New Japan Pro Wrestling is bringing a lot of attention to themselves and it looks like that momentum is going to carry them into other markets as their stretch reaches across the globe.
Kenny Omega has also blown up in popularity in the past two years. His outstanding matches against Kazuchika Okada and Chris Jericho at consecutive Wrestle Kingdom shows have made his name worth a ton not only in regards to merchandise sales but also when it comes to selling out arenas.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports once Kenny Omega’s name was added to NJPW’s upcoming Australian tour tickets started flying out of the box office like they were enchanted by some kind of spell from Harry Potter. But it should be noted that these tickets were actually selling quite nicely even before Omega’s involvement was announced.
It is noted that while the exact numbers haven’t been released NJPW was “pleasantly surprised” with the advance ticket sales and adding Kenny Omega, Jay White, and Tora Henare to the tour only helped matters. After less than one day of sales since the announcement of Omega’s involvement a couple locations were already close to being sold out.
As New Japan’s influence continues to spread from indie wrestling shows to the shopping mall in your own city, you can probably expect more of this same kind of news. After all, when New Japan comes to town it’s hard to find a hotter ticket at this point.
This is yet another great sign for New Japan Pro Wrestling as they continue their reach around the planet. It might only be a matter of time before WWE has no choice but to pay attention to New Japan and their capacity to provide some serious competition in regards to the world’s pro wrestling scene.
If the current betting odds are any indication of things and Shinsuke Nakamura really does win the Royal Rumble to go and face AJ Styles at WrestleMania 34 then it might be a good sign someone in WWE is already paying attention to their competition overseas.
