
Japanese WWE wrestler Shoichi Funaki speaks for reporters before WWE SummerSlam Public Viewing event in Tokyo, Japan, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008. WWE's only Japanese superstar, 40-year-old Shoichi Funaki who goes by the ring name Funaki, acknowledged Japanese are just starting to enjoy WWE _ with all its boisterous exchanges and flamboyance, complete with heckling.
Japanese WWE wrestler Shoichi Funaki, right, poses with his fan for a snap shot before the WWE SummerSlam Public Viewing event in Tokyo, Japan, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008. Some 600 wrestling fans packed into a Tokyo theater who can't get enough of World Wrestling Entertainment. The WWE's big push to market itself in Japan is nowhere clearer than at events like Sunday's SummerSlam Festival, a raucous party that charges fans a 3,500 yen (US$30) admission fee to watch recorded WWE pay-per-view events on giant video screens.
WWE wrestler Maria, left, and Victoria, right, play with Japanese comedian Tamuken during WWE SummerSlam Public Viewing event in Tokyo, Japan, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008. Some 600 wrestling fans packed into a Tokyo theater who can't get enough of World Wrestling Entertainment. The WWE's big push to market itself in Japan is nowhere clearer than at events like Sunday's SummerSlam Festival, a raucous party that charges fans a 3,500 yen (US$30) admission fee to watch recorded WWE pay-per-view events on giant video screens.