(NOAH) A new revolution in the world of professional wrestling is born! What is the appeal of Noah's "MONDAY MAGIC", which has been steadily increasing in viewership?

20th December 2023

BBM Japan

The finale of Noah's "MONDAY MAGIC" was held on December 18th in Shinjuku, and ended with great success. It has been decided that next year in April, Season 2, and a WrestleUniverse PPV "WRESTLE MAGIC", will be held on the 4th May at Ryogoku Kokugikan. The event has been in the spotlight for its novel method of announcing matches on the same day, and for its series of stories with surprises. So, what is the appeal of "MONDAY MAGIC?" We spoke to WRESTLE UNIVERSE'S producer, Nariaki Nagasawa.

"MONDAY MAGIC" is a new innovation for Noah, which assistant director, NOSAWA Rongai, has been working on every other Monday since Episode 1 on October 9th. The purpose is to increase the viewing numbers of the streaming service, "WRESTLE UNIVERSE", but what about the all important numbers? Looking back at episodes 1 - 4, some very interesting trends have already emerged. 

"Since this was a series for which there was no prior information, I decided to release Episode 1 for free, so that people could get to know about it first. What surprised me was that the subscriber service Episode 2, had more live views than Episode 1, that was free. This has never happened before. Furthermore, it is normal for series decline, but episodes 1,2,3 and 4 of "MONDAY MAGIC" are on the rise, and the live viewing of Episode 4 was 120% of Episode 1, which was available for free. The big turning point was Episode 3. It's probably drawing power, in which Yuma Anzai from All Japan participated as a surprise and formed a trio with Kaito Kiyomiya and Ryohei Oiwa. I think we were able to create a buzz for the entire professional wrestling world".

The number of viewers for Wrestle Universe is usually proportional to the size of the tournament, but Monday Magic maintains an unprecedentedly high level among shows at Shinjuku FACE. On the contrary, it has become even better than the Korakuen Hall, and continues to produce big match numbers. Of course, the increase in the number of viewers is directly linked to the increase in the number of new members. Up until now, the main focus has been on promoting the promotions NOAH, DDT, Ganbare Pro-Wrestling, and Tokyo Joshi, but with the "MONDAY MAGIC" effect, Nagasawa analyzed that, "We were able to expand our target audience to include fans of other promotions. The big thing is that you don't know what's going to happen. I think the fact that wrestlers from other promotions, other than CyberFight, and popular female wrestlers will be participating as surprise, even though virtually the cards have not been announced, resonate with pro wrestling fans. Also, I think the excitement about whether it is a single, 3WAY or title match, is a factor in increasing the numbers. People don't know what will happen or what kind of wrestlers will be participating, so they want to enjoy watching the show live. Shinjuku FACE is a venue where you can easily convey the enthusiasm through film."

In fact, Nagasawa himself had some concerns about "MONDAY MAGIC", of which he had no idea what kind of show it would be, but to be honest, he was worried about it before it started, even though it was to increase the numbers, he said "There are always three cameras, and the recording structure is rich for the Shinjuku FACE class", indicating this was an upfront investment.

However, when we looked deeply, all the seats were sold out for all five events in a row from Episode 1 to the final. Fans who couldn't get tickets, naturally turned to watching WRESTLE UNIVERSE, and the fact that they have been able to provide them with a high quality video content was also a big factor. WRESTLE UNIVERSE also has a comment function, so even if you are watching at home alone, you can feel like everyone is having fun together. Enjoying the surprise filled "MONDAY MAGIC", sharing it together in real time, is a new way of watching matches after the Coronavirus pandemic. Certainly, since the show takes place at 7pm on weekdays, even if you may not be able to watch it in real time due to work or other reasons, WRESTLE UNIVERSE allows you to watch the show at your own pace without spoilers. In many ways, "MONDAY MAGIC" was content that met the latent needs of the time. 

"One episode is two hours long, so it's nice you can watch it casually nowadays. When it comes to any big promotion, it's common for the show to run four or five hours, and if you want to see it all, you have to be really motivated (laughs). In fact, Episodes 1 and 2 are still being watched quite a lot, and I think it's because members who started watching episodes 3 and 4 are going back to watch them and enjoy it as a series. You can watch it all at once, and the two-hour concept fits the current era, where time investment is valued."

Translated from BBM Japan

Picture credit BBM Japan