On January 4, 2021, I attended the New Japan Pro-Wrestling Tokyo Dome event,
“WRESTLE KINGDOM 15”!
Since moving to Tokyo, I’ve attended this event every year.
For the first time, I watched from the arena seats!
I’ve been to the Tokyo Dome event many times before, but each time, I watched from the stand seats. I always thought arena seats would be hard to see from. I believed that the best way to enjoy the event was by watching from the second-floor seats, where I could have a panoramic view of the ring and the audience.
Ah, the memories…
For my first time in arena seats, I sat in the Arena B seats on the northwest side. When I got there, the ring was about ten times closer than I had expected! I could clearly see the wrestlers’ expressions with the naked eye! If it was a bit hard to see, I could just look at the screens set up around the ring.
The glamour of the flower path and the sound pressure I felt in the arena were impressive. This time, I was in the 30th row, right at the block boundary. It seemed that from the 31st row onwards, the seats were a step higher. The flower path was so close and truly breathtaking.
When the pillars of fire rose during the entrance performance, I could feel the heat coming off of them. The only regrettable thing was that, due to the effects of COVID-19, there was no “money rain” this year. Next year, for sure!
What I didn’t know until now was the incredible power of the hand-clapping sounds coming from the stand seats. The condensed sound pressure came rolling in like waves. Considering that only hand claps generated such force, I can’t imagine how powerful last year’s event must have been.
I’ve decided in my heart to watch from the arena seats again next year and beyond. I’d love to get seats in the northeast or northwest section!
As a pro-wrestling fan of 23 years, my first time in the arena seats was an amazing experience. I highly recommend everyone give it a try!
