Dark Side of the Ring Season 3 Episode 3, ‘Collision in Korea’ is one of those Dark Side episodes that doesn’t have the flash and controversy of the Brian Pillman episode nor the captivating subject matter of last week’s Nick Gage-centric episode. ‘Collision in Korea’ is one of the more history-centric episodes of Dark Side, not dissimilar to the Brawl for All episode.
However, unlike other historic installments like the Brawl-For-All episode, ‘Collision in Korea’ will be remembered for the presence of some rather larger-than-life personas than the contents of the show (much like the real life event).
For those unfamiliar with ‘Collision in Korea’ it was a two-day show put together by New Japan Pro Wrestling founder, Japanese wrestling legend, and at-the-time Japanese politician, Antonio Inoki. No stranger to spectacle, Inoki made numerous diplomatic trips to North Korea, a country Japan had a long, violent and nasty history with (Japan had annexed Korea and ruled it until 1945). Inoki, a student of Rikidozan the father of Japanese wrestling who was born in North Korea (the episode speculates the discovery of this may have lead to his murder), was well-received in the country. He then pitched the idea of the Pyongyang International Sports and Culture Festival for Peace — a two day wrestling event featuring American and Japanese wrestling talent.
Inoki brought in male talent from his company as well as the top female talent from around Japan (something the episode sadly does not get in depth on) while Eric Bischoff of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) brought in a contingent of talent including Ric Flair and The Steiner Brothers (none of whom appear in the episode). Oh, and Muhammed Ali was there too. If this all seems very weird, you’re not wrong, this whole thing seems odd … and it only gets more intense.
The episode dives into the culture shock all of the talent and executives went through during their time in North Korea. From Scott Norton being interrogated after mentioning his dislike for North Korea during a private phone call, to Eric Bischoff being excoriated for going on a run without government supervision — it’s absolutely flooring to hear all this.
While this is all very shocking and at times tense the history of this event will not be how the episode is remember.
The inclusion of Antonio Inoki in the episode is a stop everything you’re doing and watch the episode moment. Inoki is no longer as public as he used to be given his health issues. So while his interviews might not add a ton of context and color to the episode, it’s still an incredible moment seeing this undeniable game changing wrestling legend on camera.
Yet overshadowing even Inoki’s appearance was 2 Cold Scorpio. Scorpio, best known as an amazing high flyer in WCW, WWE, ECW and Japan (who still actively wrestles at a fairly high level), holds nothing back in his retelling of nearly killing Road Warrior Hawk during the trip. Scorpio is absolutely effusive in his side of the story and it’s just a wild tale that while a great listen, kind of derails the purpose of the episode.
Sadly, ‘Collision in Korea’ was not the best episode of Dark Side of the Ring. The lack of major players in the incident like anyone from New Japan (outside of Inoki), Ric Flair, The Steiner Brothers, etc., the lack of talking about the perspective of the women on the show, and not getting a full reason as to what this show would accomplish — it just felt like an incomplete history. Yet, if you’re looking to find out information on a startling piece of wrestling and political history, this is a good one to check out.
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