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What’s the story?
New Japan Pro Wrestling’s ticket sales for Wrestle Kingdom 12 surpassed 30,000 back in December and the exact numbers of tickets sold was revealed on the show,
The announced attendance for the Wrestle Kingdom 12 was 34,995; surpassing sales for five previous Wrestle Kingdoms shows.
In case you didn’t know...
Wrestle Kingdom 12 aired live on the NJPW streaming service, NJPW World, with the two biggest matches for the event being the No Disqualification match between Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega for the IWGP United States Championship and the main event between G1 Climax winner Tetsuya Naito and the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada.
The heart of the matter
Wrestle Kingdom’s attendance was five seats short of matching the 35,000 who were in attendance for the Wrestle Kingdom 8 – a show which featured Okada defending the IWGP World Championship against Naito which set the story up for their second match at the Wrestle Kingdom 12.
Despite not matching the attendance of Wrestle Kingdom 8, the 2018 edition of Wrestle Kingdom surpassed sales for Wrestle Kingdoms 1, 2, 7, 10 and 11.
The increased demand for tickets led to NJPW opening up more seats for fans who wished to purchase tickets on the day of the event. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that NJPW already had about 32,000 sales prior to the tickets sold the day of the event.
The Tokyo Dome has a 55,000 seat capacity and the closest Wrestle Kingdom ticket sales have come to that number was 43,000 in 2012 when Hiroshi Tanahashi defended the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against Minoru Suzuki.
What’s next?
Wrestle Kingdom 12 has come and gone, but the intrigue in the product from an international standpoint has never been higher.
The biggest point of interest coming out of Wrestle Kingdom 12 will be the fate of the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship and fans wondering which superstar will finally end the historic reign of Okada.
Author’s Take
Wrestle Kingdom 12 was a fantastic show and the improved attendance from previous years was well deserved.
