A look into how the match came to be.
DDT Pro-Wrestling presented a match between Minoru Suzuki and CyberFight President Sanshiro Takagi that took place on a Shinkansen (bullet train). The train was filled with passengers who purchased tickets to witness the match.
The likes of Jun Akiyama, Kenta Kobashi and former MMA fighter Kazunari Murakami got involved. Footage of the bout was picked up and covered by The Associated Press, USA TODAY, The Independent and ABC among other national media outlets.
Takagi did an interview with ITmedia and stated that he did not expect the Shinkansen match to get as much buzz as it did.
To be honest, I did not expect such a great response (for the bullet train match). It’s the biggest buzz I’ve ever had in my wrestling career (laughs). 53 years old, I never thought I’d be getting so much attention.
Takagi collaborated with JR Tōkai, the Central Japan Railway company and JTB travel agency so they could handle the logistics of presenting a match on a bullet train. Initially, Takagi thought there was a 10 percent chance of it happening.
He felt it was necessary to collaborate with the aforementioned entities, considering there are people who take the Shinkansen regularly. Takagi wanted to abide by the rules and regulations set by JR Tōkai and JTB.
DDT has held wrestling matches on trains and monorails in the past, so I edited the footage of those matches and sent it to them as a video file. But to be honest, I thought there was only a 10 percent chance of making it happen. However, JR Tōkai and JTB responded positively and sincerely, and made it possible to hold the event with spectators.
In addition to Car 16, there were also passengers who normally use the Shinkansen, and unlike regular trains, the Shinkansen stops at only a few stations, so it would not be easy to deal with any problems that might occur. In order to avoid various risks, we knew that it was absolutely necessary to fulfill the requests regarding rules received from JR Tōkai and JTB.
DDT’s next off-site match is taking place on November 13th. They are scheduled to host a wrestling match on a houseboat.
