Sanshiro Takagi speaks about his expansion ideas for DDT.
While speaking to Tokyo Sports, DDT Pro-Wrestling President Sanshiro Takagi and Jun Akiyama discussed all things related to the company including DDT’s 25th Anniversary show which is scheduled for March 20th.
Takagi shared some of the expansion ideas he has in mind for DDT. He wants to establish the product outside of Japan but has yet to decide on a name; ‘DDT USA’ or ‘DDT World’. He added that the COVID-19 virus has devastated business in Japan but things have surprisingly picked back up in the U.S.
Overseas. It’s hard to get visas for foreigners, but once that’s cleared up, I’d like to invite all kinds of people. Overseas is more popular now. I don’t know if it will be DDT USA or DDT World, but I would like to establish a base overseas as I have said before. I don’t know if it’s DDT USA or DDT World, but Corona devastated the entertainment market in Japan, but surprisingly not so much overseas.
When CyberAgent acquired Pro Wrestling NOAH, Takagi became the President of that company as well. He touched on the competition between CyberFight and New Japan Pro-Wrestling. He thinks there is a gap between them and NJPW, adding that there are more people aware of NJPW because it is bigger. In terms of product substance, Takagi says there’s not much of a difference.
When we look at New Japan as a CyberFight, we need to make it clear what we need to do to catch up and win. Is it sales, attendance, or strength? I still feel that there is a difference in terms of scale, but I don’t think there is much of a difference in terms of substance. I feel like it’s a game of how to get the public to know about us in that area. It’s not just about wrestling fans, it’s about how to face the public. I had (martial artist) Koji [Takeuchi] participate in a street wrestling event at the Tokyo Dome, and just by battling, he became the talk of the town in both good and bad ways. I think we need to make that happen in pro wrestling. The wrestlers need to always look outward and communicate, and we need to create that kind of environment.
NOAH is presenting a joint-show with New Japan on January 8th which will be the third day of Wrestle Kingdom 16. To read more about that, click here.
