MVP thinks Dark Side of the Ring is doing a bit of both when it comes to honoring wrestling history and profiting from its tragedies, and he does not have much of a problem with that.
Asked on the latest episode of Marking Out with MVP and Dwayne Swayze whether he watches the Vice TV series, MVP said he does not catch it regularly but has seen more than a few episodes and enjoyed them.
“I think it’s definitely a little bit of both, because let’s just keep it real, man. People love a train wreck,” MVP said. “Every time there’s an accident, you get a traffic jam. Not because the traffic can’t continue to flow, but because people want to slow down and look and see what happens.”
The series premiered on Vice TV in April 2019. Created by Evan Husney and Jason Eisener and narrated by Chris Jericho, it tells one story from wrestling history per episode, usually built around scandal, tragedy or controversy, using interviews, archival footage and dramatized reenactments. Its seventh season ran on Tuesday nights from July 7 to August 25 this year, opening with a three-part look at Jeff Jarrett and the history of TNA and following with episodes on the 2005 Necro Butcher vs. Samoa Joe match, Ray Traylor’s life as the Big Boss Man, Rick Wilson’s rise and fall as The Renegade, Paul Orndorff, Missy Hyatt and Zach Gowen.
MVP said those stories can serve a purpose beyond entertainment.
“Sometimes these tragic tales can be inspirational to other people. A tale of caution: Hey, be careful that this doesn’t happen to you. And I think that’s fine,” MVP said. “I think sometimes when you’re just profiting on tragedy just for the sake of tragedy, that can be a little tasteless.”
This year’s lineup covered both kinds of story MVP describes. The Renegade episode, per its synopsis, follows a run that ended in tragedy, and the Big Boss Man episode deals with Traylor’s struggles with pain and addiction. The season closed with Gowen, who lost his leg to cancer as a child and went on to wrestle for WWE.
His biggest criticism was with some of the talking heads the show brings in. He praised experts like Jim Cornette, but borrowed Conor McGregor’s famous “Who is this guy?” line to describe some of the others.
“You weren’t even around,” MVP said. “I have a little criticism of some of the people that they choose sometimes. But I love it when they have people who were actually there, who were involved, who knew the people, because that gives it a certain depth.”
Cornette has appeared across multiple seasons of the series, and he was featured in this year’s season trailer alongside Jarrett, Matt Hardy, Scott Steiner, Tony Khan, Samoa Joe and Eddie Kingston.
He also took a light shot at the dramatizations.
“I think some of the reenactments are kind of dodgy sometimes, with the actors and the bad wigs and whatnot,” MVP said, though he added that it is all part of the fun.
“For the most part, I haven’t seen an episode of Dark Side of the Ring that I didn’t like. If you’re a wrestling fan and you actually like wrestling history, I think it’s pretty good content.”
MVP has been part of the business for more than 20 years. He has managed Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin in AEW as The Hurt Syndicate since the three arrived in the company in 2024, after leading both as part of The Hurt Business in WWE. He launched Marking Out with Houston rapper Dwayne Swayze last year, recording the show at a speakeasy in Houston.
