The New Japan report

[naturalbornmaster]

I read on puroresupower.com that ZERO seating sections in Sumo Hall have sold out. Alright, I am going to say it right out, nice and clearly. NJPW has come full circle from top puro promotion to puro promotion in need of being flushed down the crapper. When you cannot sell out your signature arena with what you consider a important event, you have serious problems. In my opinion, I am not sure anyone in Japan cares about Sasaki as champ, the new musketeers, the Black Hole faction, Choshu's return, Tenzan's push(which they NEVER cared about and ditto for Nagata), or any of the other crap that they're putting out. NJPW either can have a COMPLETE makeover or they can continue their current course which will have them bankrupt by 2005. I know I'll get criticized for this, but it's something that everyone is overlooking. Yeah, you complain about how horrible AJPW is, but they're selling out Sumo Hall with something someone wants to see. And if you do not think there is a problem with this show, wait till the Osaka Dome draws the lowest dome attendance in NJ history. Hopefully, everybody understands my view on this and feedback is wanted as always.

[naterob2003]

i agree nbm. this the exact reason why i kept saying stuff about people jumping ship from new japan to all japan and noah. I don't exactly think that new japan will go under. I really dont but then again i dont think that they can continue their overspending and horrible booking into the future without a serious problem down the road. I seriously doubt that they go out of business, but they will let talent walk away to all japan and noah. I am really hoping that nagata and chono will go to all japan and help bring them back to the top and then have the juniors and sasaki and tenzan go to noah. I am doubting that everyone leaves so the above sentence may be a stretch but i wouldnt doubt to see some big names leave for good and i also wouldn't be suprised to see some of them get bought up by dreamstage entertainment. Thats not what i want to happen but i can't doubt that they will try and pull a vinny mac and buy talent and pay them to only not work for the competition. I really think that nagata would have a better career in noah but then again i don't see them needing him as jun and he are very similiar. Tenzan would be the big name that they could really get fans interested with and the use of juniors in their already outstanding junior division (marifuji, kenta, sugiara, low ki, marvin...). At the end of the day though, when i was talking a couple of months ago about a company going under... i didn't think it would be new japan. Plus... does anyone not think that new japan would do some major things before they go under? I don't see them going down without a fight.

[edgehead1984]

It still doesn't help that the business is in a funk, but I understand what you mean. Also they have oversaturated the Sumo Hall market this year, 7 shows...that's just too much...

[naterob2003]

Why aren't people doing kayfabe stuff in japan to bring about a love for wrestling again? Like... why isnt say mutoh getting in the press and saying things like "those mma guys are steroid pumping dopes. There isnt any psychology or intelectual asset that mma has over puroresu. Puroresu has history here and this mma craze is just a roadblock. Fighters wine and complain about getting money because thats what it is all about... during misawa vs. kawada, during the weeks before their matches did either guy get in the press and ask for more money or threaten to no show? No because unlike the self centered mma fighters, money isnt everything. MMA here is no different than what boxing was at one point in America... where is it now compared to wrestling?"

shoo there for a minute thought i was mutoh...lol. but seriously i don't believe that the business has lost that many fans. Its just bad marketing and horrible booking.

[Tradewynd]

When Mutoh left New Japan at the begining of 02 with Kojima, Ka Shin and the office guys that should have been a huge sign that something was wrong with New Japan, but nobody took the hint. I agree with what you are saying completely, and it to me New Japan's deterioration only proves how right Mutoh was to leave. If enough of New Japan's talent leaves at the begining of the year, and New Japan doesn't cut back on shows that are losing tons and tons of money, it will either fold or be completely run by yakuza. Even then yazuka will only be willing to lose billions of yen for so long.

I'm not sure Mutoh blasting MMA publicly would really help anything at this point. The problem with doing that is that MMA took off by stealing wrestling's identity, and many fans associate what they used to love about wrestling with MMA. So by blasting MMA, you would be blasting the essence that you are trying to attract fans back to. The time to take a stand against MMA would have been in 2000, if not before. It is simply too late to derail MMA, and could only be used as a character trait a wrestler or stable.

All Japan's reemergence proves that fans who want quality wrestling are still there. They just aren't getting what they're willing to pay for.

[Hisaharu Tanabe]

If enough of New Japan's talent leaves at the begining of the year, and New Japan doesn't cut back on shows that are losing tons and tons of money, it will either fold or be completely run by yakuza.

When you say "completely", does that mean NJ may be partially run by yakuza? There are yakuza involvements in a big part of showbiz in Japan, but I wasn't sure how much they are involved in the operation of major wrestling promotions. NJ is still owned by TV Asahi and one of the biggest parcel companies in Japan.

[Tradewynd]

I was speaking in a hypothetical sense, as real companies will only be willing to lose so much money with no end of the bleeding in sight, before they pull the pull funding and yakuza will be the only ones willing to finance a show.

Along the lines of your interpretation though, I suppose I should clarify why I go back to the yakuza argument as much as I do, as it is bound to come up sooner or later anyway. I was one of the guys who called World Japan looking for work when they released a phone number for gaijins interested in working for the company to call. The gentleman who answered the phone was by no means polite or professional, and by his own admission purely because I am not a Japanese worker. They would obviously have to have an interest in using gaijins too, since the number didn’t magically send itself to ZACH. After I had felt that I had put up with enough I made some yakuza based accusations. He became completely furious and broke out a whole new set of petty insults. I am of course, just a stupid American, and therefore cannot possibly be smart enough to have even the slightest clue about the Japanese wrestling business, among other things. But don’t take mine and WJ’s word for it, ask other gaijins, we all get treated with just as much respect. The same applies when gaijins are asked for input on "purely Japanese" concepts like Hustle.

[Black_Flag_Of_Ulster]

well, its been nice knowing u, trade

[Tradewynd]

That is not funny.

[Black_Flag_Of_Ulster]

everything's funny to someone. and that's funny to me. of course if the yakuza do anything to you, it won't be funny anymore, but until then i find the idea of yakuzas lurking around puro pundit sites (ok, its the No. 1 puro pundit site ) just to get back at you funny. if they ever wanted that wouldn't they just go the way you can be booked?

[Pheonix_Chi25]

Slowly slides away from trade...then runs. LOL j/k

[kwilson83]

Instead of starting a new thread, I thought I would just post this here since it is somewhat on topic.

From Stuart at www.puroresufan.com:

"Nikkan Sports announced that New Japan's financial state is back in stable zone, with a ¥200,000,000 (nearly US$2,000,000) profit, ¥100,000,000 of that coming since May. President Kusama's accounting skills, which have led to some cost cutting, in addition to improved profit from the G1 Climax and, surprisingly, provincial tour shows, have stabilized finances after the "NEXESS" Tokyo Dome show in May (30,000 sold tickets, 10,000 invite tickets, which with the main roster could have been a profit, but they invested in many fighting stars, like Sapp and Musashi) caused a big loss of money. Additionally, new outside enterprises have invested in New Japan, such as Yukes, the famous video game company, which is pumping money into the upcoming Osaka Dome show. This should quiet some of the insane doomsday theories that have popped up lately, which are based more on hopes than facts, as New Japan is going nowhere any time soon."

Well that definitely seems to be a postive sign. I knew the May show had tanked, but it seems they have made up the money in the meantime.

Of course, this doesn't deter the argument that New Japan needs a face lift, which I agree to as well. But it does give hope that they will be above water long enough to turn their product around.

[naterob2003]

Well to quote some of my elders (who are much wiser than i am) it seems that new japan has too many hands in the fire. They have wrestling, scouting/training, MMA, Inoki's dreams, and all these things running together to the point that they can make 1 good quality product. They claim to be the "King of Sports" but they aren't positively better than any MMA or Puro company at anything other than their training and scouting of talent. If Noah had the talent that New Japan has misused and for lack of a better term, waisted, then puro would have a definite leader among every other company. I don't see them "going out of business" but i can see them becoming much more conservative with decisions based completley on their financial state.

Not to get off the subject but i was just looking at the history of the New Japan world title and do you realize how much better the company would be if they would have never put the title on bob sapp or kaz fujita?

[Black_Flag_Of_Ulster]

whats this 'New Japan world title'?

[naterob2003]

the heavyweight title.. sorry for the confusion.