Matt Hardy shares details on TNA Dark Side of the Ring episode
On his podcast this week, Matt Hardy provided some information on the upcoming season seven premiere of Dark Side of the Ring.
Dark Side of the Ring will return to Vice TV on July 7 when the new season begins with a three-part documentary on TNA Wrestling and its founder Jeff Jarrett. Matt Hardy noted that he and his brother Jeff recorded long-form interviews for the project, which will be a redemption story covering the loss of Jarrett’s first wife Jill and tag team partner Owen Hart, as well as his successful battle against addiction.
“In speaking with Jeff Jarrett, had a great conversation with him a couple months ago, and he told me they were talking about doing this, and they’re doing a Dark Side of the Ring, which is kind of a redemption story, which is very cool,” Hardy said on The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy.
“We were sold on it. While we were out in Vegas, Jeff and I both did very long-form interviews talking about everything from the very beginning. When we first met Jeff Jarrett, interacting with him, him and Owen asking if they could put the Tag Team titles on us when we were wearing tights back in the day with hope and faith and plaids, just for a few weeks to kind of build us and make us. Go into everything that Jeff Jarrett has been through, losing his friend Owen, losing his first wife, how his life has been.”
It sounds like the documentary could also take a redemptive tone toward TNA, with Hardy saying he discussed how the promotion is now “thriving” on AMC.
“Even up to that with TNA, whenever we left, whenever we returned to WrestleMania 33, WWE, just the whole to-do. And it felt great to be a part of something that did feel like a redemption story,” Hardy said. “Because not only did we talk about how Jeff Jarrett came out the other end in a much better place and how he has gained everyone’s respect from what he has done, we talked about the condition of TNA right now, how it is in a good place and it is actually thriving on AMC.”
Hardy said he thinks this could be the “biggest star power” episode Dark Side of the Ring has ever produced with how many people they interviewed for the project. He and Jeff were both interviewed for more than two hours each.
The first two parts of the documentary will air on July 7, with the third following the week after that. Here is the full list of topics that will be covered in the season:
Dark Side of the Ring season seven topics —
- Three-part episode on TNA Wrestling and Jeff Jarrett
- Paul Orndorff
- Big Boss Man
- Missy Hyatt
- Samoa Joe vs. Necro Butcher indie match from IWA-MS in 2005 and the personal animosity the two had toward each other
- Zach Gowen
- The Renegade (Rick Wilson), “an exotic dancer who had a brief run as [an] Ultimate Warrior knockoff.”
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.