On a recent episode of her Power Alphas podcast, Mandy Rose revealed that while she was in NXT, WWE was very insistent that she and others clean the ring.

Why, you ask? Was it because people got a little too bold with their blading and caused a mess?

No — apparently, it was because there was a massive herpes outbreak that made WWE paranoid that their wrestlers were gonna catch it from simply hitting the ring. As a result, the ring needed to be repeatedly and effectively disinfected.

Can you actually get herpes from touching a mat where a sweaty, STI-riddled dude has been rolling around? Technically, yes, but it’s pretty unlikely to the point that you probably shouldn’t be worried about it.

That being said, herpes *is* a problem amongst wrestlers — so much so that they have a term for it, “Herpes Gladiatorum” — but that comes from actually touching the other wrestler, not laying your body in a place where they’ve been.

Still, probably a good idea to repeatedly clean the ring regardless!