Today let's talk about the best wrestling streaming services. And number two, NJPW World.
[MUSIC] On to number one! Thanks for the responses.
I’m not sure why they made the change but it is good for fans as now we can watch all their shows that don’t air on Samurai TV. One quibble, this site is a bit difficult to navigate for non-Japanese speakers.
Stardom World is also the only Joshi streaming service that subtitles most of the wrestler promos in English, making it user-friendly to English speakers.
New Japan is arguably the world's number two wrestling promotion. New Japan was recently discussed on an episode of the Japanese TV show Ametok, and the matches shown on the program are now free to watch (for a limited time) on the NJPW World streaming service.
Japan produces a vast amount of anime, and we've reviewed the top online services for watching it legally. Registration for the site The site currently features matches from this year and last year, including shows from last year's Champion Carnival tournament, but nothing before 2017. Only credit cards are accepted (no Paypal), just something to keep in mind.
HAMAKATSU Presents WRESTLING DONTAKU 2017.
At number four HIGHSPOTS. The service won’t start to charge until April, but payment information is required in order to watch videos. Digital Content Association of Japan shows that the domestic market size of live streaming services in 2017 was 185 billion yen (1.68 billion USD as of March 25th, 2019).
The video player is clear and allows the normal features (skipping ahead, pausing, going back 10 seconds), so its an easy viewing experience. Like Stardom, DDT Universe uploads all Tokyo Joshi Pro events, and even better they also sometimes broadcast the events live. All their events since late 2017 were included at launch, including their most recent event (as of the time of this review). Now, DDT and its network of promotions have launched their own streaming service called DDT Universe. The cost is low and since its the easiest way to watch the promotion its an easy buy for me, but it is likely more for hardcore fans.YMZ, operated by Kaori Yoneyama, also has its own streaming service.
He hosts a great wrestling podcast called Mat Men And he subscribes to all of the services we're about to talk about, so let's go. Stardom World does not air their events live, but its still worth the cost to be able to not miss a single show.On May 15th, 2020, Actwres girl’Z dropped a bomb when they suddenly launched a streaming service. If you really don’t want to miss out, you can purchase an online service that (probably illegally) streams live Japanese TV, including Samurai TV and GAORA which air Stardom and OZ Academy (plus sometimes other promotions such as SEAdLINNNG). TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares of the company.
However, it is still building out and has some live content from promotions like Evolve. All Japan TV launched early this morning for 900 yen ($8.48 as of this writing). Disney+ launched in Japan in June 2020—just when you had finished binging everything on Netflix and Amazon during the COVID-19 lock-in. At 1,000 yen, its the most expensive streaming service (barely), but right out of the gate they have uploaded a lot of content.
You get access to those archives on the network, plus You get every live WWE pay-per-view including wrestle mania for $9.99 per month. Still, a lot of bang for your buck here.Marvelous is a small promotion that before they had a streaming service was nearly impossible to watch since they don’t have a TV deal and rarely sell DVDs on their website.