Why Was Beast in the East Commentary Done in US?

– This can’t be a big surprise, but the WON reports that cost-cutting was the reason for Michael Cole and Byron Saxton doing commentary for Beast in the East at WWE Studios in Stamford instead of live at the arena. The site reports that WWE did have a production crew in Japan with a Japanese commentary team that included Fumi Saito, with an On-Demand live feed for 1,000 yen. This was the first live WWE PPV for the Japanese market.

The site notes that Cole and Saxton made some inaccurate statements in their commentary, including saying that Sumo Hall was the largest arena in Tokyo and that Finn Balor’s NXT Title win was the third WWE championship change in Japan. In truth there have been more than twenty due to the fact that WWE and NJPW were business partners from the mid’1970s to 1985. The two were likely referencing Bull Nakano winning the Women’s Championship in 1994 and Tajiri & William Regal winning the World Tag Team Championships in 2005. It is believed the two had inaccurate research information.