WWE To Air Show From Tokyo On The WWE Network

[Jack-Hammer]

According to an announcement made by William Regal, the WWE supercard taking place on Saturday, July 4th from Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan will air on the WWE Network beginning at 6:30 pm Eastern Standard Time. Regal announced that NXT will have a presence on the show as NXT Champion Kevin Owens will defend the NXT Championship against #1 contender Finn Balor. Reportedly, as of a few days ago, Brock Lesnar was scheduled to return to WWE and actually compete in a match on the card against Kofi Kingston; however, this was before plans were announced that this card would be seen on the WWE Network so it's possible that match may be off. A match against Kofi would be a quick affair with Lesnar absolutely decimating him and generally having his way for a few minutes. To my knowledge, this will be the first WWE show broadcast to the United States from Japan, so having Lesnar take on Kofi feels pretty underwhelming considering how rare Lesnar matches are.

Including Owens vs. Balor on the card is a smart move by WWE considering the strong presence Balor, AKA Prince Devitt, enjoyed in Japan over the past several years. Balor was a founding member and first leader of the Bullet Club in New Japan Pro Wrestling, was a 3 time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, 6 time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion and 2 time winner of the Best of the Super Juniors tournament. According to reports, Owens is scheduled to be on the main WWE roster at least through SummerSlam and considering Balor's star power in Japan, I think there's a very good chance of Owens dropping the NXT Championship to Balor as a crowd pleasing moment.

 

[Thriller Ant]

According to an announcement made by William Regal, the WWE supercard taking place on Saturday, July 4th from Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan will air on the WWE Network beginning at 6:30 pm Eastern Standard Time. Regal announced that NXT will have a presence on the show as NXT Champion Kevin Owens will defend the NXT Championship against #1 contender Finn Balor. Reportedly, as of a few days ago, Brock Lesnar was scheduled to return to WWE and actually compete in a match on the card against Kofi Kingston; however, this was before plans were announced that this card would be seen on the WWE Network so it's possible that match may be off. A match against Kofi would be a quick affair with Lesnar absolutely decimating him and generally having his way for a few minutes. To my knowledge, this will be the first WWE show broadcast to the United States from Japan, so having Lesnar take on Kofi feels pretty underwhelming considering how rare Lesnar matches are.

Including Owens vs. Balor on the card is a smart move by WWE considering the strong presence Balor, AKA Prince Devitt, enjoyed in Japan over the past several years. Balor was a founding member and first leader of the Bullet Club in New Japan Pro Wrestling, was a 3 time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, 6 time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion and 2 time winner of the Best of the Super Juniors tournament. According to reports, Owens is scheduled to be on the main WWE roster at least through SummerSlam and considering Balor's star power in Japan, I think there's a very good chance of Owens dropping the NXT Championship to Balor as a crowd pleasing moment.

They've done a Raw before; I don't know if there was also a SmackDown as well.

I couldn't tell if it would just be the NXT match or the whole show airing, based on the promo by Regal. Either way, this is exactly what they should be doing with the Network. Big house shows like this one, the MSG ones, and other overseas shows tend to be a big deal and have everything ready for TV other than the cameras. I can't imagine it being too expensive (especially if they don't air it live, which is not the case for this show) and it's a cool thing that they can plug as being another benefit for subscribers.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Awful time to put a show on in the US but I'm sure a lot of US Network subscribers will tune in and catch it in their free time. Plus this show is probably more aboit building a Network fan base in and around Japan. WWE must surely be bummed by Itami's injury. Balor sounds like a decent replacement but I could see them bringing in another Japanese name to fill the card. Maybe they will stick Itami on Balor's corner for his match.

The Lesnar/Kofi match makes perfect sense to me. They can sacrifice Kofi to Lesnar while using New Day to interfere and even things up a little bit. It would make even more sense if Kofi wins the case next week.

But that it just my dream.

 

[bjarvis]

Definitely throw in a NXT Divas match. I wouldn't mind seeing Lynch and Banks go at it again, their match at Takeover was amazing.

 

[K Web V3]

I'm still confused as to whether they are showing just the nxt match, or the whole show....if the whole show, then Kofi is most likely s.o.l. just have y2j face Brock since he(y2j) was previously set to face balor anyways

 

[Y 2 Jake]

It's something different so I'm looking forward to it. Lesnar/Kofi isn't a match thought I'd care to see until it was presented to me. It'll likely be short but I expect it to be enjoyable and high impact. Can't wait for the NXT match and while the Jericho match only exists to Y2J can claim he's made somebody it should be very good.

 

[K Web V3]

The best thing about the card is the fact that outside of the nxt title match, these are all just matches. Theres no story involved(since it was gonna be a non televised event)

i just hope wwe doesnt try to add forced storylines into these quick "one off" matches

 

[Wrestlingaholic]

The best thing about the card is the fact that outside of the nxt title match, these are all just matches. Theres no story involved(since it was gonna be a non televised event)

i just hope wwe doesnt try to add forced storylines into these quick "one off" matches

Agree. I obviously understand why WWE books ppvs the way they do, but it's nice to have feud-less matches televised from time to time. If anything it accentuates the 'athletic' side of wrestling: why are those two fighting? Win/loss records!

 

[Scotty]

I really hope that they show the whole event. I could use some storyline free wrestling. There is only so many times that I can watch the same matches week in and week out before I get bored. Hopefully like someone else mentioned above they include maybe an NXT divas match. Sasha and Charlotte maybe or even Bayley. Just some type of NXT Divas match. I'm not really picky.

 

[MCMG]

I love the idea of this. It gives another show ensuring we get our money's worth. Given the talent, this should definitely feel like a big show rather than a live event.

I'm not sure what to think of Kofi/Lesnar but it sounds amazing. A weird combination for sure but Kofi is now a heel and Lesnar is presumably going to be booked with a slight babyface edge. Imagine that a year ago....

Balor v Owens should be phenomenal. This could be a good time for a title change. Maybe Cena gets involved but this would allow Owens to move up to the main roster. Plus, it would give great exposure for NXT. The very fact it is in Japan helps make it feel special.

Jericho v Neville will be fantastic too. Plus, Cena who always delivers.

Looking at the card; now that Tyson is injured they could have a triple threat tag match with The Dragons, Matedores and New Day allowing Cesaro to have a different match. Imagine Cesaro v Brock going one-on-one. Yes, please.

 

[@smarkmouth]

The best thing about the card is the fact that outside of the nxt title match, these are all just matches. Theres no story involved(since it was gonna be a non televised event)

i just hope wwe doesnt try to add forced storylines into these quick "one off" matches

I agree, but I hope they add some short-story booking outside the matches which don't worry too much about continuity.

For example, I keep thinking about this tag team match they've been promoting, New Day vs Cesaro and Kidd. It's looking less and less likely that Kidd will be part of the show, and I'd rather see them write him out rather than outright replace them with another tag team. So what if Cesaro was forced to find a new partner, and perhaps creative decides amalgamate this tag team match and Kofi's rumored match? Yes, I'm suggesting a 3 on 2 handicap match between The New Day and Cesaro & Lesnar.

Something like this gives a huge talking point about Cesaro, while remaining isolated in this one time event, making it all the more special. So indeed, let's hope for short-term booking that WWE doesn't try and build upon outside of Tokyo.