Dynamite!! 2009 a success?

Our fellow SB Nation writers at Head Kick Legend predicted that Dynamite!! 2009 would be different than the 2008 offering of the traditional Japanese mega event (I say event because things can get a bit freak show).

D.W. stated that the signs surrounding the event were all positives for the future of MMA in what was once thought to be a depressed market.

For a market that has been proclaimed a dying market, things are looking far better for the fight scene in Japan than they were last year. Want to know why? TBS, the main sponsor and network airing Dynamite!! 2009 did not put a cap on the show like they did last year. Last year TBS only aired four hours of the event, while the entire event was available on tape delay on PPV, which turned into a disaster for FEG. This year? TBS has fully supported FEG and the K-1 Dynamite!! 2009 broadcast will be uninterrupted. Then, take into account that last year they were pushing 25,000 fans in the arena. As much as they will claim that they set that arena up the arena to seat 25,000 fans, they have sold in the ballpark of 40,000 tickets for this event so far, this is not including the possible walk-up to the event.

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...this year's Dynamite!! is different, a lot different. Every Dynamite!! show has focused on freakshow fights, but Dynamite!! 2009 has no freakshow fights, at all

At WKR we noticed a traffic spike specifically dealing with Dynamite!! 2009. Something we haven't seen for other Japanese events while just anecdotal evidence it is a positive sign.

Zach Arnold has the ratings for Dynamite!! 2009 which finished second on New Year's Eve, a day of massive television audience in Japan.

The final numbers: NHK's Kohaku music show - 40.8% (37.1% and 40.8% for the two parts), Dynamite!! with Masato's last match drew a 16.7%, and Nippon TV's Downtown comedy special (hotelman 24 hours) did a 16.4%. Fuji TV did a 9.2% rating for it's program.

Dave Meltzer follows up with a post-event analysis and the signs are good:

It is the rating for the big matches that the network is most concerned with, and it was considered a success, being in second place for what is traditionally the most-watched night of television of the year in Japan. While Sadaharu Tanigawa of K-1 seemed disappointed, hoping to be more competitive with the concert, particularly during the Masato and Ishii matches, TBS president Toshimi Ichihara did a press interview talking about the success of the show in beating a comedy show on NTV that featured a lot of big names. After last year, the tradition was in trouble, but this rating guarantees TBS doing it again next year. The problem is when you look at what drew the rating, Ishii's debut was a one-time thing and he didn't look good, and got destroyed in all the newspapers, and Masato, who ended up being the star of the show, was retiring. I could easily see a big push next year to bring him out of retirement because they'll need him.

SBN coverage of Dynamite!! 2009