List of professional wrestling attendance records in Japan

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

This article is about attendance records for professional wrestling in Japan. For all-time records, see List of professional wrestling attendance records.
The Tokyo Dome, one of Japan's biggest sport stadiums, holds several national and world pro wrestling attendance records. The average attendance for professional wrestling at the Tokyo Dome consistently exceeded 50,000 fans from 1989 to 1999.

The following is a list of professional wrestling attendance records in Japan. The list is dominated by the country's largest promotion, New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The company was founded by Antonio Inoki in 1972 and had a long rivalry with Giant Baba's All Japan Pro Wrestling. AJPW set a number of attendance records during its heyday, especially during the 1990s wrestling boom, however, only three of its shows remain on the list as of 2023.

According to this list, 5 events are from NJPW's flagship Wrestling World supercard event, which since 1992's Super Warriors in Tokyo Dome has been held exclusively at the Tokyo Dome which typically has a seating capacity of at least 42,000 people or more. Only six of the attendances listed are non-NJPW events, with the Weekly Pro Wrestling Tokyo Dome Show being an interpromotional event involving over a dozen Japanese promotions. In addition, NJPW has hosted three co-promotional events each with the U.S.-based World Championship Wrestling, two with the Japan-based UWF International, and one with deathmatch promotion Big Japan Pro Wrestling. All but two of the events have been held at the Tokyo Dome in the Japanese capital city of Tokyo, while one has been held at Sun Beach in Atami, Japan and one at Kawasaki Stadium in Kawasaki, Japan.

Events and attendances[edit]

Promotion Event Location Venue Attendance Main Event(s) Ref.
NJPW Antonio Inoki Retirement Show
April 4, 1998 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 70,000 Antonio Inoki vs. Don Frye [1]
NJPW / UWFi NJPW vs. UWFi
October 9, 1995 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 67,000 Keiji Muto (NJPW) vs. Nobuhiko Takada (UWFI) in a Champion vs. Champion match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and UWFI Heavyweight Championship [2]
AJPW Giant Baba Memorial Show
May 2, 1999 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 65,000 Vader vs. Mitsuharu Misawa for the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship [3]
NJPW Battle Formation
April 29, 1996 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 65,000 Nobuhiko Takada (c) vs. Shinya Hashimoto for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship [4]
TPW Battle Entertainment
July 23, 1996 		Atami, Japan Sun Beach 65,000 Abdullah the Butcher and Daikokubo Benkei vs. Kishin Kawabata and Takashi Ishikawa [5][6]
NJPW Final Power Hall in Tokyo Dome
January 4, 1998 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 65,000 Kensuke Sasaki (c) vs. Keiji Mutoh for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship [1]
NJPW / WCW Starrcade in Tokyo Dome
March 21, 1991 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 64,500 Tatsumi Fujinami (c - NJPW) vs. Ric Flair (c - NWA) in a Champion vs. Champion match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and NWA World Heavyweight Championships [7]
NJPW / UWFi Wrestling World 1996
January 4, 1996 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 64,000 Keiji Mutoh (c - NJPW) vs. Nobuhiko Takada (UWFi) for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship [8]
NJPW Do Judge!!
October 9, 2000 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 64,000 Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kensuke Sasaki [9]
NJPW Super Fight in Tokyo Dome
February 10, 1990 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 63,900 Antonio Inoki and Seiji Sakaguchi vs. Masahiro Chono and Shinya Hashimoto with special referee Lou Thesz [10]
NJPW / WCW Fantastic Story in Tokyo Dome
January 4, 1993 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 63,500 Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu [11]
NJPW Strong Style Symphony: New Japan Spirit
April 10, 1999 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 63,500 Keiji Muto (c) vs. Don Frye for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship [3]
NJPW Wrestling World 2000
January 4, 2000 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 63,500 Genichiro Tenryu (c) vs. Kensuke Sasaki for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship [12]
NJPW Battle 7
January 4, 1995 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 62,500 Shinya Hashimoto (c) vs. Kensuke Sasaki for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship [13]
NJPW / BJW Wrestling World 1997
January 4, 1997 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 62,500 Shinya Hashimoto (c) vs. Riki Choshu for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship [14]
NJPW Wrestling World 1999
January 4, 1999 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 62,500 Scott Norton (c) vs. Keiji Mutoh for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship [15]
NJPW Battlefield
January 4, 1994 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 62,000 Antonio Inoki vs. Genichiro Tenryu [16]
NJPW Wrestling World 2001
January 4, 2001 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 62,000 Kensuke Sasaki vs. Toshiaki Kawada in a tournament final for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship [17]
NOAH Destiny
July 18, 2005 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 62,000 Toshiaki Kawada vs. Mitsuharu Misawa [18]
NJPW Indicate of Next
October 8, 2001 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 61,500 Jun Akiyama and Yuji Nagata vs. BATT (Hiroshi Hase and Keiji Muto) [19]
NJPW Battle Formation
April 12, 1997 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 60,500 Shinya Hashimoto vs. Naoya Ogawa [20]
UWF U-Cosmos
November 29, 1989 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 60,000 Akira Maeda vs. Willie Wilhelm in a "Wrestler vs. Judoka" match [21]
NJPW / WCW Super Warriors in Tokyo Dome
January 4, 1992 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 60,000 Tatsumi Fujinami (c – IWGP) vs. Riki Choshu (c – Greatest 18) in a Champion vs. Champion match for the IWGP Heavyweight and Greatest 18 Club Championships [7]
Multi-promotional Weekly Pro Wrestling Tokyo Dome Show
April 2, 1995 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 60,000 Shinya Hashimoto vs. Masahiro Chono [22]
NJPW Dome Impact
April 7, 2000 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 60,000 Shinya Hashimoto vs. Naoya Ogawa [9]
NJPW Final Dome
October 11, 1999 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 58,500 Naoya Ogawa (c) vs. Shinya Hashimoto for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship [23]
AJPW King's Road New Century 2001
January 28, 2001 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 58,700 "Dr. Death" Steve Williams vs. Mike Barton in a revenge match (televised main event on the pay-per-view's initial live broadcast, promoted on TV)

Toshiaki Kawada and Kensuke Sasaki vs. Genichiro Tenryu and Hiroshi Hase (dark match main event)

[24]
AJPW AJPW 25th Anniversary Show
May 1, 1998 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 58,300 Mitsuharu Misawa (c) vs. Toshiaki Kawada for the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship [25]
FMW FMW 6th Anniversary Show
May 5, 1995 		Kawasaki, Japan Kawasaki Stadium 58,250 Atsushi Onita (c) vs. Hayabusa in a No Rope Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch for the FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship [26]

Historical[edit]

Top 10 most-attended shows in the 1950s
No. Promotion Event Location Venue Attendance Main Event(s)
1. JWA JWA Pro-Wrestling World Championship Series (Day 1)
October 7, 1957 		Tokyo, Japan Korakuen Stadium 30,000 Lou Thesz (c) vs. Rikidozan for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship [27]
JWA JWA Pro-Wrestling World Championship Series (Day 2)
October 13, 1957 		Osaka, Japan Ogimachi Pool Lou Thesz (c) vs. Rikidozan in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship [27]
3. JWA JWA International Big Competition (Day 10)
August 1, 1955 		Osaka, Japan Ogimachi Pool 25,000 Mitsuhiro Rikidozan and Kin'ichi Azumafuji (c) vs. Jesús Ortega and Bud Curtis in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match for the NWA Hawaii Tag Team Championship [28]
4. JWA JWA Pacific Coast Championship (Day 14)
August 22, 1954 		Utsunomiya, Japan Josetsu Stadium 20,000 Mitsuhiro Rikidozan and Kokichi Endo vs. Hans Schnabel and Lou Newman in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [29]
JWA JWA Pacific Coast Championship (Day 15)
August 23, 1954 		Takasaki, Japan Jonan Baseball Stadium Mitsuhiro Rikidozan and Kokichi Endo vs. Hans Schnabel and Lou Newman in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [29]
JWA JWA International Big Competition (Day 35)
September 4, 1955 		Kawasaki, Japan Kawasaki Stadium Mitsuhiro Rikidozan and Kin'ichi Azumafuji (c) vs. Jesús Ortega and Bud Curtis in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [28]
5. JWA JWA Asia Championships (Day 6)
November 14, 1955 		Tokyo, Japan Kuramae Kokugikan 18,000 Mitsuhiro Rikidozan and Harold Sakata vs. Dara Singh and Syed Saif Shah in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [30]
JWA JWA World League (Day 14)
June 8, 1959 		Kure, Japan Municipal Niko Pool Danny Plechas vs. Tarlok Singh in a World League tournament match
Kokichi Endo vs. Lord Blears in a World League tournament match 		[31]
6. JWA JWA Opening Series (Day 13)
March 6, 1954 		Tokyo, Japan Ryogoku Kokugikan 15,000 The Sharpe Brothers (Ben Sharpe and Mike Sharpe) (c) vs. Rikidozan and Masahiko Kimura in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match for the NWA World Tag Team Championship [32]
JWA JWA Pacific Coast Championship (Day 1)
August 6, 1954 		Tokyo, Japan Metropolitan Gymnasium Mitsuhiro Rikidozan and Mitsuo Surugaumi vs. Hans Schnabel and Lou Newman in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [29]
JWA JWA Pacific Coast Championship (Day 2)
August 7, 1954 		Tokyo, Japan Metropolitan Gymnasium Mitsuhiro Rikidozan vs. Hans Schnabel in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [29]
JWA JWA Pacific Coast Championship (Day 3)
August 8, 1954 		Tokyo, Japan Metropolitan Gymnasium Hans Schnabel and Lou Newman (c) vs. Rikidozan and Masahiko Kimura in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match for the NWA Pacific Coast Tag Team Championship [29]
JWA JWA Pacific Coast Championship (Day 16)
August 25, 1954 		Tokyo, Japan Metropolitan Gymnasium Mitsuhiro Rikidozan, Kokichi Endo and Oki Shikina vs. Hans Schnabel, Lou Newman and Dr. Bob Olson in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match for the Mainichi Cup [29]
JWA JWA Pacific Coast Championship (Day 28)
September 10, 1954 		Osaka, Japan Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium Hans Schnabel and Lou Newman (c) vs. Mitsuhiro Rikidozan and Kokichi Endo in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match for the NWA Pacific Coast Tag Team Championship [29]
JWA JWA Pacific Coast Championship (Day 36)
September 21, 1954 		Tokyo, Japan Metropolitan Gymnasium Mitsuhiro Rikidozan and Kokichi Endo (c) vs. Hans Schnabel and Lou Newman in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match for the NWA Pacific Coast Tag Team Championship [29]
SKS World Ladies' Pro-Wrestling Big Competitions
November 19, 1954 		Tokyo, Japan Kuramae Kokugikan Mae Young and Ruth Boatcallie vs. Gloria Barattini and Rita Martinez in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [33]
JWA JWA International Big Competition (Day 8)
July 28, 1955 		Tokyo, Japan Korakuen Stadium Mitsuhiro Rikidozan and Kin'ichi Azumafuji (c) vs. Jesús Ortega and Bud Curtis in a Best 2 out of 3 Falls match for the NWA Hawaii Tag Team Championship [28]
JWA JWA International Big Competition (Day 9)
July 31, 1955 		Saitama, Japan Omiya Park Athletics Stadium and Bicycle Racetrack Mitsuhiro Rikidozan and Kin'ichi Azumafuji vs. Bob Orton and Bud Curtis in a Best-2-out-of-3 Falls match [28]
JWA JWA International Big Competition (Day 14)
August 6, 1955 		Kochi, Japan Sumo Ring Mitsuhiro Rikidozan and Kin'ichi Azumafuji vs. Jesús Ortega and Bud Curtis in a Best 2 out of 3 Falls match [28]
JWA JWA International Big Competition (Day 19)
August 13, 1955 		Kumamoto, Japan Sirakawa Park Mitsuhiro Rikidozan and Kokichi Endo vs. Jesús Ortega and Bob Orton in a Best 2 out of 3 Falls match [28]
JWA JWA Asia Championships (Day 10)
November 22, 1955 		Tokyo, Japan Kuramae Kokugikan Rikidozan vs. King Kong in a tournament final for the All Asia Heavyweight Championship [30]
JWA JWA International Big Competition (Day 1)
April 24, 1956 		Tokyo, Japan Kuramae Kokugikan Mitsuhiro Rikidozan and Kokichi Endo vs. The Sharpe Brothers (Ben Sharpe and Mike Sharpe) in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [34]
JWA JWA International Big Competition (Day 2)
April 25, 1956 		Tokyo, Japan Kuramae Kokugikan Mitsuhiro Rikidozan vs. Mike Sharpe in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [34]
JWA JWA International Big Competition (Day 31)
June 7, 1956 		Tokyo, Japan Kuramae Kokugikan The Sharpe Brothers (Ben Sharpe and Mike Sharpe) (c) vs. Mitsuhiro Rikidozan and Kokichi Endo in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match for the NWA World Tag Team Championship [34]
JWA JWA Pro-Wrestling World Championship Series (Day 5)
October 17, 1957 		Kobe, Japan Ohji Gymnasium Lou Thesz vs. Rikidozan in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [27]
JWA JWA Pro-Wrestling World Championship Series (Day 9)
October 25, 1957 		Naha, Japan Kumoji Park Lou Thesz vs. Rikidozan in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [27]
JWA JWA World League (Day 1)
May 21, 1959 		Tokyo, Japan Metropolitan Gymnasium Rikidozan vs. Jesús Ortega in a World League tournament [31]
JWA JWA World League (Day 2)
May 22, 1959 		Tokyo, Japan Metropolitan Gymnasium Rikidozan and Toyonobori vs. Jesús Ortega and King Kong Czaya in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match
JWA JWA World League (Day 19)
June 15, 1959 		Tokyo, Japan Metropolitan Gymnasium Rikidozan vs. Jesús Ortega in a World League tournament final [31]
7. JWA JWA Pacific Coast Championship (Day 26)
September 8, 1954 		Osaka, Japan Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium 14,000 Mitsuhiro Rikidozan and Mitsuo Surugaumi vs. Hans Schnabel and Lou Newman in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls Match [29]
8. JWA JWA Opening Series (Day 1)
February 19, 1954 		Tokyo, Japan Ryogoku Kokugikan 13,000 The Sharpe Brothers (Ben Sharpe and Mike Sharpe) (c) vs. Rikidozan and Masahiko Kimura in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match for the NWA World Tag Team Championship [32]
JWA JWA Japanese Championship
December 22, 1954 		Tokyo, Japan Kuramae Kokugikan Mitsuhiro Rikidozan vs. Masahiko Kimura in a Best-2-out-of-3 Falls match for the inaugural Japanese Heavyweight Championship [35]
JWA JWA Opening Series (Day 2)
February 20, 1954 		Tokyo, Japan Ryogoku Kokugikan Rikidozan vs. Ben Sharpe in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [32]
JWA JWA Opening Series (Day 3)
February 21, 1954 		Tokyo, Japan Ryogoku Kokugikan The Sharpe Brothers (Ben Sharpe and Mike Sharpe) (c) vs. Rikidozan and Masahiko Kimura in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match for the NWA World Tag Team Championship [32]
JWA JWA Opening Series (Day 15)
March 9, 1954 		Tokyo, Japan Ryogoku Kokugikan The Sharpe Brothers (Ben Sharpe and Mike Sharpe) (c) vs. Rikidozan and Bobby Bruns in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [32]
SKS World Ladies' Pro-Wrestling Big Competitions
November 23, 1954 		Osaka, Japan Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium Mae Young and Ruth Boatcallie vs. Gloria Barattini and Rita Martinez in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [33]
JWA JWA International Big Competition (Day 2)
July 16, 1955 		Tokyo, Japan Kuramae Kokugikan Mitsuhiro Rikidozan and Mitsuo Surugaumi vs. Bob Orton and Hardy Kruskamp in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [28]
JWA JWA International Big Competition (Day 3)
July 17, 1955 		Tokyo, Japan Kuramae Kokugikan Mitsuhiro Rikidozan vs. Primo Carnera in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [28]
JWA JWA International Big Competition (Day 3)
April 26, 1956 		Tokyo, Japan Kuramae Kokugikan The Sharpe Brothers (Ben Sharpe and Mike Sharpe) (c) vs. Mitsuhiro Rikidozan and Kokichi Endo in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match for the NWA World Tag Team Championship [34]
JWA JWA Pro-Wrestling World Championship Series (Day 8)
October 24, 1957 		Naha, Japan Kumoji Park Rikidozan and Toyonobori vs. Lou Thesz and Danny Plechas in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [27]
9. JWA JWA Pacific Coast Championship (Day 27)
September 9, 1954 		Osaka, Japan Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium 12,000 Mitsuhiro Rikidozan, Kokichi Endo and Mitsuo Surugaumi vs. Hans Schnabel, Lou Newman and Dr. Bob Olson in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [29]
JWA Tokyo Governor Cup Tournament
October 1, 1954 		Tokyo, Japan Metropolitan Gymnasium Mitsuhiro Rikidozan vs. Junzo Yoshinosato, Mitsuo Surugaumi and Kokichi Endo in an elimination match for the Tokyo Governor Cup [35]
JWA JWA International Big Competition (Day 1)
July 15, 1955 		Tokyo, Japan Kuramae Kokugikan Mitsuhiro Rikidozan and Kin'ichi Azumafuji vs. Primo Carnera and Hardy Kruskamp in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [28]
JWA JWA International Big Competition (Day 6)
July 23, 1955 		Osaka, Japan Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium Mitsuhiro Rikidozan and Kokichi Endo vs. Bob Orton and Bud Curtis in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [28]
JWA JWA International Big Competition (Day 37)
September 7, 1955 		Tokyo, Japan Metropolitan Gymnasium Mitsuhiro Rikidozan vs. Jesús Ortega in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match for the Mainichi Cup [28]
JWA JWA International Big Competition (Day 7)
May 3, 1956 		Osaka, Japan Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium Rikidozan vs. Lucky Simunovich in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [34]
JWA JWA International Big Competition (Day 27)
June 2, 1956 		Fukuoka, Japan Fukuoka Sports Center The Sharpe Brothers (Ben Sharpe and Mike Sharpe) (c) vs. Mitsuhiro Rikidozan and Kokichi Endo in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match for the NWA World Tag Team Championship [34]
JWA JWA International Competitions of the Fall
August 14, 1957 		Tokyo, Japan Metropolitan Gymnasium Rikidozan vs. Bobo Brazil in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [36]
JWA JWA 1st Annual World League (Day 5)
May 26, 1959 		Osaka, Japan Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium Rikidozan and Toyonobori vs. Lord Blears and Danny Plechas in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [31]
JWA JWA 1st Annual World League (Day 7)
May 28, 1959 		Osaka, Japan Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium Rikidozan vs. King Kong Czaya in a World League tournament match [31]
10. JWA JWA Asia Championships (Day 7)
November 15, 1955 		Tokyo, Japan Kuramae Kokugikan 11,000 Mitsuhiro Rikidozan and Harold Sakata vs. King Kong and Tiger Joginder Singh in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match for the inaugural All Asia Tag Team Championship [30]
Top 10 most-attended shows in the 1960s
No. Promotion Event Location Venue Attendance Main Event(s)
1. JWA World Big League
May 7, 1961 		Nara, Japan Ayame Pond Amusement Park 36,000 Rikidozan and Toyonobori vs. Jim Wright and Mr. X in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [37]
2. JWA Summer Series I (Day 15)
August 14, 1967 		Osaka, Japan Osaka Baseball Stadium 25,000 Giant Baba (c) vs. Gene Kiniski in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match for the NEPW International Heavyweight Championship [38]
3. JWA Yasukuni Shrine Festival
April 23, 1961 		Tokyo, Japan Yasukuni Shrine Sumo/Wrestling Place 20,000 Giant Baba and Kintaro Oki vs. Tosanohana and Hideyuki Nagasawa in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [39]
4. JWA International Competitions of the Fall (Day 18)
October 3, 1962 		Kitami, Japan Kitami Bus Garage 18,000 Rikidozan, Kokichi Endo and Mammoth Suzuki vs. Moose Cholak, Art Michalik and Skull Murphy in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [40]
JWA Summer Series I (Day 18)
August 2, 1968 		Sendai, Japan Miyagi Prefectural Sports Center Giant Baba vs. Bruno Sammartino in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [41]
5. JWA JWA International Competitions - Okinawa Series (Day 3)
November 5, 1962 		Naha, Japan Asahibashi Square 17,000 Rikidozan and Toyonobori (c) defeated Art Michalik and Chief Big Heart in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match for the All Asia Tag Team Championship [40]
JWA JWA International Competitions of the Fall (Day 14)
October 4, 1963 		Nagano, Japan Civic Hall Square Rikidozan and Yoshino Sato vs. Buddy Austin and Ilio DiPaolo in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [42]
6. JWA World Big League (Day 2)
May 2, 1961 		Tokyo, Japan Metropolitan Gymnasium 15,000 Rikidozan and Toyonobori vs. Mr. X and Ike Eakins
JWA JWA International Competitions - New Year Series (Day 2)
January 12, 1962 		Kisarazu, Japan Egawa Air Self-Defense Forces Gymnasium Rikidozan and Michiaki Yoshimura vs. Ronnie Etchison and Rocky Hamilton in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [43]
JWA World Big League (Day 10)
April 29, 1962 		Hiroshima, Japan Civic Stadium Rikidozan, Great Togo and Michiaki Yoshimura vs. Larry Hennig, Duke Hoffman and Mike Sharpe in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [44]
JWA JWA International Competitions of the Fall (Day 33)
October 22, 1962 		Nakatane, Japan Town Field Rikidozan, Kokichi Endo and Michiaki Yoshimura vs. Art Michalik, Gorilla Marconi and Skull Murphy in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [40]
JWA JWA International Competitions - Okinawa Series (Day 2)
November 4, 1962 		Naha, Japan Asahibashi Square Rikidozan, Mammoth Suzuki and Toyonobori vs. Moose Cholak, Gorilla Marconi and Skull Murphy in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [40]
JWA World Big League (Day 23)
April 15, 1963 		Naha, Japan Asahibashi Square Rikidozan, Great Togo and Giant Baba vs. Pat O'Connor, Killer X and Gino Marella in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [45]
JWA World Big League (Day 24)
April 16, 1963 		Naha, Japan Asahibashi Square Rikidozan, Michiaki Yoshimura and Great Togo vs. Killer Kowalski, Pat O'Connor and Killer X in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [45]
JWA Golden Series (Day 18)
June 18, 1966 		Kawasaki, Japan Kawasaki Stadium Hiro Matsuda and Michiaki Yoshimura (c) vs. Eddie Graham and Sam Steamboat in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match for the All Asia Tag Team Championship [46]
JWA Summer Series I (Day 2)
July 22, 1967 		Kawasaki, Japan Kawasaki Stadium Giant Baba and Antonio Inoki vs. Art Mahalik and Jesús Ortega in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [38]
7. JWA International Competitions - New Year Series (Day 5)
January 19, 1962 		Osaka, Japan Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium 14,000 Rikidozan (c) defeated Ronnie Etchison in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match for the All Asia Heavyweight Championship [43]
JWA Summer Series I (Day 21)
August 7, 1968 		Osaka, Japan Osaka Baseball Stadium Giant Baba (c) vs. Bruno Sammartino in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match for the NWA International Heavyweight Championship [41]
8. JWA World Big League (Day 25)
June 2, 1961 		Tokyo, Japan Kuramae Kokugikan 13,000 Rikidozan (c) vs. The Great Antonio in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match for the NWA International Heavyweight Championship [37]
JWA World Big League (Day 2)
April 21, 1962 		Tokyo, Japan Metropolitan Gymnasium Rikidozan and Michiaki Yoshimura vs. Buddy Austin and Mike Sharpe in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [44]
JWA International Competitions of the Fall (Day 20)
October 5, 1962 		Sapporo, Japan Nakajima Sports Center Rikidozan and Michiaki Yoshimura (c) vs. Skull Murphy and Gorilla Marconi in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match for the All Asia Tag Team Championship [40]
JWA Golden Series (Day 31)
July 5, 1966 		Tokyo, Japan Riki Sports Palace Giant Baba (c) vs. Killer Karl Kox in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match for the NWA International Heavyweight Championship [46]
9. JWA World Big League (Day 4)
April 23, 1962 		Tokyo, Japan Metropolitan Gymnasium 12,000 Rikidozan (c) vs. Fred Blassie in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match for the NAWA World Heavyweight Championship [44]
JWA World Big League (Day 9)
April 28, 1962 		Okayama, Japan Tsushima Gymnasium Rikidozan and Toyonobori vs. Buddy Austin and Larry Hennig in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [44]
JWA World Big League (Day 11)
April 30, 1962 		Fukuoka, Japan Fukuoka Sports Center Rikidozan, Kokichi Endo and Toyonobori vs. Lou Thesz, Buddy Austin and Larry Hennig in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [44]
JWA Selection Series (Day 19)
June 18, 1962 		Hiroshima, Japan Prefectural Gymnasium Mike Sharpe and Buddy Austin (c) vs. Rikidozan and Toyonobori in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match for the All Asia Tag Team Championship [47]
JWA Selection Series (Day 27)
July 1, 1962 		Toyonaka, Japan Daimon Park Mike Sharpe and Buddy Austin (c) vs. Rikidozan and Toyonobori in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match for the All Asia Tag Team Championship [47]
JWA International Competitions of the Fall (Day 7)
September 20, 1962 		Osaka, Japan Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium Rikidozan, Toyonobori and Kokichi Endo vs. Art Michalik, Gorilla Marconi and Skull Murphy in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [40]
JWA International Competitions of the Fall (Day 39)
October 30, 1962 		Okayama, Japan Prefectural Gymnasium Rikidozan and Toyonobori vs. Skull Murphy and Gorilla Marconi in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [40]
JWA International Competitions - Okinawa Series (Day 1)
November 3, 1962 		Naha, Japan Asahibashi Square Rikidozan and Kokichi Endo vs. Art Michalik and Gorilla Marconi in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [40]
JWA International Competitions of the Spring (Day 13)
January 29, 1963 		Osaka, Japan Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium Rikidozan and Michiaki Yoshimura vs. Jess Ortega and Tony Marino in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [48]
JWA World Big League (Day 30)
April 24, 1963 		Osaka, Japan Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium Rikidozan (c) vs. Pat O'Connor in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match for the NWA International Heavyweight Championship [45]
JWA WWA World Championship Series (Day 1)
May 19, 1963 		Osaka, Japan Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium Rikidozan vs. The Destroyer in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [45]
JWA WWA World Championship Series (Day 4)
May 24, 1963 		Tokyo, Japan Metropolitan Gymnasium Rikidozan vs. The Destroyer in a Texas Death match [45]
JWA International Championship Series (Day 7)
December 2, 1963 		Tokyo, Japan Metropolitan Gymnasium Rikidozan (c) vs. The Destroyer in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match for the NWA International Heavyweight Championship [49]
JWA New Year International Competitions
February 26, 1965 		Tokyo, Japan Metropolitan Gymnasium The Destroyer (c) vs. Toyonobori in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match for the WWA World Heavyweight Championship [50]
JWA MSG Series (Day 7)
March 7, 1967 		Tokyo, Japan Ryogoku Kokugikan Giant Baba (c) vs. Bruno Sammartino in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match for the NWA International Heavyweight Championship [51]
JWA New Year Champion Series (Day 2)
January 3, 1968 		Tokyo, Japan Korakuen Hall Giant Baba (c) vs. Reggie Lisowski for the NWA International Heavyweight Championship [52]
JWA Golden Series (Day 31)
June 27, 1968 		Tokyo, Japan Ryogoku Kokugikan Giant Baba (c) vs. Bobo Brazil in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match for the NWA International Heavyweight Championship [53]
JWA NWA Series (Day 7)
November 28, 1969 		Tokyo, Japan Kuramae Kokugikan Giant Baba and Antonio Inoki (c) vs. Dory Funk Jr. and Danny Hodge in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match for the NWA International Tag Team Championship [54]
10. JWA World Big League (Day 20)
May 11, 1962 		Osaka, Japan Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium 11,100 Rikidozan vs. Dick Hutton in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [44]
Top 10 most-attended shows in the 1970s
No. Promotion Event Location Venue Attendance Main Event(s)
1. NJPW Big Fight Series
March 19, 1974 		Tokyo, Japan Kuramae Kokugikan 16,500 Antonio Inoki (c) vs. Strong Kobayashi for the NWF World Heavyweight Championship with special referee Kiyomigawa [55]
NJPW Tohkon Series (Day 30)
October 10, 1974 		Tokyo, Japan Kuramae Kokugikan Antonio Inoki (c) vs. Kintaro Oki for the NWF World Heavyweight Championship [56]
AJPW / IWE / NJPW Tokyo Sports All-Star Dream Card
August 26, 1979 		Tokyo, Japan Nippon Budokan Giant Baba and Antonio Inoki vs. Abdullah the Butcher and Tiger Jeet Singh [57]
2. NJPW New Year Golden Series (Day 28)
February 6, 1976 		Tokyo, Japan Nippon Budokan 15,000 Antonio Inoki (c) vs. Willem Ruska for the WWF World Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship [58]
3. AJPW / IWE / JWA Rikidozan Memorial Show
December 11, 1975 		Tokyo, Japan Nippon Budokan 14,500 Giant Baba and The Destroyer vs. Dory Funk Jr. and Jumbo Tsuruta in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [59]
4. NJPW Antonio Inoki vs. Muhammad Ali
June 26, 1976 		Tokyo, Japan Nippon Budokan 14,000 Antonio Inoki (c) vs. Muhammad Ali in a Wrestler vs. Boxer match for the WWF World Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship [60]
5. NJPW Antonio Inoki vs. Chuck Wepner
October 25, 1977 		Tokyo, Japan Nippon Budokan 13,500 Antonio Inoki vs. Chuck Wepner in a Wrestler vs. Boxer match [61]
6. NJPW Big Fight Series (Day 23)
March 18, 1975 		Nagoya, Japan Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium 13,000 Antonio Inoki and Seiji Sakaguchi (c) vs. Tiger Jeet Singh and Mighty Zulu in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match for the NWA North American Tag Team Championship [62]
AJW Maki Ueda vs. Jackie Sato
November 1, 1977 		Tokyo, Japan Nippon Budokan Maki Ueda (c) vs. Jackie Sato for the WWWA World Single Championship with special judge Mildred Burke [63]
7. AJPW Giant Series (Day 22)
October 10, 1974 		Suita, Japan Expo Land Festival Square 12,500 The Destroyer (c) vs. Abdullah the Butcher in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match for the PWF United States Heavyweight Championship [64]
AJPW Real World Tag League (Day 9)
December 9, 1978 		Tokyo, Japan Kuramae Kokugikan The Funk Brothers (Terry Funk and Dory Funk Jr.) vs. Abdullah the Butcher and The Sheik [65]
AJPW Real World Tag League (Day 13)
December 13, 1979 		Tokyo, Japan Kuramae Kokugikan The Funk Brothers (Terry Funk and Dory Funk Jr.) vs. Abdullah the Butcher and The Sheik in a Real World Tag League tournament match [66]
8. AJPW Giant Series (Day 3)
October 9, 1973 		Tokyo, Japan Kuramae Kokugikan 12,000 The Funk Brothers (Terry Funk and Dory Funk Jr.) (c) vs. Giant Baba and Jumbo Tsuruta in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match for the NWA International Tag Team Championship [67]
AJPW Summer Action Series (Day 7)
July 14, 1974 		Yaku, Japan General Ground Giant Baba, The Destroyer and Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Bob Backlund, Bob Roop and George "The Animal" Steele in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match [68]
NJPW Big Fight Series (Day 19)
March 13, 1975 		Hiroshima, Japan Hiroshima Prefectural Gymnasium Antonio Inoki vs. Tiger Jeet Singh for the vacant NWF World Heavyweight Championship [62]
NJPW Toukon Series II (Day 41)
December 11, 1975 		Tokyo, Japan Kuramae Kokugikan Antonio Inoki (c) vs. Billy Robinson in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match for the NWF World Heavyweight Championship with special witnesses Lou Thesz and Karl Gotch [69]
AJPW Open Tag League (Day 13)
December 15, 1977 		Tokyo, Japan Kuramae Kokugikan The Funk Brothers (Terry Funk and Dory Funk Jr.) vs. Abdullah the Butcher and The Sheik in an Open Tag League tournament match [70]
NJPW New Year Golden Series (Day 29)
February 8, 1978 		Tokyo, Japan Nippon Budokan Antonio Inoki vs. Umanosuke Ueda in a Nail Floor Death match [71]
9. NJPW MSG Series (Day 35)
June 1, 1978 		Tokyo, Japan Nippon Budokan 11,000 Antonio Inoki (c-NJPW) defeated Bob Backlund (c-WWWF) in a Champion vs. Champion Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match for the NWF World Heavyweight Championship and WWWF World Heavyweight Championship [72]
10. NJPW Golden Fight Series (Day 24)
June 26, 1975 		Tokyo, Japan Ryogoku Kokugikan 10,600 Antonio Inoki (c) vs. Tiger Jeet Singh in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls match for the NWF World Heavyweight Championship [73]
Top 10 most-attended shows in the 1980s
No. Promotion Event Location Venue Attendance Main Event(s)
1. UWF U-Cosmos
November 29, 1989 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 60,000 Akira Maeda vs. Willie Wilhelm in a "Wrestler vs. Judoka" match [21]
2. NJPW Super Powers Clash
April 24, 1989 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 53,600 Antonio Inoki vs. Shota Chochishvili [74]
3. UWF May History 1st
May 4, 1989 		Osaka, Japan Osaka Baseball Stadium 23,000 Akira Maeda vs. Chris Dolman in a Wrestler vs. Kickboxer match [75]
4. UWF Midsummer Creation
August 13, 1989 		Yokohama, Japan Yokohama Arena 17,000 Akira Maeda vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara [75]
5. AJPW Super Power Series (Day 19)
June 5, 1989 		Tokyo, Japan Nippon Budokan 15,200 Jumbo Tsuruta (c) vs. Gen'ichiro Tenryu for the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship [76]
6. UWF Dynamism
January 10, 1989 		Tokyo, Japan Nippon Budokan 15,000 Akira Maeda vs. Nobuhiko Takada [75]
7. AJPW Real World Tag League (Day 18)
December 6, 1989 		Tokyo, Japan Nippon Budokan 14,800 Gen'ichiro Tenryu and Stan Hansen vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu and Jumbo Tsuruta in the Real World Tag League tournament final for the vacant AJPW World Tag Team Championship
8. AJPW Excite Series (Day 11)
March 8, 1989 		Tokyo, Japan Nippon Budokan 14,400 Gen'ichiro Tenryu and The Road Warriors (Road Warrior Hawk and Road Warrior Animal) vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Yoshiaki Yatsu and Shunji Takano [77]
9. AJPW Bruiser Brody Memorial Show
August 29, 1988 		Tokyo, Japan Nippon Budokan 14,200 Jumbo Tsuruta and Yoshiaki Yatsu (c) vs. Gen'ichiro Tenryu and Ashura Hara for the World Tag Team Championship [78]
10. NJPW Inoki Toukon Live II
March 26, 1987 		Osaka, Japan Castle Hall 13,850 Antonio Inoki vs. Masa Saito
Top 10 most-attended shows in the 1990s
No. Promotion Event Location Venue Attendance Main Event(s)
1. NJPW Antonio Inoki Retirement Show
April 4, 1998 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 70,000 Antonio Inoki vs. Don Frye [1]
2. NJPW / UWFi NJPW vs. UWFi
October 9, 1995 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 67,000 Keiji Muto (NJPW) vs. Nobuhiko Takada (UWFI) in a Champion vs. Champion match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and UWFI Heavyweight Championship [2]
3.
AJPW Giant Baba Memorial Show
May 2, 1999 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 65,000 Vader vs. Mitsuharu Misawa for the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship [3]
NJPW Battle Formation
April 29, 1996 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome Nobuhiko Takada (c) vs. Shinya Hashimoto for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship [4]
TPW Tokyo Pro Wrestling in Atami
July 23, 1996 		Atami, Japan Sun Beach Abdullah the Butcher and Daikokubo Benkei vs. Kishin Kawabata and Takashi Ishikawa [79]
4. NJPW / WCW Starrcade in Tokyo Dome
March 21, 1991 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 64,500 Tatsumi Fujinami (c - NJPW) vs. Ric Flair (c - NWA) in a Champion vs. Champion match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and NWA World Heavyweight Championships [7]
5. NJPW / UWFi Wrestling World 1996
January 4, 1996 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 64,000 Keiji Mutoh (c - NJPW) vs. Nobuhiko Takada (UWFi) for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship [8]
6. NJPW Super Fight in Tokyo Dome
February 10, 1990 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 63,900 Antonio Inoki and Seiji Sakaguchi vs. Masahiro Chono and Shinya Hashimoto with special referee Lou Thesz [10]
7. NJPW Fantastic Story in Tokyo Dome
January 4, 1993 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 63,500 Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu [11]
NJPW Strong Style Symphony: New Japan Spirit
April 10, 1999 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome Keiji Muto (c) vs. Don Frye for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship [3]
8. NJPW Battle 7
January 4, 1995 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 62,500 Shinya Hashimoto (c) vs. Kensuke Sasaki for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship [13]
NJPW Wrestling World 1997
January 4, 1997 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome Shinya Hashimoto (c) vs. Riki Choshu for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship [14]
NJPW Wrestling World 1999
January 4, 1999 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome Scott Norton (c) vs. Keiji Mutoh for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship [15]
9. NJPW Battlefield
January 4, 1994 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 62,000 Antonio Inoki vs. Genichiro Tenryu [16]
10. AJPW AJPW 25th Anniversary Show
May 1, 1998 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 58,300 Mitsuharu Misawa (c) vs. Toshiaki Kawada for the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship [80]
Top 10 most-attended shows in the 2000s
No. Promotion Event Location Venue Attendance Main Event(s)
1. NJPW Do Judge!!
October 9, 2000 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 64,000 Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kensuke Sasaki [9]
2. NJPW Wrestling World 2000
January 4, 2000 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 63,500 Genichiro Tenryu (c) vs. Kensuke Sasaki for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship [12]
3. NJPW Wrestling World 2001
January 4, 2001 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 62,000 Kensuke Sasaki vs. Toshiaki Kawada in a tournament final for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship [17]
NOAH Destiny
July 18, 2005 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome Toshiaki Kawada vs. Mitsuharu Misawa [18]
4. NJPW Indicate of Next
October 8, 2001 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 61,500 Jun Akiyama and Yuji Nagata vs. BATT (Hiroshi Hase and Keiji Muto) [19]
5. NJPW Dome Impact
April 7, 2000 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 60,000 Shinya Hashimoto vs. Naoya Ogawa [9]
6. AJPW King's Road New Century 2001
January 28, 2001 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 58,700 "Dr. Death" Steve Williams vs. Mike Barton in a revenge match (televised main event on the pay-per-view's initial live broadcast, promoted on TV)

Toshiaki Kawada and Kensuke Sasaki vs. Genichiro Tenryu and Hiroshi Hase (dark match main event)

[81]
7. NOAH Departure
July 10, 2004 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 58,000 Kenta Kobashi (c) vs. Jun Akiyama for the GHC Heavyweight Championship [82]
8. NJPW Fighting Spirit Memorial Day
May 2, 2002 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 57,500 Masahiro Chono vs. Mitsuharu Misawa [83]
9. NJPW Ultimate Crush
May 2, 2003 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 55,000 Yuji Nagata (c-NJPW) vs. Yoshihiro Takayama (c-NWF) in a Champion vs. Champion match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and NWF Heavyweight Championship [84]
10. NJPW Wrestling World 2004
January 4, 2004 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 53,000 Shinsuke Nakamura (c-NJPW) defeated Yoshihiro Takayama (c-NWF) in a unification match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and the NWF Heavyweight Championship [85]
Top 10 most-attended shows in the 2010s
No. Promotion Event Location Venue Attendance Main Event(s)
1. NJPW Wrestle Kingdom VI
January 4, 2012 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 43,000 Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Minoru Suzuki for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship [86]
2. NJPW Wrestle Kingdom V
January 4, 2011 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 42,000 Satoshi Kojima (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship [87]
3. NJPW Wrestle Kingdom IV
January 4, 2010 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 41,500 Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Yoshihiro Takayama for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship [86]
4. NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 13
January 4, 2019 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 38,162 Kenny Omega (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship [88]
5. NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9
January 4, 2015 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 36,000 Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship [89]
6. NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 8
January 4, 2014 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 35,000 Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship [90]
7. NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12
January 4, 2018 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 34,995 Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship [91]
8. DDT Tokyo Ramen Show Street Wrestling
October 30, 2014 		Tokyo, Japan Komazawa Olympic Park 30,000 Kudo and Gota Ihashi vs. Choun Shiryu and Cao Zhang vs. Sanshiro Takagi and Jun Kasai vs. Golden Storm Riders (Kota Ibushi and Daisuke Sasaki) in a Four-Way match [92]
9. NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 7
January 4, 2013 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 29,000 Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship [93]
10. NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 11
January 4, 2017 		Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 26,192 Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Kenny Omega for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship [94]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Hornbaker, Tim. "(NJPW) New Japan Pro Wrestling Results - 1998". LegacyOfWrestling.com.
  2. ^ a b Meltzer, Dave (October 16, 1995). "Muto beats Takada, Warrior Whatever Happened To? Fun, New Jack troubles, legal issues in Mexico, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. The combined New Japan/UWFI show on 10/9 at the Tokyo Dome set an all-time gate record for pro wrestling of more than $6 million. [...] The overflow crowd of 67,000, which included 2,200 standing room tickets sold the day of the show, was the largest crowd for any indoor event ever in Tokyo.
  3. ^ a b c d Horie, Masanori (December 20, 1999). "January Wrestling in the Tokyo Area / 1999 Year In Review Part One". View from the Rising Sun. Archived from the original on February 20, 2005.
  4. ^ a b Meltzer, Dave; Alvarez, Bryan (May 6, 1996). "Hashimoto wins IWGP title, Michaels vs. Diesel at In Your House, world of MMA goes completely nuts, more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. Shinya Hashimoto captured the IWGP heavyweight championship from Nobuhiko Takada via cross armbreaker submission to headline the 4/29 Tokyo Dome show which drew the second largest crowd in the history of Japanese wrestling and what is believed to be the second largest live gate in the history of pro wrestling. The card, entitled "'96 Battle Formation," drew a sellout crowd announced at 65,000 fans and a gate that should have approached $6 million
  5. ^ Meltzer, Dave; Alvarez, Bryan (August 5, 1996). "Major changes to WWF syndication, Herb Abrams dies, Kobashi wins Triple Crown for the first time, more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. Several of the groups this past week have run free shows as part of fireworks festivals or country fair type of events. The biggest was Tokyo Pro's show on 7/23 at Atami Sun Beach which was reported as being viewed by more than 65,000 fans.
  6. ^ "TPW Battle Entertainment - Tag 1". Cagematch.net. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  7. ^ a b c Meltzer, Dave (January 10, 1992). "Huge Billy Graham interview, Inside Edition on WWF, more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. [WCW/New Japan Supershow II], which will air as an edited pay-per-view in mid-March in the United States, was said to be nowhere near the level of the initial combined show last March. The show drew a turnaway crowd of 60,000 fans. A few thousand seats that were used at the March show (which drew 64,500)
  8. ^ a b Meltzer, Dave; Alvarez, Bryan (January 15, 1996). "World Championship Wrestling turns first-ever profit in 1995, biggest drawing feud in pro-wrestling history as of 1996, Pena and Televisa breakdown, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. New Japan's traditional biggest event of the year, which occurs every January 4th, entitled this year "`96 Wrestling War in Tokyo Dome," was built once again around the same New Japan vs. UWFI matches that set the record in October. This version drew a turnaway crowd of 64,000 fans, selling out nearly two weeks in advance, and a gate estimated at between $5 and $6 million along with a television audience estimated at 14 million. It was probably the second largest live gate in history (certainly no lower than third on the all-time list), was the ninth largest recorded crowd in history and the third largest crowd ever in Japan.
  9. ^ a b c d Stern, Karl. "Ultimate History of Pro Wrestling - A Time Line of Every Major Event in Pro Wrestling History - 2000". WhenItWasCool.com.
  10. ^ a b Hornbaker, Tim. "(NJPW) New Japan Pro Wrestling Results - 1990". LegacyOfWrestling.com.
  11. ^ a b Meltzer, Dave (January 15, 1993). "Flair leaves WWF, two World Title changes, Japan update, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. The annual New Japan Tokyo Egg Dome show has, which had its fifth version on Monday, 1/4, has in that time turned into from a prestige factor, right behind Wrestlemania as the biggest card of the year in the world. This year's show did nothing to hurt that reputation as the seventh largest recorded crowd to ever witness pro wrestling--63,500--sold the building out one week in advance to see a show that received raves from everyone I spoke with about it.
  12. ^ a b Hornbaker, Tim. "(NJPW) New Japan Pro Wrestling Results - 2000". LegacyOfWrestling.com.
  13. ^ a b Meltzer, Dave (January 9, 1995). "Flash report from Tokyo Dome, looking back at 1994, UFC V date announced, Hogan vs. Vader preview, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. We'll have more details next week. The show, billed as "Battle 7" (because it was New Japan's seventh annual Tokyo Dome show) drew a legit sellout 62,500 which makes it the eighth largest recorded crowd for pro wrestling of all-time.
  14. ^ a b Meltzer, Dave (January 13, 1997). "1997 Annual Awards Issue, a look at all the major shows of the year, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. New Japan's annual major event of the year, "'97 Wrestling World in Tokyo Dome" drew a reported 62,500 fans
  15. ^ a b Hornbaker, Tim. "(NJPW) New Japan Pro Wrestling Results - 1999". LegacyOfWrestling.com.
  16. ^ a b Meltzer, Dave (January 10, 1994). "Starrcade 93 fallout, New Japan Dome show, catching up on news". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. Well, the good of the promotion won out this time, however an ominous note was the failure of the show to sellout, the first time this has been the case for a New Japan Dome show since the first one in 1989. The crowd was announced at 62,000, although from our reports that is a slightly inflated figure as the outfield section was empty, although there were more than 50,000 there.
  17. ^ a b Hornbaker, Tim. "(NJPW) New Japan Pro Wrestling Results - 2001". LegacyOfWrestling.com.
  18. ^ a b Wilson, Kevin. "NOAH Dome Show 7/18/05". PuroresuCentral.com.
  19. ^ a b "New Japan Pro-Wrestling Results: 2001". Purolove.com.
  20. ^ Meltzer, Dave (April 21, 1997). "ECW PPV historical debut, Ogawa debut, MMA group out of business, more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. New Japan garnered tons of mainstream publicity which led to a crowd announced at 60,500, which everyone was thrilled with since the show's advance wasn't promising at all. This would probably be a gate around $5 million which will make it wind up as almost surely the second biggest money show of 1997 behind only the 1/4 Dome show when it comes to total revenue. The show wasn't sold out but was fairly close to capacity and we're told that announced figure sounded about right.
  21. ^ a b Wall, Jeremy (2005). UFC's Ultimate Warriors: The Top 10. Toronto: ECW Press. p. 45. ISBN 1550226916.
  22. ^ Meltzer, Dave (May 15, 1995). "WCW taping policy update, real-life pro-wrestling shoot fight booked for UFC, an early "too many shows" story, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. What more can be said than a sellout of 60,000 at the Tokyo Dome and probably the largest house in the history of pro wrestling (a record that only lasted a few weeks) of somewhere between $5 and $6 million?
  23. ^ "New Japan Pro-Wrestling Results: 1999". Purolove.com.
  24. ^ "AJPW King's Road New Century 2001 « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
  25. ^ Stern, Karl. "Ultimate History of Pro Wrestling - A Time Line of Every Major Event in Pro Wrestling History - 1998". WhenItWasCool.com.
  26. ^ Meltzer, Dave (May 15, 1995). "WCW taping policy update, real-life pro-wrestling shoot fight booked for UFC, an early "too many shows" story, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. Onita's much-ballyhooed final match on 5/5 at Kawasaki Baseball Stadium drew a sellout of approximately 50,000 fans (announced at 58,250) which would be a gate in the $2.5 million range and tons more in merchandise
  27. ^ a b c d e "Pro-Wrestling World Championship Series: 1957/10/07 - 10/25: 7 cards". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  28. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Pro-Wrestling International Big Competitions (Manaslu Expedition Fundraising): 1955/07/15 - 09/04: 35 cards". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  29. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Pro-Wrestling Big Competitions for the Pacific Coast Championships (Fundraiser for Disabled Children): 1954/08/06 - 09/21: 42". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  30. ^ a b c "Asia Championships: 1955/11/08 - 11/22: 10 cards". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  31. ^ a b c d e "The 1st Annual World League: 1959/05/21 - 06/15: 19 cards". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  32. ^ a b c d e "Japan-U.S. Pro-Wrestling (JWA's first tour; fundraising for the Manaslu Expedition): 1954/02/19 - 03/07: 14 cards". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  33. ^ a b "World Ladies' Pro-Wrestlig Big Competitions: 7 cards". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  34. ^ a b c d e f "International Big Competition: 1956/04/24 - 06/07: 30 cards". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  35. ^ a b "1954 - 1957 miscellaneous cards". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  36. ^ "International Competitions of the Fall: 1957/08/13 - 9/25: 35 cards". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  37. ^ a b "The 3rd Annual World League: 1961/05/01 - 06/29: 44 cards". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  38. ^ a b "Summer Series 1: 1967/07/21 - 08/16: 16 cards". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  39. ^ "Miscellaneous cards (1961/02 - 04)". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  40. ^ a b c d e f g h "International Competitions of the Fall: 1962/09/14 - 11/02: 42 cards". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  41. ^ a b "Summer Series 1: 1968/07/05 - 08/14: 27 cards". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  42. ^ "World Competitions of the Fall Supporting Tokyo Olympics: 1963/09/20 - 11/08: 40 cards". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  43. ^ a b "International Competitions of the Winter: 1962/01/05 - 1962/02/13: 15 cards". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  44. ^ a b c d e f "The 4th Annual World League: 1962/04/20 - 05/25: 33 cards". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  45. ^ a b c d e "The 5th Annual World League: 1963/03/22 - 05/17: 38 cards". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  46. ^ a b "1966 Golden Series: 1966/05/27 - 07/06: 32 cards". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  47. ^ a b "Selection Matches: 1962/05/27 - 07/01". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  48. ^ "International Competitions of the Spring: 1963/01/04 - 03/04: 23 cards". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  49. ^ "International Championship Series (aka "Destroyer Series"): 1963/11/26 - 12/07: 12 cards". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  50. ^ "New Year International Competitions: 1965/01/04 - 04/02: 19 cards". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  51. ^ "MSG Series: 1967/02/24 - 03/25: 10 cards". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  52. ^ "New Year Champion Series: 1967/12/29 - 1968/02/03: 21 cards". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  53. ^ "Golden Series: 1968/05/18 - 06/27: 31 cards". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  54. ^ "NWA World Champion Series: 1969/11/14 - 12/14: 16 cards". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  55. ^ "Big Fight Series: 1974/02/22 - 03/19: 19 cards". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  56. ^ "Toukon Series: 1974/08/30 - 10/10: 30 cards". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  57. ^ "All Star Dream Card - promoted by Tokyo Sports Newspaper". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  58. ^ "New Year Golden Series: 1976/01/02 - 02/06: 28 cards". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  59. ^ "Open Championship: 1975/12/06 - 12/18: 12 cards". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  60. ^ Malcolm, Andrew H. (June 26, 1976). "Ali, Inoki Fight to Draw in Dull Bout". New York Times. It was so dead, in fact. that many of the 14,000 fans at the Japan Martial Arts Hall tossed trash at the ring at the end of the last threeminute round.
  61. ^ "Toukon Series II: 1977/10/28 - 12/08: 32 cards". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  62. ^ a b "Big Fight Series: 1975/02/21 - 03/20: 25 cards". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  63. ^ Campbell, Jason. "Budokan Hall: 11/01/77". ProWrestlingHistory.com.
  64. ^ "Giant Series: 1974/09/13 - 10/10: 22 cards". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  65. ^ "'78 Real World Tag Team League: 1978/12/01 - 12/15: 14 cards". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  66. ^ "'79 Real World Tag Team League: 1979/11/30 - 12/13: 13 cards". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  67. ^ "The 1st Anniversary Giant Series: 1973/10/06 - 11/08: 27 cards". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  68. ^ "Summer Action Series: 1974/07/05 - 07/25: 15 cards". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  69. ^ "Toukon Series II: 1975/10/24 - 12/11: 41 cards". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  70. ^ "Open Tag Team Championship: 1977/12/02 - 12/15: 13 cards". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  71. ^ "New Year Golden Series: 1978/01/06 - 02/09: 30 cards". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  72. ^ "The 1st Madison Square Garden Series: 1978/04/21 - 06/01: 35 cards". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  73. ^ "Golden Fight Series: 1975/05/30 - 06/26: 24 cards". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  74. ^ Furious, Arnold (February 17, 2015). "Furious Flashbacks: New Japan Battle Satellite in Tokyo Dome". 411mania.com.
  75. ^ a b c Marvez, Alex (1989). "INSIDE THE UNIVERSAL WRESTLING FEDERATION". In Meltzer, Dave (ed.). The Wrestling Observer's 1989 Yearbook. Campbell, California: Four Seasons Printing. pp. 92–95.
  76. ^ "Super Power Series: 1989/05/12 - 06/08: 20 cards". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  77. ^ Cawthon, Graham. "Yearly Results: WCW 1989". TheHistoryOfWWE.com.
  78. ^ Marvez, Alex (1988). "TOP WRESTLING NEWS STORIES OF 1988: ALL JAPAN SETS GATE RECORD WITH BRODY MEMORIAL". In Meltzer, Dave (ed.). The Wrestling Observer's 1988 Yearbook. Turlock, California: Inprint. p. 17.
  79. ^ Meltzer, Dave; Alvarez, Bryan (August 5, 1996). "Major changes to WWF syndication, Herb Abrams dies, Kobashi wins Triple Crown for the first time, more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. Several of the groups this past week have run free shows as part of fireworks festivals or country fair type of events. The biggest was Tokyo Pro's show on 7/23 at Atami Sun Beach which was reported as being viewed by more than 65,000 fans.
  80. ^ Stern, Karl. "Ultimate History of Pro Wrestling - A Time Line of Every Major Event in Pro Wrestling History - 1998". WhenItWasCool.com.
  81. ^ "AJPW King's Road New Century 2001 « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
  82. ^ Wilson, Kevin. "NOAH Departure 2004". PuroresuCentral.com.
  83. ^ Max, Stuart (August 1, 2002). "NJPW World Pro Wrestling Complete Edition on BS Asahi, 5/5/02". Wrestling Viewpoint!. Archived from the original on December 16, 2002.
  84. ^ Max, Stuart (May 2, 2003). "ULTIMATE CRUSH (5/2/03)". Strong Style Spirit. Archived from the original on June 8, 2003.
  85. ^ Max, Stuart (January 4, 2004). "[Results] New Japan, 1/4/04". Strong Style Spirit. Archived from the original on April 13, 2004.
  86. ^ a b Johnson, Mike (January 4, 2015). "1/4 THIS DAY IN HISTORY: BRET HART RETURNS TO WWE, A LOT OF TOKYO DOME EVENTS AND MUCH MORE". PWInsider.com.
  87. ^ "New Japan Pro-Wrestling Results: 2011". Purolove.com.
  88. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (January 4, 2019). "Report: Wrestle Kingdom 13 Draws 38,162 Paid Attendance At Tokyo Dome". Fightful.com.
  89. ^ Murphy, Dan (June 2015). "Wrestle Kingdom 9: OPENING WESTERN EYES TO THE WONDERS OF NEW JAPAN". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. p. 40. With an announced crowd of 36,000 fans and a packed card of 10 matches (including six championship matches), Wrestle Kingdom had a distinct major-league atmosphere and came through with stellar performances with talent that is finally getting its just due globally.
  90. ^ Harris, Jeffrey (January 4, 2014). "NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 8 iPPV Results 01.04.14: Tokyo, Japan". 411mania.com.
  91. ^ Nason, Josh (January 4, 2018). "NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12 draws 34,995 paid at Tokyo Dome". F4Wonline.com. Wrestling Observer / Figure Four Online.
  92. ^ "DDT Pro-Wrestling Results: 2014". Purolove.com.
  93. ^ Namako, Jason (January 4, 2013). "1/4 NJPW WrestleKingdom VII Results: Tokyo, Japan". Wrestleview.com.
  94. ^ Pantoja, Kevin (January 4, 2017). "Kevin's NJPW WrestleKingdom 11 Review". 411mania.com.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_professional_wrestling_attendance_records_in_Japan&oldid=1216396207"