Posted February 8, 200619 yr comment_4472679 Pro Wrestling NOAH is looking to expand its "Overseas presence". An official website in English is planned & Kenta Kobashi, who proved to be wildly popular in his overseas excursions last year, has secured an American working visa which will allow him to continue his exploits outside of the Pro Wrestling NOAH ring. Ryu Nakata said that aside from the presence of Kobashi, Naomichi Marufuji & KENTA in America a DVD distributor had been secured and that by the end of the year NOAH DVDs would be readily available. Nakata noted that they were aware of pirated versions of the shows readily circulating among American pro wrestling fans & that this popularity among wrestling fans should extend to official DVDs once copyright is enforced. In addition to Kobashi, Naomichi Marufuji & KENTA have also secured American working visas so there is the possibility of lengthy foreign excursions for any of the three men. NOAH have rented a room in London also which will serve as the base for contracted NOAH wrestlers who go to England on an excursion. Could be interesting over time, although they'd probably have to run small venues in the US unless they snagged a few free agents that could headline for them.
February 8, 200619 yr comment_4472783 I'd love to get some NOAH DVDs with an option for English commentary tracks. I don't think shows will pan out too well for them in the U.S. though. I don't think they have the exposure to make it work. They have a fanbase here but it's going to be hard to place yourself so you can draw enough of them to a show. I also don't really know who they could sign as far as free agents to draw in the crowds. I think we'll see New Japan in the U.S. on a regular basis before NOAH considering they can actually get their stars exposure on tv.
February 8, 200619 yr comment_4473228 If NOAH were clever they would make ROH their DVD distributor, because that would probably maximise their sales in the US. As far as running shows on their own it really isn't an avenue they should go down, because they couldn't draw a large enough crowd to really make it worth their while. That said, I often think Japanese companies like NOAH and New Japan say things like this just for the publicity it creates, even when they have no real plans for expansion.
February 8, 200619 yr comment_4473230 Depends on who is doing the english commentary. I remember trying to watch FMW dvd's with the english commentary and it was so horrible I went back to the Japanese commentary.
February 8, 200619 yr comment_4473734 They should go the Wrestling Gold route and bring in Jim Cornette and Dave Meltzer to do the English tracks. I wouldn't go with RoH distribution though. Their DVDs are the shits for the most part and overpriced. I'd give them DVDs to sell though but they could find a much better distributer with their money.
February 8, 200619 yr comment_4473772 I hope NOAH realizes ROH is geared toward smart fans and that the shouldn't use their reaction to gauge a potential US fanbase. The best thing they can do is co-promote some shows with ROH since their fanbase is pretty much the only one that's going to buy tickets based on seeing Japanese talent on the card.
February 8, 200619 yr comment_4474403 NOAH needs to get a deal with Brentwood Home Video which distributes UFC and PRIDE FC to Bestbuy, Walmart, and mall stores.
