July 28, 2003 Observer Newsletter: Big week in Japanese wrestling, more

One of the biggest weeks in Japanese wrestling in recent memory included a WWE tour, four straight nights of major arena shows in the Tokyo market, and three straight nights of PPV action.

The results ranged from super hot sellout crowds, one surprising crowd, down to really an expected poor show.

The WWE was the highlight of the week, running shows on 7/17 and 7/18 at the Yokohama Arena (which is about 30 minutes outside of Tokyo) and 7/19 at the Kobe World Memorial Hall (nowhere near Tokyo). The latter two shows sold out well in advance, as soon as tickets were put on sale, with 15,750 paying $1.3 million on the 7/18 show, and 8,008 on 7/19. If there was a chink in the armor, it was shown when an added show in Yokohama was nowhere near full, even though it was the only show with an advertised line-up and was said to have been the best of the four big shows in the Tokyo area.

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