared. But the worst was yet to come. Gage smashes a light tube over Arquette's head which slices the actor's neck. Arquette is then shown jumping on Gage and pinning him down by his neck. As Chris Jericho says in the narration, Arquette's neck would become one of the most talked-about things in wrestling at the time. While Gage claims the cut wasn't that bad, he pins Arquette to the mat and tells him to stay down or, well, things will get even worse. The episode comes to an end with Gage's life taking yet another dark turn, but one that doesn't appear to have driven him off the rails like it might have done in the past. His brother killed himself by jumping off a bridge. A bridge Gage has to look at every single time he leaves his house. The closing minutes of the doc show Gage admitting he knows he will die young, but he is okay with it. Moxley hypes him up one last time, claiming Vince McMahon would kill to have someone with the connection Gage has to his fans under a WWE contract. NEXT: Bayley Calls Out Eva Marie For Stealing The Gimmick She Stole From Britt Baker |
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