(NOAH) Yoshida Nanase's Weekly TV Commentary: Check out all professional wrestling broadcasts & programs featuring wrestlers.
22nd August 2000 (Issue 991)
"Coliseum" is scheduled to end in September, but due to the overwhelming response, there are plans to continue it after October.
The new show "Coliseum" is getting rave reviews.
When the All Japan Pro Wrestling split that had been rumbling under the surface became a reality, Nippon Television made the wise decision to end the wrestling broadcasts that had been airing for 46 years, and without waiting for the reorganization in October, the traditional programming was consigned to obscurity. In an effort to keep the light of pro wrestling alive, the Nippon Television wrestling team quickly came up with a plan for a new program themed around pro wrestling, and that plan was the currently airing "Coliseum." Despite being broadcast on the unfortunate late Wednesday night time slot, "Coliseum" was able to be born, pushing aside program proposals from other sections that had nothing to do with pro wrestling. As everything had to be rushed, even the title "Coliseum" is clearly a clash with the martial arts information program "Fighting Coliseum" that TV Tokyo once broadcast with a similar concept. TV Tokyo had branded the project name as "Coliseum 2000" and is taking another step forward into the 21st century. Indeed, the Coliseum appeared in a special on ancient Rome in the show "Discover the Mysteries of the World!!" that was broadcast on TBS around the same time, so I have a feeling that the inspiration for the Coliseum came from that. In any case, there was practically no time to spare, and as a result they broke All Japan's tactics of isolation*, which had been keeping them hemmed in until then, and made a sharp shift to creating programs that would meet the needs of the multinational era.
To begin with, negotiations were made with New Japan (All Japan's rival), to appear. Due to New Japan's relationship with TV Asahi*, they were able to get comments from Chono and Liger, on the condition that they would not broadcast any footage from their in-ring performances. This first impact, in which Chono and Liger were shown in a pro wrestling slot from the TV Asahi network, was what virtually guaranteed the success of Coliseum. Like a treasure chest, there are match videos from promotions like Pancrase, GAEA, Toryumon, Arsion..and more! And, although it is not advertised in the program's PR, it covers the wide world of pro wrestling, with a wide range of coverage from New Japan to DDT.
If a Samurai! subscriber were to watch "Coliseum", they would first of all notice that it has the same content as Samurai! TV's new program "S-Arime-Power-MAX". What's more, the aforementioned Pancrase and GAEA, which are not allowed on Samurai!, are extremely cooperative with NTV, and one cannot help but feel the power of terrestrial broadcasting. However, even though Coliseum had set sail smoothly, there were obstacles ahead. All Japan, whose show had been canceled, resorted to refusing a request for an interview with NTV. While both sides have their reasons, the fact that an obstacle had been put in front of Coliseum may allow it to grow as a show that can at least understand the suffering and pain of its competitors.
On the August 2nd broadcast, Antonio Inoki finally appeared and gave an exclusive interview in the studio, it can no longer be hidden that Mitsuharu Misawa's new group, Noah, which is always involved, is given special treatment, come rain or shine. It is no exaggeration to say that the Nippon Television Pro Wrestling Team and Noah are in a mutual love affair. So, does this mean that Nippon Television has decided to broadcast Noah from October? At the time of writing this article, (before the launch), this does not appear to be the case. This is because Nippon Television's top brass, who oversee various issues such as programming, sales, and rights, cannot make a decision until then, but in the meantime, Samurai! TV managed to acquire the broadcasting rights for the second week of the inaugural show, so you never know what's going to happen. Some media outlets have been emphasizing at every opportunity that "NTV has already decided to broadcast the Misawa group from October", but this was a home run by SAMURAI! TV, which blew away all speculative articles.
It has been said that "Coliseum" will end its run in September, but with more positive feedback than ever and higher ratings than ever before, there may be a chance that it will continue beyond October. The All Japan alumni are gleefully celebrating the return of New Japan to NTV, and viewers are somewhat moved by the sight of them there.
Could "Coliseum", which has a fresh feel to it right now, become the savior of the entire pro wrestling world?
Notes
All Japan's tactics of isolation: Baba had quit Japan Pro due the network they were on, as he didn't want to compete with the foreign (American) wrestling being broadcast.
TV Asahi: New Japan eventually moved to them from NTV. After a long drawn out ratings war with All Japan ("The Box Office Battle On The Sumida" as the press dubbed it with All Japan at The Budokan and New Japan at The Tokyo Dome), New Japan were cancelled, and their slot given to Takeshi's Castle. Yes, that's right, Takeshi's Castle.
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