"We have no choice but to create new business visually. I have no choice but to think of this as a chance"...Pro Wrestling Noah searches for new business model due to successive cancellations.

Hochi News
March 30th 2020

Pro Wrestling Noah held their Korakuen Hall event on the 29th as an empty arena event in response to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government requesting that the event stop from fear of spreading the Coronavirus infection.

The GHC Heavyweight Championship was held along with 3 other title fights. The four major championships were originally scheduled to be held at the Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium on March 8th, but due to the Coronavirus pandemic, this was cancelled and rearranged for Korakuen Hall, but there was a request for quarantine of the city, by the governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike. It was then decided to hold it as empty arena.

The event was broadcast live on FIGHTING TV Samurai, and on the video-on-demand channel, DDT UNIVERSE. At the venue, the audience ring side pipe chairs were removed, and the broadcasting and press seats sat to the south side of the ring.
The screen in the hall was set up in the same way as a normal event, with the VTR introducing the wrestlers before the match, their theme song at entrance, and the winners theme played after the match. The production was the same as usual. The three hour empty arena event was held from the first match which was the GHC Junior Tag to the GHC Heavyweight Championship which was the main event.

Akihiro Takeda, Executive Officer, commented about the content of all four matches, "I think it was wonderful. There was naturally a difference in the customer being at the venue or behind a screen, but I think that this was an event that pepped up everyone for Noah." About the number of viewers for the live stream he said, "I believe there was a great number of viewers".

Noah had to cancel the event at the Nagoya Convention Centre on the 24th, but resumed the event from the YAMADA Green Dome Maebashi event from the 21st. However, the 27th February event at Yokohama Radiant Hall was cancelled due to government policies.

Regarding the future events, Takeda said that it all depends on government policies and that of local goverments, such as Tokyo. "The only option is to respond as flexibly as possible. If we decide to cancel, then we need to decide to do it earlier." However, in response to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's policy to call for a request to refrain from going out etc until April 12th, he says that "doing shows as normal with an audience may not be possible until around then".

Coming up, the new series of "GLOBAL TAG LEAGUE 2020" is scheduled to open at Edion Arena Osaka 2nd stadium on April 4th (editors note, since been cancelled).
The league series is currently under consideration, with regards to holding it as an empty arena Takeda says, "An empty arena show of a Korakuen Hall scale is likely to be the first and last. I am thinking of holding it in the direction of a studio or TV match."

With the cancellation of successive events, Takeda says "It is quite tough, even when cancelling the pro and cons are not at zero, there is the cancellation fee, the poster printing, the promotion fee.We have no choice but to create new business visually. I have no choice but to think of this as a chance. I think every promotion is having it tough."

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Picture credit: Hochi News