Japan and McMahon

[The Great Gouki]

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Recently, there have been a lot of backstage talks regarding World Wrestling Entertainment's partnership with several Japanese promotions. For the most part, they are 99% false. Talks going on backstage state that the rumors involving WWE and Japanese promotions were started by magazines or promoters to spice up stories in the professional wrestling world.

As for the talk involving The Rock vs. Muto, this is completely false. Vince McMahon wouldn't allow any of his wrestlers, especially top talents, to participate overseas. The story involving Muto's participation in OVW and HWA this month is false as well.

Although some wrestlers from Japanese promotions will attend the June 15, 2002 show in Honolulu, Hawaii, there have been absolutely no talk between these two parties.

The only interest that McMahon has with Japanese promotions is touring in Japan with his wrestlers for a while. However, this doesn't mean that Japanese wrestlers will take part in WWE's event. This Japan/WWE tour will be exclusive to WWE wrestlers only.

Credit:Wrestlezone.com

Looks like one of the most anticipated matches in pro wrestling history won't happen.

[TDinDC]

No one in the U.S. would really care about seeing those matches. Now I'm not talking about us, the "smart" fans. Of course we would. I'm talking about the 95% of wrestling fans. It doesn't matter who it is, if people don't know them and don't care, they won't attend or watch. It doesn't matter who they bring in (WCW, NWO for example), if there is no storyline behind it to get people interested, it won't work. Just throwing out a name doesn't work, as the last year has proven. If just throwing a name out there and not needing compelling TV every week would make something successful, the invasion angle would still be going.

[greenman]

Basicly mcmahon's policey over the past 15 years has been isolate the WWE from the rest of the wrestling world. So nothing from outside the WWE is ever going to have any impact. Luckly I dotn think hes smart enough to see how good a muta vs rocky match would be for the WWE. It would be like the hart vs bulldog match from 1992 which is basicly the rout of all the business they have done in the UK for the past decade. Mcmahon is to focused on the US to do it id say........

[TDinDC]

Bulldog was a WWF wrestler at the time. The WWF had already run successful cards in the UK before that. Didn't the WWF do a joint card in Japan in early 90's with Hogan vs. Hansen? The WWE doesn't need to have a cross promotional match to get business in Japan. Didn't the WWE do great business in Japan when they recently went there? People there obviously care enough about the WWE to spend their money. And weren't they quite found of Tajiri, a Japanese born WWE wrestler, just like the UK was found of Bulldog, a UK born WWF wrestler.

[greenman]

True there was already interest in the WWE before summerslam 92 but that event certainly increased interest and made sure people stayed as long term fans. The point I was trying to make was that even though summerslam 92 was in the long term a very profitable event at the time mcmahon looked on it as a failiure because it drew a low PPV buy rate in the US. The same would be true if they went to japan id think with any event being japan only and not a US ppv.

[TRZZXQ]

I don't know why Vince is so stubborn...does he not the the potential in interpromotional matches or something? Seriously though, if he ran a series of interpromotional shows in Japan, it could make him some serious money.

[TDinDC]

TRZZXQ: I'm not sure you get it. Having those matches would make absolutely ZERO money in the U.S. If he made some money in Japan, so what? We're talking about a 500 million dollar company here. Their long term interest is the U.S., because that's where they make their real cash. The future of the company is not based on making a little cash in Japan. Just because internet marks want to see japan vs. WWE, they're not going to do anything. Everyone wanted to see WCW vs. WWF - well guess what? It happened ---- and it sucked.

[Dr Feelgood]

I agree with TDinDC: the economics behind the wrestling business don't make an interpromotional angle a very likely direction for WWE.
First of all, I think it's a reflection on the business. Despite the first W in its name, the WWE is very much focused on the US market and japanese wrestling just doesn't mean enough there. If the WWE were to diversify towards other markets (say, Asia) where that isn't the case, or if some broadcasting miracle were to make ALL wrestling available and expose fans everywhere to puro, lucha... then, maybe things would be different.
It's also a reflection on the fans. Most of them couldn't be bothered looking into what's done elsewhere, and probably still wouldn't take interest for more than a few weeks even if you forced a high quality interpromotional program down their throats. Pity, great things could be done with an All-Japan/WWE program I think, and it would be a great occasion to let the US audience rediscover the great tradition of Us wrestlers in Japan.

It might even be a reflection on the wrestlers themselves. How many young WWE wrestlers have been abroad to learn the styles and perfect themselves? If image is all that gets them over, why should they make the effort to care about anything else, like wrestling?
A bit like that Vader/Kane comparison that was made on another thread. How will Kane ever even have the motivation to follow Vader if the model of successful big man given to him is Undertaker?

[TRZZXQ]

TDinDC: WWF vs. WCW didn't work because it wasn't WWF vs. WCW; it was WWF vs. some WCW midcarders under contract with WWF. If interpromotional shows were run while WCW was still its own company, especially in the big wrestling boom a few years back, it could be a different story. I see your other points, though...Vince isn't interested in a few bucks here and there-he wants the big money, and it isn't in Japan

[Kaiser Baz]

McMahon wouldn't even consider propositions for a Rock - Muto match or any other of it's kind as he has no need to. I think he is totally right in his desicion as WWE is primarily an American business. Let's face it, McMahon has to appeal to his target audience and they do not want to see these matches or scenarios so why should Vince be criticised for ignoring them.

And just to try and clear up the Summerslam 92 discussion I am a British fan who watched the WWF ack in this time. Summerslam did basically nothing to elevate business throughout the last decade, although at the time helped sustain the hype. The hysteria was already there at the time ddue more to Davey Boy Smith rather than anything else. I mean the WWF sold out 70,000 seats at Wembley because the Bulldog was headlining that night. The WWF had always been popular since it debuted on Sky in 1989 and always sold load of merchandise prior to Summerslam and beyond.

[Colin Douglas]

Look the farther away from Japan McMoron stays the better. He'd probably turn Muto into a Ricksaw driver for Christ's sakes!

[Dangerous_K]

Vince is only out to win. He hired a bunch of WCW'ers, made em all look like fools, etc. He wouldn't have the ECW-WCW alliance top the WWF on TV, because it'd make the WWF look bad to fans. The man has an amazing mind for business, to get ahead in North America, but unless an interpromotional show featured all the WWF guys coming off like Bruiser Brody, and the others coming off like Steve Lombardi, I doubt he'd be content.

And still, it's a good thing that no Japanese wrestlers will be booked into anything by the WWE. It's like a death knell for the careers of Japanese wrestlers, KDX turning into an absolute joke (anyone remember the scene at Over the Edge 98, when the handicap match had Teioh, Funaki and Togo all running like scared kids from *Bradshaw*?)... the only Japanese people to actually go over to some extent in WWF/E are Hakushi (because Bret was working with him, and at the time, Bret would work with anyone, and because Hakushi left quickly), The Great Sasuke (because he wasn't there long enough to be dragged down by VKM), and Tajiri (because he's been able to adapt to the WWE style a bit more, and already had a lot of heat from working in ECW).

There's absolutely no sense in any of the Japanese wrestlers working with the WWE right now, and back on topic, with Vince McMahon being the kind of man he is, hopefully it won't happen for a while. Although just for the record, once the Ultimo Dragon returns to wrestling, I would absolutely KILL to see Benoit fight him sometime, one on one.

[TDinDC]

Originally posted by Dangerous_K
Vince is only out to win.

(anyone remember the scene at Over the Edge 98, when the handicap match had Teioh, Funaki and Togo all running like scared kids from *Bradshaw

You're right, he's only out to win, as he should be. If I was running a 500 million dollar business, I would be out to win too. To run a successful business in the U.S., you have to be ruthless.

Over the Edge: You're right, that was kind of stupid. However, isn't that kind of realistic? I mean, if Bradshaw was to legit fight those guys, he'd kill them.

[Dr Feelgood]

I mean, if Bradshaw was to legit fight those guys, he'd kill them.

Not so sure, Funaki's BattlArts training might prove more useful than Bradshaw's football skills (or lack of them) and Clothesline from Hell. It might be another case of Steve Blackman for Bradshaw
Either way it's a WCW-level stupid idea to have your Light- Heavies jobbed out so pathetically, esp. when they're the better wrestlers. But I suppose the Attitude was all about style over substance, and japanese ABSOLUTELY can't be seen to have attitude
Pity though, Hakushi, the Jumping Bomb Angels and TAKA got off to decent enough starts...

[Dangerous_K]

Originally posted by Dr Feelgood
But I suppose the Attitude was all about style over substance, and japanese ABSOLUTELY can't be seen to have attitude

Well, in the Attitude era, you can't get over if you know how to pace a long match with holds locked in for almost a minute at times, try and use ring psychology... you can't get over if you rely more on a classic 20 minute match to tell a story and explain an angle, rather than a promo full of catchphrases and either cheap insults or dick jokes... the list goes on and on.

About the Kaientai thing, they may have been heels, but with Bradshaw alone, with little buildup, and the three of em running from him... how on earth did Vince expect em to get over? The "EVIL... INDEED" angle was pretty funny, and had Vince actually run with the ball for some time, they could have gotten over huge. Instead we've just got another example of why Japanese wrestlers' careers can be wasted when they go to the US, and namely, the WWF/WWE.