how can it be international and "all" Japan?

[One to Remember]

If All Japan is all Japan how can it have International titles? Why dont any Japanese promotios have World named titles? Instead of IWGP International tag team title why not an IWGP World tag team title? I realized the AWA had World titles even though it was "all-American" but even America(s) cover a whole hemisphere. With the NWA the national is not promoting a surtain nation like say
All-Japan or the defuct Mid-Atlactic Championship Wrestling. And why if the top companies in Japan are having low attendance not just run shows in Timur, South Korea, NORTH Korea, eastern Russia, New Guinea & so on?

[Tradewynd]

Why not ask why NJ has Grand Prix titles? The commonly used application grand prix has nothing to do with wrestling. All Japan's Triple Crown was created by unifying three seperate titles and AJ's Unified Tag Team titles were created from two seperate tag team titles. The All Asian Tag Team Titles are a secondary tag team championship, like the NWA U.S. Tag Team Championship. Since you appear to understand how the NWA works, that also should have answered the "world" question for you. Since AJ and NJ were members of the NWA, they were not permitted to have their own "World" titles since they recognized the NWA World Heavyweight Champion as the World Champion. When the WWWF was a member of the NWA their title simply became the WWWF Heavyweight Title, as opposed to the WWWF World Heavyweight Title to comply with NWA rules.

I fail to see how All Japan or Mid Atlantic are independant nations.

As for attendance and international business, this may be shocking, but big companies run smaller buildings in Japan. 2000 is not a bad crowd in a bulding that holds 2000 people. However, NJ's recent Osaka disaster did no more than 20,000 paid in a building that can hold at least 55,000. 20,000 in the Osaka Dome is very very bad. Tickets to wrestling showsd in Japan are also more expensive than in other places in the world, so more money is generated than a show in the states that draws 2000. Inoki has been wanting to run shows in NORTH Korea for awhile, which aside from being a near political impossiblity, would not draw the numbers Inoki thinks it will. Yes, there was a time where Inoki vs. Flair drew 190,000 in NORTH Korea. Most of the "fans" were also there at gunpoint, and the wrestlers did not even feel safe during the tour. Muhammad Ali said it best when the evil commies forced him to attend a dinner at gunpoint - "No wonder why we hate these mother****ers."

Wrestling is already promoted in South Korea by the WWA(and no, not McManus' WWA that ran PPVs with Jarrett, Sting, etc.), although they do not do big business. The only South Korean wrestling success was Rikidozan, and he did his biggest business in Japan.

Just how much money do think you're going to make by running a puroresu show in eastern Russia? Or New Ginea? If there was money to be made there someone would be making it. The WWE is desperate for international business and the place they're most looking to expand into is Japan. Even though the business is struggling, Japan still easily has the second or third largest wrestling fanbase of any country in the world. On a per capita basis, it may be the largest wrestling fanbase in the world. And no Japanese company is going to draw enough in America or Mexico to make the trip profitable. Misawa can't even sell 1000 tickets in California. Liger only boosted ROH's numbers by a few hundred. The money just isn't out there. Dragon's Gate might be able to draw in Mexico. Maybe. But even for that they would still need Ultimo's support. And it would still be a huge maybe.

[Dan Poutsma]

Dude, All Japan is just a name. And they can call their titles whatever they want. World, International, whatever. Again, they're just names. The WWC in Puerto Rico has a "Universal" title, even though they don't promote shows on Mars or Jupiter.

Btw, I've seen several newspaper clippings and so forth that make reference to the W(W)WF championship as a world title even when they were part of the NWA. I've even seen a blurb from an old Championship Wrestling from Florida publication, which outwardly promoted themselves as an NWA member, calling it a "world" title on at least one occasion when it was generally billed as just the WWWF heavyweight title. If you have the WWE Hall of Fame DVD and watch the match where Graham wins the belt from Bruno in Baltimore, the ring announcer even calls it the World heavyweight championship. So to say it wasn't called a world title during that time isn't true.

[One to Remember]

why doesnt any one respond to my AWA posts?

Also All Japan having World titles is just like a Would U.S. TITLE or the World international title get it?

Universal is everything so its acurate.

[Dan Poutsma]

No, I don't get it. All Japan is just the name of the promotion. I don't see what the big deal is. No offense intended, but you're making a mountain out of a molehill, IMO.

It's just wrestling. No need to think long and hard about how a promotion can have "world" titles, "international" titles, or whatever when the name of the organization indicates that they are just regional or national. It's just a name.

[Black_Flag_Of_Ulster]

the name is just a silly tag. what really matters is what the title is worth, no? i guess everyone will agree that the TC is worth more than some alleged world titles, like the USWA one.

[Tradewynd]

I did not mean to imply that Vince Sr. followed all of the NWA rules, only that it wasn't "officially" a world title while they were in the NWA, since the NWA requires its members to recognize the belt. IIIRC, the WWWF left the NWA because of that issue. Besides, Vince Jr. had to learn how to break his word from somebody.

And I do hope Black Flag is not trying to imply that Jerry Lawler's 27 wins of the UNIFIED AWA and WCCW World Titles are meaningless. It was defended all over Memphis for crying out loud!

[DANGEROUS DAN]

The Unified title was also defended in Japan.