The seventh season of Dark Side of the Ring will open with a three-part look at the rise and turmoil of TNA Wrestling told through co-founder Jeff Jarrett, and series co-creator Evan Husney discussed the episodes at length on The Jim Cornette Experience.
Husney said the TNA episodes are not a flattering biography of Jarrett, but a wide-ranging account of how he built the company out of nothing after WCW’s sale to WWE, along with the financial crises, backstage conflicts, and personal tragedies that followed across more than 20 years. He described the story as far more emotional than fans may expect. “So many people break down and they cry,” Husney said. “This is a very emotional story that I don’t think people are going to be prepared” for.
Husney said the project grew from a planned two hours to three. “We kind of went to the network, begging and pleading for that third hour, so we could let the story breathe a little bit more,” he said. He explained that it had originally been envisioned as a much larger standalone project. “Originally it was going to be six parts,” Husney said. “More as a standalone thing. It was going to be the six sides of TNA, is what we were going to call it.” He said the team had hoped to follow their “Who Killed WCW?” documentary with a series of similar deep dives: “The idea was to continue in that tradition and do TNA as the next sort of deep dive exploration that we would have done on its own, and then maybe we could have done ECW… But for whatever reason, Vice didn’t want to do that.” He said the third part “gets into Jeff’s struggles with addiction big time” and covers the Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff era of the company.
The episodes feature a large group of interviewees, including Karen Jarrett, Scott Steiner, Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, James Mitchell, Awesome Kong, Eric Bischoff, David Sahadi, Vince Russo, and Jim Cornette. Karen Jarrett, who was previously married to Kurt Angle and is now married to Jeff Jarrett, gives her account of the real-life situation behind a TNA storyline that drew on it. Dixie Carter, who led TNA for much of its run, declined to participate, which Husney called a shame, saying it leaves her perspective to be debated by others.
Cornette, who is interviewed in the episodes, said the series shows how Jarrett kept the company afloat through repeated upheaval, including backers whose fortunes collapsed and a power struggle with Carter. He also noted the personal losses Jarrett endured during the period, including the death of his first wife, Jill, from cancer, his estrangement from his father, Jerry Jarrett, and the death of his close friend Owen Hart.
The rest of the season tells seven more stories across single episodes, covering the 2005 independent match between Samoa Joe and Necro Butcher, Ray Traylor’s run as the Big Boss Man, Rick Wilson’s time as The Renegade, “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff, Missy Hyatt, and Zach Gowen.
Dark Side of the Ring Season 7 premieres Tuesday, July 7 at 9 p.m. ET on Vice TV, with the first two parts of the Jeff Jarrett/TNA story airing back-to-back. Part three follows on July 14, and new episodes air weekly thereafter.
