15 Things We Learned From Dark Side Of The Ring: Tony Atlas
1. Tony Looks After Monica Today
The final three minutes of this week's 'Dark Side' will warm your heart and have tears rolling down your face.
Tony Atlas (who was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame in 2006) still wrestles on independent cards where he can, because he’s not financially secure and it’s all he really knows how to do. His wife Monica suffered a stroke in 2019, so he regularly visits her in hospital. Most days, Tony only really leaves to wrestle or go to the gym. This was a really sad ending to the story, but it’s nice that Atlas cares so much for his wife.
After all, she was the one who cared for him at his lowest ebb when nobody else did, and now he’s returning that kindness. In a heartfelt show of love, Tony told VICE: “I could never do enough for this woman”. There's footage of the couple joking together and telling one another they're getting prettier every day, then 'Dark Side' shows Atlas performing mobility work with his wife.
He truly, truly loves her, and Tony will never stop thanking Monica for hauling him off that park bench in frozen weather and literally saving him from freezing to death. His love is reciprocated; it has been since Monica spotted a burly ex-wrestler wasting away in the late-1980s.
What a journey VICE took people on with Tony Atlas's life story. His WWF/WWE career peaked early then dipped horribly, but the guy managed to overcome his demons and find love he treasures to this day.
What did you learn from VICE's 'Dark Side Of The Ring' episode on WWE legend Tony Atlas? For more wrestling, check out 15 Things We Learned From Dark Side Of The Ring: Vader and WWE Black Wednesday Releases 5 Years Later - Where Are They Now?