Dynamite!! Likely to Return in 2010

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer writes that Dynamite likely did enough with its ratings on NYE to secure a slot with Japanese TV station TBS next year.

It is the rating for the big matches that the network is most concerned with, and it was considered a success, being in second place for what is traditionally the most-watched night of television of the year in Japan. While Sadaharu Tanigawa of K-1 seemed disappointed, hoping to be more competitive with the concert, particularly during the Masato and Ishii matches, TBS president Toshimi Ichihara did a press interview talking about the success of the show in beating a comedy show on NTV that featured a lot of big names. After last year, the tradition was in trouble, but this rating guarantees TBS doing it again next year. The problem is when you look at what drew the rating, Ishii’s debut was a one-time thing and he didn’t look good, and got destroyed in all the newspapers, and Masato, who ended up being the star of the show, was retiring. I could easily see a big push next year to bring him out of retirement because they’ll need him.

Payout Perspective:

The news is good, but Meltzer does hint at the larger problem which still clearly exists in Japanese MMA: the sport’s reliance on the non-traditional matches to draw viewership. Masato’s retirement bout will not be available and Ishii’s star is fading, so what will the organization do next year?

In fairness, you have to give FEG credit for this year’s show; it was the first in a long time that didn’t feature any freak show bouts (even if it did feature the final of the Super Hulk tournament). Moreover, even the regular MMA shows routinely draw 20-40k at the gate, which in many cases is far greater than what MMA is doing in North America.

However, as we move into the future, the one big issue surrounding MMA in Japan will continue to be whether the sport, itself, will take in the country.