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Hello hi HOLY poo poo YOU'RE ACTUALLY DOING IT AND ARE GOING TO WRESTLE KINGDOM  Yes indeed, this is the meetup and general information thread for Wrestle Kingdom 13 on January 4 2019, as well as any and all events also happening around that time. With NJPW being on perhaps its greatest period ever it's safe to assume this will be a historically big Wrestle Kingdom and it looks like a lot of RR people are also going to be there for it, so why not see if we can get a bunch of people to have a goony time together? It's still a couple of months out but I figured we might want to have this thread up and running early so that if we need to reserve something as a group in advance it'll be easier to figure out. Anyway, let's get into it. To start us of off, I'd like to link to harperdc's excellent guide to pro wrestling in Tokyo. It'll give you the basic information you probably want to know as a first-timer in Tokyo. Very much worth a read, thank you harperdc! THE EVENTS The big one is of course Wrestle Kingdom itself on January 4 but there's plenty of pro wrestling to go around before and after it in Tokyo. I just shamelessly picked out the Tokyo shows from Puwota's calendar. I have no idea if Puwota actually lists everything, so if you have any additions, feel free to post about them and they'll be added to this list. Also - if you know something isn't actually happening, it's a garbage/inadvisable show or promotion or I've misunderstood something, please let me know! Apart from the bigger ones I don't know many of these promotions. I guess what Puwota lists as "Tokyo Womans" is actually Tokyo Joshi? Right?  Note: If I've written "early show" next to the show, Puwota tells me it starts before 5 PM, generally around noon. December 23 (Sun) Hitachi Pro Wrestling @ Ibaraki (featuring forums poster Vendo the Fastlane!) December 24 (Mon) STARDOM @ Korakuen Hall (early show!) NOAH @ Korakuen Hall December 25 (Tue) FREEDOMS @ Korakuen Hall WGWF/Nishiguchi Pro Wrestling @ Shinjuku FACE December 26 (Wed) WRESTLE-1 @ Korakuen Hall Heat-Up @ Shinkiba 1st RING BBJ Muscle Ring 2018 @ Shinjuku FACE December 27 (Thu) Some sort of show? @ Shinkiba 1st RING 666 @ Dream Store Tokyo Joshi @ New arena near Asakusa NOAH @ Korakuen Hall December 28 (Fri) SEAdLINNNG @ Shinkiba 1st RING Power Hall 2018 @ Korakuen Hall December 29 (Sat) HARD HIT @ Shinkiba 1st RING (early show!) Wave @ Korakuen Hall December 30 (Sun) DDT @ Korakuen Hall (early show!) Big Japan @ Korakuen Hall December 31 (Mon) Ice Ribbon @ Korakuen Hall (early show!) DDT/Big Japan New Year's Show @ Korakuen Hall January 1 (Tue) 666 @ Underground arena (early show!) ZERO1 @ Korakuen Hall (early show!) YMZ @ Shinkiba 1st RING January 2 (Wed) All Japan @ Korakuen Hall (early show!) - Card Big Japan @ Korakuen Hall - Card Stardom @ Shinkiba 1st RING January 3 (Thu) FREEDOMS @ Shinkiba 1st RING (early show!) All Japan @ Korakuen Hall (early show!) - Card DDT @ Korakuen Hall Stardom @ Shinkiba 1st RING NJPW meet and greet @ Shinkiba Studio Coast - This is a meet and greet, not a wrestling show! Here's GWB's post about it January 4 (Fri) NJPW WRESTLE KINGDOM 13 @ TOKYO DOME - Card Big Japan @ Shinkiba 1st RING (early show!) Tokyo Joshi @ Korakuen Hall (early show!) - Card January 5 (Sat) Tokyo Joshi @ Kitazawa town hall (early show!) DDT @ Kitazawa town hall Wave @ Shinjuku FACE NJPW New Year Dash!! @ Korakuen Hall (see ticket information below) Wrestle-1 @ Korakuen Hall (early show!) January 6 (Sun) NOAH @ Korakuen Hall (early show!) - Card Sendai Girls @ Shinjuku FACE (early show!) Ganbare/DDT @ Kitazawa town hall (early show!) Basara/DDT @ Kitazawa town hall January 7 (Mon) Fight Club Pro @ Korakuen Hall - Card THE PLACES Here we'll collect some notable pro wrestling-related places in Tokyo. Again, if you know about cool places or whatever, do let me know and I'll add them to the list. Pro wrestling venues: Dream Store Kitazawa town hall Korakuen Hall Shinjuku FACE Shinkiba 1st RING Tokyo Dome The Lion Marks' Map of Wrestling Spots in Tokyo: Back Drop (pro wrestling merch on the cheap) EBRIETAS (Yano's Bar) HAOMING Shop Nippon Budokan MARUBUSHOUTEN (BUSHI's fried chicken shop) Piledriver (Suzuki's clothing shop) Ribera Steakhouse 1 and 2 Tokon Shop (NJPW Official Shop) Tonga Coffee (Bad Luck Fale's cafe) Toudoukan Wrestling Shop  , friends, and if you have questions, probably just ask GEORGE W BUSHI. GEORGE W BUSHI is very cool.
a cyborg mug fucked around with this message at 16:29 on Nov 26, 2018 |
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Sep 30, 2018 20:58
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I guess I'll put this hereGEORGE W BUSHI posted:
a cyborg mug fucked around with this message at 06:56 on Oct 10, 2018 |
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Sep 30, 2018 20:59
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Here's what I personally am thinking of and/or have already reserved at this point: Pro wrestling - WK13 on Jan 4 - DDT/Big Japan December 31 New Year's Show - Pro Wrestling Wave on December 29 - GEORGE W BUSHI has floated the idea of booking a table at Toru Yano's bar EBRIETAS. All you can eat and drink for 3000 yen if I recall correctly, and YTR himself might also be there trying to sell you his DVDs. if you want to come so we can figure out the date and GWB can book a table!Other stuff - A visit to the Studio Ghibli Museum. It's closed from December 28 to January 2, for the record. Tickets seem to be difficult to get, but I'll try to get one. Anyone else thinking of going, maybe we can go together? - A day trip to Hakone or some other place not too far away from Tokyo isn't out of the question. - The Golden Gai bar area seems dope - Historical stuff - Wonder if any of the parks in Tokyo are worth visiting in the winter? - I'm a disgusting nerd so I'm definitely at least going to the Pokemon Center thing, maybe other video game poo poo - Arcades? - Thinking of non-wrestling shows, would be cool to see something like Kabuki or some electronic/experimental/dark/heavy music or something. I was originally thinking of trying to book myself to play somewhere but it seems a bit difficult and too late for the time I'll be there to manage it. I'll be in Japan from December 28 to January 6. Just booked a place to stay near the Shinjuku Station. a cyborg mug fucked around with this message at 11:50 on Oct 21, 2018 |
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Sep 30, 2018 21:16
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is new years dash not happening this time?
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Sep 30, 2018 21:19
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STONE COLD 64 posted:is new years dash not happening this time? I don't think it's been officially announced yet, but I guess it's a safe bet it's probably happening? I don't really know. I actually just added it to the list before I saw your post.
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Sep 30, 2018 21:20
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extradite THIS! posted:Other stuff I tried to get a ticket to this when I was in Japan but even months early for my trip I was months behind them selling out apparently. Every person I have met that I have mentioned going to Japan to, has asked me if I went to the museum, and when I said no they grabbed me by the shoulders, shook me back and forth and screamed,"YOU HAVE TO GO TO THE MUSEUM!" So definitely go if you can!
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Sep 30, 2018 23:14
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Got something to really make the whole sub-forum feel more like a family. any of you folks who meet up in japan should maek a very big long thread about it including a lot of pictures of buildings, food, and fun. If you do that then you can have the idea for free
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Sep 30, 2018 23:22
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Dont stop being with eachother.
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Sep 30, 2018 23:38
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I'll be sorta disappointed if you guys aren't hitting the FREEDOMS show on Xmas since, if their stuff that I've seen previously is any indication, it'll be batshit crazy Also music wise maybe try to see if Melt Banana or Boris is doing something (if you like metal, if not, that's cool) Also I like the idea of photos and such.
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Oct 1, 2018 00:30
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I'm in for at least one of these events/meetups/whathaveyou because I'm a local and maybe I can help with planning and logistics. Two things non-locals should do: 1. Get a Suica or Pasmo card. You will be riding the subway a lot and IC cards are awesome, cheap to acquire, and actually a bit cheaper than buying tickets to each destination. Plus they're super easy to top up; every train station self-service kiosk has an English option. 2. Get a temp SIM card or rent a WiMax device (many of the big electronics stores can let you do that). Although Wifi is everywhere, if you find yourself somewhere free coverage isn't, having something that you can take with you everywhere is paramount. As for Ghibli Museum tickets, I've helped someone out with this and the trick is that they only allocate so many entry tickets for foreigners to buy, so if you haven't reserved one already, you need a local to buy something out of the Loppi or ePlus machines in convenience stores. They were just a day late and I had to buy their tickets, and then show up with them to present my ID since I was the ticket buyer. Tokyo parks are nice even in December but it's going to be a bit chilly. It snows as much in Tokyo as it does in Seattle or San Francisco, though, which is to say barely at all and all melted by the next day. Ueno Park is very cool any time of year and Kitanomaru (near Budokan, the place Cheap Trick played, and the infamous Yasukuni-Jinja) is also quite lovely. Akihabara is a tourist trap and it's only a few blocks radius around the JR station there, but a few of its arcades and game stores are amazing, including Super Potato. Go to Nakano Broadway instead; its level of nerdiness will blow your mind clear from here to Toledo. I'd be happy to field any other Tokyo/Chiba/Saitama area questions.
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Oct 1, 2018 06:44
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Auritech posted:Ueno Park is very cool any time of year and Kitanomaru (near Budokan, the place Cheap Trick played, and the infamous Yasukuni-Jinja) is also quite lovely. Ueno Park was my favorite place in all of Tokyo and a couple of days I just went and hung out around there all day (interspersed with museum trips and going to the zoo), even when it was chilly it was just a lovely place to be.
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Oct 1, 2018 07:42
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Me and my wife will be there. Honestly can't wait. I can remember being in middle school and wanting to see wrestling at the Tokyo dome.
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Oct 1, 2018 08:27
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im real sad that my current line of work ensures i will never get to go to jan 4. i could though maybe go to dominion or g1.
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Oct 1, 2018 09:46
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The Fight Club Pro event on January 7th at Korakuen is also something people might be interested in if you want to come to Japan to see all your favourite British wrestlers. And I'll second Auritech's suggestion not to rely on free WiFi, it's very hit and miss and some you need to jump through ludicrous hoops to log in. If you do, Starbucks is by far the most reliable in my experience. The December 27th TJPW show is in a brand new arena near Asakusa. Also Yano's bar only takes reservations two weeks in advance iirc so don't feel the need to commit too early.
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Oct 1, 2018 14:01
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 NEW YEAR'S DASH ticket information https://sp.njpw.jp/tornament/167218 * Fan club tickets will be restricted to two per member as opposed to four per member as in previous years * Standing room only tickets will be sold in advance as opposed to in the past when you could queue up from 5:30 am to get them, this will be handled exclusively through Lawson's by the looks of things
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Oct 4, 2018 16:20
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If you can't get tickets to the Dash, I have to admit going to the Shibuya Hub and watching Dash there was an equally fun experience, it's very unique to sit in a pub and have people watch wrestling in the same way they would major sporting events. Hopefully they have the same arrangement with some of the Tokyo Hubs again this year. I'll be there again for the show so may be able to make it along to a meet up.
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Oct 5, 2018 11:14
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Auritech posted:I'm in for at least one of these events/meetups/whathaveyou because I'm a local and maybe I can help with planning and logistics. I am going to probably be doing the most touristy poo poo possible for the most part, but one of the things that is important to me is that I get to (sorry if this is wrong the title is based off twitter translation) Basketball Cafe Balltongue. Is that going to be easy to get to via normal tourist methods?
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Oct 5, 2018 19:50
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Rick posted:I am going to probably be doing the most touristy poo poo possible for the most part, but one of the things that is important to me is that I get to (sorry if this is wrong the title is based off twitter translation) Basketball Cafe Balltongue. Is that going to be easy to get to via normal tourist methods? Doing a glance at where it is, it’s probably going to be pretty accessible depending on where you are staying. The Tozai Line (the rail line it’s station is a short walk away from) crisscrosses a lot of the major local lines and so everything from Shinjuku to Asakusa is just a few transfers away and if you have an itinerary, you’ll be able to get there no problem. Just be careful what time you go (mornings before 9am and evenings between 6 and 8) can sometimes be rough as what they say about subway rush hours is true. Also today’s the last day of Tsukiji Fish Market, as they’re tearing it down to build the Olympic Athletes Village. 
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Oct 5, 2018 20:57
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Thank you, that is good. I was hoping to do that in the evening of the same day I visited Akihabara although maybe I could mix it into something else.
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Oct 5, 2018 21:54
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Going to get all caught up on the thread as a whole later on, but wanted to chime in and say thanks for kicking it off! My partner and I will be visiting from December 29 - January 11, and I think we want to try and see maybe three shows. WK, obviously, but I'd also love to see STARDOM if they're running a show. We're unsure about NYD yet as if we're going to see a handful of shows, I think we want to see them from different promotions. Also not sure if we're going to do the DDT New Year's show or if we want to do something fun in the city for New Year's instead. We definitely want to do the Ghibli Museum and general sightseeing, but not sure exactly what else we want to try and do yet. Neither of us speaks Japanese and it seems like most stuff in Tokyo is pretty accessible to foreigners, but stuff outside of the city isn't as much. Would be great to meet up and do some stuff while other goons are over there!
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Oct 5, 2018 22:04
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Rick posted:Thank you, that is good. I was hoping to do that in the evening of the same day I visited Akihabara although maybe I could mix it into something else. Luckily Akihabara is close to the Toei Shinjuku line (which connects to the Tozai line) so you can definitely fit both trips in the same day.
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Oct 5, 2018 22:04
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A note to everyone who does want to visit the Ghibli Museum: tickets for non-locals through the Lawson website go on sale every 10th of the month before the day you wish to visit. So, if you want to buy a ticket for December, they go on sale on November 10th. The tickets released through the travel agency JTB are already on sale for December but January's tickets become available on November 1st. The museum web site has more information, but if JTB is already sold out, you need to snipe the Lawson tickets because they go fast. Also, a quick note about Shin-Kiba 1st Ring, where a ton of promotions including STARDOM put on shows: it's not hard to get to, but it feels a bit out of the way from central destinations. It's an easy to miss location because it's basically a big shack in the middle of a lumberyard, but it's worth going to because the atmosphere is really quite fun. Planning your route will help a lot, and expect going there to be most of your day.
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Oct 5, 2018 22:20
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Auritech posted:Also today’s the last day of Tsukiji Fish Market, as they’re tearing it down to build the Olympic Athletes Village. gently caress. It was shut down when I visited so I never got to see the early morning fish auction, which is supposed to be a big tourist attraction
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Oct 6, 2018 00:43
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Jerusalem posted:gently caress. It was shut down when I visited so I never got to see the early morning fish auction, which is supposed to be a big tourist attraction I let it pass because the logistics in planning something that happens at 4:30am (before the trains start running again) that’s halfway across a city is a bit much, but it’s a shame it’s going away. The move has also probably the most contentious of the whole Olympics construction considering what they’ve discovered and all the politicians that have been sacrificed at the altar, but they’re doing it and it’s another piece of history lost to memory.
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Oct 6, 2018 02:52
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So when Dave Meltzer talks about going he talks about checking out from his hotel before the show, then directly flying out. Is that possible if you have like, luggage? Are there lockers in train stations? Or was Dave just traveling to Japan and wearing one shirt the whole time?
Rick fucked around with this message at 19:07 on Oct 8, 2018 |
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Oct 8, 2018 19:01
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Rick posted:So when Dave Meltzer talks about going he talks about checking out from his hotel before the show, then directly flying out. Is that possible if you have like, luggage? Are there lockers in train stations? Or was Dave just traveling to Japan and wearing one shirt the whole time? There actually are lockers in a good deal of the train stations and most of them are big enough to hold decent sized luggage. They’re super easy to rent and only cost 300 yen per day. Dave probably stores his at the station right across from Tokyo Dome and Korakuen Hall (they’re on the same grounds) and leaves directly from there; both the Narita and Haneda Airports are not hard to get to from there.
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Oct 9, 2018 01:41
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TBH I can totally believe that Dave used to fly to Japan with only the clothes on his back
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Oct 9, 2018 03:22
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Benne posted:TBH I can totally believe that Dave used to fly to Japan with only the clothes on his back But Dave, you've organized no hotel, where will you sleep? Dave: Oh... I'll get by 
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Oct 9, 2018 05:27
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STONE COLD 64 posted:im real sad that my current line of work ensures i will never get to go to jan 4. i could though maybe go to dominion or g1.
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Oct 9, 2018 09:30
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How is Wave as a promotion? I'd love to see a joshi show while I'm there and my options are somewhat limited. Don't particularly want to do two pro wrestling shows in one day, so preferably no early Tokyo Joshi show on WK day for me. The Jan 5 Tokyo Joshi show at Kitazawa town hall isn't out of the question, though.
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Oct 20, 2018 07:20
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I enjoy Wave. If it's the show on the 28th(?) I think, that's Misaki Ohata's retirement show and they're going on hiatus afterwards. She's fantastic so it's worth going along to see her before she retires. I'll probably be at that one too.
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Oct 20, 2018 10:31
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GEORGE W BUSHI posted:I enjoy Wave. If it's the show on the 28th(?) I think, that's Misaki Ohata's retirement show and they're going on hiatus afterwards. She's fantastic so it's worth going along to see her before she retires. I'll probably be at that one too. Cool! I don't know anything about the promotion or the roster so this is all excellent info. You'd think they'd go all out for a show like that just before a hiatus, too. It's the show on the 29th, Saturday. I'm slightly worried about any potential jetlag on that day since I'll have flown in on the previous day but maybe it'll be doable. Any idea on if a Reserved Seat (3000 yen) is a decent one?
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Oct 20, 2018 11:23
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There aren't really bad seats in Korakuen at all (and honestly the closer you are, the more the ring obstructs any action on the opposite side) so I'd honestly recommend saving your money and going for the cheap seats unless it's a promotion you really want to be ringside for. Also, it saves you from a surprise Brahman Brothers booking like I had to deal with when I went ringside for DDT before the card was revealed.
GEORGE W BUSHI fucked around with this message at 11:29 on Oct 20, 2018 |
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Oct 20, 2018 11:26
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Yeah, the 3000 yen tickets are the cheapest ones. If I understand the Google Translated page correctly, tickets bought at the gate are only 1000 yen, but, y'know, I'd like to actually get in for sure :P Not familiar with the Brahman Brothers. I'm going to assume they love to work in the crowd ringside?
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Oct 20, 2018 11:30
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1000 yen might be to stand up on the balcony (which honestly isn't bad either) but I can't imagine a Wave show selling enough to necessitate standing room tickets. They had like 500 people in there when I went. The Brahman Brothers bring full buckets of water to chuck into the crowd and if you're really lucky, poo poo like hard boiled eggs and squids that they smash into the crowd with a tennis racquet.
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Oct 20, 2018 11:34
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GEORGE W BUSHI posted:1000 yen might be to stand up on the balcony (which honestly isn't bad either) but I can't imagine a Wave show selling enough to necessitate standing room tickets. They had like 500 people in there when I went. Alright. Since it sounds like a special-ish show I'll be on the safe side and add the basic 3000-yen seat to my BuySumoTickets order. Your help and insight is invaluable, GWB  quote:The Brahman Brothers bring full buckets of water to chuck into the crowd and if you're really lucky, poo poo like hard boiled eggs and squids that they smash into the crowd with a tennis racquet.  I kind of hope I see them at the DDT/BJ New Year's show!
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Oct 20, 2018 11:45
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I kinda want to see Sendai Girls so I can experience the glory of Meiko Satomura live. Also, I noticed this in Akihabara Station (Hibiya Line subway, not the JR lines) today and made sure to take a picture of it. Seems that whenever there is doubt, there is no doubt, a vending machine has your back.
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Oct 20, 2018 13:15
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Auritech posted:I kinda want to see Sendai Girls so I can experience the glory of Meiko Satomura live. There's still tickets available for Peter Pan tomorrow!
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Oct 20, 2018 13:31
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GEORGE W BUSHI posted:There's still tickets available for Peter Pan tomorrow! Unfortunately, I have plans for tomorrow already.
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Oct 20, 2018 13:56
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I understand this is stupidly early, and given my stupid employers I currently have no idea of the exact dates of my winter vacation, and am unlikely to know until a lot closer to the time. But if I have the time off in/around Christmas-New Years I am likely to take a week and go to Japan. I will most likely be staying in Yokohama, (an hour by train away from Tokyo), and will probably not be able to go to any of the bigger Tokyo wrestling stuff, (due to it being sold out in advance, or too expensive), but would love to hang out/drink with goons during my holiday.
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Oct 21, 2018 11:19
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