10 Things We Learned From Dark Side Of The Ring's Evan Husney

We caught up with Dark Side of the Ring's co-creator and executive producer.

by Andrew Pollard
Woman Nancy Chris Benoit
VICE

For North American audiences, Season 2 of VICE's Dark Side of the Ring has already been airing for several weeks now, while for other territories it's a case of waiting for this stunning pro wrestling-driven show to premiere its second year.

After winning so much praise and plaudits for that debut season, it was no major surprise to see VICE order a Season 2 of this documentary series, and tentative plans will hopefully see Dark Side of the Ring's second season hit VICE UK at some point this June.

This time out, Dark Side of the Ring explores the Benoit Tragedy, New Jack, the Brawl for All, the death of Nancy Argentino, the assassination of Dino Bravo, 'Dr. D' David Schultz, Herb Abrams and the UWF, the Road Warriors, and Owen Hart. And from the glimpses we've seen so far of Season 2, this is just as good, if not better, than the fascinating first season of the show.

We were recently lucky enough to grab some time with Dark Side of the Ring co-creator and executive producer Evan Husney (full interview above), and here are just ten things we learned from spending a hugely entertaining hour in Evan's company.

10. Two Season 2 Episodes Were Intended For Season 1

Woman Nancy Chris Benoit
VICE

When asking Evan Husney about when the call was made on what topics to go with for Dark Side of the Ring's second season, the show's co-creator and executive producer revealed that two of the featured Season 2 episodes were originally intended to air as part of the first season.

For that first season, the tentative plan was for it to consist of ten episodes. With filming already underway and with interviews already in the can, VICE then made the call to reduce that debut season to six episodes - resulting in the Brawl for All and Dino Bravo episodes being axed from Season 1's plans.

Thankfully, the hugely positive response to that first season meant that Dark Side of the Ring was given the green light for a second season to move forward, and that meant that the plans made and footage shot for the Brawl for All and Dino Bravo episodes weren't wasted.

As Even put it during our interview, "Season 1 they committed to ten episodes, then they actually shortened the order to six while we were filming. Thus, we had to put Brawl for All and Dino Bravo on the shelf. We were totally uncertain if those would ever see the light of day. We kept our fingers crossed about getting a Season 2, and thankfully when we did we were obviously able to finish them."

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.