Interested to get this subs opinion on the Tag League attendances this tour and how I think this has played into the booking. Bar the Korakuen show and the Fujisawa show they've not cracked any other shows this tour above 1k mark, which they did with almost every show last year with a less star laden tour.
One thing I certainly did notice which was interesting is that they've ran far more provincial shows this year than ever before, a good third of this tour is in towns and cities NJPW haven't run in a very long time.
Not quite sure who it was but I think someone remarked earlier on in the tour with Kikuchi back with a firm hand on how the booking goes and how he's viewed tag team wrestling as a vehicle to progress stories with singles matches. I kinda get the feeling this tour rather than being a Tag League showcase has essentially been used by NJPW as an extended house show run to drum up interest in more provincial markets for the dome weekender in January. Would certainly explain why having so many singles champions and challengers have made it in this year as the tournament has been used to further advance those stories. Would also explain why there's been a lack of outside involvement also – no CMLL involvement for the first time in a while
I think it's certainly been successful, and guys like Shota and Oiwa have gotten a lot out of it too. Interested to see what others make of it.
by 2muchket