Pancrase Spirit

   THE LONG MARCH THROUGH PANCRASE COMMENCES FORTHWITH, and our journey begins on a warm autumn night in Tokyo, Japan, September 21st, 1993. The inviting voice of WARD E. SEXTON, of Resident Evil and Fighting Network RINGS fame, sets the scene in the opening seconds of this wonderful .mkv rip of the very first Pancrase commercial VHS release. “In the days of Ancient Greece, there existed a gladiator sport called Pankration. No weapons were barred, and victory was claimed only when one’s opponent surrendered….or upon death. The predecessor of this vicious sport, predating it by centuries, was even more fearsome. An art used by soldiers in unarmed, hand-to-hand combat. And now…centuries later, the spirit of that ancient martial art is reborn….Pancrase”     Thank you, Mr. Ward. E Sexton! That was quite an introduction. I think it is very clear that the producers of Pancrase wanted to send a message that this was something new to the audience. But how ne...

This blog's primary purpose is to cover the period of "early" Pancrase from its founding in 1993, all the way to the anniversary show in 1999, after which Pancrase ended the old rule system. Think of it as a "partial" "Complete and Accurate" project. I will be reviewing every Pancrase show and match in that period, warts and all.  As you might have figured from reading the introductory essay, the central thesis of this project is that Pancrase can be considered pro wrestling within a larger definition, and that such a definition is more fitting than what is traditionally considered to be pro wrestling. Of course, I don't claim to have the correct view, and I'm sure some will disagree, even you, the reader, but I hope the way I will approach this project will give food for thought at the very least. One of the major inspirations for this project came from the TKScissors RINGS blog , which was perhaps one of the best pro wrestling writing pro...

The paradox of professional wrestling is that it is well-defined yet quite nebulous. Most fans, particularly English-speaking ones, can tell you the defining characteristics without hesitation: predetermined outcomes, performance for an audience, and a fictionalized competitive framework where genuinely harming your opponent is completely taboo. These characteristics have defined the business for the better part of a century, and tracing them back further reveals they were present even before the Gold Dust Trio systematized the modern tradition in the 1920s. Professional wrestling has always understood, at some level, that consistently drawing paying customers required more than what legitimate athletic competition could reliably provide. The shoots between highly skilled grapplers tended towards long stalemates, which decreased customer interest and threatened livelihoods. Yet, professional wrestling has never been entirely comfortable inside its own definition. The business has somet...