Kevin Wilson Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 I guess I don't worry too much about that, its not that simple. I think a lot of smaller promotions are on a tight budget and recording/editing etc. would cost extra money, its not a guaranteed method to make profit, even most US indies don't have youtube subs. Plus they'd have to hire at least one extra person to manage it/make it in English. As long as they are available in Japan I'll find a way to watch it. Word on the street was the reason Stardom changed their service off Youtube after just a few months is they weren't getting the subs/money to justify the cost, and if Stardom can't then REINA certainly can't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eivion Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 The Stardom employee who talks on facebook said the biggest reason they left youtube was due to trouble with the paid subscription model's availability to other countries. Basically it was too limiting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Wilson Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 I know that was the PR reason, he said it on Twitter too, but I don't really buy it. I mean I am sure that was a factor but there are other things to consider. First of all, they knew that when they signed up with youtube as it wasn't a new policy, and they went with it anyway. Also, they increased the price by 50%, which is a pretty big increase and if any other online subscription did that there would be tons of complaining (not saying it isn't worth $7.50, but it is still a big one time jump). And finally, the shift will lose them US customers so they must feel being global + price increase will lead to more profits. I say that because now they can't take Paypal and Youtube is very easy to use/people are comfortable with it. They also could have stayed on Youtube if they wanted to so they didn't lose any US customers if they had a big fan base, but their numbers likely weren't what they were hoping. Plus they annoyed people like me by yanking all the content immediately, thus not giving people their full month's worth depending on when they signed up. All that is to say, I don't think the youtube try went as they were hoping as four months is really quick to do a complete change in model. I hope it works out for them as I am all for easy access to Joshi, but it isn't a good sign if the largest promotion with the most revenue clearly had some issues with youtube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eivion Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 I wouldn't really call Stardom the largest promotion. Not sure they have the most revenue either, but I haven't paid much attention to other joshi promotions' numbers. I don't disagree that the reasons given were suspect, but I'm not sure how much using youtube would have realistically cost them. Do companies pay for the space or does youtube just take a cut of the profits? While I agree they took the page down too fast I can also understanding not wanting to keep the youtube page up its cheaper than the increased price for the new site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Wilson Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 I'm not really sure any other Joshi promotion could even make the claim, Stardom is the only Joshi promotion with a monthly Samurai TV slot (I know that isn't saying much but no other promotion has a regular airing), run Korakuen once a month or so at a solid 800 to 1K which is more than any other Joshi promotion, have weekly events, do Japanese tours (ie aren't just in Tokyo), have the most exclusive contracted wrestlers, have events in other countries, are really the only Joshi promotion that gets featured on the cover of Weekly Pro.... I wouldn't even consider it close. I have no idea which promotion I'd say is #2 since there are so many factors, but #1 is pretty clear as far as I can tell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donsem43 Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 Stardom does much more to promote themselves than any other group so they seem bigger than they actually are. OZ Academy runs all over Japan a draws well but doesn't run as many big shows. Ice Ribbon has been better in the last year, their Korakuen shows draw similar to Stardom's plus they just drew 1,500 for their anniversary show. Sendai Girls just drew 2,200 for basically a one match show. The gap isn't that big. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Wilson Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 17 minutes ago, donsem43 said: Stardom does much more to promote themselves than any other group so they seem bigger than they actually are. OZ Academy runs all over Japan a draws well but doesn't run as many big shows. Ice Ribbon has been better in the last year, their Korakuen shows draw similar to Stardom's plus they just drew 1,500 for their anniversary show. Sendai Girls just drew 2,200 for basically a one match show. The gap isn't that big. Other promotions may be even in an area or two, but combining all the factors is what I was looking at. No other promotion runs as often with consistently high attendances which I think is the best way to measure it, along with availability which I think are the two areas that Stardom has a significant leg-up. OZ has claimed over 500 just once all year so I don't think they can hold a candle to Stardom in terms of fans in attendance (although they do a fair number of sellouts so they book arenas smartly, no doubt helping profits). I love Sendai Girls' but they tend to have three or four big events a year and chill the rest of it (plus, the 'one match' on the last show had Stardom's biggest star in it). I would personally have Ice Ribbon at #2 since they run a lot of shows and can get a good attendance for their big shows. Oddly WAVE is probably my favorite promotion at the moment to watch since they have some of my personal favorite wrestlers but I could never make that argument for them since their attendances tend to be rather low for some reason. Obviously none of us have the actual financials for any promotions but since Stardom has had the most fans in attendance at their events this year if you add them up and has the most national/global exposure between having a subscription channel, TV deal, and having events in different countries, I feel comfortable with my opinion And that is coming from someone not overly amused with Stardom at the moment, I am totally burned out on them and will be taking a break for awhile to watch WAVE and whatever else pops up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roy Neary Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 On 7/8/2016 at 11:23 AM, Kevin Wilson said: I know that was the PR reason, he said it on Twitter too, but I don't really buy it. I mean I am sure that was a factor but there are other things to consider. First of all, they knew that when they signed up with youtube as it wasn't a new policy, and they went with it anyway. Also, they increased the price by 50%, which is a pretty big increase and if any other online subscription did that there would be tons of complaining (not saying it isn't worth $7.50, but it is still a big one time jump). And finally, the shift will lose them US customers so they must feel being global + price increase will lead to more profits. I say that because now they can't take Paypal and Youtube is very easy to use/people are comfortable with it. They also could have stayed on Youtube if they wanted to so they didn't lose any US customers if they had a big fan base, but their numbers likely weren't what they were hoping. Plus they annoyed people like me by yanking all the content immediately, thus not giving people their full month's worth depending on when they signed up. All that is to say, I don't think the youtube try went as they were hoping as four months is really quick to do a complete change in model. I hope it works out for them as I am all for easy access to Joshi, but it isn't a good sign if the largest promotion with the most revenue clearly had some issues with youtube. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Wilson Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 Like I said I hope it works out, I am always in favor of legal ways to support promotions which is not easy to do these days. But it is unusual for a promotion to completely change the model so soon after launching which would be a red flag in most situations that something didn't go according to plan, I just hope it didn't block out too many US fans that wanted to support Stardom as not everyone has a credit card that can be used (ie not a pre-paid card). I haven't tested mine yet but my CC works most the time buying stuff from Japan so I'm not worried about it on my end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trocar Slush Weasel Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 To me, Youtube always seemed like a compromise of a necessary evil. The way that Google has been running Youtube over the last couple of years has really left a bad taste in people's mouths. But the advantage you have with Youtube is a (theoretically) large user base and the lack of a need to host your own content. I'm just going to assume that the cost of running your own site is less than whatever Youtube was taking off the top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Wilson Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 One problem (ha) with easily accessible Joshi is now I am about five events behind just from the last three weeks, plus I am tying to watch at least a few classic shows a week so I can catch up a bit on everything I missed out on. Plan on watching Sendai Girls' tonight. If you don't sure how/where to watch the Joshi just send me a DM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trocar Slush Weasel Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 On 7/7/2016 at 3:06 PM, Trocar Slush Weasel said: HANA is teaming with her mom at the 7/24 JWP show at Korakuen. Oz Academy beat JWP to the punch and had Team Oyako (I just made that up) take on Satomura/Iwata. Somebody else decided to come to the show sporting a new addition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eivion Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 They are called Double Kimura from what I've seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostinube Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 Went to a small Stardom show in Hiroshima. It was their first time running there. The was an FMW show later but I couldn't stick around for that. Nothing much of note with only five matches and none of them going over twenty minutes. Rookies got beaten up, there was an interesting gaijin v. gaijin match and a good time was had by all. They killed time by having both "The Rookies" (Watanabe, Mimura and Jungle Kyona) do their song and Thunder Rock do their song. Kris Wolf hams it up: Spoiler Io sings: Spoiler Viper has Io in trouble. Spoiler Thunder Rock about to fly: Spoiler I will never love a wrestler like he loves Kairi: Spoiler 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trocar Slush Weasel Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 10 hours ago, lostinube said: Io sings: Io does a lot of things well, but I don't think singing is one of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostinube Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 58 minutes ago, Trocar Slush Weasel said: Io does a lot of things well, but I don't think singing is one of them. It is not great but it is what it is. It's not like those Crush Gal singles were great works of art either. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trocar Slush Weasel Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 Someone wondered why Stardom has an endless stream of foreigners come thru, looks like it goes back to Rossy's childhood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eivion Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 If only there was a female native equivalent to Giant Baba. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JML Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 On July 19, 2016 at 11:51 AM, lostinube said: It is not great but it is what it is. It's not like those Crush Gal singles were great works of art either. I know the mini concerts go back years and years but do the Joshi audiences really come to these shows for more than just the wrestling like them singing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sareeedicted Posted July 25, 2016 Share Posted July 25, 2016 Io Shirai Reportedly Injured and has to undergo surgery on her tailbone, she will miss the next two shows Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virtualpros Posted August 11, 2016 Share Posted August 11, 2016 Figured this would be the appropriate thread to shill, but we're currently taking preorders on this tee. http://vrtlpros.bigcartel.com/product/saint-bull Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donsem43 Posted August 20, 2016 Share Posted August 20, 2016 Ivelisse is out of the 5* GP, Kris Wolf is in. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JML Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TygtDOkTyw CCTV sat down with Aja Kong to talk to her about growing up in Japan being mixed race in English and her career. Here's the description from the video. This episode of Assignment Asia brings you three stories about identity. First, the story of a musical duo of brothers whose parents come from very different backgrounds – the result of which is reflected in the diversity of their music. Then we meet a professional Japanese female wrestler known by many as ‘Aja Kong’. She tells us her story about growing up as a mixed-race child in Japan and transforming herself into a powerful role model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eivion Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 Great find. I heard some about Aja's troubles in the past, but never actually saw anything on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Wilson Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 FYI, for anyone that is looking to watch Joshi, Real Hero now uploads everything that isn't WAVE and Stardom (since they have sub services). You can find it here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B5rK95X3mRiiSDNvTnQ0aUhWODg. They have uploaded six or so full shows just since Friday, I am a bit overloaded at the moment. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts