When TNA posted a vote for the fans to choose if the six sided ring would return the internet went wild. Fans racing to vote for the return of the ring that made TNA relevant in it's early days and those claiming the ring was much too dangerous. I'll be honest I voted for the six sided ring. I couldn't resit a return to the TNA Tradition.Honestly nobody knows the exact reason why TNA switched to a regular four sided ring. Some claim that Hogan wanted it to resemble other promotions because he felt it was weird. Some believe it was so the older guys that were being signed at the time wouldn't have to adjust. One thing is consistent in all the stories, people have begged for the six sided ring to return since it left. Either way there are pros and cons. Let's take a look at them.
On a recent episode of Stone Cold Steve Austin's podcast AJ Styles mentioned how taking bumps was a lot easier on a four sided ring than it was on a six sided ring. This was something that hadn't really been heard before. However, once the vote came up several others spoke about the difference. Let me go into the science of why the 4 sided ring is easier to take bumps on. For those of you who don't know, under the mat of the wrestling ring is wood. They're basically wrestling on a hardwood floor that has a mat over it. Don't believe me? Watch a ring being built here.
The reason it's easier to take bumps on a four sided ring is because the long boards allow the ring to have some give but because of the shape a six sided ring uses lots of short boards that are stiff and don't provide much give. This could probably be solved by adding another layer of padding but I'm no wrestling scientist. So that's it. That's the only pro to for a four sided ring.
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Actually I lied that may not have been much of a pr for the four sided ring. While some guys complain about the stiffness of the six sided ring, some just don't care. Take TJ Perkins for example. Best known as Manik. He's one of the guys that takes more bumps than anyone. He's also a pretty small guy who does a lot of high impact moves as well. How does he feel about the ring?
I get safety concerns of #4sides & #6sides but everyone acting like we don't do more dangerous shizz anyway. We really debating ANGLES? Lol
— TJ Perkins/MANIK (@MaskaraManik) June 19, 2014
So #4sides or #6sides .....I mean bottom line is a great performer can wrestle on anything, right? So who cares?
— TJ Perkins/MANIK (@MaskaraManik) June 19, 2014
The thing is no matter how hard you depict it, there's way more dangerous things in wrestling than the six sided ring. There's guys taking bumps on concrete and we all know that can end a career. There's people taking electric saws to the head. That's not even a joke. The world of wrestling is always going to be dangerous and that ring is the least of it.
Let us turn our attention to the pros of a six sided ring. The first is that it makes TNA stand out. You may not have known the name TNA when it started but you probably told your friends about "that crazy company with a six sided ring." As crazy as it sounds it's a big draw. TNA isn't the only company using a six sided ring but it's the company that made it famous.
Six sided ring also means more innovation. Ultimate X matches are awesome. We all know that, but isn't it weird to see it in a four sided ring? Ultimate X isn't the only match that is out of place in a four sided ring. TNA has a slew of matches that nobody else does and they just look weird in a four sided ring after all of these years.
The biggest benefit is that TNA can finally shake off the Hogan and Bischoff era. None of the WCW cast they brought in have remained in TNA. The stupid ramp that attached to the ring is gone. We're done with Brooke Hogan plugging her album. No more Bubba The Love Sponge throwing out booking ideas worse than Russo. The knockouts are back to being more than three minutes of the show and the tag division is slowly returning. The days of 6 member factions are gone. No more Legacy vs Fortune vs Main Event Mafia with a revolving cast in all three factions. Shaking away the four sided ring lets people know that TNA is going back to the drawing board to restart the fire that drove them to be the second largest wrestling company.
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