Source: The Wrestling Observer Newsletter
Apparently WWE’s tour of Japan wasn’t nearly as successful as it appeared.
While WWE announced attendance figures for their two shows at Sumo Hall of 6,176
and more than 12,000 (which is impossible because the building only seats
11,066) and also announced 6,048 for the Osaka show, the actual
inside-the-building totals were closer to 5,000, 11,000 and 5,000, with the
latter two shows including Hulk Hogan. The shows in Japan were said to be
heavily papered, which is not unusual for wrestling in Japan.
On WWE’s business website, which is prepared for stockholders and investors
who follow the business, and where they report the real numbers, it came out
this past week that the three shows in Japan did a combined total of
approximately 14,000 paid attendance, or just over half of what WWE actually
announced.
If the percentage/exaggeration/papering was close to consistent, it would
mean that the actual paid attendance for the three dates would be closer to
3,670 for the first Sumo Hall show, 7,140 for the full house that they claimed
and 3,600 for the event in Osaka.
So while it appeared based on what WWE originally claimed as far as
attendance for their latest Japanese tour that they beat what New Japan Pro
Wrestling does in those same venues, the reality is that they couldn’t even beat
what some smaller Japanese-based promotions do, and barely did half of what New
Japan does.
