Dark Side of The Ring S07E03: Samoa Joe vs Necro Butcher – Review
Dark Side of The Ring is known for taking an unflinching look at the often uncomfortable realities behind wrestling stars, promotions and even matches. Season 7 has offered a look at the history of TNA Wresting through the eyes of it’s founder, Jeff Jarrett and with episode 3, the show dives into a legendary indie match between Samoa Joe and Necro Butcher, called “one of the most brutal matches ever.”
The Players
Interviewed for this episode of Dark Side of The Ring were:
- Samoa Joe — The co-headliner of the match who looks back on his decision to take the infamous indie booking.
- Necro Butcher (Dylan Summers) — The legendary deathmatch brawler who recounts the unprecedented fan reception and physical toll of the bout.
- Eddie Kingston — A fellow locker-room peer who was present that night and originally called the live match as a guest commentator (with CM Punk).
- Bryce Remsburg — The official referee assigned to handle the chaotic match.
- Dave Prazak — The lead play-by-play commentator who called the original 2005 match layout.
- Rob Naylor — Renowned wrestling historian and indie insider who breaks down the deep internet lore surrounding the matchup.
- Kevin Canady (Mad Man Pondo) – A regular opponent of Necro Butcher and best known for his hardcore wrestling style.
Samoa Joe & Necro Butcher
Known more today as a champion in TNA, WWE and AEW Samoa Joe was born Nuufolau Joel Seanoa on March 17, 1979, in Orange County, California. Samoa Joe grew up practicing judo and playing football before pursuing a career in professional wrestling. After making his in-ring debut in 1999, he quickly established himself as a dominant force in Ring of Honor (ROH), holding the ROH World Championship for a historic 21-month reign.
On the other side, Dylan Keith Summers, aka Necro Butcher, was born on July 13, 1973, in West Virginia. He made his professional wrestling debut in 1998, working small independent shows before building a reputation in Texas as an intensely physical performer. Known for his complete disregard for personal safety, he became an underground icon in hardcore and deathmatch wrestling.
A Clash of Wrestling Philosophies
The episode opens by revisiting June 11, 2005, at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, where IWA Mid-South held its Something To Prove event. Interviewees highlight the stark contrast between the two combatants leading into the match. Samoa Joe was a refined, physical striker on the verge of mainstream stardom, known for bringing intense realism and martial arts discipline to the ring. On the other side stood Necro Butcher, a cult hero of the independent underground who built his reputation on bare-knuckle brawls, light tubes, and a complete disregard for his own physical safety. Commentary from fellow indie wrestlers like Kingston and Pondo notes that while Joe approached wrestling as an athletic art form, Necro viewed it as a chaotic fight where taking punishment was his primary commodity.
The tension between both men began well before they stepped into the ring.
In the episode, Samoa Joe admits that his motivation for taking the booking was simple: his then-girlfriend lived in Philadelphia, so he agreed to the date primarily to visit her. Meanwhile, promoter Ian Rotten had framed the storyline as Joe seeking revenge after Necro allegedly roughed up Ring of Honor students. Necro took Joe’s pre-match promotional commentary personally, interpreting it as Joe claiming Necro wasn’t worthy of sharing the canvas with him, which created genuine animosity right out of the gate.
The Match
When the bell rang, any expectation of a standard wrestling match immediately evaporated into pure violence. Instead of grappling, Samoa Joe unleashed a series of stiff, legitimate palm strikes and kicks, while Necro threw reckless, looping punches. In his interview, Samoa Joe reflects on realizing immediately that Necro was not going to back down or protect himself in a traditional sense. The physical impact was so heavy and unyielding that the crowd noise shifted from typical wrestling chants to stunned silence, realizing they were watching an unfiltered, raw fight.
The show lays out the pivotal moment of the the match, when the action spilled out of the ring and onto the hard concrete floor. Samoa Joe executed a devastating powerslam/exploder suplex, dropping Necro directly onto the unpadded floor headfirst. Those who were there, including Prazak and Kingston, recalled the sickening thud that echoed through the arena. Necro’s head bounced violently off the floor, leaving commentators and fans convinced that he had either fractured his neck or suffered a career-ending injury right in front of them.
Somehow, Necro Butcher got right back up, bloody and visibly dazed, demanding more violence. Samoa Joe recalls his sheer disbelief, noting that most human beings would have been knocked unconscious or loaded into an ambulance after taking such a drop. Instead, Necro continued to push forward, eating stiff slaps, headbutts, and chair shots to the skull. The episode emphasizes how Necro’s unbelievable pain tolerance turned a potential tragedy into an instant piece of pro-wrestling folklore.
The match concluded with Joe delivering a series of absolutely brutal knees to Necro’s face, causing him to be unable to answer the 10 count.
The Aftermath
Backstage after the match, the initial tension completely dissolved into mutual respect between the two warriors. In his interview, Necro Butcher reflects on how receiving Samoa Joe’s hardest hits earned him the respect of a top-tier athlete he deeply admired. Joe similarly credits Necro’s unmatched toughness, acknowledging that while the match was terrifyingly dangerous, it proved Necro was far more than just a gimmick.
In closing, the documentary reflects on how the wrestling industry has changed since that bloody night in Philadelphia. Today, modern safety protocols, concussion testing, and padded ringside areas make a match like Joe versus Necro nearly impossible to replicate in a major promotion.
Both Samoa Joe and Necro Butcher look back on the encounter with a mix of pride, nostalgia, and relief that they survived it. The episode cements the bout not as a senseless tragedy, but as a defining masterpiece of independent wrestling history that will never be duplicated.
Final Thoughts
I’ve seen just about every episode of Dark Side of The Ring, but with this one being about a very specific match, it felt a little different. In spite of it’s gory and blood-soaked contents, there wasn’t the sadness that is usually associated with Dark Side episodes.
Both Joe and Necro seemed to genuinely enjoy looking back on the match and even offering up some laughs about some of the backstage decisions. It was a somewhat surreal feeling that set the tone for the epsiode.
Personally, I’m not a fan of deathmatches or any match that puts people in legitimate danger for the sake of entertainment. To have these to look back on though is a pretty stark reminder about how far these performers will go. Necro continues to wrestle to this day (after beating Stage 3 Cancer) and Joe has obviously gone on to huge success in the mainstream wrestling world.
After watching this episode though, it’s hard not to see Necro as a tragic figure in wrestling, someone who’s niche was one that will likely shorten his life.
Jeff Moss is a writer, creator and developer in animation, comics and pretty much anything else he can get his mitts on. Pro Wrestling has always been his passion for reasons even he doesn't understand.