Zach Gowen says he initially rejected the opportunity to participate in Dark Side of the Ring and only agreed after producers committed to showing the recovery and redemption that followed the most difficult period of his life.
Gowen discussed the documentary before its broadcast during an interview with Bryan Asbury on Developmentally Speaking, available through the show’s official YouTube channel.
His first answer to the production was direct.
“They approached me. I initially said no.”
Gowen reconsidered after discussing the offer with his wife, whose interest in the series contrasted with her general feelings about professional wrestling.
“I talked to my wife about it. ‘Well, you have to do it. You absolutely have to do it.’”
“My wife’s favorite show. My wife is not a wrestling fan. One percent. She hates the wrestling business.”
The production told Gowen that filming would require approximately two days of his time. Gowen responded by establishing what that commitment would cost, and the two sides reached an agreement.
“They told me, ‘It’ll be about two days worth of work for you.’”
“I said, ‘This is what two days worth of work to me looks like, and this is what it costs.’ They said, ‘Okay, we can do it.’”
Gowen said the filming involved two long days and included interviews with both his mother and wife.
His larger concern was how the episode would frame his story. Gowen did not want the documentary to reopen painful experiences without explaining how his life eventually changed.
“I’m not here just to open up old wounds and cry about it.”
“If I’m going to agree to do this episode with y’all, then there has to be the redemption piece at the end of what my life is like now. There has to be.”
Gowen said an episode focused only on his past mistakes would have held little value for him.
“We’re just sitting there talking and rehashing the horrible stories and bad things that I did as a young person. I’m not really interested in that.”
According to Gowen, the producers agreed that his recovery was essential to the story.
“They said, ‘We’re not interested in telling this story unless we have that redemption piece at the end. That’s the whole point of it.’”
Gowen acknowledged that revisiting the material remained uncomfortable, even though he no longer carries resentment over what happened.
“For the interview part, it was uncomfortable for me at certain points because I had to revisit, I had to open up some old wounds.”
“After all these years, everything is healed. I hold no grudges or resentments.”
Zach Gowen: Against All Odds aired on August 25 as the Season 7 finale. WrestlingHeadlines previously reported the complete season schedule.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit Developmentally Speaking, with a h/t to Wrestling Headlines for the transcription.
