List of professional wrestling attendance records in Japan

The following is a list of professional wrestling attendance records in Japan. The list is dominated by the country's largest promotion, New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), which has controlled the industry in Japan since 2002. The company was founded by Antonio Inoki in 1972 and had a long rivalry with Giant Baba's All Japan Pro Wrestling. AJPW set a number of attendance records during its heyday, especially during the 1990s wrestling boom, however, only one of its shows remains on the list As of 2020.

This article is about attendance records for professional wrestling in Japan. For all-time records, see List of professional wrestling attendance records.

According to this list, 5 events are from NJPW's flagship Wrestling World supercard event, which since 1992's WCW/New Japan Supershow II has been held exclusively at the Tokyo Dome which typically has a seating capacity of at least 42,000 people or more. Only six of the attendances listed are non-NJPW events, with the Weekly Pro Wrestling Tokyo Dome Show being an interpromotional event involving over a dozen Japanese promotions. In addition, NJPW has hosted two co-promotional events each with UWF International and the U.S.-based World Championship Wrestling. All but two of the events have been held at the Tokyo Dome in the Japanese capital city of Tokyo, while one has been held at Sun Beach in Atami, Japan and one at Kawasaki Stadium in Kawasaki, Japan.

Events and attendances
Promotion Event Location Venue Attendance Main Event(s) Ref.
NJPW Antonio Inoki Retirement Show
April 4, 1998		 Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 70,000 Antonio Inoki vs. Don Frye [1]
NJPW / UWFi NJPW vs. UWFi
October 9, 1995		 Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 67,000 Keiji Muto (NJPW) vs. Nobuhiko Takada (UWFI) in a Champion vs. Champion match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and UWFI Heavyweight Championship [2]
NJPW Battle Formation
April 29, 1996		 Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 65,000 Nobuhiko Takada (c) vs. Shinya Hashimoto for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship [3]
TPW Tokyo Pro Wrestling in Atami
July 23, 1996		 Atami, Japan Sun Beach 65,000 Abdullah the Butcher and Daikokubo Benkei vs. Kishin Kawabata and Takashi Ishikawa [4]
NJPW Final Power Hall in Tokyo Dome
January 4, 1998		 Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 65,000 Kensuke Sasaki (c) vs. Keiji Mutoh for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship [1]
NJPW / WCW Starrcade in Tokyo Dome
March 21, 1991		 Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 64,500 Tatsumi Fujinami (c - NJPW) vs. Ric Flair (c - NWA) in a Champion vs. Champion match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and NWA World Heavyweight Championships [5]
NJPW / UWFi Wrestling World 1996
January 4, 1996		 Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 64,000 Keiji Mutoh (c - NJPW) vs. Nobuhiko Takada (UWFi) for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship [6]
NJPW Do Judge!!
October 9, 2000		 Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 64,000 Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kensuke Sasaki [7]
NJPW Super Fight in Tokyo Dome
February 10, 1990		 Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 63,900 Antonio Inoki and Seiji Sakaguchi vs. Masahiro Chono and Shinya Hashimoto with special referee Lou Thesz [8]
NJPW Fantastic Story in Tokyo Dome
January 4, 1993		 Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 63,500 Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu [9]
NJPW Strong Style Symphony: New Japan Spirit
April 10, 1999		 Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 63,500 Keiji Muto (c) vs. Don Frye for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship [10]
NJPW Wrestling World 2000
January 4, 2000		 Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 63,500 Genichiro Tenryu (c) vs. Kensuke Sasaki for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship [11]
NJPW Battle 7
January 4, 1995		 Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 62,500 Shinya Hashimoto (c) vs. Kensuke Sasaki for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship [12]
NJPW Wrestling World 1997
January 4, 1997		 Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 62,500 Shinya Hashimoto (c) vs. Riki Choshu for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship [13]
NJPW Wrestling World 1999
January 4, 1999		 Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 62,500 Scott Norton (c) vs. Keiji Mutoh for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship [14]
NJPW Battlefield
January 4, 1994		 Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 62,000 Antonio Inoki vs. Genichiro Tenryu [15]
NJPW Wrestling World 2001
January 4, 2001		 Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 62,000 Kensuke Sasaki vs. Toshiaki Kawada in a tournament final for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship [16]
NOAH Destiny
July 18, 2005		 Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 62,000 Toshiaki Kawada vs. Mitsuharu Misawa [17]
NJPW Indicate of Next
October 8, 2001		 Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 61,500 Jun Akiyama and Yuji Nagata vs. BATT (Hiroshi Hase and Keiji Muto) [18]
NJPW Battle Formation
April 12, 1997		 Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 60,500 Shinya Hashimoto vs. Naoya Ogawa [19]
UWF U-Cosmos
November 29, 1989		 Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 60,000 Akira Maeda vs. Willie Wilhelm in a "Wrestler vs. Judoka" match [20]
NJPW / WCW Starrcade in Tokyo Dome
January 4, 1992		 Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 60,000 Sting (WCW) and The Great Muta (NJPW) vs. The Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner) [5]
Multi-promotional Weekly Pro Wrestling Tokyo Dome Show
April 2, 1995		 Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 60,000 Shinya Hashimoto vs. Masahiro Chono [21]
NJPW Dome Impact
April 7, 2000		 Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 60,000 Shinya Hashimoto vs. Naoya Ogawa [7]
NJPW Final Dome
October 11, 1999		 Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 58,500 Naoya Ogawa (c) vs. Shinya Hashimoto for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship [22]
AJPW AJPW 25th Anniversary Show
May 1, 1998		 Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Dome 58,300 Mitsuharu Misawa (c) vs. Toshiaki Kawada for the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship [23]
FMW FMW 6th Anniversary Show
May 5, 1995		 Kawasaki, Japan Kawasaki Stadium 58,250 Atsushi Onita (c) vs. Hayabusa in a No Rope Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch for the FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship [24]

See also

References
  1. Hornbaker, Tim. "(NJPW) New Japan Pro Wrestling Results - 1998". LegacyOfWrestling.com.
  2. Meltzer, Dave (October 16, 1995). "Muto beats Takada, Warrior Whatever Happened To? Fun, New Jack troubles, legal issues in Mexico, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. The combined New Japan/UWFI show on 10/9 at the Tokyo Dome set an all-time gate record for pro wrestling of more than $6 million. [...] The overflow crowd of 67,000, which included 2,200 standing room tickets sold the day of the show, was the largest crowd for any indoor event ever in Tokyo.
  3. Meltzer, Dave; Alvarez, Bryan (May 6, 1996). "Hashimoto wins IWGP title, Michaels vs. Diesel at In Your House, world of MMA goes completely nuts, more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. Shinya Hashimoto captured the IWGP heavyweight championship from Nobuhiko Takada via cross armbreaker submission to headline the 4/29 Tokyo Dome show which drew the second largest crowd in the history of Japanese wrestling and what is believed to be the second largest live gate in the history of pro wrestling. The card, entitled "'96 Battle Formation," drew a sellout crowd announced at 65,000 fans and a gate that should have approached $6 million
  4. Meltzer, Dave; Alvarez, Bryan (August 5, 1996). "Major changes to WWE syndication, Herb Abrams dies, Kobashi wins Triple Crown for the first time, more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. Several of the groups this past week have run free shows as part of fireworks festivals or country fair type of events. The biggest was Tokyo Pro's show on 7/23 at Atami Sun Beach which was reported as being viewed by more than 65,000 fans.
  5. Meltzer, Dave (January 10, 1992). "Huge Billy Graham interview, Inside Edition on WWE, more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. [WCW/New Japan Supershow II], which will air as an edited pay-per-view in mid-March in the United States, was said to be nowhere near the level of the initial combined show last March. The show drew a turnaway crowd of 60,000 fans. A few thousand seats that were used at the March show (which drew 64,500)
  6. Meltzer, Dave; Alvarez, Bryan (January 15, 1996). "World Championship Wrestling turns first-ever profit in 1995, biggest drawing feud in pro-wrestling history as of 1996, Pena and Televisa breakdown, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. New Japan's traditional biggest event of the year, which occurs every January 4th, entitled this year "`96 Wrestling War in Tokyo Dome," was built once again around the same New Japan vs. UWFI matches that set the record in October. This version drew a turnaway crowd of 64,000 fans, selling out nearly two weeks in advance, and a gate estimated at between $5 and $6 million along with a television audience estimated at 14 million. It was probably the second largest live gate in history (certainly no lower than third on the all-time list), was the ninth largest recorded crowd in history and the third largest crowd ever in Japan.
  7. Stern, Karl. "Ultimate History of Pro Wrestling - A Time Line of Every Major Event in Pro Wrestling History - 2000". WhenItWasCool.com.
  8. Hornbaker, Tim. "(NJPW) New Japan Pro Wrestling Results - 1990". LegacyOfWrestling.com.
  9. Meltzer, Dave (January 15, 1993). "Flair leaves WWE, two World Title changes, Japan update, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. The annual New Japan Tokyo Egg Dome show has, which had its fifth version on Monday, 1/4, has in that time turned into from a prestige factor, right behind Wrestlemania as the biggest card of the year in the world. This year's show did nothing to hurt that reputation as the seventh largest recorded crowd to ever witness pro wrestling--63,500--sold the building out one week in advance to see a show that received raves from everyone I spoke with about it.
  10. Horie, Masanori (December 20, 1999). "January Wrestling in the Tokyo Area / 1999 Year In Review Part One". View from the Rising Sun. Archived from the original on May 2011.
  11. Hornbaker, Tim. "(NJPW) New Japan Pro Wrestling Results - 2000". LegacyOfWrestling.com.
  12. Meltzer, Dave (January 9, 1995). "Flash report from Tokyo Dome, looking back at 1994, UFC V date announced, Hogan vs. Vader preview, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. We'll have more details next week. The show, billed as "Battle 7" (because it was New Japan's seventh annual Tokyo Dome show) drew a legit sellout 62,500 which makes it the eighth largest recorded crowd for pro wrestling of all-time.
  13. Meltzer, Dave (January 13, 1997). "1997 Annual Awards Issue, a look at all the major shows of the year, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. New Japan's annual major event of the year, "'97 Wrestling World in Tokyo Dome" drew a reported 62,500 fans
  14. Hornbaker, Tim. "(NJPW) New Japan Pro Wrestling Results - 1999". LegacyOfWrestling.com.
  15. Meltzer, Dave (January 10, 1994). "Starrcade 93 fallout, New Japan Dome show, catching up on news". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. Well, the good of the promotion won out this time, however an ominous note was the failure of the show to sellout, the first time this has been the case for a New Japan Dome show since the first one in 1989. The crowd was announced at 62,000, although from our reports that is a slightly inflated figure as the outfield section was empty, although there were more than 50,000 there.
  16. Hornbaker, Tim. "(NJPW) New Japan Pro Wrestling Results - 2001". LegacyOfWrestling.com.
  17. Wilson, Kevin. "NOAH Dome Show 7/18/05". PuroresuCentral.com.
  18. "New Japan Pro-Wrestling Results: 2001". Purolove.com.
  19. Meltzer, Dave (April 21, 1997). "ECW PPV historical debut, Ogawa debut, MMA group out of business, more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. New Japan garnered tons of mainstream publicity which led to a crowd announced at 60,500, which everyone was thrilled with since the show's advance wasn't promising at all. This would probably be a gate around $5 million which will make it wind up as almost surely the second biggest money show of 1997 behind only the 1/4 Dome show when it comes to total revenue. The show wasn't sold out but was fairly close to capacity and we're told that announced figure sounded about right.
  20. Wall, Jeremy (2005). UFC's Ultimate Warriors: The Top 10. Toronto: ECW Press. p. 45. ISBN 1550226916.
  21. Meltzer, Dave (May 15, 1995). "WCW taping policy update, real-life pro-wrestling shoot fight booked for UFC, an early "too many shows" story, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. What more can be said than a sellout of 60,000 at the Tokyo Dome and probably the largest house in the history of pro wrestling (a record that only lasted a few weeks) of somewhere between $5 and $6 million?
  22. "New Japan Pro-Wrestling Results: 1999". Purolove.com.
  23. Stern, Karl. "Ultimate History of Pro Wrestling - A Time Line of Every Major Event in Pro Wrestling History - 1998". WhenItWasCool.com.
  24. Meltzer, Dave (May 15, 1995). "WCW taping policy update, real-life pro-wrestling shoot fight booked for UFC, an early "too many shows" story, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. Onita's much-ballyhooed final match on 5/5 at Kawasaki Baseball Stadium drew a sellout of approximately 50,000 fans (announced at 58,250) which would be a gate in the $2.5 million range and tons more in merchandise
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