10 Things We Learned From Dark Side Of The Ring: The Double Life Of Chris Kanyon

8. His Wild Relationship With James Mitchell

Chris Kanyon Dark Side Of The Ring
VICE

James Mitchell, who worked as James Vandenberg in WCW, had a bit of a love/hate relationship with Kanyon over the years. They were great friends, and Mitchell did help Chris seek out a trainer, but... yeah, 'Dark Side' makes it clear that things weren't always rosy between the pair.

A lot of that had to do with Kanyon's repressed homosexuality.

Mitchell recalled finding out that Chris was gay when a box of gay pornography spilt to the floor as he was helping Kanyon move house. Horrified, Kanyon told his cousins (who were also there) that the pornography belonged to James. Then, he asked his mate if he'd be happy to play along and keep his sexuality secret.

James was - he could handle that, but Kanyon's wild mood swings were a different story. The manager told VICE that they'd fight and argue all the time, and that Chris resented the fact he even needed someone to cut promos for him in the first place.

Things almost got totally out of hand...

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.