Pancrase – Yes, We are Hybrid Wrestlers 1
Encyclopedia
Pancrase - Yes, We Are Hybrid Wrestlers 1 was the first mixed martial arts
event held by Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling. It took place at the Tokyo Bay NK Hall
in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan on September 21, 1993. The card
featured many future MMA
champions.
, which was founded by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki
and Minoru Suzuki
in 1993. The background of the formation of the organization took place in the pro wrestling organization Fujiwara Gumi. In 1992, a rare legitimate match was booked where "Wayne" (Ken) Shamrock faced world kickboxing champion Don Nakaya Nielsen. Shamrock took Nielsen down immediately and submitted him with an arm lock in 45 seconds. The success of this match made young pro wrestlers Shamrock, Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki question what they had been told since breaking into predetermined wrestling: that nobody would ever pay to see real matches.
Shamrock, Funaki and Suzuki then spearheaded a group of pro wrestlers and decided to abandon everything people had told them about real matches not being marketable. They formed a promotion called Pancrase, named by ’60s wrestling star Karl Gotch after the sport of Pankration in the ancient Olympics, which combined all different forms of fighting into one sport. Using pro wrestling rules – no closed fist punching to the face (closed fisted punches were allowed to the body), breaks on the ropes, but fighting for real – Shamrock beat Funaki via choke in 6:15 in the main event of the first of what was billed as an all-shoot match pro wrestling show. The show drew an enthusiastic sellout crowd of 7,000 fans, who didn’t know what they would be seeing, but when it was over, both the fans and media heavily praised this new form of fighting.
The main event featured Pancrase founder and future King of Pancrase Masakatsu Funaki fighting against future UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock
. The fight between Shamrock and Funaki was intriguing because Funaki was Shamrock's teacher and trainer. Shamrock ultimately submitted Funaki with an arm triangle choke
. The event also saw victories by future MMA champions Minoru Suzuki
, and Bas Rutten
. Yoshiki Takahashi
and Takaku Fuke also won, with Fuke defeating future King of the Cage Light Heavyweight champion Vernon White
.
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
event held by Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling. It took place at the Tokyo Bay NK Hall
Tokyo Bay NK Hall
Tokyo Bay NK Hall was an indoor sporting arena located at the Tokyo Disney Resort in Urayasu, Chiba, in Japan. The capacity of the arena is 7,000 people. It hosts local sporting events and concerts that require a smaller facility than Ariake Coliseum....
in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan on September 21, 1993. The card
Fight card
Fight card, more commonly known simply as the Card, is a term used to refer to all of the boxing, or another hand-to-hand contact sport such as MMA or kickboxing, matches that occur in the evening of a boxing event. The fight card typically consists of the main event and the undercard....
featured many future MMA
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
champions.
History
Pancrase - Yes, We Are Hybrid Wrestlers 1 was the inaugural event of the mixed martial arts promotion PancrasePancrase
Pancrase is a mixed martial arts promotion company founded in Japan in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. Pancrase is taken from Pankration, a sport in the ancient Olympic games. Suzuki and Funaki are particularly skilled in the art of catch wrestling and based the...
, which was founded by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki
Masakatsu Funaki
, is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler who wrestled in New Japan Pro Wrestling, PWFG, as well as the UWF. He is currently performing at All Japan Pro Wrestling, where he is one half of the AJPW Unified World Tag Team Champions, along with Keiji Mutoh...
and Minoru Suzuki
Minoru Suzuki
is a Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Suzuki was the co-founder of Pancrase, one of the first mixed martial arts organizations in the world. During the 1990s he was known as one of the best fighters in the Pancrase promotion and was the second King of Pancrase world champion...
in 1993. The background of the formation of the organization took place in the pro wrestling organization Fujiwara Gumi. In 1992, a rare legitimate match was booked where "Wayne" (Ken) Shamrock faced world kickboxing champion Don Nakaya Nielsen. Shamrock took Nielsen down immediately and submitted him with an arm lock in 45 seconds. The success of this match made young pro wrestlers Shamrock, Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki question what they had been told since breaking into predetermined wrestling: that nobody would ever pay to see real matches.
Shamrock, Funaki and Suzuki then spearheaded a group of pro wrestlers and decided to abandon everything people had told them about real matches not being marketable. They formed a promotion called Pancrase, named by ’60s wrestling star Karl Gotch after the sport of Pankration in the ancient Olympics, which combined all different forms of fighting into one sport. Using pro wrestling rules – no closed fist punching to the face (closed fisted punches were allowed to the body), breaks on the ropes, but fighting for real – Shamrock beat Funaki via choke in 6:15 in the main event of the first of what was billed as an all-shoot match pro wrestling show. The show drew an enthusiastic sellout crowd of 7,000 fans, who didn’t know what they would be seeing, but when it was over, both the fans and media heavily praised this new form of fighting.
The main event featured Pancrase founder and future King of Pancrase Masakatsu Funaki fighting against future UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock
Ken Shamrock
Kenneth Wayne Shamrock is an American mixed martial arts fighter, UFC Hall of Famer and professional wrestler...
. The fight between Shamrock and Funaki was intriguing because Funaki was Shamrock's teacher and trainer. Shamrock ultimately submitted Funaki with an arm triangle choke
Arm triangle choke
Arm triangle choke, side choke, or head and arm choke are generic terms describing blood chokeholds in which the opponent is strangled in between his or her own shoulder and the practitioner's arm. This is as opposed to the regular triangle choke, which denotes a chokehold using the legs, albeit...
. The event also saw victories by future MMA champions Minoru Suzuki
Minoru Suzuki
is a Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Suzuki was the co-founder of Pancrase, one of the first mixed martial arts organizations in the world. During the 1990s he was known as one of the best fighters in the Pancrase promotion and was the second King of Pancrase world champion...
, and Bas Rutten
Bas Rutten
Sebastiaan "Bas" Rutten is a retired Dutch mixed martial artist, Karate and Taekwondo blackbelt, and kickboxer. He was a UFC Heavyweight Champion, a three time King of Pancrase world champion, and finished his career on a 22 fight unbeaten streak...
. Yoshiki Takahashi
Kazuo Takahashi
Kazuo Takahashi, ring name Yoshiki Takahashi is a Japanese former mixed martial artist. He has competed in many large MMA promotions, including the UFC, Pancrase, and Pride Fighting Championships. Takahashi is best known for his incredible toughness, heart, and will to win...
and Takaku Fuke also won, with Fuke defeating future King of the Cage Light Heavyweight champion Vernon White
Vernon White
Vernon Verdell White is a professional mixed martial arts fighter who has fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship , Pride Fighting Championships, Strikeforce, King of the Cage, Pancrase, and the International Fight League . He lives in California, and belongs to the fighting team The Lion's...
.
Main card
- Minoru SuzukiMinoru Suzukiis a Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Suzuki was the co-founder of Pancrase, one of the first mixed martial arts organizations in the world. During the 1990s he was known as one of the best fighters in the Pancrase promotion and was the second King of Pancrase world champion...
vs. Katsuomi Inagaki
- Suzuki wins by submissionSubmissionSubmission is the acknowledgement of the legitimacy of the power of one's superior or superiors.Submission may also refer to:* Submission/Submitter , an Islamic organisation...
due to a rear naked chokeRear naked chokeThe Rear naked choke is a chokehold in martial arts applied from an opponent's back. Depending on the context, the term may refer to one of two variations of the technique, either arm can be used to apply the choke in both cases...
at 3:52.
- Bas RuttenBas RuttenSebastiaan "Bas" Rutten is a retired Dutch mixed martial artist, Karate and Taekwondo blackbelt, and kickboxer. He was a UFC Heavyweight Champion, a three time King of Pancrase world champion, and finished his career on a 22 fight unbeaten streak...
vs. Ryushi YanagisawaRyūshi YanagisawaRyūshi Yanagisawa is a Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and kickboxer. His real name is Atsushi Yanagisawa . As a martial artist, he competed in K-1, Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling and Fighting Network RINGS and holds victories over Oleg Taktarov, Paul Varelans, Vernon White, Jason...
- Rutten wins by KO at 0:43.
- Takaku Fuke vs. Vernon WhiteVernon WhiteVernon Verdell White is a professional mixed martial arts fighter who has fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship , Pride Fighting Championships, Strikeforce, King of the Cage, Pancrase, and the International Fight League . He lives in California, and belongs to the fighting team The Lion's...
- Fuke wins by submission due to an armbar at 1:19.
- Yoshiki TakahashiKazuo TakahashiKazuo Takahashi, ring name Yoshiki Takahashi is a Japanese former mixed martial artist. He has competed in many large MMA promotions, including the UFC, Pancrase, and Pride Fighting Championships. Takahashi is best known for his incredible toughness, heart, and will to win...
vs. George Weingeroff
- Takahashi wins by KO at 1:23.
- Ken ShamrockKen ShamrockKenneth Wayne Shamrock is an American mixed martial arts fighter, UFC Hall of Famer and professional wrestler...
vs. Masakatsu FunakiMasakatsu Funaki, is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler who wrestled in New Japan Pro Wrestling, PWFG, as well as the UWF. He is currently performing at All Japan Pro Wrestling, where he is one half of the AJPW Unified World Tag Team Champions, along with Keiji Mutoh...
- Shamrock wins by submission due to an arm triangle chokeArm triangle chokeArm triangle choke, side choke, or head and arm choke are generic terms describing blood chokeholds in which the opponent is strangled in between his or her own shoulder and the practitioner's arm. This is as opposed to the regular triangle choke, which denotes a chokehold using the legs, albeit...
at 6:15.