Dark Side Of The Ring's second season premiere drew its biggest viewership and ratings in series history.
According to Showbuzz Daily, the March 24 special, a two-hour episode that focused on Chris Benoit and the double-murder suicide that took the lives of Chris, Nancy, and Daniel Benoit, averaged 320,000 viewers and drew a 0.14 rating in the 18-49 demographic on Vice. The rating is the 80th best among original cable telecasts for March 24.
In addition, the Dark Side: After Dark show that aired afterwards, averaged 127,000 viewers and drew a 0.05 rating in the 18-49 demographic, good for 133rd best on cable for the day.
The viewership number was the best in the series' history, topping the 234,000 viewers that the season one special that focused on the Von Erich family averaged.
WWE has scrubbed Benoit from the majority of its history and many fans still have a hard time watching matches and footage involving Benoit, but according to producer Evan Husney, the goal of focusing on the Benoit tragedy was not to re-open wounds. You can check out his comments on the matter at this link.
