During a recent installment of the “Insight” podcast, professional wrestler Eric Young discussed the issue of transporting the distinctive six-sided ring to various venues, highlighting that its transportation cost was prohibitive and led to its replacement with the four-sided ring that is more traditional in the sport.
Key points from the podcast can be seen below:
Three significant things were noted by Eric Young regarding the six-sided ring. He explained, “I’m sure the six-sided rings exist somewhere. Then there’s this whole other cost to consider — now you have to have a truck that drives all over the United States, hauling this six-sided ring. When we go to towns, we’re using rings that are in and around the area, and then they dress it up to make it look like the TNA ring.”
Concerning the shipping cost of the six-sided ring, Young added,”The TNA ring looks like the TNA ring, but the ring is never the same; it’s a different ring in every city we’re in. So there’s this whole other cost involved because the only place that had them was TNA, and at that point, it was big enough to have a ring truck that drove from city to city.”
In another noteworthy podcast, the “Busted Open Radio”, wrestling superstar Chris Jericho expressed high praise for the new AEW’s media rights agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery, and did not hold back in criticizing those who questioned it.
Annually, the deal is said to be worth around 5 million for three years with a potential extension for an additional year.
Jericho courageously stated, “I think we proved a lot of so-called ‘experts,’ and we made them look like idiots. We knew what was going on with this. The landscape changes constantly; numbers go up and numbers go down, but the overall demo of what AEW brings to the table as a live sporting event is invaluable. We knew it was something that people would want to be involved with. Warner Brothers Discovery didn’t want us to go anywhere, and you can see, 5 million a year for a company that has only been going five years. That’s never happened before. Ever. Obviously, WWE is the gold standard. They didn’t have a deal like that five years in. With all the growing pains, good and bad, that AEW has, we’re still such a young company. That showed we have a real commitment. We’re not going anywhere. Tony Khan is not going anywhere. I’m not going anywhere, much to people’s chagrin. Neither is the rest of the company. It’s going to be a really great next three to five years. There is nothing worse than if AEW didn’t get a great television deal. There is nothing better for the business and the fans than for AEW to thrive and be healthy. We are.”