They Should Have Never Changed

[TUFFY54]

I recently watched TNA's 50 greatest moments DVD and some of the Asylum Years, and it got me thinking about the past. I have been a wrestling fan for 20 years, and happened to tear my ACL a few months before I went off to college in 2002. I was laid up on the couch one day and saw that there was a 10 or 15 dollar wrestling PPV that Wednesday night. I immediaty ordered it having no idea what TNA was. I thought it was great. While the production wasn't great, they had just about everything I could ask for. Famous veterans and exciting new guys I hadn't heard of before were putting on great matches. I ordered every weekly PPV for a 6 weeks before going off to start college. Unfortunatly, I had no way of getting PPV's in school so I just watched WWE now and again when I had time. The next summer I ordered a few more TNA weekly PPV's and still enjoyed them.

In 2004 I heard that TNA was getting a weekly TV show and I couldn't wait to watch it. I was horrified with what I saw. This upstart company that I really liked didn't have a wrestling ring. Instead they had some bizzare six sided thing that looked like a cheap MMA ripoff. I tried to still watch TNA, but I hated that ring more than David Arquette and the Gobbly Gooker. I looked small and stupid, and made it hard to watch the matches because it threw off the depth perception when they went to a standard view. I still ordered Lockdown because I'm a WarGames freak, but I was let down with the other 3 or 4 PPV's I ordered. I had a couple of friends that I always watched WWE with, and they couldn't stand TNA. I would put it on when they came over and all they ever said was how they thought the ring looked stupid.

I believe that TNA would have gotten over with fans much faster if they had never used a 6 sided ring. They never needed it. It didn't make the matches any better. Watch the early stuff on DVD. They had great X-Division stuff, awesome cage matches, a Lethal Lockdown type match, and Destitnation X all within a traditional ring. Best of all, it looked like wrestling. People wouldn't flip through the channels and wonder if they were watching some cheap MMA show.

TNA and it's hardcore fans will claim the 6 sided ring was great because it made them different. Different doesn't always mean good. There argument would be like the Arena Football League saying it was more exciting than the NFL because they have a different field. It doesn't have anything to do with being a WWE mark. I loved wrestling in WWE, WCW, ECW, NWA, and the AWA. The claim that the ring helped establish the X Division is also a lie. The 96-97 WCW cruiserweight division was the most exciting highflying wrestling the sport had ever seen, and they did it all in a traditional ring. Some people will say that "it's not a big deal", and "if you like the wrestlers it doesn't matter what the ring looks like". I also don't think this is true. A lot of people love the NBA, would they say if wasn't a big deal if they turned on their TV and saw that games were only being played with half a court?

I ordered Genesis 2010 ten minutes before it started when I read on this site that they were using a for sided ring again. I really enjoyed feeling like I actually had an alternative to the WWE this year. I only wish TNA had always used a four sided ring.

So what do you think? Would TNA have been better off to have always had a traditional ring.

 

[Sparky]

I don't watch TNA that often, but seriously? Change is good, even if it's a flop. the six sided ring Was different. it showed that TNA as willing to try. I don't feel that they would have more viewers if they had of stuck with a foursided ring. Yes I didn't like the six sided ring to start with but it grew on me and there was alot more potential for moves. Obviously they realised that the fans didn't like it but they took the gamble instead of being safe.

but again, No TNA would not of any better off if they had of stuck with the traditional ring. because when it comes down to it, it's what the wrestlers can do inside the ring that counts, not how many turnbuckles there are.

 

[TUFFY54]

I don't watch TNA that often, but seriously? Change is good, even if it's a flop. the six sided ring Was different. it showed that TNA as willing to try. I don't feel that they would have more viewers if they had of stuck with a foursided ring. Yes I didn't like the six sided ring to start with but it grew on me and there was alot more potential for moves. Obviously they realised that the fans didn't like it but they took the gamble instead of being safe.

but again, No TNA would not of any better off if they had of stuck with the traditional ring. because when it comes down to it, it's what the wrestlers can do inside the ring that counts, not how many turnbuckles there are.

Why does someone have to say "but seriously" on almost every topic. I don't think what I'm saying is riduculous. But seriously, I understand where you comming from with saying that change is good, but there are some things that don't need to change. WCW went from a joke to the biggest company in the world because they changed. WWE won the war because they changed. ECW revolutionised wrestling because they changed. However, they didn't have to change their ring to do any of this.

Change in wrestling is great, but you have to change the right things. You change storylines, you push new guys to the top, you look at the independents for fresh new talent. You don't just change the main symbole of pro wrestling that has made people enjoy the sport for over 100 years. All TNA did was change a physical structure, they didn't do anything to make their product better. The ring is literaly the foundation that a wrestling show is based on. You start messing with a foundation and a lot of this can break.

Again, no offense, but I don't buy the argument of "if you like wrestling, then it doesn't matter what the ring looks like". If you like a product, then one day that product has changed to make itself less appealing, then it matters. I'll say it again. If the NBA or NFL just had a circle field or court one day people would be outraged. And don't say that's a stupid comparison, because pro wrestling is older than both of them. On top of all that it just looked cheap. Hogan said it best when he called it a playpen.

 

[entertainer101]

Look...I'm by no means a TNA fan. I used to be, until bound for glory and the immortal fiasco. But I do know that the 6 sided ring is certainly not the problem. Anyone who had a problem with the six sided ring and used that as an excuse not to watch is foolish. Truth is, it fit the x-division perfectly by providing more for them to do in the ring running and flip wise. Besides, so it wasn't four sides, big deal. By that reasoning you'd have to get mad that anyone jumps off turnbuckles or does anything but a body slam, headlocks, and wristlocks. Wrestling evolves over time just like any other sport or entertainment business.

The real reason, among many, that TNA has failed to get over with fans is because they changed the type of stuff they did back in the asylum and early spike TV days. That is, they looked for star power over simply entertaining with great wrestling. They succeeded in getting the stars. Sting, Kurt Angle, Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff, Kevin Nash, Tazz on commentary, Mick Foley, Christian, etc. all came to a no name company. Only problem is...that's not what people wanted. What the people wanted was exactly what they got that allowed TNA to get a TV deal in the first place: X division style wrestling. That's why TNA is fighting a horrible fight. Not because they changed to a six sided ring for a while.

 

[JuviJuiceIsLoose]

I liked the 6-sided ring. I thought it was something that was different and unique in a good way.

I don't think it made TNA look better or worse. I just think it was something they used to stand out.

I've heard both pros and cons from TNA wrestlers about it.

You say football fields always being 100 yards, and basketball courts have always been 94 feet, and that's perfect for them.

I could also say that combat sports like MMA use all different types of rings. UFC has the octagon, K-1 uses a 4 sided ring, and some other companies uses a circle cage.

To me, it's a different strokes for different folks thing. I can go either way.

I was a little sad to see the 6-sided ring go, but now I barely notice that it's gone.

Hulk Hogan can call the 6-sided ring a playpen, and an eyesore, but there hasn't been a lot that has been pretty about his time in TNA. I've been a Hulkamaniac since I was a little kid, but he's also an old man. He probably couldn't even get in the ring without that big ramp they built if it was 4 sides, 6 sides, or 8 sides.

I'm one of those guys who believe that it doesn't matter how many sides the ring are, it's what the talent does in it.

 

[bigbootydaddyV]

The 6 sided ring reminded me of what I see when I catch AAA on the spanish channel... I believe they use a similar ring, but larger if I'm not mistaken. Either way, it was cool to watch and it stood out. Guys like AJ seemed to have no problem going off of it and if anything it probably helped them pull of some moves like AJ's flying forearm which could come out of nowhere and was pretty damn cool. I agree with the earlier poster it wasn't until they "changed" to focusing on MAJOR star power did it start to fall apart. It was fun to watch at first as it had new wrestlers who could do some amazing stuff, vets it was just cool to see again (like Raven, Ron Killings, Konnan, etc.), and actual WRESTLING. Once they tried to get big names to draw like Sting, Foley, Hogan it started to get old fast.

 

[Low_Ki]

I'm a casual TNA watcher in the UK, and to an extent, I agree with what your saying TUFFY.

The six sided ring was never really a massive innovation for me in wrestling. It just mean that guys like AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels looked awkward trying to do a simple thing like run the ropes. The ropes also looked quite stiff because of the way the ring was put together.

It was a good idea in principle, and I'm glad that when TNA did their January 4th re-launch with Hogan and Bischoff that they changed it back. Still don't understand why people booed the decision but hey, I'm glad they went back.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

Forgive me for saying so but I feel that this is a rather funny arguement. I have never heard how a "ring" can attract or repel fans. I mean did WWF become popular back in the 1980' just because they were using a traditional ring or did WCW fail in 2000 because they had a traditional ring. At the end of the day a ring is merely a ring. Its what you do in it that matters and not its shape or size.

I do not think that the OP would be silly enough to say that the six sided ring affected the matches in TNA in any way. They had some of their greatest matches in that six sided ring as well as some of their worst, just like any other promotion.

The six sided ring was just one of those things that TNA did to make themselves look different. That was the sole purpose of the ring and the fact that they were "different" from WWE was what was TNA's USP before Hogan and Bischoff came along. In wrestling, perception is reality. Yes, as a product TNA did have many facets back in the day that made them look different but when they got the six sided ring out there even the densest of fan could make out that they were indeed different.

As far as I know most fans liked the ring. And as far as I know, the six sided ring did not hurt the product in any way. So I really cannot see why anyone should have a complaint with the ring. TNA would have been just as popular with a four sided ring than they were with a six sided ring.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

The ring has nothing to do with the product. It won't make it better or worse. From what I've heard, the four sided ring is actually better for the wrestler as it bounces more, it has more give, while the six sided ring was much harder. I've noticed that 'cause sometimes I feel like the guys are falling on concrete when they bump on the six sided ring.

Anyway, if by "should've stuck to the six sided ring" you mean "don't change at all and keep the company as it was in order to gain viewers", I'd have to disagree. Cosmetically - they didn't change squat. The look of the show should only change when the iMPACT Zone is not big enough to contain a growing TNA, which will happen in years, not tomorrow.

Stick to what you have right now, keep that look, it's not horrible. There are more important things that TNA needs to focus on, or at least focus more on, in order to gain viewers. TNA's battle is not that much about gaining viewers, but gaining the respect of the non-TNA fans because, apparently, a big part of the non-TNA viewers are mad at TNA for some reason, and they're full of prejudice. Not saying all of 'em are like that, some people just don't like that stuff, but a lot of them are being plain stubborn and stupid about it and hate it before they even saw it or gave it a chance, much like non-wrestling fans shit on wrestling without knowing what it really is all about.

"Condemnation without investigation is the height if ignorance" - poned by Albert Einstein.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I've seen several threads like this spread out over the past few years and, in all honesty, I can't see the shape of the ring as having much of anything at all with the quality of TNA's product. It's just simply not that big of a deal to the vast majority of wrestling fans.

From a purely cosmetic standpoint, the six sided ring was something different. As an American wrestling fan, I couldn't recall ever seeing a ring quite like it, but it had nothing to do with whether I liked what TNA was doing or not. The cosmetic aspect of wrestling can have some impact as to how some view a company. For instance, lots of people are impressed by the big bright lights, the huge pyro, the sound system and the sheer size of the audience you'll see on airings of Raw or SmackDown!. However, those aren't the factors that keep people watching those shows. If they don't care about the stories, the feuds, the wrestlers & the matches, they're not gonna watch no matter how bright the lights are or how loud the pyro is.

TNA is basically doing the best that it can cosmetically speaking. TNA doesn't have huge audiences like the WWE does, they don't have the budget and they don't have the money. So yes, most aspects do look "cheap" by comparisson but that's out of necessity rather than by design. None of that, however, is going to help TNA draw viewers, the shape of a wrestling ring least of all.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

It's hard to say, frankly.

The six-sided ring became a gimmick for them that really helped set them aside from the traditional four-sided competitors, much like the octagon has become synonymous with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Standard four-sided fighting rings aren't nearly as popular, albeit also because they tend to have less talent than UFC.

Had they never shifted in the first place would things have changed much? I'm not sure.

I'm inclined to go with Jack-Hammer on this and agree that the shape of the ring shouldn't have that great of an effect, but I'm torn, because I saw how attached TNA's fans got to the six-sided ring once it was established, and to be honest I'm not entirely sure one way or another.

 

[Sicc Nick]

All I have to say, is that obviously Hogan, Bischoff, and Flair didn't like it. That's just three people that are actually legends in the wrestling business.

Then in many shoot interviews I've read, I heard D'lo Brown doesn't like the six-sides, and neither does Al Snow, BG James, Kip James, Robert Rhoode, Christopher Daniels, Roderick Strong, and Sabu. These guys are guys that really entertain in the ring. For these guys to say that they prefer working with a four-sided ring, has to mean something.

Honestly, I only started watching TNA at the beginning of the year. I thought the six sided ring was a little bit awkward, but not a big deal. Then when I watched Genesis, I was like "Holy shit, this is awesome." It looks professional. The wrestlers look better in the ring and it isn't like an indie-style choreographed showcase of wrestling. They can actually tell a story in there now.

 

[Disturbed]

I kind of see where he's going with this. The general WWE wrestling fan might turn to TNA flipping through the stations and back when they had the six sided ring, it sort of did make them look like a cheap MMA like ring. I think they should have just stayed with the four sided ring and stayed at the asylum because I like the set up way better than the IMpact Zone.

TNA has more things to worry about then rings though.