WWE to stream live in Japan with Japanese commentary for the first time ever

WWE issued the following press release on Monday to announce that Raw and Smackdown will be available live in Japan.

WWE (NYSE:WWE) and DAZN today announced that WWE’s flagship programs Raw® and SmackDown® will be available live in Japan with Japanese commentary for the first time ever, beginning tomorrow at 9AM on DAZN.

Fans will be able to live stream all three hours of Raw and two hours of SmackDown exclusively on DAZN. Raw will be available live every week on Tuesdays at 9AM, while SmackDown will be available live every week on Wednesdays at 9AM. Fans will now be able to follow all the action in real time featuring their favorite WWE Superstars, including Japan’s own Shinsuke Nakamura™. Raw and SmackDown will also be available via video on demand for DAZN customers.

In addition, fans will soon be able to watch other WWE featured content and highlight shows on DAZN, including WWE Experience®, WWE Bottomline®, and WWE This Week™(release dates of these shows to be announced). Fans can download the DAZN App and watch WWE content on Smart TVs, smartphones, tablets and gaming consoles, as well as via Chromecast on iOS and Android.

“We’re really excited to add WWE to our portfolio in Japan,” said John Gleasure, Chief Commercial Officer of DAZN. “Raw and SmackDown complement and strengthen our overall international sport offering, plus the live and non-live content available for fans to watch works perfectly for our business model.”

“Our new partnership with DAZN will enable WWE to engage with fans in Japan like never before,” said Ed Wells, WWE Executive Vice President, International. “DAZN will provide WWE fans with a destination to watch Raw and SmackDown live and in Japanese on the device of their choice and follow WWE Superstar Shinsuke Nakamura as he continues his WWE journey.”

WWE joins DAZN’s strong portfolio of international sports which includes La Liga, Bundesliga, Major League Baseball, Formula One and UFC.

Powell’s POV: The addition of Nakamura to the main roster makes him the face of the company in Japan and this press release is clearly proof of that. I’m surprised there Akira Tozawa was not mentioned given that he appears on Raw as part of the cruiserweight division. One can only assume that Asuka will also play a big part in the company’s marketing in Japan once she is called up from NXT.