Trivia / Dark Side of the Ring

• Adored by the Network: Vice TV's advertising for the show openly admits that Dark Side of the Ring is the network's most successful show.
• Creator Backlash:
  • According to Jim Cornette, the show's creators chose not to cover the Ultimate Warrior's more controversial actions so that the episode covering him didn't seem like a hit piece (this may probably be because of The Self-Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior, a DVD made by WWE while Warrior was on bad terms with the company, that even Warrior's harshest critics accused of being an unabashed hatchet job). However, they later came to regret taking it easy on Warrior, especially after the Biography: WWE Legends episode on him had aired a few days prior and was seen as an attempt by WWE to do a 180 and downplay or rewrite Warrior's worst traits and moments (as Warrior mended differences with WWE shortly before his death).
  • Some of the talking heads such as Vince Russo and Jim Ross have stated that they would no longer appear in future episodes due to how they feel that how they are presented falls under Manipulative Editing. That said, both had since made appearances in Season 4, so it appears any issues have been mended.
• Dueling Works: With A&E's Biography: WWE Legends, a WWE-endorsed show that covers the lives and careers of the company's top stars. Not only did Biography premiere three weeks ahead the third season of Dark Side, but A&E rescheduled their episode covering the Ultimate Warrior so that it aired before Dark Side's episode about Warrior. An episode regarding Chyna was released soon after the Vice Versa documentary, as well.
• Disowned Adaptation: Ultimate Warrior's widow Dana Warrior, who works for WWE and appeared in the Biography: WWE Legends episode about Warrior, did not approve of the Dark Side episode based on her late husband, calling it "smut and filth", though she later deleted those comments. The show promptly placed the comments on a T-shirt, with the proceeds going to LGBT-friendly charities (referencing Warrior's infamous "queering doesn't make the world work" rant).
• Follow the Leader: Aside from Vice TV greenlighting several spinoffs (Dark Side of Football, Dark Side of the '90s, Dark Side of the 2000's and Tales From The Territories) due to the show's success, Investigation Discovery would also launch Quiet on Set in 2024, which focuses on the dark side of Nickelodeon's children’s live-action television shows during Dan Schneider's tenure as a producer.
• In Memoriam: The episode focusing on XPW had a dedication at the end credits to New Jack, who was featured in the episode, as he had died prior to the episode's airing.
• What Could Have Been:
  • An episode on Chyna was considered, but the production team decided that her story was "so extraordinary" that it deserved a dedicated documentary, which was released under the Vice Versa label.
  • One of their planned topics was set to be on the infamous Sid Eudy and Arn Anderson scissors incident, but neither party wanted to discuss it and they felt that there wasn't enough from it to sustain a whole episode.
  • During an interview with Jim Cornette, the show's creators revealed that they wanted to put more focus on Tammy Lynn Sytch than it was on the "Chris and Tammy" episode, but Sytch's legal issues prevented it. Thus the episode was about Chris Candido with Tammy.
  • Two episodes for season 4 were to focus on Mike Awesome and Scott Hall. However, neither episode ended up making the cut. Rob Van Dam on his podcast would suggest that Mike Awesome's wife may be the reason why the former episode was shelved.