According to an interview with PIA, New Japan Pro Wrestling allegedly did 4.9 billion Yen (44.1 million USD/34.2 GBP) in sales this year. This reported number easily outstrips their last previous record, which has stood for over 21 years since 1997.
https://t.co/LrHiUVJIsx PIA reporting NJPW did 4.9 billion Yen (44.1 million USD) in sales this year, comfortably outstripping their previous record in 1997.
— chris charlton (@reasonjp) September 2, 2018
This swell in interest in NJPW, and the subsequent spike in revenue can be linked to the promotions recent business savvy in diversifying their content, embracing and catering to an international audience that was more than ready to accept their product.
Mr. Kizutani, who is the founder and current director of the Bushiroad Group, the parent company of New Japan, had this to say (please note the interview, originally in Japanese, has been translated via Google Translate):
“It is the best sales ever. It is the second largest scale in the world’s professional wrestling organisation. The best is America’s WWE, as you know.”
He goes on to reflect that “[the spike in sales] is about 20 times the sales ratio.”
The cross-promotion work we see via the beneficial New Japan Pro Wrestling/Ring Of Honor/Revolution Pro Wrestling relationship is another key step in getting new eyes onto NJPW’s product. This, coupled with the power of social media and outlets like Reddit, has brought about a perfectly timed resurgence in interest for something different from WWE, not only in production value and presentation but in terms of in-ring style and storytelling, something that NJPW provides.
All In On NJPW World
With that in mind, the dust has barely settled from All In and the weekend of action it provided, but for those who weren’t able to enjoy the event live on September 1st, they are now able to catch up with the history-making event via New Japan’s subscription service, NJPW World.
The turn around to uploading the show was surprisingly quick, so those of you who have an NJPW World subscription and haven’t caught up with All In yet (whether that was via the FITE app, ROH HonorClub, or via PPV) should log in as soon as possible in order to catch up with the event.
#ALLIN is now available on @njpwworld!
Watch on https://t.co/HrLJZOXx4B to relive this momentous event!!#njpw @KennyOmegamanX @rainmakerXokada @CodyRhodes @MattJackson13 @NickJacksonYB #YoungBucks pic.twitter.com/KpD60rxKz5— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) September 3, 2018
The card for the event was as follows:
NWA World Heavyweight Championship
Nick Aldis (c) vs. Cody Rhodes
ROH World Championship
Jay Lethal (c) vs. Winner of The Over Budget Battle Royale
Kazuchika Okada vs. Marty Scurll
Kenny Omega vs Pentagon Jr.
Adam Page vs. Joey Janela (with Penelope Ford)
Rey Mysterio, Bandido, and Fenix vs. The Young Bucks and Kota Ibushi
Stephen Amell vs. Christopher Daniels
Madison Rayne vs. Tessa Blanchard vs. Britt Baker vs. Chelsea Green
The Over Budget Battle Royale (Winner will get a future ROH Title shot) – All In: Zero Hour
The Briscoes vs. Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky