Jim Cornette on The Sound Of WWE's Rings

[@tnbk_andrxw4474]

MMA: keep sound as loud as possible bc people like violence WWE/ Kevin Dunn: quiet everything down so you can hear the jabroni 30 rows up yell "this is boring"

[@pledgestone]

I used to hate Jim Cornette as a kid, which shows how great he was, it was his job to be hated, but I love him in these podcasts. Jim is fantastic. So knowledgeable and entertaining. The ring is a major character in the story being portrayed, 100%.

[@pledgestone]

The good old days, for sure.

[@rexsexson5349]

Captain Bob Smiley same here

[@ronaldneumann1187]

Captain Bob Smiley - Totally!! I hated Cornette as a kid! Absolutely hated him!! Now I think he is soooo funny!!! Super knowledgeable. I love listening to what he has to say about just about anything.

[@MDW1101]

I love the old WCW Nitro era ring sound.

[@SaintedPIacebo]

those rings according to austin was set up way differently, i'd look up that interview it was neat insight. part of the issue is that wwe uses a 20ft ring. wcw was 18.

[@agentorange8530]

yup I loved that double plop sound

[@onewhitepony]

agree and i always liked the ropes too.. i thought wwf at the time were a bit 'rubber band' looking. nitros had a stiffer look on them similar to ecws. stuff i think about in hindsight

[@preston009]

Hell yeah

[@Smokey1419]

Im glad I’m not the only one

[@cwell510]

Growing up watching NWA on WTBS in the 80s, I always found the ring in the studio to have an aesthetically pleasing sound when somebody got slammed. I also liked the crackle of the cables when someone hit the ropes. The old ECW rings had a ton of spring to them also which made taking a bump look cool.

[@WSK9002]

if I was running a wrestling company my dream rings would be built like the JCP rings but have the same configurations as the New Japan rings 20x20 with cables.

[@nonyabusiness9192]

I agree about those cables.

[@spanishsupafly]

i remember the rematch between bret hart and the british bulldog at "In Your House" '95 where the hitman was cut and bleeding and he was getting obliterated by davey. as the tables started to turn nearing the end of the match, you got the sense that bret was angry and becoming very vicious with his moves towards davey which was necessary to put him away. at one point, bret set davey up for a suplex off the top turnbuckle, and when bret slammed him down i can remember noticing that the ring produced such a devastating crashing sound that seemed to stamp an exclamation point on bret's animosity/desperation and dismantling of davey that even the crowd seemed to respond to it as they went nuts. it was awesome. so in short, yeah sound is just as important a component as anything else in the ring, it helps tell the story.

[@tuno1538]

Those WCW rings back in the day sounded great!!!

[@BattleOverride856]

Love the sound of WCW mats. Totally miss it

[@XandeRToXic]

I'll never forget the sound of a WCW ring. It sounds so damn good.

[@j2oaks]

I've noticed that those WWE rings are particularly loud during house shows though.

[@Jumbo37279]

John Oaks yeah they make them quieter for hours shows its the same ring though I don't have a problem with anyring

[@j2oaks]

I dunno, I see house shows at the same venue they host Raw and Smackdown. I saw an NXT event there a couple years ago and I swear, that was the loudest ring I've ever heard in my 43 years.

[@j2oaks]

It was noticeable enough that I had a conversation with my son about it.

[@strykerzr350]

House shows use the older gate style barriers. The televised shows has a different barrier with lots of padding around them The noise gets baffled and you hear it. TNA had some good sounding rings when they toured the US.

[@Eaawesome59]

John Oaks it’s because there’s this layer of some kind of material that they put underneath the canvas to reduce the amount of sound it makes on TV. because house shows aren’t televised, they don’t use that extra layer.

[@pikkon899]

The sound of the WWF rings in 1993 was the best I've ever heard. It was loud and it sounded painful (it probably was) At times, it sounded metallic whenever someone took a bump on it. I remember when Bret Hart did a side Russian leg sweep on Mr. Perfect at the 1993 King of Ring, the sound of bump was amazing. The same goes for when Bret dropped the elbow from the second rope on Mr. Perfect. The sound of the ring, the position of the camera and they way Prefect took the elbow was great.

[@danielcasteel3426]

I'll never forget the sound of Bret Hart taking a turnbuckle in the '95 steel cage against Diesel. Legitimately sounded like a shotgun went off in the arena

[@DaltonHastings1]

I've always wondered especially from mid 97 to mid 98 how the rings sounded so amazing, but by the time they got the regular black barricades we see now, their ring sound changed as well.....the rings today sound so strange, I prefer the WCW/New Generation style rings..

[@jbizz80]

I believe it was around SummerSlam '98 that they switched from the really hard rings to softer ones. I wouldn't be surprised if the Mick Foley Hell in a Cell bump at KOTR had something to do with the switch.

[@killuminatimind]

WesternBeef Supermarket+ why?

[@wingedhussar1453]

​@@jbizz80the Cornette story must have ben early 90s tho

[@connorscoarsefishingjourne7680]

I loved the WCW ring from 1996-2001 sounded awesome

[@amandahugandkissss]

sounded good...but the ropes were cable and had no give to them.....ppl would run into them and lose momentum..looked terrible

[@ManVsZombies24]

Always love to hear a good old Jim promo before work.

[@jimwillysjabber3011]

Went to smack down show in Atlanta and rings were really loud. Looked like lots of spring as well when “superstars” landed. When punches connected you could hear the stomp. We were upper level.

[@johnhernandez3134]

2:58 that's a spot on impression

[@CHICANO1975]

Kevin Dunn to Jim Cornette: "Jim, I find you tiresome!" ...ahhahahaha

[@crt1634]

WCW rings always sounded the best!

[@SogenOkami]

This is something that has caught my attention when Undertaker vs Triple H in 2011. The ring sounded so crisp and nice. Already my favorite match of all time but the sound of the ring made it even better.

[@therealfrisco3859]

WCW's ring sounded great.

[@B.L3opard]

The whole aesthetic of WWE is horrible. Its too bright and corporate. Once they added the black barricades to their set in 1998 I feel like it completely changed the feel and then obviously Vince went public with the WWF in late 1999 and it's been all downhill from there. Their whole ring setup and presentation is childlike in appearance. I cannot stand the sound of the modern ring, the outside surrounding of the ring which is all padded, the LED lighting on the apron and turnbuckles...I can go on and on. I miss when Monday Night RAW was actually raw and I truly wish there was an alternative wrestling promotion to watch in North America that was similar to what WCW was.

[@Josh360]

The railings were so much better than the barricades, I always found it weird that they changed to barricades during the Attitude Era when railings suit that era more.

[@tankwfw]

I always thought it was weird that ring designed wasn't more engineered towards safety. You can maintain the suspension of disbelief with a padded ring with good bounce just as much as a hard ring and make it 10x safer and easier to work with.

[@wingedhussar1453]

It wound sound like crap tho

[@Jaded_Infidel]

I loved the sound of both rings used in TNA. I’m not sure if it’s because it was a TV studio vs an arena, or if it was the way they were made, or if they had a mic under the ring to capture that noise. NWA has a particular sound too, but it too is also a TV studio, so maybe that’s the secret?

[@absentjade883]

I loved the TNA rings. Its kinda like WCW and WWE rings combined and the boom echo was so nice

[@infamouszo]

The rings used during the attitude and ruthless aggression Era had the best sound to me and, they had more bounce.

[@palaceofwisdom9448]

I remember a few episodes of Raw when they first started broadcasting in HD where the impact had the same thundering sound you get at a house show, and it was awesome. It makes the experience more immersive, a lot like rumble feedback on a game controller.

[@SuperFunkmachine]

Rings should be loud, you should hear every slam.

[@smokycovestudios]

Attack the mat when you bump, scare the people in the first 2 rows with the sound. That's what I was taught anyway by Dory Funk Jr.

[@Njbear7453]

GORELORD13 too bad people barely bump that fast anymore ^

[@namelessjedi2242]

More proof that Jim knows the wrestling business top to bottom, inside and out.

[@derekatkinson4674]

When Jim Cornett says I thought we had the best rings in the business pal”.. lmao

[@TrenchcoatNinja3]

To me, it's between the sound of WWE rings during the ruthless aggression era and WCW's rings when it comes to best sounding rings.

[@theyinkaquadri]

The amount of bumps Flair took in Royal rumble 1992....man, I said: “Flair got endurance.”

[@Sphere723]

0:23 You know a cornette rant is forthcoming.

[@Dakatari]

The NWA Power rings sounds like the old WCW Saturday evening programs combination of the wood/ spring sound

[@DoppaD]

2:57 -- That was actually a pretty good impression

[@chavitavb]

Wwe uses these rubber mats under the ring’s wood to reduce noise during live shows.

[@mattjindrak]

90s WCW and current NJPW are my favorite sounding rings. Or is it ring sounds?

[@joegarrison5911]

Cornette really is a wrestling encyclopedia. Guys got a steel trap for all things wrestling

[@elmalifico3708]

I remember in WCW where there was the story where Ric Flair was in charge of WCW and had Eric Bischoff doing menial jobs. One of them was setting up the ring. The ring was set up so that it had 2x4s with a layer of wrestling mat then the canvas. Man I love that sound.

[@brycestevens4829]

I just watched the "Smokey Mountain" Jim Cornette demo promo and man. First off it was amazing, but, the bounce the rings had was 🔥. I understand what he means now.

[@SuperMutant2099]

They change ring canvas every three matches now. I went to summerslam they changed it two or three times during the show.

[@therealfrisco3859]

SuperMutant2099 Why? Dirty?

[@ko44chpm59]

At MITB they changed it after every match. Seemed a bit excessive to me honestly but I have to assume they have their reasons. the show was awesome live btw

[@phillipclark111]

Damn, this is spot on. Thanks, Mr. Cornette!

[@jimbo-fk4dq]

In terms of WWE ring sounds, the one the stood out most to me was the ring at In Your House 13. Not sure if it was the arena or what, but it had a unique sound during slams.

[@RockandrollNegro]

It's very possible that's an old WCW ring for the IYH13 event. At that time, UTC Stadium only held about 6,000 attendees and had the smallest basketball court in NCAA (before they adopted NBA size regulations). So instead of a 91 foot court Vince was used to, they had a 75 foot court, and everything had to be scaled down accordingly. The house ring was left over from Halloween Havoc in 1991, and would've been 18x18. It was specifically because of this smaller size that WCW only held two events there and WWF just had the one. So because of the small size of the stadium, the ring likely being a WCW ring, and the entire facility being wood and concrete, it sounded like an old Mid-South or Crockett spot show at a high school gym rather than an arena show that WWF had been running at the time. I always point to IYH13: Final Four as being the best that a WWF ring ever sounded. They later remodeled the UTC stadium into McKenzie Arena and it's much bigger now, with a full size NBA court.

[@MetelAdict]

FInally! I'm not nuts, I've been saying this about ring sound for years! Like the person who wrote in said, the sound of wcw rings is so satisfying.Why can't the WWE, or most promotions for that matter, get it right?

[@killuminatimind]

Brady Kroeker + and what you think about the logos in the mat

[@MetelAdict]

killuminatimind I actually don't mind logos in the map makes it seem a little more legitimate I guess.

[@leecomber1062]

The logos were cool for the time but gosh they must of gone through so many rings seeing as the mats were airbrushed and couldn't be used for other events .

[@impalaman9707]

I remember Mid South rings bounced like a trampoline and went "boioioioing!" So it was such a shock the first time I watched WWF (it may have been a match with the British Bulldogs) someone would get slammed to match and the ring barely moved, it just went "plunk!" And it would irritate me to no end, because it wasn't what I was used to

[@mitchellbridgeforth7352]

the uswa ring at the Nashville fairgrounds sports arena sounded awesome

[@JasonL77]

"I fucking hate Kevin Dunn." That seemed random. LOL

[@Chino196]

JasonL77 Kevin Dunn produces and controls the audio and video presentation of the shows.

[@SirVic42]

Yet always appropriate!

[@XSwordStoneX]

I've been to wrestlemania 33 week every bump is like an explosion. it's loud. maybe too loud.

[@MGTV1]

"does ring sound matter?" both me an corny said at the exact same time... "yes, of course it does!". that's why they jammed mics under the ring, and put clapboards in...the louder the sound, the more people get a sense of how hard someone hits the mat. the ring, and what is going on in it, is supposed to take your attention...not the deafening crowd sounds. wwe is caught between a the Rock and a hard mat....they want the sound of the crowd cheering, but the crowd generally does their own thing, and wwe can't let it out on the air. so they pipe in fake crowd sounds to drown out the real crowd....

[@brodywise4750]

They don’t want the actual sound of the ring filling the arena. They use blankets like Jim said then have the ring mics play through the speakers in the arenas. I went to Fastlane 2019 and it was very obvious that you were hearing the ring mics and not the ring itself. They also change the canvas mats every 2-3 matches/every hour so they use 3-5 canvases every night

[@Just-Michael]

When I went to Raw in 2013 in Toronto, I was sitting in the 100's and couldn't even hear the ring. And the ring now is a weird "clank" sound. I always liked the BOOM that TNA rings are known for. Haven't been to one of their shows, but on TV it's super loud.

[@justindancer6613]

I’ll never forget the WCW ring sound. It reminded me of Pride FC ring sound… Lol I just thought I was the only one that noticed.

[@jackstraw522]

Does Kevin Dunn know you can turn gain down on microphones?

[@michaelcook2360]

The rings at wwe today sound like summerslam 1992 😀

[@thisisbigjon]

100% correct! The way those Crockett rings sounded and would echo through the Greensboro Coliseum was incredible! With that and the way guys would sell something like a body slam or suplex, you’d think they were being killed! It was the best.😂

[@czw321]

Have you ever heard a WWE ring live? It can be a bit inconsistent. I remember during 2009 it sounded like an electric trampoline. Just boing, boing, boing just weird. Literally every bump. Someone said they put a mic in the ring for the live crowd

[@SjC420]

I always liked the way the WCW ring sounded when the wrestlers took bumps!

[@chubbycatfish4573]

The WCW rings always sounded nice.

[@leecomber1062]

funny that the ring sound effect in the smackdown 2 game on ps1 sounded like a WCW ring.

[@DarkNorthEmperor]

Around 2010, The WWE rings used to make prefect sound. And now, it's screwed up.

[@trentaccid2177]

WORLD CLASS WRESTLING RINGS WERE THE BEST YOU COULD HERE EVERY BOUNCE PLUS THE MICS PICKED UP EVERYTHING.

[@theyinkaquadri]

When I was a child, I immediately knew - from what I saw and heard - that the WCW rings had more give than the WWF rings. Although the ring was still hard as a rock, I noticed it wasn’t as loud as it once was after Hogan left.

[@wildandwackywade]

Yes. They have a big black cloth between the boards and the steel beams.

[@MrSheckstr]

Let’s face it, since the 80s the WWwhatever has cared 95% percent on how the product looks to the fan on the couch who doesn’t directly put a dime into the coffers of wrestling and less than 5% for the fan who buys a ticket, makes a sign, goes down to the stadium, buys a box of Booty OH and the ice cream bar and cheers for the faces and boos the heals. On a side note, how hard would it by to set up a tiny FM/AM transmitter for fans that wanna hear the play by play and color commentary while watching the match and to pipe that same audio to the TVs all over the concourse like at a baseball basketball football or hockey game?

[@markkay4224]

they dont do that? the ufc does that... u get an ear piece where u can hear play by play

[@Eaawesome59]

mark kay they used to have them, I remember them advertising it when I went to Wrestlemania 28, but the next time I went to a WWE event they didn’t have anything like that. It must not have been selling well enough to warrant them to keep using it. It was advertised to be functional as a regular AM/FM radio when you’re not at events too.

[@stephenlee8743]

Now they drape rubber mats between the beams which is guess cut down on the sound even more

[@darrenspohn8376]

My favorite ring sound was wrestlemania 2, bulldogs vs beefcake and valentine in Chicago.

[@WhoisVinnie]

Wrestlemania 1998's my favorite ring sound

[@SlipperyGoulet]

Corny's Vince impression is pretty good.

[@NobesBLO13]

Jimmy being annoyed is like music to my ears. Within the first few words of the question he let’s out an “Ah God”. 😅😅

[@herdfootballfan2098]

Last night at mania 34 the ring had a weird sound

[@sivabliss]

Sounded like there were microphones under the ring

[@JOHNN01.82]

Why does WWE never use the ring canvas for advertising? Change the feel of the event each PPV ? Its always plain gray colour

[@MvRxRapidzZx]

The rings from 2002, 2003 were the best sounding rings

[@dmateo4813]

Before the 1997 the rings sounded louder and harder in WWE. From late 1998 and beyond the ring sounds like ruber.

[@theyinkaquadri]

The loudest ring sound I ever heard is the WrestleMania 6 ring; second is Royal Rumble 1992.

[@raymonderrity1419]

That's because WWE decided to stop using really hard rings after Mankind got all sorts of fucked up at King of the Ring 1998.

[@romefox]

Its so weird, I was always watching WCW back in the day and I remembering thinking that the WCW ring didnt have any give and that the WWF ring was so springy. Turns out it was the opposite, on tv. the WWF ring impacts seemed springy.

[@thickerconstrictor9037]

I've been in a couple old WWF rings when I went up to Steve Madison and Steve keirns School. The ones that have the spring in the middle. They are fucking torture. I've been in worse honestly. The ring I trained in was barely 16 x 16 and was basically a boxing ring. But those old WWF rings are torturous on your back

[@CCSI322]

So they don't use microphones and or direct audio lines to play the sounds that stadiums use during sporting events?

[@grahamtomlinson6305]

I love hearing the behind the scene.

[@lukeru3037]

Can anyone point me to a specific taping from the attitude era where the ring just sounds like it hurts to take bumps on?

[@awkc63]

Over the past 15+ years the WWE rings have too much give, it's the bounce back that causes most injuries. The ropes are like rubber bands fed through garden hoses, wrapped in tape. Every other major promotion uses elevator cable... Well... Thinner cabling.

[@pointuout2020]

This is exactly true. I’ve been in a WWE and there is no give!

[@lookintothecrystalball4588]

I would really like to hear more about the science behind the rings. Like why does Cornette want cable over rope and I agree that the blanket idea is stupid but the sound on TV is important so what is a better idea or compromise to keep the integrity of both ring and sound intact.

[@spyboylfn]

I just heard Jim say in another podcast clip I heard the other day that ropes have a risk of breaking at any given time and cable, inside a garden hose and wrapped with tape, has not only a much greater safety and durability factor, but is also has more spring when guys bounce off of them compared to a rope, which all adds up to a better show.

[@andyhempshall6152]

Wrestlemania 5. That one had a unique sound to it

[@theyinkaquadri]

And WrestleMania 6, Royal Rumble 1992, and WrestleMania 10.

[@TheBC313]

The ring at Wrestlemania 12 sounded a bit erm, whats the word, Hollow? Empty?. If homie is gonna pine for a ring sound he should pine for the sound of the canvas at the 1993 King Of The Ring. It had a real nice snap to it. Sounded awesome. P.S Just FYI i took time out from having sex with really hot chicks to type that. As i'm sure did the guy who asked Jim the question.

[@jbizz80]

Brealer Agreed on the KOTR '93 ring. I've always loved that show and I came to the conclusion not too long ago that the sound of the ring was a big reason why. Sounded like a snare drum every time someone took a bump, especially during the Bret/Razor Ramon match. Going back even further, I loved the sound of the WrestleMania 2 ring during the Chicago portion. Go back and watch Dream Team vs. The Bulldogs...such a loud CRASH on every move.

[@Chino196]

😎👍

[@richborn6700]

Yo, I'm surprisingly going to believe you. Way to go.

[@rexsexson5349]

Not even close BUD!

[@Medieval_Dead]

The day Kevin Dunn retires is the day he becomes Jim’s newest friend.

[@andrewhatcher2702]

To this day I remember the sound of Harper and Rowan doing double choke slam on some jobber... I mean yeah there’s a mic under the ring, but this just had a different sound. No one gave a crap about the match, but when they slammed the hell out of the poor jobber, the whole crowd perked up and went “oooohhh” lol Even Harper and Rowan briefly paused to look at each other. I think they legit slammed him TO hard 😂

[@PhantomBladesXI]

When every slam makes a huge sound it gives huge impact.

[@DustinDriggers]

ECW rings were so good. The whole rawness of the product.

[@brandonnotsowise2640]

After hours of listening to Jim Cornette, can't believe I just had the thought - where is the movie about Cornette along with wrestlers of the time? Seems like it could be made into an entertaining movie. I could also see Mr. Cornette not wanting a movie made for various reasons. Has something like this been pitched to him before? Ik other people must have thought it might be interesting. Edit: I guess the PC element would limit its appeal and wrestling isn't as popular as it once was. Still think that someday it may be interesting.

[@liontone]

Ring sound is part of the “sell.”

[@thesupervisor3270]

ECW 97-01 rings sounded perfect too

[@TheLunnyBear]

Last few weeks ppvs I watched the ring is now TOO loud IMO sounds ridiculous

[@pippimaxim]

WWF's Insurrexion or Rebellion rings sounded deathly!!

[@ruggie.74]

If your ring doesn't have a good, impactful sound, how can you believe that the guy who just took a bump is actually gassed from it and "hurt" by it? The rings today sound like there's no way a guy shouldn't be able to immediately get up from ANY bump he takes.

[@j4dy751]

Loved the 2018 - 2020 ring sound but you could hear it more in 2018 just watch a Seth Rollins falcon arrow in 2018 and it sounds great it still sound the same today but not as much

[@MrHollidaymusic]

Ring sound absolutely matters.

[@guardian08527]

I think the WWF rings were the best up until the mid 90's. Then around 1995 they started sounding like somebody left their open tool box in the ring after setting it up and now all the crap was bouncing around and flying out of the toolbox.

[@theyinkaquadri]

I know exactly what you’re talking about: the ring sound of SummerSlam 1994 and Royal rumble 1995 fit your description.

[@theyinkaquadri]

And to a degree, SummerSlam 1992. The sound and acoustics was different due to the event being outdoors. So the sound traveled up through that arena.

[@kenbush6942]

I am 100% sure vince wants the rings as hard as possible to break the wrestlers down so vince can be the alpha over them when the wrestlers get broke down

[@pippimaxim]

The old Insurexxion rings sounded meaaaaannn!!!! back in 2001

[@chrisfranklin327]

The WWF / WWE always had hard ring canvases but they always have the best looking Rings No Doubt I always like the WWE's rope look for the Rings. But the best sounding rings to me was WCW

[@bigjavo36]

The wwe ring have actually gotten louder again lately I remember noticing the ring noise get louder and thinking my god has attendance slipped so low that the ring echos in the arenas now? But it turns out no the ring was just louder.

[@Red0991]

Last year I went to Raw with a friend, and we both could not get into the show because they mic the ring up. Every slam to the mat sounds like a sampled kick drum from an electronica song, and it’s broadcasted through the PA system. It was completely ridiculous and we made fun of it literally all night. So unbelievably distracting, and it doesn’t even sound good on TV. What an embarrassment.

[@tonybones9638]

The WCW ring sounded absolutely fucking ridiculous it was actually annoying to hear a guy take a bump.. ... and I've been to enough shows whether it's big time Productions like a WWF ppv or crazy original ECW house shows or underground Ring of Honor events when they first got their start and to me the sound of the Ring makes when a wrestler takes a bump is pretty important. ..and I could always tell when something was going to happen to the ring like somebody's going to get Power Bombed through the ring or the ring is going to implode or fire or smoke is going to come out of the ring.... whenever I hear the ring sounding strange, even on television i knew that something was going to happen to the ring itself ...that's how much I pay attention to that shit...😎👍

[@sivabliss]

These days it sound like there are microphones underneath.

[@sadetwizelve]

The ring mic and speaker has too much bass it's a loud thud.