Yet again, another large block of New Japan Pro Wrestling shows have been cancelled. Joining their anniversary show, Sakura Genesis, and The New Japan Cup is their annual Wrestling Dontaku event being cancelled due to COVID-19. All shows until May 4th have been cancelled with their latest update, coming from NJPW1972.com. This has a question on their lips now, should they get back in the ring without the fans in the arena?
It Has Been Months Without New Japan Pro Wrestling
As of right now, the final NJPW show was on February 26th, with NJPW New Japan Road 2020 – Tag 3. Preceding that was the Manabu Nakanishi retirement show. The New Japan Road Show was planting the seeds for the New Japan Cup, which has been cancelled. This is perhaps the longest hiatus New Japan Pro Wrestling has ever taken since their inception, and it has fans eager to have something new from them. They have made shows like the G1 Supercard, Royal Quest and Night One of Wrestle Kingdom 14 free for fans, and have been putting english commentary to classic matches, but no new wrestling since late February.
Exploring Empty Arena Shows
In their latest statement to fans, the following paragraph shows hope that they will follow in the steps of companies like Stardom, Pro Wrestling NOAH and All Japan Pro Wrestling. “NJPW is currently exploring the possibility of presenting matches without fans in attendance; this would only happen if staff and wrestler health and safety can be protected to the highest possible standard.”
If they took all precautions, they could give fans worldwide a stacked card in an instant that could rival even Wrestlemania. Even if they did matches from the NJPW Dojo, planned matches like Tetsuya Naito vs. Hiromu Takahashi & Minoru Suzuki vs. Yuji Nagata would do wonders for fan morale.
The talent are eager to get back in the ring, and fans are eager to see it. Even with international stars like Zack Sabre Jr, Will Ospreay, and Jon Moxley unavailable, the japanese talent alone could be used to make a supercard where most titles could be defended.
Would you want to see New Japan Pro Wrestling proceed with a few fanless shows? Let us know what you think about this in the comment section down below.
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