"Big" John Gaburick: "You will see the six-sided ring back in TNA"

[It's Damn Real!]

I'm just getting around to listening to this weeks' episode of the Impact Wrestling Podcast, and the guest is "Big" John Gaburick — the Executive Vice President of TNA. Interestingly enough, as JB is doing a Q&A, essentially a Reddit-style AMA (Ask Me Anything), one question just raised was whether or not we'll ever see the six-sided ring back on IMPACT.

Big's response, paraphrased of course, is as follows:

"You will see the six-sided ring back in TNA. I can promise you that. Now, when that is is a closely guarded secret, but it’s part of our fabric of who we are here at TNA, and it’s what helped make TNA. I think that in the future it’ll continue to be a part of who we are."

--

Now, I have no idea if this is just a bit of a teaser in speaking to the idea of the six-sided ring simply coming back for one-night only the way they brought it back for Destination X or whether this was simply a teaser of a major return to form, but I do know that this is sure gonna make for a nice debate!

So what do you think — would you welcome it back? Do you think it's a necessary concession to older fans?

 

[KitsuneDreamer]

First off thanks for the info.

I think having the six-sided ring is what made TNA unique from the beginning.

You had new match types, new moves, a totally different presentation, and new way of thinking when it came to professional wrestling.

I would totally welcome it back, it had great potential, and gave us some pretty good moments. If they incorporate it once a year into a PPV, that would be fine.

But if they brought it back full time, maybe they could re-establish their identity that they had, the product has certainly been different enough since Genesis to start the so-called healing process, so why not.

 

[Headman]

I'm of two minds on this one. On one hand the Six sided ring sets TNA apart from other American companies and gives them sort of an identity. But on the other hand the ring caused a lot of the guys to look clumsy. Big guys in particular. If TNA is going to make the X-divison style matches it's main focus, then I'm all for it. Otherwise I'd rather see it used for a theme ppv or something.

 

[Bmcclevey]

I would love to see it come back for good.

I'm sure there are plenty of people out there that see it as gimmicky, but to me the big thing TNA needs to do to succeed is be unique. There is nothing more unique to me than the six sided ring. It was one of the things that had me watching week in and week out when they first started on cable tv.

I certainly hope it's for more than a one night.

 

[Fabulous Freebirds]

It is just a wrestling ring. It is not the ring that makes the promotion, it's the talent inside it. You can bring back the six sided ring all you want, if the matches are bad the ring won't make a bit of difference.

I am surprised at how people clamor for that six sided ring. It does not have any magical powers. I've seen bad matches like Kevin Nash vs Mick Foley held inside that six sided ring.

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

Six sides does present a different aesthetic for TNA with it's positives and negatives. It does appear to produce a better springboard for the X-Division guys with the tighter ropes and larger turnbuckles. The ring is bigger, which makes them look bigger scale (especially when they throw up the cage). The negatives are mainly twofold - some wrestlers suffer adjusting to the different shape and reports are that it is tougher on the wrestlers bodies.

My opinion? When I think of TNA's greatest matches (like Angle/ Joe at Lockdown, Abyss/ AJ at Lockdown or AJ/ Daniels/ Joe) I think of six sides. Lets reestablish the TNA look.

 

[ajdb]

I really enjoyed the Six-sided ring. I always thought it gave the impression that some moves were high impact. (pun intended)

I also think it adds more intrigue to Lockdown for next year. Six-sides of steel was always cool to me because taking a bump off a six-sided cage looked worse than a regular cage. Plus, it makes it easier to walk on, just ask Elix Skipper.

I definitely welcome this back. It makes TNA different.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

Pretty much with everyone else here. The 6-sided ring gave them a unique identity, but it also won't do anything for ratings. Maybe if they did an Impact special with the 6-sided ring it would bump up by a hundred thousands people or so, but long-term it won't mean anything.

In terms of the actual wrestling product, I'm also pretty split. There were good matches in that era of TNA, and there are good matches in this era of TNA. It's essentially just a gimmick. I'm not a traditionalist, and I don't think there are any set ways you MUST do wrestling.

Honestly, and this may sound way outside of the box, but why not let the roster decide? Sit down with the long-time veterans, the champions, and anybody with a contract that has a vested interest in TNA's future. Ask them if they want 4 sides or 6 sides. Get the feedback from the boys, since the only people the decision effects are, in fact, the boys.

 

[Catacomb]

6 sided ring is a cheesy gimmick and the fact that tna wants to bring it back shows how little they know about the business or care about the wrestlers. tna gains absolutely nothing by bring back 6 sides.

 

[ABMorales787]

Sure, I won't say no. A lot of people will be stupid purists and say it should be 4 sides well just because with no real reason. It's just a damn ring in the end. AAA uses the 6 sided one sporadically because they obsess with matches involving more than 6 people at once so often. Not to mention it gives high flyers more angles to jump at.

If TNA is gonna focus on newer, X Division talent, then by all means use every tool you can find to highlight their skills.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

Sure, I won't say no. A lot of people will be stupid purists and say it should be 4 sides well just because with no real reason. It's just a damn ring in the end. AAA uses the 6 sided one sporadically because they obsess with matches involving more than 6 people at once so often. Not to mention it gives high flyers more angles to jump at.

If TNA is gonna focus on newer, X Division talent, then by all means use every tool you can find to highlight their skills.

This is disingenuous, and you're attacking a non-existent group that obviously can't fight back when you assign this opinion to them.

I've seen plenty of "purists" who pine for a four-sided ring for a slew of reasons. The most salient being the visual effect and value in that wrestling has largely been associated with a four-sided ring for what, 80 years now? It plays into the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" adage.

Another reason, that is two-fold, is the one Finaly just pointed out, which is that it's more difficult to work with, especially for bigger wrestlers just based on the logistics of working a match that utilizes a lot of Irish whips and off-the-ropes offensive spots (Steiner was a notorious complainer about this), as well as the report that it's far more taxing on their bodies as well.

I'm not going to be one of those purists, but I do understand the arguments against it.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

6 sided ring is a cheesy gimmick and the fact that tna wants to bring it back shows how little they know about the business or care about the wrestlers. tna gains absolutely nothing by bring back 6 sides.

Yes, it's a gimmick, but we don't know as a matter of fact that they do not care about their wrestlers or that they gain nothing by bringing it back. It was what helped to establish their U.S. identity once they garnered their SpikeTV contract years ago, and a lot of fans who didn't watch a lot of NWA-TNA in the few years prior when they were using a four-sided ring were very intrigued about the product. I heard it first-hand. You'd hear someone chatting about "the company uses a ring, but it has six sides instead of four. Sorta like the octagon with UFC — it's so cool!"

 

[RicSpade]

Going back to its roots would've been a good thing....a year ago... at this point I still feel TNA has lost so much luster with major stars leaving that this is like the final attempt to try and regain some ground, and honestly it just won't work. More people are excited about GFW, NXT and ROH at this point to see any rewind on TNA just isn't worth it to me anymore, but I guess even ECW had 1 more card up its sleeve before it died, maybe TNA can save itself but right now I don't believe it will help at all.

 

[Reflection]

I love it! It will bring back originality, as well as the return of matches like the "Six Sides of Steel", "Red Steel Asylum", as well as make matches like "Ultimate-X" more interesting. Along with bringing back the six-sided ring, I also hope they get rid of the dark blue lights, and install proper bright lighting for the audience area, even if it shows empty seats (although that is avoidable). I also hope that they find a new entrance theme composer, because Dale Oliver hasn't come up with anything notable in the last five years, and Dixie Carter's husband Serg Salinas isn't too far ahead either.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I think it would be a good move to bring back the 6-sided ring. It won't magically improve the product but at least it's something to differentiate TNA from WWE, which is always a good thing. The 6 sides was part of TNA's identity and made them stand out, I don't see why they ever got rid of it. Yeah, it may cause some of the newer talent to struggle slightly at first to adapt to wrestling in a different shape ring, but if they are good wrestlers they will be able to cope.

I look forward to seeing the return of the 6 sided ring for sure.

 

[Fabulous Freebirds]

Going back to its roots would've been a good thing....a year ago... at this point I still feel TNA has lost so much luster with major stars leaving that this is like the final attempt to try and regain some ground, and honestly it just won't work. More people are excited about GFW, NXT and ROH at this point to see any rewind on TNA just isn't worth it to me anymore, but I guess even ECW had 1 more card up its sleeve before it died, maybe TNA can save itself but right now I don't believe it will help at all.

I was in agreement with you up until the part of people being excited for GFW. I doubt that when GFW has no roster or tv time at this present moment.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

GFW will have something or someone lined up.. I doubt it's Punk, but stranger things have happened. There are a few who this might interest, someone like Rey for example who is about to perhaps depart the WWE... Del Rio who has pretty much indicated he wants out... maybe even a Dolph Zigger... GFW would interest some of these types for the chance to be "the man" in a promotion and it's only gonna take one or two "big names" for the TV to present itself... if not, Jarrett knows how to make weekly PPV work, maybe he'll go to Netflix? TNA's mantra of "if they were on WWE TV get them" will apply even more to GFW in the early going.

 

[TDFG]

I know a lot of guys have said the bumps are tougher with the six-sided ring, but it is something that makes TNA different and I was getting use to it when Hogan decided to change it back to WCW 1990 with a small ring & ramp.

 

[Cereal Killer]

As EVERYONE has said, the six-sides is what made TNA stand out from all the other indie companies. Several wrestling companies formed after the demise of WCW and ECW to recreate that magic. TNA stood out. There was the X-division, the Six-sides of Steel, the Ultimate-X match and the Steel Asylum. All of which worked well with the six-sides. The X-division could move around the ring more, the cage was a lot bigger and you could make room for the Asylum.

However, there will always be those people calling it unprofessional, out of tradition and hard to work with. I even said in my last post that you could make the argument that the change had some positive impact as ratings were higher than what they were any year prior to 2010. Sure, the first half of the year had low ratings but after June-July time, the ratings were always above the 1.0 mark.

In counter to these arguments, the ring, as many have stated is what made TNA stand out. Every time I spoke to people about it that didn't watch it that much, they would always mention the six-sides. Those extra sides made a mark and a statement. The Ultimate-X matches and the cage matches now seem less exciting because of a smaller ring and you can't even structure the Steel Asylum around four-corners. Fans like to point out that it went against tradition. How about MMA? It's a contact sport like Boxing and in some sense Professional Wrestling, isn't it? Didn't that break the tradition? Heck, they have eight sides! On to the complaints about it being difficult to work with, I only heard those comments from Kevin Nash and Scott Steiner. They're both fairly old now aren't they? They didn't even look in good shape so it's their job to get into it and TNA's job not to hire these guys as full-time workers. Besides, they seemed to have decent matches sometimes and were in TNA for quite a while, I'm sure the talent can get used to it if those two could for so many years.

Overall, I'd be welcoming to the return of six-sides. It represents TNA for what it is and brings back a sense of originality. The minority against it should be understanding to that and wrestlers should, and I'm sure easily can adjust to it.

 

[Cereal Killer]

It is just a wrestling ring. It is not the ring that makes the promotion, it's the talent inside it. You can bring back the six sided ring all you want, if the matches are bad the ring won't make a bit of difference.

I am surprised at how people clamor for that six sided ring. It does not have any magical powers. I've seen bad matches like Kevin Nash vs Mick Foley held inside that six sided ring.

For the most part guys like Nash and Foley's matches aren't going to be impacted. The X-Division's matches will. There's more space to run around, jump about and pull of some fresh, high-risk stunts.

Now you're probably going to say that "it's just a division, it doesn't have any magical powers." You seem to be against the idea of originality. Yeah, you can have a great show with or without a six-sided ring and without a group of men in their 20's performing fast paced moves, but it's what makes them an alternative to watch, not a copy. Let's just say Impact Wrestling and RAW are on at the same time and I wanted to watch a match with Cruiserweights. Kofi Kingston could be facing Rey Mysterio and at the other side on Spike, it may be Austin Aries vs Davey Richards. Do I watch high-flyers or do I watch the daredevils? Shall I watch a match where the guys are in a huge four-sided ring or a match where they are in a ring that can provide space and more sides for even more high-flying action? It's apples and oranges.

The six-sides is what made TNA seem different and not just like any other indie company. Even if you watched it once, you would remember it as it provided something different. They made a name and had their own identity which they wanted to express. It may be just a ring with two more sides but it represented them well.

Going back to its roots would've been a good thing....a year ago... at this point I still feel TNA has lost so much luster with major stars leaving that this is like the final attempt to try and regain some ground, and honestly it just won't work. More people are excited about GFW, NXT and ROH at this point to see any rewind on TNA just isn't worth it to me anymore, but I guess even ECW had 1 more card up its sleeve before it died, maybe TNA can save itself but right now I don't believe it will help at all.

Well, the change lost TNA some of its fans. They may have gained a lot once Hogan had arrived but you can't forget the ones that complained and stopped watching. The move however will bring some fans back though. It was a change not many were proud of so I'm sure some of that lost ground would be regained once a decision which caused them to stop watching is reversed. It won't raise the ratings to 3.0. Nobody said it would. All it's for is just to provide more match types and to represent the company different to any other.

 

[Lowdown]

The hexagon ring makes TNA stand out, but it probably wouldn't make much difference in the ratings. If they bring it back, it wouldn't change me watching the product. I prefer the 4 sides to 6, yet that's just me so I can't speak for the multitude. But whichever ring they decide to use wont affect my viewership.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

The hexagon ring makes TNA stand out, but it probably wouldn't make much difference in the ratings. If they bring it back, it wouldn't change me watching the product. I prefer the 4 sides to 6, yet that's just me so I can't speak for the multitude. But whichever ring they decide to use wont affect my viewership.

I'm in the same boat, but I think it's safe to say we're not exactly their target audience here. Not in the sense that we aren't part of their audience, but rather we're not part of the audience they're trying to gain, or more importantly re-gain by conceding back to what helped establish their rise in popularity in the first place.