Understanding Japanese Wrestling on Television in Japan

Since I'm currently looking at getting japanese channels, I thought I would do a little bit of research to figure out how it works. Here's what I can grasp about how they work:

NOTE - I am using this guide: http://www.skyperfectv.co.jp/eng/guide/lineup/index.html

Free channels - NJ is the only one who gets this aside from a few of the other promotions having spots in local areas on free tv. Most japanese people are perfectly content with having 8-12 channels and nothing more. However, NJ is on really late at night and that's kind of the equivalent of those failed Saturday Night Main Event shows that WWE puts on once a year these days.

For all of these, you have to have a satellite which is extra change up front.

J Sports - WWE has the best set up for this as they are on J Sports 1, 2, 3, with Raw, Smackdown, NXT and Vintage collection. NJ is on J Sports 3, which in order to get with the other J Sports channels you have to pay $28 for as opposed to the $25 with 1,2 and 4. I would think they gain less from this. However, you can get this with their 64 channel package which is a great deal and is what I would think most people would do. Think of J Sports like you would be paying for ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPN Classic and ESPN U.

Samurai TV - This is a $19 version of 24/7 that has some other fighting sports on it. 24/7 doesn't get that many viewers and I can't imagine any casual fans getting this channel. This channel does provide funding for shows though which is a big help. But, I think it may hurt overall buisness in some aspects. The promotion's tend to air their big shows on this channel anyway so why would fans want to spend the extra $40+ to see it live when they are going to get it on tv anyway? I only know one person who has this, and he's american.

GAORA - AJPW and DG do this along with a host of others on the Puroresu King series like Z1, Michinoku, AAA, Oz and K-Dojo. This is about $10 a month and probably the cheaper and overall better deal than Samurai as you would get other non wrestling viewers with this. Wrestling seems to be on about once a day or once every other day on this channel. This channel also features MMA and Kickboxing.

G+ - This airs NOAH and a little West Gate Pro Wrestling but mostly other things with the Tokyo Giants being the big thing. Racing is on here too. $10 a month.

V*Paradise - It costs around $8-$9 a month on exchange rates. This channel is the least sports related as WAVE is one of the few things sportswise on there. It has alot of drama's and movies. Have any recordings of the WAVE show shown up yet? I usually just see the DVD's but it seems there are more WAVE releases than ever.

Sky-A - I need to get a little more information on this channel but it carries both Osaka Pro and Okinawa Pro. It also used to show NJ Classics, but I do not believe it does anymore.

So basically, to get all of these, you are looking at around $80-$90+ a month once you count in exchange rates. These are all on sports related channels, so thats the audience it would appeal to. I think NJ has by far the best deal, but WWE has a pretty good deal too. NJ gets on free tv which is a major major help, plus Samurai, but WWE gets minimum 6 hours a week on the J Sports channels which is really good.

One final note that I want to make that I have made many times before is that japanese people usually only follow one promotion or a couple of wrestlers while ignoring the rest. Japanese fans also tend to follow either men's or women's wrestling, with not many crossing over. Sure, some hardcore fans follow everything, but they are going to shows and spending money there, not on tv, which is probably not the best overall deal since you can see everything for $70 a month. One other note that I'd like to make is that Japanese companies give ALOT of big matches and main events for free on television. I guess they have to give something with people having to pay extra to see their shows on TV, but I have to wonder if it hurts buisness. While I do like wrestling live, it would obviously be much smarter to wait a week and save the $40+ to see a show as I would see the big matches on the channel anyway. Remember that most of the footage we get is off of television, and I think you can see that we are usually getting the best stuff that these companies can put out for televised shows.

Quick thoughts on Antonio Cesaro's Debut

I love me some Double C(AC was previously known as Claudio Castagnoli or by his nickname, Double C). He was one of the most over guys ROH had for a while, especially with all of the "Hey" chants. If allowed, he's going to get over huge as he's exactly what WWE wants minus some of the promo abilities. However, if he is allowed to do the "Hey" chants, he's going to get over like Daniel Bryan. He's different enough and is someone who usually sticks out. He's also a pretty cool guy in person. So without further adue...

Antonio Cesaro vs Tyson Kidd - Smackdown 4/27/2012
Starting off, what in the world is AC wearing on his legs? The announcers were wondering this and I am too. I've never seen anything like it before and honestly, I hope I never see it again. His tights are beyond generic as well, which is not AC like.

AC starts off with the basic kicking and punching with obviously faked crowd noise. Then he hits one of my favorite moves, The Karelin Lift, which the announcers simply called a gut wrench. Not quite...

AC continues on with a gorilla press into an uppercut and the crowd pops. WWE crowds have never really see anything like that on tv before. AC then finishes him off with a Gotch-style facedriver similar to Col. Debeers' finisher(see here at 6:23:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmRhKDX0050) .

Thoughts:
The ringwork was good, but everything else needs fixed. AC needs new tights and new music and he should be okay. Seriously, his gear is the worst I've ever seen. I think AC can make it if he can fix the gear. The crowds are going to love his moves and once he gets a chance to show his quirky personality, he should get over.

Bouts to Book after Extreme Rules

In this post, I will talk bouts that should be booked after Extreme Rules. I hope to make this a regular feature on the blog when possible. I will select matches based more on the likelihood of them happening more than what I want to see as a fan. I will probably include my own suggestions though from time to time.

Brock vs Cena II
Let's get the obvious out of the way first. Cena may have won but I feel that there is alot of unfinished buisness left. Brock's probably going to be looking for revenge and I'd love to see if they could top their Extreme Rules match. My guess is no, but we will see...

Chris Jericho vs CM Punk - Last Man Standing or I Quit
While I am personally ready for both guys to move on, there is probably one last match they could get out of this. I'm thinking it should be I Quit since Jericho almost had Punk. Last Man Standing would be fitting as well since it's one of WWE's feud enders. I'd also be okay with a cage match, but I think it's unlikely we will see it since its lost a lot of its luster and it would be coming after the Taker/HHH Hell in a Cell.

Sheamus vs Alberto Del Rio
Again, this is not something I'm that interested in seeing, but WWE clearly has plans for Alberto and has plans for Sheamus to lead SD. I'd love to suggest Daniel Bryan instead of one of these two guys, but I think he's going to be taken out of the spotlight until the "YES" phenomenon dies.

Kharma vs Layla
The fans are ready for Kharma's return and since Layla randomly won the title, it will bring us to the same ending, albeit through different means. I don't think it makes a difference regarding who Kharma will beat.

Rhodes vs Big Show
Yeah, this one is never going to end. Again, I'd like to mention that these matches are not necessarily ones I want to see, but more matches that are likely to happen. After that goofy finish last night, they will probably match them up again. Either that or..

Ryback vs Rhodes
It's pretty obvious to me that Ryback will be getting a title shot soon and since there is alot going on with the world title scene, it's more likely that he would get a IC title shot. Ryback getting a shot would explain Show's strange loss and would stick with the face vs heel dynamic.

Clay vs Ziggler:
I wouldn't be surprised to see this happening again. Ziggler has become WWE's go to midcard guy and he's probably going to have to spend some time making Clay look good. Hey, it beats making Ryback look good!

The last one is unlikely but...
Daniel Bryan vs Randy Orton
Both of these guys are stuck out of the loop for right now(along with Kane, Miz and Big Show) so matching them up against each other might make sense. It's either this or putting them in three ways that no one would like to see.