TPWW's Official Dirty Sheets News Thread

[Mr. Nerfect]

I love New Japan, and I am really rooting for them, but the <4,000 tickets thing doesn't surprise me in the slightest. The internet tends to inflate how over they are.

[Emperor Smeat]

Originally Posted by Noid I love New Japan, and I am really rooting for them, but the <4,000 tickets thing doesn't surprise me in the slightest. The internet tends to inflate how over they are.

NJPW made the big mistake of thinking their brand alone can sell shows in the US and not the actual talent or strong cards. They got lucky with the last US show but only WWE can really get away with doing that and usually for their Big 4 events.

Originally Posted by Fragile X When they announce Jericho/Naito and whatever hot match Okada and Kenny are in, and hopefully Rey Misterio, I think they can easily double what they have now, maybe more. Hoping they can at least get 7,000. I don't think this bodes well for All In.

Cody trying to hit 10k for All-In was always going to be super tough regardless of NJPW push into the US. Even the WWE struggles at times to hit that mark for their shows.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Originally Posted by Emperor Smeat NJPW made the big mistake of thinking their brand alone can sell shows in the US and not the actual talent or strong cards. They got lucky with the last US show but only WWE can really get away with doing that and usually for their Big 4 events.

Are the talent in New Japan really a much bigger draw than the New Japan vibe itself? Bryan Alvarez tells the story of just walking around New Orleans at WrestleMania time and just seeing Okada and no one recognizing him. That was when the city was swarmed with wrestling fans. I just don't think it's what people think it is. They were at 100,000 subscribers for New Japan World last time I checked. I'm not mocking them, but that is what they've got from a worldwide fan-base that are willing to pay 999 yen for that service. There are 100,000 fans willing to pay less than a gym membership for all the content New Japan produces.

Their show apparently does pretty well on AXS, and I am glad to hear about their steady growth, but the idea that they are exploding or whatever is an internet thing -- like that "Broken" Matt Hardy was a thing. All you need to do is look at the numbers and it's quickly dispelled as myth. I think where they went wrong is thinking that the fan-base is more than what it is, and that when they do shows where they have 2,000 people attend one, 3,000 another and 4,000 another, that they've got 9,000 fans, as opposed to 4,000.

Originally Posted by Emperor Smeat Cody trying to hit 10k for All-In was always going to be super tough regardless of NJPW push into the US. Even the WWE struggles at times to hit that mark for their shows.

It's absolutely insane to be honest, and it's even more insane that they've made it an active goal that they can fail at. They didn't just book a big arena show with the attitude of "we're going to try and get as many fans as possible." They have specifically set their value at 10,000 people and whatever they miss is how much they've over-inflated their own value by.

The "indy wrestling in so great; we are true artists" attitude bugs me, but it's enhanced by this "we get it" demeanor, with them constantly bragging about how much money they make outside WWE. Good for them and whatever, but it's annoying when it's clear they're kind of full of shit and do something that seems like such a daft promotional move. I don't feel as sorry for them as I do New Japan.

Maybe they will draw 10,000 and make me eat crow, but if they don't, I don't know how any of them could be surprised. I don't know what indicator there has been that there are 10,000 individual fans willing to pay money to see Cody Rhodes do his mid-card WWE shtick in the main event of a show.