I write a wrestling column every Monday and Friday for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. It can be found online at TribLIVE.com.
I wrote today about why there shouldn't be any voting on the TNA ring size and six sides is dumb. The following is an excerpt:
TNA Impact Wrestling on Spike TV is at it again.
It is polling fans to see if they would prefer to keep the traditional four-sided wrestling ring, or switch to the six-sided ring the company made famous.
Poll the fans? Just get the two dozen of them in a room and say, “Hey, what size ring do you guys want?”
Seriously, why ask the fans?
Any fan who has stuck with TNA will watch, regardless if matches are in a wrestling ring or an empty roller-skating rink.
I've heard stories from those who worked for an independent wrestling promotion that couldn't get the ring transported to the venue. It had its matches in an empty roller-skating rink instead. Talk about rock bottom. TNA doesn't seem far from that kind of debacle.
TNA asking fans about which ring to use is counter-productive to their brand, and an issue in which none of the fans should have input.
TNA president Dixie Carter tweeted that the four-sided ring is losing by a landslide in the voting. It's no surprise that those who are voting want the six sides back. Voters will watch TNA until it folds. They're the same fans who chant “TNA, TNA, TNA” during any aerial moves.
When was the last time WWE fans chanted “WWE, WWE, WWE?” They don't, because WWE aims to build individual talent, not have its fans chant the letters while they drink the Kool-Aid.
TNA used a six-sided ring for years. It eventually switched to the standard four sides. The six people flicking through the channels who stumble upon this don't know how to interpret it.
Is this professional wrestling? Is it MMA? Is it something I haven't heard of?
CLICK HERE for why the six-sided ring is dangerous and a bad branding decision.
