PANCRASE: YES, WE ARE HYBRID WRESTLERS (9/21/93)

  

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 new? Is this simply an opening hook, or a philosophical statement? We are about to find out!

 

 

Various images of the members of the Pancrase rosters flash across the screen, foreboding shadow effects and all. I must say, Minoru Suzuki already looks quite scary, and Masakatsu Funaki is looking his Sunday best. 

 

To set the stage further, we should probably consider the founding press conference held earlier in 1993, and this VHS tape from Pioneer does just that! While this tape does not provide any English subtitles, I am pleased to report that the IATV-produced Pancrase rewind show, “Legends of MMA,” is available on YouTube, and this indeed contains subtitles for those of us who unfortunately lack fluency in Japanese. The IATV version contains very entertaining commentary by Josh Barnett and Rob Wu. They are very much worth a watch if you need further context! 

By the way, this blog will probably switch between multiple versions of the same show to varying degrees. We have the Pancrase commercial VHS tapes, the 720p versions of the shows, which were uploaded to UFC Fight Pass, and various other versions, such as PANCRASE DAYS or the IATV-produced versions, as mentioned. They all have their pluses and minuses. As we will see, some matches are clipped on the VHS tapes, which will require us to visit them in the 720p versions. One major drawback to the 720p versions is that some of the shows are locked with an overhead camera view….which is unfortunate. Oh, and if anyone has rips of the VHS commercial tapes that they are willing to share, feel free to get in touch!

The press conference opens with a statement from Masakatsu Funaki, who explains that he had to “separate from many people” in the process of founding this new promotion and that he gained partners who are sympathetic to his ideas. “With a fighting style that we’ve been using, I decided to form a new team to keep those principles,” Funaki says. “A new fight is beginning. Please pay attention to us. That’s all.”

Minrou Suzuki follows, saying, “Our dreams and passions have now been formed and realized.” He gets a little emotional (I can’t blame him!) and says, “I could have never done this by myself.” He thanks the fans who didn’t abandon them.

 

 

Afterward, the VHS tape gives us a look at the early careers of Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki, and how they came through New Japan Pro Wrestling and the glorious UWF, specifically UWF 2.0. We are reminded that Funaki made his debut in 1985, at the young age of 15, and was instantly seen as a potential major star. Later, Minoru Suzuki debuted in 1988 and was also seen as a talented prospect. He was even given a match with Antonio Inoki! A year later, Masakatsu Funaki approached Antonio Inoki and informed him that he wanted to leave New Japan to join the UWF, which he considered closer to his idea of pro wrestling. The story goes that Funaki met Antonio Inoki in the New Japan office and had a heart-to-heart conversation with him. Inoki pleaded with Funaki to stay, reminding him that New Japan saw great potential in him. Funaki was unmoved and reiterated his desire to leave. Inoki recited his poem, “The Road,” and agreed to the transfer request. Minoru Suzuki followed, and both would take UWF 2.0 by storm, under the tutelage of Yoshiaki Fujiwara. Both would see a fair amount of success in their new home, with a variety of opponents, including Bob Backlund in Funaki’s case and Maurice Smith in Suzuki’s case. The latter will become very important to our journey here. Maurice Smith dispatched Suzuki at the UWF U-COSMOS event in November 1989 at the Tokyo Dome, and Suzuki would have his eyes set on revenge for that defeat.

 

 

The paths of Minoru Suzuki and Masakatsu Funaki would most famously cross at a UWF show on April 15th, 1990. Funaki, returning from injury, wanted to try something different with Suzuki. The two agreed to a match that was entirely reliant on grappling, surprising quite a few fans because it was stylistically different from most UWF matches at the time, which featured a fair amount of striking. It was truly a purist’s statement on what they believed pro wrestling was at its core. Karl Gotch said it was the best match he ever saw, reportedly! The VHS tape gives us the full version of this match, which is about 9 minutes in length. Here’s the review I wrote for it on CAGEMATCH (home of the inmates!):

This match has a certain mythology around it, and for good reason. In Japan, it is seen as a sort of prototype for Pancrase. It was even included in the first commercial Pancrase VHS tape to illustrate the philosophy of the promotion. Karl Gotch reportedly called it one of the best matches he ever saw, and said wrestling should use it as a model. For an 8-minute match, it certainly carries a lot of weight in terms of evolutionary importance. The match certainly lives up to all of this, and Funaki and Suzuki clearly had an agreement to do purely grappling. It worked out quite well for them, as they really got in a good flow state, and the speed at which they moved was reminiscent of the 90s shoot-style classics. The level of finesse, especially in terms of counterwork, is quite impressive considering they were still relatively early in their shoot-style careers. It was a glimpse at the future, and it serves as a prophetic message for the direction Kakutogi would take in just a few years. ****

That's a painful looking heel hook! 

Here’s the match if you want to see it for yourself. I think this is a nice little appetizer. Although we all want to get to the main course, right?

BUT FIRST, we need a little more backstory! UWF 2.0 would collapse under its own weight, and Suzuki and Funaki followed their mentor, Fujiwara, to his new promotion, PWFG. I covered some of this backstory in my introductory essay, and there’s no need to repeat myself here, so I’ll just say that Suzuki and Funaki needed a new vehicle to pursue their philosophy, and now, here we are on this warm autumn evening, September 21st, 1993.

 

 

WE’VE FINALLY ARRIVED! And upon our arrival at Tokyo NK Hall, we hear the lovely Pancrase theme for the very first time. We are taken right to the opening ceremony and the parade of wrestlers, and we get nice graphics for each wrestler as they enter the ring, with their basic background and information noted. In a funny note, if you check out the raw 720p version of the opening ceremony, Wayne (soon to be known as Ken in America) Shamrock stands there awkwardly on the stage as his name is called twice, and then has to be told by a production assistant to get his ass to the ring. Hey, it happens to the best of us! The narrator on the VHS tape provides some commentary, but unfortunately, I can’t translate that. I must say, though, I am enjoying the simple yet effective production values of this show already. My favorite production values of any wrestling promotion in history are by far in RINGS, and while this doesn’t quite match up to that, it has its own charm.

After each wrestler is introduced to the ring, some of them give brief statements, and with the help of the IATV version, we get informative English subtitles. Well, we don’t need them for Wayne Shamrock, who is succinct: “Good evening, everyone! To the fans of Pancrase, we want to create the strongest style. We hope, and I hope, that you will enjoy Pancrase style.” The rest continue to share similar sentiments. Yusuke Fuke gets a little emotional (again, who can blame him? This is a big undertaking!). As Josh Barnett explains, this is a very revolutionary time in Japan, and people were putting a lot on the line to push professional wrestling and Kakutogi to new heights, including these guys. Suzuki says: “When I joined New Japan Pro Wrestling when I was 18, I met Mr. Funaki then. Back then, we talked until late at night about the dream of having an ideal team. It is actually being realized tonight. Please give us your heart to make us succeed.” Finally, Masakatsu Funaki speaks, he says: “Thank you very much for coming tonight. All the fans who are here tonight, fans who supported us when we didn’t have a match, reporters who wrote articles to help us, people who worked every day until the late hours to make this happen, all the supporters who helped behind the scenes, and all the players who have been training every day for the last 9 months, I appreciate every one of you. Pancrase is born now thanks to all of you. From now on, our duty is to have many good fights and make Pancrase grow. We’ll do our best, so please support us.” One thing I appreciate about shoot-style shows is the way they open every show by bringing out the wrestlers to the ring and letting them promote the event and themselves in an old-school, sporting fashion. I think it’s a very effective way of setting the tone, and it seems like the Pancrase guys agreed! That was very genuine and heartfelt.

With that out of the way, the VHS tape gives us a rundown of the rules behind Pancrase. The rules are pretty much: No closed fists to the head, but punching the throat is fine. Strikes to the joints are allowed, and headbutting is fine too. Oh yeah, throat chokes are perfectly fine (of course they are). Other things prohibited in Pancrase include: Elbow strikes, knee kicks without a knee pad, kicks without a leg guard, toe kicks, and kicks to the head when the opponent is on the ground. However, palm strikes to the head are allowed on the ground (but as we will see, there was an unspoken agreement not to do this). Pancrase also has a yellow and red card system, and referees can use these cards as they see fit to warn or disqualify wrestlers if they deem them too dangerous (so as the subtitled explanations go). Pancrase also has a point system, with five points given to each wrestler in a match. Points are lost via rope break or a knockdown. If a wrestler loses all five points, they are TKO’d. Of course, matches can be won via submission, and if the time limit is reached, via judge’s decision as well.

Alright, with that out of the way, it seems like we are ready to begin! FINALLY, THE WAIT IS OVER. What exactly are we about to witness on this historic evening in Tokyo?

Minoru Suzuki and Katsuomi Inagaki open the proceedings, and I am pumped up! Inagaki comes out in blue trunks and kickpads, while Suzuki graces us in all black and the trademark towel that will define the rest of his career. Suzuki looks like he is all business and stares into the depths of his opponent’s soul, while Inagaki looks a bit nervous as he tries to put on his best game face. 

If you aren’t already familiar, Katsuomi Inagaki was a young lion in Fujiwara’s PWFG promotion, and he would jump with the likes of Suzuki, Fuke, and Yanagisawa (also a PWFG young lion) to form the initial Pancrase roster. I’m sure he already has some familiarity with Suzuki from his time in the dojo (a very foreboding statement, I should say). The ring announcer finishes his introductions, the referee checks both competitors, and the bell sounds as our FIRST official Pancrase match gets underway.

Immediately, the urgency in this match is off the charts. Both Suzuki and Inagaki are moving like this LIVE in the sense that we are, yes, SHOOTING. Live rounds and all. Suzuki immediately snatches Inagaki’s left leg and goes for a nice single-leg takedown. Suzuki is clearly very confident as he works from top control and doesn’t give Inagaki much room to breathe. Inagaki does manage to trip Suzuki while he hunts for a leg, and the two end up in a bit of a leglock tangle on the mat. Suzuki keeps cool and snatches Inagaki’s leg for a heel hook attempt almost immediately. Inagaki fights out, and the two scramble for a bit on the mat as the intensity is still quite impressive. Back on their feet, Inagaki tries to throw Suzuki off him in a clinch, but Suzuki stays on him. It does seem like Suzuki never loses control of this bout. Inagaki and Suzuki trade palm strikes before Suzuki lunges in for another single-leg takedown from the waist. Inagaki scrambles out again to his credit, but Suzuki just doesn’t relent. Suzuki gains control of Inagaki’s back in the process, and oh no….Suzuki is hunting for the rear-naked choke. It doesn’t take long for him to secure it, and Inagaki knows he is in deep shit. Inagaki is caught in no-man’s land and eventually taps. Suzuki lets out a primal scream after the bell, and he approaches All Japan Kickboxing’s president at ringside. In a bit of a famous scene, Suzuki requests a match against Maurice Smith. Will he get one? I guess we will find out soon! In any case, this was a very impressive performance from Suzuki. Inagaki, to his credit, put up a spirited fight, but Suzuki was just too good. For the fans watching in attendance, the first match must have been a bit of a surprise. It was only three minutes, and the finish came a bit suddenly. Yet….it also didn’t seem quite different from anything else they saw. Except for the pre-determined finish and cooperation. That was very fun, I think! ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: ***3/4

After the match, we get Suzuki’s comments on the match in an interview on the VHS tape. According to IATV’s subtitles, he says: “I’m satisfied with the feeling that I had at the time. I think it was good. I want to bring this Pancrase to the rest of the world before I retire from it. So the first thing I am going to do is to popularize it in Japan and establish our own gym. Hopefully, it will then spread to the rest of the world.”

We continue our experience of this auspicious evening with Ryushi Yanagisawa vs Bas Rutten next. That’s right, Bas Rutten is here on our very first Pancrase show!

Bas Rutten doesn’t seem too bothered by the occasion, and Ryushi Yanagisawa looks fairly confident. The bell rings, and the two trade quick kicks. Bas Rutten’s kick has a noticeable thud to it…and…yeah, he means business. He catches Yanagisawa with a devastating high kick, followed by a vicious palm strike. Yanagisawa is sent to the mat, but he manages to beat the ten count just in time. I have a bad feeling about this. After the match resumes, Bas Rutten comes rushing in with another palm strike and a nasty kick to Yanagisawa’s abdomen. That’s enough as Yanagisawa collapses to the mat in a stunned daze. The referee counts to ten, and Bas Rutten celebrates with his trademark jumping taunt for the first time. Wow, Bas Rutten made a statement there. Yanagisawa was just totally blitzed in 43 seconds. This was probably a more shocking finish than the first one we saw. The crowd seemed to agree! I’m sure they were thinking, “Is this for real?” Yes, it was quite real. Was it professional wrestling, though? We have a lot more questions to answer in this show, but if anything didn’t feel like pro wrestling on this show, it was this match. ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: ****

Yanagisawa is brave enough to get interviewed for this match on the VHS tape, and he says, “I was really happy, and that also made me nervous. The opponent was full of bloodthirstiness, so I was scared a little. I couldn’t handle it because I was not ready mentally. Rutten was going to knock me down from the beginning. I regret that, but it was also a good experience.”

Next up is Vernon “Tiger” White vs Yusuke Fuke. Vernon hails from Shamrock’s Lion’s Den gym, so let’s see what he brings to the table. I’m sure he has been well-prepared! Meanwhile, Yusuke Fuke is a product of the UWF dojo who spent time in Fujiwara’s PWFG along with Minoru Suzuki and Masakatsu Funaki. Vernon is much lankier than Fuke, so I wonder if that size difference will be a factor at all.

The match has a quick start with Vernon testing Fuke with palm strikes before Vernon manages to get Fuke to the mat with a front guillotine, but Fuke manages to work his way out of it pretty quickly. Fuke establishes side control in the process and works both sides. Fuke is clearly hunting for a submission here, and he finds one with a Pillow V armlock, which looks quite painful! Vernon is in trouble, and he struggles quite a bit to break the hold. Fuke loses some leverage in the process, which helps relieve the pressure enough. Vernon tries to wiggle his way free, but Fuke stays on top of him and secures a cross armbar setup in the process. Vernon tries to headstand his way out of trouble, but Fuke increases the pressure in the process, and that’s enough to get Vernon to tap. 

Another quick finish! Both guys brought a ton of energy into the match, so credit to them for a good display of grappling. The crowd seems more prepared for a quick finish, and they seem to be understanding now that this is indeed different. It’s not as shocking as Bas Rutten annihilating Ryushi Yanagaisawa, but the brevity is still a bit breathtaking to anyone watching at the time. Still, there’s definitely a sense of pro wrestling here. The speed at which both Vernon and Fuke were grappling here is a treat. I don’t think they were going for entertainment straight out of the gate, but they allowed the quickness to take them where they wanted to go in terms of securing a legitimate submission. At least with Fuke, the fluidity comes naturally to him, especially as he transitions from a Pillow V to a cross armbar. No doubt this was something he picked up from his time in the UWF and PWFG dojos, and what they were doing there was a setup for what they would apply in a shoot-style setting. There’s a big common element here, I think! ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: ****

The next bout is a bit of an interesting one. We have Yoshiki Takahashi, also of the PWFG dojo, against George Weingeroff. Weingeroff was a bit of a journeyman in the territory days, wrestling under nicknames like “Abdul Hassan” and “The Sheik.” He was also apparently an accomplished high school and collegiate wrestler in Tennessee. He’s also legally blind, and how he got to Pancrase is a bit of an unknown to me, but apparently, he made connections with Funaki during Funaki’s time in Florida during his PWFG stint, and Funaki figured he might be up to the challenge for a match on Pancrase’s debut show? I’m not entirely sure, but it’s an interesting combination nonetheless! Weingeroff would be roughly 41 years old here, so it’s certainly a bold and brave step for him.

Yoshiki Takahashi arrives in his neon green trunks, while Weingeroff chooses to wear a black singlet. The bell sounds, and away we go! Weingeroff immediately pressures Takahashi into a corner, and perhaps this would be a smart strategy on most days, but Takahashi positions himself well and manages to fight out by creating enough distance to launch a knee. This forces Weingeroff to back off, and Takahashi moves a bit too quickly for Weingeroff on his feet. Takahashi delivers a sharp kick right to Weingeroff’s head, and he goes down fairly quickly. The referee starts a ten count, and Weingeroff manages to respond by the count of eight. The crowd applauds politely, and Weingeroff attempts to apply pressure again, but Takahashi immediately starts throwing strikes and delivers another sharp kick near the same area he landed one before. That’s enough to put Weingeroff down for good! Another very short match at 1:23, and by this point, I imagine most people in Tokyo NK Hall had accepted they were seeing real, legitimate SHOOTING. I feel a bit bad for Weingeroff. I don’t think he really knew what he was getting into, but perhaps he was! It’s a good showing for Takahashi in any case, and this type of bout wouldn’t have been a stranger in the UWF or PWFG undercards if they came up with the same idea. Very one-sided match, though, and I don’t think Weingeroff ever gave Takahashi much to think about. ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: ***

It’s finally time for the main event! A debut show needs a big match at the top of the card, and there’s nothing bigger to offer (perhaps besides Minoru Suzuki vs Masakatsu Funaki) than WAYNE SHAMROCK vs MASAKATSU FUNAKI (said in my Ward E. Sexton voice). Funaki, perhaps naively, arrives at the ring wearing bright orange gear, a departure from the dark green we normally associate him with. Shamrock, on the other hand, arrives in the red trunks we always associate him with, and my god, Shamrock is RIPPED. Both are in peak fighting condition, but Shamrock resembles a Greek god.

 

 

With the assistance of IATV’s subtitles, we get to hear from Funaki before the match begins. Funaki says,“What makes this fight different from others is that we don’t share the techniques or tell each other what we are going to do. We don’t know what the opponent is going to do once the fight starts. This is the characteristic of Pancrase, to have an open fight.”

Very true! I guess we don’t get to hear from Shamrock, but I think he lets the work speak for itself. We get ring introductions for both men before the bout starts, flowers included. The crowd is pumped, I’m pumped, and I’m sure you’re pumped too!

The bell sounds, and our fantastic main event is underway. Shamrock opens with a hard kick to Funaki’s abdomen, and Funaki responds by creating distance and attempting one of his own, but Shamrock dodges and throws another one, leading Funaki to check it this time. They briefly tangle up, but they move quite quick, and they end up darting across the ring, exchanging strikes and testing each other with feints. Shamrock looks supremely confident here, and his confidence pays off as he manages to tie up Funaki and gain control of his back. It’s clear to me that Shamrock has the strength and explosiveness advantage. Funaki doesn’t appear to have the same cutting edge here, and I think Shamrock senses this. On the mat, Shamrock stays on Funaki with his rear control, and doesn’t look too fussed by Funaki’s attempts to change position. Shamrock attempts to set up a rear-naked choke, but lets go for some reason as he rolls through and regains control of Funaki’s back as he escapes. I would like to note at this point that Robert Wu makes a similar observation in his commentary on the IATV version, and even asks Josh Barnett why Shamrock would let go there. Josh Barnett responds by saying that perhaps Shamrock felt he didn’t have the leverage he needed. Was this one of those moments where Shamrock allowed Funaki to remain in the contest to keep the match going longer? Hard to say! It’s not the strangest thing I’ve seen, but it gives food for thought.

Back on the mat, Shamrock works from the rear as he attempts to gain an angle, but Funaki manages to roll over and attempts to neutralize Shamrock’s position by locking his arms around his waist, and then tries to create distance using his arms. Shamrock remains calm, and yeah, his strength might be too much for Funaki here. Shamrock forces his arm into Funaki’s neck, and this forces Funaki to roll over again. Shamrock is in total control here, and he is just casually giving Funaki a ton to think about. It doesn’t seem Shamrock is happy with the angles he has, so he keeps hunting, and this allows Funaki to escape and free up his legs. Shamrock is happy to allow this and picks one for a heel hook attempt, and the two engage in a bit of a leg lock battle near the ropes. This forces the referee to stand both back up eventually. This is a classic shoot-style spot! They were just applying what they knew to a real setting.

On their feet again, Shamrock measures up Funaki and delivers another sharp kick. Funaki clinches with Shamrock, and Shamrock muscles him down to the mat again while establishing top control. Funaki attempts to create distance again, but Shamrock applies more pressure with his forearms. Shamrock seems to be looking for an arm triangle here, and he gets it! Funaki is in trouble and seemingly out of ideas. Shamrock leans into the hold, increasing the pressure while finding an ideal angle. I think he has it…and YEAH, FUNAKI TAPS! Shamrock lets go and immediately starts celebrating while screaming. He is a happy camper! And why shouldn’t he be? That’s a well-deserved victory! I must say that the audience seems fairly shocked that Funaki lost that match, and never really seemed to be giving Shamrock much trouble. How often did the top guy lose their first match at the first major show in Japan? Not very often! Especially not in a match that only goes 6:15!

 

“YEAH, JUST LIKE THAT. THAT’S RIGHT! THAT’S RIGHT! WOOYEAAH!” 

 

Funaki gives an interview after the match, and according to the IATV subtitles, he says, “I’m glad to be here, but it’s also a shock to lose. This is a really complex feeling. I’ll do my best next time. I now feel that we are fighting for real. I think it’s going to give a chance to feel regret.” Barnett also says that the result is a complete upset, and that Funaki didn’t see it coming. He also states that the match served as a good tone setter for the rest of the promotion, and I agree with that. Anything can happen when it comes to shooting, so it’s best to be prepared as much as possible.

Despite the way Shamrock controlled the match and the way Funaki never threatened Shamrock with a submission, this was still a very exciting match to watch. I’m not sure if Shamrock letting go of that rear-naked choke setup was an attempt to keep the match going longer, but I do feel that Shamrock probably wanted to keep things going a little bit longer when he went for the arm triangle, but he sensed that Funaki was out of ideas and went for the kill. Is this something that a pro wrestler would do in a real fight? I’d say so. Both Funaki and Shamrock brought a ton of energy into the match regardless, in line with the theme that defined most of the show earlier. In the same way that Fuke allowed his dojo training to guide him to the cross armbar against Vernon White, I think both Shamrock and Funaki allowed themselves to be guided by their shoot-style knowledge, and only lifted the barriers that existed in shoot-style to fully engage in a pure shoot. Pro wrestling without limits, in other words, and pro wrestling defined by legitimacy at the center, with the entertainment aspects more as periphery elements. In other words, this match was the clearest signal yet that Pancrase was taking pro wrestling back to its roots. ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: ****1/2

We hear from Funaki one last time on the VHS tape, but without subtitles, I can’t really tell you what he says, but he looks a bit disappointed. I’m sure he will back even stronger, though! Don’t you think? That ends our review of the historic debut of Pancrase on September 21st, 1993. I thought that was a tremendous show! The matches were short, but it was such a change of pace from the usual product at the time that everything felt refreshing. The action was energetic and to the point, and the sense of danger was palpable. Every match felt like the genuine article. There was no second-guessing whether it was real or not. What an evening that must have been for anyone in attendance! Hybrid wrestling, indeed.

THAT’S NICE AND ALL, BUT WHAT DID DAVE MELTZER SAY?

December 28^th, 1992:

Masakatsu Funaki, Minoru Suzuki and Yusuke Fuke of PWFG quit the group on 12/21 and announced they are going to form their own promotion, which would make the 17th different promotion in Japan. The three believe after two years of studying the business aspect, they believe they are ready to promote profitable shows on their own. Funaki and Suzuki were the two biggest draws in the group, and their loss basically kills Yoshiaki Fujiwara’s chances of promoting any big arena shows in the near future.

January 15^th, 1993

Shinji Jin, who was the front office leader responsible for the break-up of the second UWF (1988-90 version) because of his dispute with Akira Maeda, is the money man behind the new group that Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki are forming in Japan. All the PWFG wrestlers with the exception of Yoshiaki Fujiwara and one prelim wrestler jumped, however Fujiwara is still planning a 1/16 Korakuen Hall show plus big shows over the next two months although I don’t know how he can pull off big shows with no native wrestlers. The foreign wrestlers, mainly Florida wrestlers and Wayne Shamrock, will stay with PWFG.

January 25^th, 1993

What may have been the final PWFG show took place on 1/16 at Korakuen Hall. Every Japanese member of the group except head man Yoshiaki Fujiwara and rookie Yuki Ishikawa left to form a new promotion that will start later in the year. The cover story on the complaint was that Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki and the rest didn’t like Fujiwara using “fake” pro wrestling spots during their shows and didn’t like that Fujiwara wanted to work interfederation matches with pro wrestling companies since Suzuki made a big deal about how they aren’t “fake pro wrestling.” Actually in Fujiwara’s case, it was simply business since Megane Super Opticals, who were the backers for the group, also backed the former SWS and current WAR and NOW. In last year’s Tokyo Dome show, Fujiwara wanted to use Tenryu in an interpromotion match against him as the main event but the younger wrestlers didn’t want to involve Tenryu as a traditional style pro wrestler and it didn’t happen. Megane Super apparently made the announcement that they would no longer back PWFG, so it appears Saturday night’s show was it. New Japan has extended interest in Fujiwara and Ishikawa joining its promotion to make for new “interpromotional” matches. Fujiwara has also told people he’s interested in starting up as a kick boxing promoter. Anyway, Fujiwara left Japan after the show to attend Bill Clinton’s inaugural ball, which makes him probably the only pro wrestling personality invited.

February 15^th, 1993

Apparently Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki got a major signing bonus from Megane Super when they signed a five year deal some 18 months back. Since they’ve since jumped from PWFG (owned by Megane Super) to a new group which is supposed to start around September or October, they have to pay back the bonus money to get released to start the new office.

March 8^th, 1993

It appears the backing for Minoru Suzuki and Masakatsu Funaki to start their new group has fallen through, so right now they are in limbo. Funaki is so talented and charismatic and has superstar potential so he won’t be left out in the cold for long most likely.

Word has it that the wrestlers from PWFG will join with Rings, including Bart Vail, Wayne Shamrock and the other Americans. Yoshiaki Fujiwara may not work in Rings, but wants to send his prelim Japanese wrestlers to work underneath and he’ll work in their corner on Rings shows, but he doesn’t want to commit himself in the ring because he still may wind up with New Japan to work with Tenryu, Fujinami and Choshu as potential feuds.

March 22nd, 1993:

Masakatsu Funaki did an interview in Tokyo Sports this past week saying he’d be starting up a new UWF style group with Minoru Suzuki in the fall.

May 24^th, 1993:

Masakatsu Funaki officially announced the formation of his own new promotion sometime in the fall called World Pan Class Creation (WPCC).(ed note: That’s Pancrase, Dave) The word Pan in the title is short for Pantheon (ed note: not quite, Dave), which was an event in the ancient Olympics which was pretty much free fighting with wrestling, kicking and boxing included. Funaki said that Karl Gotch came up with the name which I guess shows they are going to try and use Gotch’s name and reputation to bolster the group much as UWFI uses Lou Thesz. He also announced that Wayne Shamrock would be with the group when it starts up and in newspaper interviews said it would be a harder style of fighting than either RINGS or UWFI.

July 26^th, 1993:

Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki’s group, called Pancrase, “Hybrid Wrestling,” composed of ex-PWFG wrestlers runs its debut card on 9/21 at Tokyo Bay NK Hall, with the top foreign wrestler being Wayne Shamrock.

August 16^th, 1993:

Masakatsu Funaki’s Pancrase Wrestling had tryouts on 7/29 for new talent to be trained.

September 6^th, 1993:

Pancrase Wrestling has its first show on 9/21 at Tokyo Bay NK Hall headlined by Masakatsu Funaki vs. Wayne Shamrock. George Weingeroff works the show as well.

October 4^th, 1993:

9/21 Tokyo Bay NK Hall (Pancrase – 7,000 sellout): Minoru Suzuki b Inagaki, Luton b Ryushi Yanagisawa, Tomitake b Vernon White, Takahashi b George Weingeroff, Wayne Shamrock b Masakatsu Funaki

Yet another pay-per-view involving a few participants in pro wrestling, although definitely not a pro wrestling PPV will be taking place on 11/12, emanating from Denver. The show, put together by John Milius, the movie director whose credits include “Dirty Harry” and “Conan the Barbarian,” will be called “The Ultimate Fighting Championship.” The concept is to take a pro boxer, pro wrestler, sumo wrestler, judoka, karate and other martial arts fighters and put them into a one-night tournament, with the idea being to capitalize on the success of martial arts movies depicting the same type of anything goes fight to the finish tournament with men of different fighting styles. (ed note – very interesting!)

The two names involved that have participated in pro wrestling are Ken Shamrock and Gerard Gordeau. Shamrock is listed in the bios as representing the sport of “shootfighting” rather than pro wrestling. He was a top-notch amateur wrestler and toughman contest winner before being trained by Nelson Royal for pro wrestling several years ago, works as Wayne Shamrock, the top foreigner for the Pancrase promotion in Japan which had its debut show this past Tuesday in Tokyo. Prior to that time Shamrock had worked for All Japan Pro Wrestling, and later switched to the old UWF, and then after the UWF split, worked the past few years for Pro Wrestling Fujiwara-Gumi. The press guide to the tournament lists him as having a 23-2 record, which I believe is actually his record in UWF and PWFG pro wrestling matches. Gordeau, from Amsterdam, is listed as the current world heavyweight champion in savate (foot-fighting). He’s also listed as having a 27-4 record, although I have no idea what that entails as when he came to Japan in 1989 they gave him a record that back then included more than 70 fights. He also won a major kick-boxing tournament in Japan about two years back and another famous tournament before his lone UWF match, and was world ranked in judo. His only pro wrestling appearance was a main event match in 1989 on a major UWF card at the Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo, losing to Akira Maeda. The other participants are a 410-pound sumo wrestler from Hawaii who was the first non-Japanese to team with Japanese collegiate sumo championship, the World Kick Boxing Federation (WKBF) super heavyweight champion, the World Ju-Jitsu light heavyweight champion, a former World Kick Boxing Association super heavyweight champion (between WKBA, WKBF, ISKA and WKA, kick boxing seems to have more different organizations with world champions than pro wrestling), the IBF Cruiserweight boxing champ and the Sabaki (I have no idea what Sabaki is although with as many martial arts aficionados among the readership, that question should be answered in a week or two) heavyweight champion. The matches will be five, five-minute rounds fought in a circular pit with no ropes with matches being stopped by knockout, submission, throwing in the towel, unbreakable chokehold or doctor stopping. The only illegal moves are those affecting the eyes and groin, there is no point system and matches go into overtime if they last five rounds without a finish. (ed note – I hope Shamrock does well here! Maybe we will find out ourselves!)

Pancrase wrestling debuted on 9/21 before a sellout 7,000 at Tokyo Bay NK Hall with a very unique show. It sounds very markish to say Pancrase wrestling is real shooting, because groups that claim to be that all seem to be something less. But the reason Minoru Suzuki and Masakatsu Funaki formed the new group and quit Pro Wrestling Fujiwara-Gumi at least publicly was because they didn’t want to have pre-planned winners. Anyway, the card itself was described to be as an amazing show, even though the five matches only lasted a total of 13 minutes of wrestling time which made it surprising and different from any other style in Japan. I’m not sure what else they did and some fans couldn’t have been happy paying $135 ringside for 13 minutes of wrestling. Main event saw Wayne Shamrock beat Masakatsu Funaki with a sleeper in 6:15.

That’s a lot, but I think it gives us a ton of background info to understand how we got to this point better, and what might be ahead of us as we continue our march. Thank you all for reading! I very much appreciate your company! I imagine we will be reconvening here very soon. Until then, take care!