A Matter Of Pride - marketing of hand-to-hand combat events in Japan - Brief Article

Wrestling Digest, August, 2001 by Bill Apter, Tim Towe

Japan's leading shoot-fighting organization adds pro wrestling glitz in a campaign to gain fans

HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU wondered how a professional wrestler would fare in a shoot (real) fight against a trained combatant? Could the man who has been publicized in pro wrestling as being one of the toughest men in the world--who is accustomed to fighting choreographed matches--handle himself in a brawl against an athlete who is adept in every form of Mixed Martial Arts?

"It's a whole different world," says former World Wrestling Federation superstar Ken Shamrock, who has experience in staged sports entertainment and the very real world of MMA. Currently, Shamrock competes in and trains fighters for what could best be described as "no-holds-barred" matches. He competes on shows promoted by PRIDE, an organization known as MMA's premier group. Near-overflow crowds in Japan pay top dollar to see Shamrock and other shoot fighters on PRIDE cards fight it out--for real. PRIDE holds the distinction of drawing the two largest pay-per-view audiences in Japan--bigger than wrestling, boxing, movies, and any other program.

"Both worlds are very entertaining to watch, both have high athletic values, but shoot fighting is, of course, far more dangerous, and it is also very highly intriguing to watch," Shamrock says.

Although other organizations are known for promoting shoot fighting, such as Ultimate Fighting Championship, the organization for which Shamrock competed against pro wrestler and MMA fighter Dan Severn, the PRIDE organization is trying to take shoot fighting in another direction. PRIDE shows incorporate the spectacular production elements of pro wrestling, such as dramatic entrances complete with smoke machines, into the shoot-fighting shows, all in an attempt to grab pro wrestling fans' attention.

"The difference between PRIDE and UFC is that PRIDE uses a ring for the fighters, where UFC uses the octagon cage," Shamrock says.

But what would it take to lure a pro wrestling fan to watch PRIDE? Sports entertainment fans are used to the constant action provided by choreographed bouts rather than real fights that can be either very exciting or very boring depending on the excitement level of the scheduled three-round bouts.

"The promoters of no-holds-barred [fighting] realize that people want to be entertained," Shamrock says. "They know the fans want to see costumes, or a guy who wears three masks or a little bit of trash talking where it belongs. They understand there has to be excitement--not only in the fights, but also in the characters. Boxing does it. Pro wrestling is probably the inventor of it So, with this type of show, people are entertained before and during the fight. Shoot fighting is more reality-based, and I think wrestling fans will like watching it as well."

Fighter Mark Coleman, who Inoki recently presented with the Antonio Inoki World Martial Arts belt, agreed with Shamrock.

"Every one of the PRIDE shows is an event that fans will see the ultimate in both martial arts and entertainment," Coleman, who wrestled for New Japan Pro Wrestling, says. "Sure, wrestling fans will latch onto MMA if they are exposed to it. There is an element of true one-on-one battling with the toughest people in the universe mixed in with entertainment. One look at an MMA/PRIDE-style show and you're hooked forever. There is nothing that compares with seeing a good knockout finish."

Another MMA fighter said that ifs not much different from wrestling.

"It's the same as wrestling, but without the high-flying acrobatics," Guy Mezger says.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, who follows MMA and pro wrestling on a regular basis, said there is great potential in the crossover appeal of pro wrestling and shoot fighting.

"For American pro wrestling fans, PRIDE looks nothing like pro wrestling," Meltzer says. "In Japan, because of the style of how they work a match, pro wrestling is made to look more legitimate. The look of PRIDE is a lot more similar to their pro wrestling product. So, in the minds of many pro wrestling fans in Japan, PRIDE is just another form of pro wrestling. On every PRIDE show in Japan there are several pro wrestlers, and that's the difference between drawing 5,000 people and 20,000. They have pro wrestlers on the show, and the pro wrestling fans make up a bulk of the live gate. Take a look at the December 31, 2000, PRIDE show at the Osaka Dome. They drew a sellout crowd of 42,756 fans with Ken Shamrock and Don Frye against Keiji Muto and Takada, plus pro wrestling's Antonio Inoki against world renowned shoot fighter Renzo Gracie."

Meltzer also notes that Japan embraced shoot fighting many years ago.

"The birth of shoot fighting is generally credited to Japan for the Muhammad Ali vs. Inoki mixed match on June 25, 1976," he says.

PRIDE held its 13th production on March 25, 2001, at Japan's Saitama Super Arena. With special effects galore, an appearance by Inoki and a fight between kickboxer Vanderlei Silva of Brazil and former pro wrestling babyface extraordinaire Sakuraba, MMA fans and wrestling fans were treated to an unforgettable evening of entertainment--exactly what PRIDE hoped to deliver.