10 Things We Learned From Dark Side Of The Ring: Dynamite Kid
VICE's latest doc on Dynamite Kid covered WWE, family, Chris Benoit, the Mafia and more.
Here we go again.
VICE's ability to tackle depressing subjects has become a hallmark of their Dark Side Of The Ring journey. Last week's deep dive on Grizzly Smith and his children was both shocking and distressing to watch, but it's that car crash you just can't peel your eyes away from.
Their latest episode, on British grappling machine Dynamite Kid, is exactly the same. You don't need to be some hardcore wrestling fan to sample this tale - Tom Billington's story is actually more about what happened outside the ring than inside it, although VICE did also examine several key moments that occurred during his WWE tenure.
90% of it explored his controversial family life and relationship with his wife Michelle. It's...heartbreaking stuff, to say the least, and even the most passionate of Dynamite followers will find their jaws dropping at some of the things said.
VICE's talking heads, including Mick Foley, Jacques Rougeau and Julie Hart, don't sugarcoat the dark human being Dynamite was. However, some (mainly Foley and Michelle) want to spotlight that he was celebrated as an in-ring pioneer for a reason.
Here's everything we learned...
10. Mick Foley’s Broken VHS Tapes
Mick Foley, as you'd expect, is a credit to the documentary.
This is a dude who had his jaw shattered by one of Dynamite's stiff clotheslines during a 1986 enhancement match for the WWF, but Mick doesn't hold that against Tom Billington. In fact, he believes it's evidence of the man's hard-nosed, no-nonsense style. Plus, he was a fan to begin with.
Foley revealed that he used to watch VHS copies of Dynamite's matches in Japan with Tiger Mask so often that the tapes would break. He loved the athleticism and the excitement of those bouts - Dave Meltzer, another talking head, is on the same bandwagon.
The Wrestling Observer chief pointed out that today's in-ring style owes a lot to Dynamite. Presumably, Meltzer also wore out his own VHS copies of those matches opposite Tiger Mask. Most would expect that, but some probs wouldn't predict that Mick Foley was such a massive fan.