WWE NXT Superstar Brendan Vink has released a spoof of Vice’s “Dark Side of the Ring” series to make light of his WWE status.
You can see the first episode of Vink’s “Dark Side of the Smug” series below. It features Chelsea Green, Rhea Ripley, Bronson Reed, Matt Martel, Daniel Vidot, and Hartley Jackson.
Vink was used on RAW earlier this year in a tag team with Shane Thorne, who is now performing as Slapjack in RETRIBUTION. WWE pulled Vink from RAW and he was later re-packaged, at least on Twitter, as Tony Modra.
WWE trademarked the “Tony Modra” name and Vink began using it on Twitter, but it looks like that name has been dropped. This has not been confirmed but it could be due to the real Tony Modra, a legendary Australian rules football player, speaking out against the tribute. Modra spoke to AdelaideNow back in the fall and felt disrespected by Vink using his name.
“I’ve got no idea who he is,” the real Modra said at the time. He claims to be an Adelaide fan but it’s a bit disappointing, a bit disrespectful. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t know you had to copyright your own bloody name. My lad loves WWE and I see a lot of that stuff but he’s even asking why some wrestler he’s never heard of before wants to change his name to his dad’s.”
Modra added that he had no personal issue with Vink, other than the fact that he didn’t ask for permission to use the name.
“I’m just bewildered,” the real Modra added. “I’ve had people texting me left, right and centre about it. I don’t think there’s anything I can do. If he was doing it for charity or something – I do a lot of stuff for Little Heroes Foundation – I wouldn’t mind, but it seems like personal gain.”
Vink has not wrestled on WWE TV since teaming with MVP and Thorne for a six-man loss to Cedric Alexander, Ricochet and WWE 24/7 Champion R-Truth on the May 11 RAW, in the days before The Hurt Business. There is no word yet on when WWE plans to bring him back, but it looks like he plans to keep his name out there by producing his own content.
The YouTube description for episode 1 of “Dark Side of the Smug” reads like this:
“This series focuses on controversial subjects and events within the career of WWE Superstar ‘Brendan Vink’ and attempts to find the truth of his journey; located somewhere near the intersection of fantasy and reality.”
While Vink is no longer using the “Tony Modra” name on Twitter, he did leave the name change tweet up from October, as seen below. It’s also worth noting that the WWE Performance Center roster is using the Vink name, not the Modra name.
Welcome Tony Modra to@wwe / @wwenxt #WWE #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/aTQjDEQf6U
— MerrySMUGness (@Sixftfiiiiive) October 26, 2020
#DarkSideOfTheSMUG: Episode 01.
Ft. @BronsonReedWWE @RheaRipley_WWE @HartleyJackson_ @DanielVidot @ImChelseaGreen @MattMartelWWE pic.twitter.com/2f2vANqkeU
— MerrySMUGness (@Sixftfiiiiive) December 13, 2020
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