AXS TV has released a trailer for their 2015 programming line up, and whoa, hey, where’d all this Okada come from? In the midst of probably more Simon Cowell shows than any one person deserves to sit through, a few New Japan Pro Wrestling are snuck in towards the very end:
AXS TV will have a 13-episode run of NJPW footage in the new year. The first episode is said to feature the 2013 Hiroshi Tanahashi-Kazuchika Okada match from the Tokyo Dome show, which, honestly, is a pretty high bar to set for wrestling television. They’re also set to run the 2013 G1 Climax tournament. All of the episodes will feature English commentary from MMA/Boxing commentator Mauro Ranallo and UFC heavyweight Josh Barnett. They’ll begin taping their commentary in December.
While the idea of running two year old shows with only one person who has only a few years of wrestling commentary experience under their belt on a former home of ROH TV sounds terrible when you say it out loud in that very specific way, New Japan’s push for more mainstream American coverage is still fantastic news for anyone on this side of the Pacific. It’s a great primer for new fans, but was also a good enough year that I’m pumped just thinking about watching it all over again.
EastLink, SaskTel and Source Cable are currently the only Canadian providers to AXS TV, so that’s a big sad tromboner for us. In the US, AXS TV is available on DirecTV, Verizon FiOS, Dish Network, and most cable outlets. A start date for these episodes is yet to be announced.
