Why did TNA use a six-sided ring? Mostly to look nothing like WWE, and as branding it worked. The trouble was backstage, where plenty of wrestlers found the hexagon stiffer and harder on their bodies than a normal ring. That’s a big part of why it eventually disappeared for good.
If you watched TNA in the mid-2000s, you remember it. Before a single promo, before the bell, that odd-looking ring told you this wasn’t WWE.
But the story isn’t as simple as “fans loved it, wrestlers hated it.” It’s messier than that, and honestly a lot more interesting.
Why Did TNA Use a Six-Sided Ring in the First Place?
The ring arrived with the show itself. When Impact! premiered on Fox Sports Net on June 4, 2004, the six-sided ring came along with it, plus the on-screen “Fox Box” and a more sports-style presentation.
The goal was simple. TNA needed to look different from WWE, and fast.
Jeff Jarrett has said that getting the ring approved was an internal nightmare. He’s also said it was the thing that got TNA shelf space in the toy market, because buyers saw a six-sided ring and wanted it. The toys followed in 2005, when the first TNA action figure line included a six-sided ring playset.
AJ Styles has also described why he loved the look. It felt more like a cage-fighting setup, which made TNA feel more sports-oriented compared to the “box ring.”
Also Read-: AJ Styles vs Christopher Daniels vs Samoa Joe: TNA Classic Breakdown
Why Many Wrestlers Hated It
Ask around and you’ll hear the same complaint again and again: it was harder on the body.
Kurt Angle gave the clearest explanation in a 2025 interview. He said the ring felt stiff because it was smaller, and a smaller ring means shorter plywood and less bounce. He figured that’s why AJ Styles disliked it, since AJ spent so much time flying around and landing on his back in the middle.
Chris Sabin has said something similar from a current-roster point of view. The bumps were really hard, and he understood the ring had to be built that way because of its six-sided design.
Scott D’Amore was in the room when TNA decided to go six-sided. Years later he said almost every athlete who worked in it preferred not to, and that night after night it was harder on the body.
Sting was blunt about it too. On WWE Network’s Table for 3, he said he hated it, because he’d spent too many years in a squared circle.
Not everyone agreed
This is where it gets complicated.
Angle himself said he didn’t mind working in it. He even liked that it gave him six corners to throw someone into instead of four, though it took time to get used to.
Jay Lethal called it a bit funky at first, but his bigger point was that it was part of TNA’s identity.
Then there’s AJ Styles, whose opinion changed over time. In 2010, he said it was bizarre to him why TNA would change the ring. By 2012, after working in a standard ring again, he said the six-sided version was a lot rougher on his body and the square ring changed his mind quickly.
Later still, on Table for 3, he said he’d grown to love the ring and had been mad when TNA lost it. So AJ’s honest answer is basically: loved it, felt what it did to his back, and still missed it.
Also Read-: TNA X-Division History: How TNA Redefined High-Flying Wrestling
January 2010: Hogan and Bischoff Drop It
When Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff arrived in January 2010, the six-sided ring was one of the first things to go. TNA went back to four sides starting with Genesis.
Hogan’s problem, as Jarrett tells it, was that the ring just didn’t feel right. Booker T remembers it as a sharper question. What can you actually do in the six-sided ring? If the extra sides weren’t making matches better, Hogan wanted to know why TNA kept them.
Bischoff went even further. Years later, he called the ring stupid on his 83 Weeks podcast. What bugged him most was the pitch he heard in the office: fans flipping through channels would spot the odd-looking ring and stop to watch. Even in 2010, he argued, that wasn’t how people watched TV. He also says he kept asking what the ring actually changed about the performance, and he got nothing back.
The funny part is that channel-surfing logic is exactly why TNA built the ring in the first place.
Not everyone inside TNA agreed with the change, though. Booker T said he didn’t even like the ring personally, but he thought dropping it killed TNA’s chance of being something new.
June 2014: The Fans Vote It Back
Four years later, TNA put it to the fans. It ran an online poll, fans voted overwhelmingly for six sides, and the TNA Board of Directors announced the ring’s return. It debuted at the June 25 Impact tapings at the Manhattan Center in New York.
The wrestlers weren’t asked. Mr. Anderson said that, as far as he knew, it was strictly an organizational decision based on the fan vote. Austin Aries also complained about the idea on Twitter before it happened.
January 2018: Gone for Good
The ring stayed for roughly three and a half years. In January 2018, TNA went back to four sides. At a January 11 press conference, Don Callis and Scott D’Amore said the four-sided ring was better for bumping. They’d wanted the change in time for the November tapings, but it didn’t happen until January.
When the company returned to the TNA name in 2024, fans wondered if the hexagon would come back too. D’Amore said no, and put it plainly: athlete safety comes first.
TNA’s Six-Sided Ring Timeline
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| June 4, 2004 | Impact! premieres on Fox Sports Net with the six-sided ring |
| 2005 | First TNA action figure line includes a six-sided ring playset |
| January 2010 | Ring dropped after Hogan and Bischoff arrive |
| June 2014 | Returns after a fan poll and board decision |
| January 2018 | Retired again; leadership says four sides is better for bumping |
| 2023–2024 | TNA name returns; D’Amore says the six-sided ring will not |
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did TNA use a six-sided ring?
To stand out. TNA wanted a look nobody could confuse with WWE, and the hexagon did that instantly. It also helped with merchandise, since Jeff Jarrett has said the ring opened doors in the toy market.
Why did wrestlers dislike the six-sided ring?
Mostly because of how it felt to bump in. Kurt Angle’s explanation is that the smaller ring uses shorter plywood, which gives less bounce. Scott D’Amore has said the ring was harder on the body and caused more wear and tear.
Did every wrestler hate it?
No. Angle and Jay Lethal both said they didn’t mind it, and AJ Styles loved the look even after admitting it was rough on his back. Sting, on the other hand, said he hated it.
When did TNA drop the six-sided ring for good?
January 2018. It had previously been removed in January 2010 and brought back in June 2014.
Will the six-sided ring ever return?
Scott D’Amore has said no, citing wrestler safety.
About Gaurav Sharma
I am Gaurav Sharma, founder and the only writer at Wrestling Nightmare. I live in Punjab, India. I have watched professional wrestling since 2000, and for the last 15 years I have followed dirtsheet reporting and the difference between what is shown on screen and what is reported from backstage. I write explainers and labeled opinion on WWE, AEW, and TNA. I credit the outlet that broke a story, and I do not publish unsourced salary figures or private family pieces.
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