THIS AEW Star Turned Down Dark Side Of The Ring

One AEW talent "politely declined" VICE's Dark Side of the Ring.

by Andrew Pollard
Matt Hardy AEW
AEW.com

With Dark Side of the Ring’s third season currently on a break before returning later this year, AEW’s Matt Hardy has revealed how he turned down appearing on this latest season of VICE’s much-lauded wrestling documentary series.

As Hardy explained to Signed by Superstars, he was approached to be a part of the upcoming Dark Side episode that will focus on the infamous Plane Ride from Hell. With nothing good to say about that situation, the Broken One declined this offer.

“Dark Side actually contacted me about doing it and I reluctantly said no, just because so many people are my friends that I’m close with and [who] helped me out so much. I just didn’t wanna go sound like one of those guys that just buried stuff. I didn’t have anything good to say. It was just gonna… I think it would’ve been in poor taste, so I respectfully said no to that.”

For those not familiar with the Plane Ride from Hell, that’s the name given to a flight that saw the WWE roster returning to US soil after the 2002 Insurrextion PPV that was held in London, England.

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With plenty of alcohol and reportedly other substances at play for the seven-hour flight, the result was a hectic trip that saw plenty of repercussions – including the near-instant firings of Scott Hall and Curt Hennig.

Dark Side of the Ring’s third season will conclude later this year with a further seven episodes focussed on Bruiser Bedlam, the Vince McMahon vs. USA steroid scandal of ’94, FMW, the Plane Ride from Hell, Luna Vachon, XPW, and the late, great Chris Kanyon.

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Senior Writer
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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 day job, 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. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.