Episode 123: The Reason to Go to the Venue
August 3, 2026
When it comes to match content alone, we now live in an era where you can watch anytime, anywhere with just a single smartphone.
And yet, there are still fans who physically make their way out to the venues. I wanted to properly put that "why" into words for myself.
At the recent G1 CLIMAX Sapporo show, I felt the raw heat of the entire arena against my skin for the first time in a long while. The cheers, the applause, the intense energy. That is something that simply cannot be conveyed 100% through a stream screen (setting aside geographical constraints).
Strictly speaking, you can find out match results later on through the news or social media. But that feeling of "I was right there, at that very moment"—that is the one thing you can never acquire after the fact.
In other words, the reason to go to the venue isn't just to "watch" the matches. What fans ought to bring home with them might just be the memory of "themselves being right there in that space."
Speaking for myself, being able to witness NJPW vs. UWFi at the Tokyo Dome on October 9, 1996, and Inoki-san's retirement match at the Tokyo Dome on April 4, 1998 live in person is something I still brag about to this day.
When you think about it that way, you realize that our job goes beyond just "having people watch the matches."
It's about whether we can send everyone home for the entire day—from the moment they step into the venue until their trip back home—packaged as one complete "unforgettable memory."
The view from the seats, the merchandise, the food and drinks at the venue—it's all part of that single overarching story.
"If you move your feet to the venue, good fortune moves with you"—it sounds like a silly play on words, but I actually believe that quite seriously.
If someone who came to the venue can head home with their energy tank filled to the brim, there is nothing that could make us happier.
A pro wrestling venue is, in a sense, a bridge. A bridge that connects the ordinary with the extraordinary. Across that bridge, I want people to encounter sights they will never forget.
"Why go to the venue?"
The answer to that question surely exists in a unique form inside every single person who steps through those doors.
All we can do is keep building and sustaining that bridge into the future...
Yes. Precisely because I am Tana-hashi (Bridge).