Another Rumored Dark Side Of The Ring Topic For Season 6
VICE's Dark Side of the Ring has been producing episodes for the 6th season of the series. There is a ton of hype for the next season, and many are wondering what will be covered next. Last time, a topic was rumored that Mick Foley was going to be covered on season six. Well, there has been yet another name has been speculated/rumored as well
The wrestler rumored to be covered is WWE Hall Of Famer Tony Atlas. This was told by the World's Strongest Man Mark Henry, on the No Contest podcast, where he said the following.
“I did Dark Side of the Ring that’s coming out here pretty soon. I never did Dark Side of the Ring before because I didn’t agree with it. I thought it was too much of an exposé on the bad side of wrestling. But I told them, ‘You know what, man, I can’t do it.’ And they asked, ‘Why?’ and I was like, ‘Because of the way I feel about it. If y’all ever put a silver lining on it and ended some of those things with the good in people, then I would do it.’ Especially the way they painted Black people. They don’t paint Black people in a positive light on these shows.
And they said, ‘So, if we allowed you to help produce it, you would do it?’ I said, ‘Yep.’ So I did Tony Atlas, and Tony Atlas is coming out soon. So when you see Dark Side of the Ring with Tony Atlas, you’re gonna see something, man, that is awesome.”
Mark Henry is a phenomenal producer, and his involvement in making a Dark Side of the Ring episode is a positive. Henry getting interviewed in a Tony Atlas documentary makes sense, as at one point, Atlas was Henry's manager when Mark was the ECW champion.
Atlas makes sense for a Dark Side of the Ring episode. While he has had a great career in pro wrestling, he has had a dark life/career in the business. Three moments come to mind with Atlas's life and career that they have to cover.
1. Being Homeless in the Late 1980s
In the late 1980s, Tony Atlas was in a really bad place. He was addicted to multiple drugs, including cocaine, and was having a ton of financial issues. He was flat broke, and was in a nasty divorce with his 1st wife. To make things worse, he was not getting booked a lot, due to Independent Shows drying up, thanks to the WWF domination. Atlas was homeless for a year and a half, and it got so bad that he was dumpster diving by a Burger King, just to get some food. There are a ton of stories he has told about being homeless, and they get dark.
2. Saba Simba
With Tony Atlas in a bad place, he rejoined the WWE in the early 1990s, where he wrestled as Saba Simba. Simba's gimmick was as a Ugandan warrior who would wrestle barefoot, dancing with a headdress, and carrying a spear and shield. It was a very stereotypical gimmick that WWE did at the time, and the company got in a lot of heat for it. Tony Atlas knew it was embarrassing, and wrong for him to do, but he had no choice. He needed the money, due to being homeless and addicted to drugs. Atlas credited this gimmick with saving his life.
3. That Pat Patterson Allegation
This was revealed in episode two of the Mr. McMahon documentary. The discussion focused on the Ringboy Scandal, especially Pat Patterson. During that discussion, Atlas revealed that everyone knew about what he did in the scandal, and that Patterson assaulted him as well. Patterson was a creep, and grabbed his own "pecker'' in the locker room.
Atlas couldn't complain, because Patterson had abundant power as Vince's right-hand man. If Patterson had complained, then he would have lost his job, and been blackballed from the industry. Atlas has to talk about that incident in this episode, as it was briefly mentioned in the Mr. McMahon documentary.
Many people are claiming that this is a confirmed episode, but that's a bit of a stretch. Especially since Kurt Angle and Scott Hall were rumored to have episodes done on them, and those have not been released. Once the trailer gets released, and all the topics get announced, that is when things are fully confirmed.
No matter what, this is still going to be a really good season if the rumored topics are true. Other topics that have been rumored are Dennis Coraluzzo, Billy Jack Haynes, Mick Foley, and Ludvig Borgia. If you want to learn more about what those topics may cover, you can check out the Dark Side Of The Ring Season 6 Has Begun Production article on Stadium Rant.