Wrestle Kingdom 17 Breaks Viewership Record For NJPW

Company credits main events and Mercedes Moné in official statement.

by Michael Hamflett
Kenny Omega
NJPW

In some good news for NJPW as they tiptoe back to post-pandemic normality in 2023, Wrestle Kingdom 17 broke all prior viewership records for the company's New Japan World streaming service.

This company shared the news along with full data on their official website, noting;

"With fan anticipation at a peak for our double main event of Kenny Omega versus Will Ospreay, and Jay White versus Kazuchika Okada, as well as the long anticipated appearance of Mercedes Moné, huge numbers tuned in from around the world as well. In fact 92,409 unique users were watching WK17 live, with 30% braving late nights and early mornings on a weekday to watch the English feed live from overseas. That’s a record for the NJPW World service since its inception in 2014, and we thank all our new, returning and consistent users very, very much!...NJPW couldn’t have asked for a better start to our 51st year. We thank wrestlers for their efforts and fighting spirit, and you fans for your support!"

Kazuchika Okada regained the IWGP Championship in the aforementioned headline bout against Jay White, while Kenny Omega won the IWGP United States Championship for the second time, defeating Will Ospreay in a critically lauded instant classic. Moné's debut attack on IWGP Women's Champion Kairi was divisive, but there's already significant buzz for their upcoming match at NJPW Battle In The Valley on February 18th.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett