10 Subjects Dark Side Of The Ring Should Cover Next
9. The Plane Ride From Hell
The Plane Ride From Hell, weirdly, could do with a reappraisal of sorts, as if it is a worthy studio album released at a time when the band was considered unfashionable, and not a collection of maniacs going problematically apesh*t at the ironic top of the world.
The headlines were hilarious. Goldust borrowed a feeling and attempted to serenade his ex-wife into a reconciliation. Did Billy Idol egg him on, or...?
Brock Lesnar and Mr. Perfect amateur wrestled mid-flight. X-Pac removed Michael Hayes' ponytail, and Hayes himself took out his Johnson and almost pissed all over Linda McMahon. That's more dark than it first appears, which rather distills the entirety of the compelling 2002 high incident.
The actual, buried lede is altogether less funny. Ric Flair allegedly sexually assaulted two female flight attendants - who subsequently settled with WWE out of court - living his gimmick in a pissed-up haze, as if the word gimmick, in his specific example, had not lost all meaning. The image of Ric Flair in 2020 - profilin' through multiple death scares, making cameo appearances in hip-hop videos - renders him a beloved folk hero of sorts.
Does that sit right with you, and should it?