Pancrase 1993 - 1999

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I just started a Pancrase watchthrough blog, which will be covering every Pancrase show up until September 1999 (when Pancrase more or less stops using their old rules), and probably some other things on the side, like Shamrock's UFC adventures. I will be doing this through the lens of a broader definition of professional wrestling.

I will be sharing my thoughts on the matches specifically in this thread, but feel free to read along on the blog itself! I'd highly encourage everyone to read my introductory essay at the very least. 

Show reviews:
https://pancrasespirit.wordpress.com/2026/06/20/pancrase-yes-we-are-hybrid-wrestlers-9-21-1993/

https://pancrasespirit.wordpress.com/2026/06/27/pancrase-yes-we-are-hybrid-wrestlers-ii-10-14-1993/

https://pancrasespirit.wordpress.com/2026/07/06/pancrase-yes-we-are-hybrid-wrestlers-iii-11-8-1993/

Introductory essay: 
https://pancrasespirit.wordpress.com/2026/06/17/nature-and-being-of-pancrase/

Yes, We Are Hybrid Wrestlers (9/21/1993)

Minoru Suzuki vs Katsuomi Inagaki

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

Bas Rutten vs Ryushi Yanagisawa

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: ****

Vernon "Tiger" White vs Yusuke Fuke

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: ****

Yoshiki Takahashi vs George Weingeroff

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: ***

Masakatsu Funaki vs Wayne Shamrock

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! 

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 peripheral 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

 

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Yes, We Are Hybrid Wrestlers II (10/14/1993)

Katsuomi Inagaki vs Joop van de Ven

We are off with our first match of this card, featuring Katsuomi Inagaki and a mysterious fellow called Joop van de Ven. My good friend, Squill (you might know him as the man behind the excellent Wrestling With The Narrative channel), considers Dutch a fake language. I wouldn’t go that far, but they do sometimes come up with cool names, even if they are hard to remember. This Joop van de Ven fellow arrives at the ring looking like someone you would meet at a biker bar in the middle of Fresno, California. Seriously, it’s like he transported himself from a 1980s movie about biker gang warfare.

Almost immediately, Joop levels Inagaki with a hard palm strike. I guess this man is legit after all! Inagaki tries getting back up, but Joop blasts him again with another hard palm strike. Whatever game plan Inagaki had is probably out the window at this point. Inagaki manages to find his way back to his feet and ends up tying up Joop near the ropes after taking him down to the mat to force a clean break. After this, the match becomes quite an entertaining striking-based contest with Inagaki giving Joop a taste of his own medicine. Inagaki seems to realize that Joop doesn’t have much of a gas tank, so he pressures him constantly and takes him down to the mat whenever he gets the chance. This is probably a smart strategy, even if Joop does have a grappling background. In the process, Inagaki targets Joop’s legs and scores a knockdown after catching him with a wicked palm strike of his own….AND THAT’S IT, Joop is down for the count! After a promising start, Inagaki regained control of the match by using his quickness and agility to constantly apply pressure, and I think that’s where Joop realized this wasn’t another casual beer-inused sparring session back home in Amsterdam. I say that in a very loving way, of course! That was a very fun match. It almost seemed like something you would see in RINGS around this time, with a similar level of stiffness and unpredictability you would get from the RINGS Holland lot. Inagaki came out of this looking a lot stronger than he did against Suzuki, but who doesn’t look completely out of their depth against PRIME Minoru Suzuki? ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: ***3/4

Bas Rutten vs Yusuke Fuke

Both of these legit badasses were quite impressive on their debuts. What do they have in store for us this time? I’m sure Fuke has a solid game plan against Bas Rutten after witnessing his comrade, Ryushi Yanagisawa, get destroyed. Rutten was a bit of an unknown at this point, and how much did Fuke really know about him? I guess you can only do so much with the information you have available, but Rutten’s debut was a lot of information, if not unpleasant. Fuke is dressed once again in his brilliant red gear (Kiyoshi Tamura might have been wondering about gimmick infringement here), and Bas Rutten is back in his white kickpads and baggy purple shorts.

After the bell rings, Fuke sizes up Rutten and touches hands with him, but Rutten immediately throws a hard kick, forcing Fuke to attempt a takedown. Rutten then locks him in a guillotine choke to counter. The two end up on the mat in the process, and Fuke manages to work his way out after a brief struggle. Fuke establishes side control, hunting for a good angle to attack. He does find his way to an armbar attempt, and in echoes of the Vernon White match from the last show, Fuke snags one in from a bit of an inverted angle, while Bas Rutten digs his head into the mat, while not doing a full headstand as Vernon did. This pays off for Rutten as he manages to crawl his way to the ropes for a rope break.

Back on their feet, Fuke immediately shoots for another takedown, and like last time, Rutten counters with a guillotine hold. Fuke establishes side control again on the mat, and works his way out of Rutten’s guillotine hold once again, and looks for another armbar attempt. But Bas Rutten slithers out! Rutten quickly gets on his feet and immediately troubles Fuke by launching a wicked knee strike right to his face. This causes Fuke to recoil quickly. Rutten takes advantage and locks him in another guillotine hold. As Fuke struggles to get out, Rutten launches a knee right to Fuke’s side! That might have been it….yup, Fuke is unable to beat the ten count and looks to be in a lot of pain. That wasn’t quite the infamous liver shot, but it did look pretty gnarly!

Like our previous encounter with Rutten, this match had a certain ferocity to it that makes it stand out quite a bit. That’s not to say that the other Pancrase matches we’ve seen lacked a similar feeling, but with these two Rutten matches so far, it is apparent that the Dutchman is not here to play at all. Rutten famously claims that he refused to work for RINGS because they were doing pro wrestling, so he never joined the promotion despite being from Chris Dolman’s gym at the time. The story goes that when Funaki and Suzuki visited the gym during a scouting trip, Rutten beat the “RINGS champion” at the time in a sparring session by knocking him out. Rutten wanted something real, and real is what he got in Pancrase. He didn’t waste any time in establishing his lethal nature from the start. With the other Pancrase matches we’ve seen, there has been a sense that there is some element of balance in how things might play out. With Bas Rutten, though, you are just counting down the seconds to see how fast he can destroy his opponent. It doesn’t feel like “pro wrestling” with Rutten, because he’s not from that tradition of sparring in shoot-style dojos endlessly. He’s from the tradition of annihilating his opponent as quickly as he can. That makes his bouts ridiculously thrilling. As for Fuke, he had a good game plan after all. He knew he could beat Rutten on the ground, and exploited that as much as possible, but Rutten’s defense was better than probably anticipated, and Rutten exploited Fuke’s naivety when he could, and when Rutten strikes….well, good luck, I suppose! ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: ****

Masakatsu Funaki vs Ryushi Yanagisawa

Immediately, Funaki presses Yanagisawa with a brilliant striking pattern that I’m sure most of us normally associate with Funaki by now. He hits Yanagisawa with a hard middle kick right to the abdomen, and Yanagisawa goes down early for a ten count, costing him a point. Yanagisawa is quick to get back up to beat the count, but Funaki keeps up the pace. After another quick combo, Funaki picks Yanagisawa’s ankle for a quick takedown, and he immediately hunts for Yanagisawa’s leg. He doesn’t waste much time securing it, and Yanagisawa appears a bit shellshocked by this point as Funaki secures a heel hook, and Yanagisawa is lucky to be near the ropes as he frantically grabs one to break the hold. With two points lost quickly, Yanagisawa is in a world of trouble. Funaki has no trouble taking down Yanagisawa again after getting back on their feet, this time with an upper body takedown. Funaki searches for an armbar angle at first, but then sees Yanagisawa is once again lazy with his leg defense, and takes control of one for a sharp kneebar. Yanagisawa feels the pain, and I felt the pain from that one, too! Yanagisawa taps without hesitation, and Funaki is your winner! A quick, impressive victory for Funaki. This match was definitely one-sided, and it appears Yanagisawa could not keep the pace with Funaki’s speed, especially in terms of striking. When it came to grappling, Funaki’s killer instinct was just too much to contend with. These were the types of bouts that probably served as the clearest indication that Pancrase was not pro wrestling in the sense that the guys were working cooperatively, as they were in UWF, UWFi, PWFG, or RINGS. Funaki was just that much better than Yanagisawa, and he had no hesitation in proving that here. I do wonder whether or not Funaki would have given Yanagisawa more “breathing room” here if he had beaten Shamrock. Funaki needed the win, though, and he wasted no time in making sure everyone knew he was still the top dog for the native Pancrase crew. Funaki does seem to share some encouragement with Yanagisawa afterward, which is nice of him! ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: ***1/2

Minrou Suzuki vs Vernon "Tiger" White

Suzuki isn't here to play, and I kinda feel sorry for Vernon already. With the match underway, Suzuki immediately makes his presence known by checking Vernon with a hard kick. Vernon attempts to land one of his own, but Suzuki catches it and takes Vernon down with a single-leg. Vernon is near the ropes, though, and escapes quickly after Suzuki attempts to set something up. Vernon shows off his Taekwondo skills and presents a bit of a threat with his striking, but Suzuki closes the distance again and takes Vernon down to the mat with ease after securing a waist lock. Suzuki immediately hunts for a cross armbar from the top, but to Vernon’s credit, he defends quite well, and Suzuki has to switch positions to a side mount as he attempts to figure out Vernon’s resilient defense. He seems to be looking for a key lock here, but Vernon is wise to grab the ropes quickly again. Vernon continues to look dangerous with his striking, but he doesn’t really land anything, and Suzuki makes him expend more energy by toying with him a bit. After Vernon attempts a roundhouse, Suzuki executes another takedown, and back to the canvas they go. Suzuki works for the cross armbar from side control again, but as Vernon defends again, Suzuki switches to a clever headscissors instead! That’s pretty cool, and definitely pro wrestling-inspired if I dare say so. A headscissors is a real submission move in competitive grappling, of course, but a pro wrestler doing this? You have to give brownie points for that. This looks pretty tight, and the referee is there as Vernon White realizes he should keep his neck and taps out. Suzuki lets out a big scream as he celebrates. I don’t think Suzuki had to work too hard there to earn the victory, even if Vernon did put up some resistance in the end. ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: ***3/4

Wayne Shamrock vs Yoshiki Takahashi

As soon as the bell sounds, Takahashi goes into attack mode. He is certainly eager to prove a point here, and he takes Shamrock down impressively after lifting him with a single-leg. This gets a pop from the crowd, and Takahashi quickly tries to secure the leg, but Shamrock is wise to the move and gains control by taking Takahashi’s side. It’s a bit of a repeat from the Funaki match as Shamrock’s strength clearly gives him an advantage on the mat, and Takahashi has to do his best to try and wait things out as Shamrock is right on him despite an attempt to scramble out. Shamrock attempts to lock in an arm triangle, but Takahashi reaches the ropes next to him to break the hold. Takahashi continues to look mightily impressive, and he secures Shamrock’s legs again and lifts him, this time with an awesome double-leg takedown.

Shamrock is slammed into the mat, and Takahashi is more energetic on the mat here, keeping up his energy to retain control of Shamrock. We then get a glimpse of Shamrock’s nose, which appears to have a cut on it. Takahashi continues to work from side control, and in a trademark shoot-style dojo move, he hunts for a Gotch toehold while Shamrock defends in a turtle position. Very familiar scene here! Takahashi gradually works from Shamrock’s legs and hunts for a good angle to secure a submission, but Shamrock rolls through and forces a clean break near the ropes.

Back on their feet, we get an awesome striking exchange. Takahashi and Shamrock are both bringing the heat! Shamrock hits Takahashi with a palm strike, which causes Takahashi to deliver a wicked palm strike combo of his own. Good stuff! Things settle down a bit as they measure each other up and trade feints. Takahashi manages to close the distance with Shamrock, and they tangle up near the ropes, as Shamrock attempts to hunt for Takahashi’s leg, but this allows Takahashi to dive for Shamrock’s legs in the process. With both on the canvas, Takahashi attempts to secure a submission, but they are close enough to the ropes to cause the referee to call for a clean break. Time is flying here, as we are past the five-minute mark. Shamrock and Takahashi trade kicks and more feints, and it appears they are settling into a defensive rhythm before Takahashi secures another double-leg takedown! Takahashi looks great in this bout, and he is giving Shamrock a ton of things to think about. Takahashi gains control of Shamrock’s back on the mat and works for a rear-naked choke, but Shamrock defends well. Shamrock manages to slither out, but Takahashi dives for Shamrock’s legs again and attempts to gain control of his right leg. Shamrock remains calm and doesn’t seem too concerned yet. Takahashi comes quite close to securing a sharp heel hook, and the crowd is ready to explode, but Shamrock manages to fend it off by decreasing Takahashi’s leverage with positioning. Takahashi is a bit sloppy as he looks for a good angle for a double wristlock, which allows Shamrock to work from underneath and reverse his position by sweeping Takahashi with an arm triangle! GREAT COUNTER-GRAPPLING. That is locked in TIGHT, and while Takahashi does manage to put his foot on the ropes to break the hold, he is OUT. This looks like a bit of a pro wrestling-inspired FALSE FINISH, as the referee frantically gets Shamrock to break the hold. Is it over? NOPE. The referee claims “ESCAPE!” and tries to wake up Takahashi, which he does. I bit on that one. For PRO WRESTLING fans, that is awesome. For MMA fans, I can see why the early Pancrase rules seem a bit foreign now, but Takahashi did break the hold by using the ropes! He remains in the match, and rightfully so.

The referee seems a bit reluctant, but he shows Shamrock a RED CARD! Our first red card in Pancrase history! This causes Shamrock to lose a point. Or is it a yellow card? This is confusing. The referee pulls out both cards. Perhaps he got both a RED and a YELLOW? This is quite something, and I don’t see any point loss graphics, so I remain confused. Perhaps the referee changed his mind?

The bout resumes in any case, and Takahashi is a bit more cautious now. He isn’t afraid to close the distance with Shamrock, but his tepid nature allows Shamrock to take Takahashi to the mat easily while gaining back control. Shamrock works for another arm triangle from the mount, but Takahashi senses he is near the ropes, and breaks the hold again. Takahashi is down three points now…but he is quickly down a fourth point after Shamrock delivers a MEAN palm strike that knocks Takahashi right on his ass. We’re getting some pro wrestling DRAMA here as Takahashi is now working with one point remaining, which was usually a sign for HEAT in a shoot-style context. And this match certainly has plenty of HEAT now.

Takahashi is a bit more urgent now and trades a couple of strikes with Shamrock, but they don’t do any real damage. Takahashi charges into Shamrock and attempts to deliver close-range knees, but Shamrock defends well and delivers a sharp palm strike uppercut of sorts. Takahashi falls to the mat, and the referee briefly contemplates calling for the final down, but he allows the match to continue as Takahashi still shows signs of life. Shamrock gains side control on the mat and perhaps overzealously attempts a quick cross armbar, but this allows Takahashi to bravely dive for Shamrock’s legs again. THE CROWD IS LOVING THIS. I don’t think Shamrock is any real danger here, but Takahashi is working hard for the upset. Takahashi continues to look for a heel hook, and Shamrock obliges by hunting for his own. We have a classic SHOOT-STYLE LEG LOCK EXCHANGE here! I’m loving this too. They are near the ropes, so the referee should be calling for a clean break, and he does.

We are in standing and pacing mode here, as the crowd is now fully invested in this amazing contest. Shamrock is ready to end this match, and he moves in on Takahashi to deliver several sharp palm strikes and THREE sharp knees from the clinch, but Takahashi stays on his feet, and the crowd roars in approval. Shamrock continues to fire off palm strikes, including one to Takahashi’s abdomen, but Takahashi wrestles Shamrock down to the mat. Takahashi is gassed, though, and Shamrock easily takes the top mount. After a brief pause, Shamrock shoots for Takahashi’s legs. While Takahashi does try to defend at first, Shamrock quickly digs DEEP on a heel hook attempt, and locks it in despite Takahashi attempting to decrease the leverage with his positoning. Takahashi, unfortunately, has no choice but to tap.

I felt this match was informed by pro wrestling, even if it was unintentional. We had the false finish, the attempt at a comeback with one point left, a leg lock exchange, and excellent performances from both wrestlers. I also feel that Shamrock and Takahashi were happy to play off each other to some degree, and this felt like a sparring session from the PWFG dojo taken to a much higher level. While a lot of shoot-style matches, particularly in RINGS, were inspired by a similar approach, this was actual shooting, and RINGS didn’t go that far. Still, it did feel like there was some give and take that, from what we have already discussed previously, was common in some Pancrase matches for the purposes of increasing crowd engagement, and yes, entertainment value. ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: ****3/4

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Yes, We Are Hybrid Wrestlers III (11/8/1993)

Katsuomi Inagaki vs Vernon "Tiger" White

In the early exchanges of this bout, Inagaki is in control. He is very good at pressuring White and forces him to the mat several times, and White does not seem to be able to counter Inagaki’s grappling. To his credit, White does have active defense, and this forces Inagaki to actively work to find a good opening for a submission. A couple of times, they end up near the ropes, which forces a clean break. White clearly prefers to strike on his feet, but it is tentative so far, and Inagaki has no real trouble dealing with it. At one point, Inagaki threatens with a double wristlock, but they are too close to the ropes, and the referee forces another break. Both are quite active on defense and offense, but neither has found a real breakthrough so far. Things do heat up a bit right after making that observation, with several hard strikes exchanged before Inagaki wrestles White to the mat with a guillotine choke. White briefly appears to be in trouble, but it doesn’t look like Inagaki can get the full angle applied. White eventually fights his way out just fine, and counters a triangle attempt with a tentative body lift slam (think Rampage Jackson vs Ricardo Arona) that doesn’t do much to Inagaki. Inagaki keeps White locked in a triangle attempt before switching to a guard, but White, for some reason, decides to break in this process by reaching for the ropes with one of his feet. Things pick up some more after they get back up on their feet. Inagaki threatens again with another takedown, but he can’t do too much trouble before the referee sees they are too close to the ropes again, allowing for another clean break. White responds by almost landing a sharp high kick right to Inagaki’s face, and Inagaki responds by pressuring White again into a corner with knee strikes. The pace is picking up as White and Inagaki trade more hard strikes, and Inagaki is getting the upper hand as he pummels White in the corner before White fights his way out.

There’s some blood coming from Inagaki’s nose now as they continue to measure each other and trade strikes, mostly palm strikes. The physicality of this bout is really impressive now, and both guys are expending decent amounts of energy to punish their opponent. White comes out of nowhere with a very nice combo to catch Inagaki right in the face multiple times. That was very smooth! Inagaki is down and loses his first point of the match, but manages to beat the ten count.

White starts to gain an upper hand after the match resumes, and he starts timing his strikes better as Inagaki’s fatigue starts to affect his defense. There are points where White really pummels Inagaki, and it is actually impressive how Inagaki stays on his feet. Inagaki attempts a few takedowns, but they aren’t very effective, and most of them result in another clean break and reset. Inagaki does manage to buy some time after he gains control of White’s back from one of those attempts, and catches his breath instead of opting for any real submission attempt. Inagaki can land more strikes after this, but White’s Taekwondo is clearly giving him an advantage here, and Inagaki’s face is starting to look more swollen. Exhaustion is starting to affect White as well, and Inagaki takes advantage of this by pressuring White into a corner, setting him up for a single-leg takedown. Inagaki is finally able to lock in a submission here, with a bit of an arm triangle variation, but White breaks the hold by reaching for the ropes. We are now 15 minutes into the match, and this is great stuff!

White picks up the pace again and pummels Inagaki with several strikes. Inagaki seems to be losing control of this match, and I think White senses this too. It’s impressive how Inagaki manages to stay on his feet despite all the punishment he’s taking. White lands a sharp kick to Inagaki’s abdomen, and he’s hurt now. White backs him into a corner and lands harder and harder strikes, and Inagaki fights to stay on his feet again. Inagaki lands some knees for good measure before following up with another hard palm strike. The referee finally calls for a ten count as Inagaki slouches into the corner a bit defenseless. Inagaki beats the count before it reaches nine, and the crowd is really getting into this. White and Inagaki trade more strikes before Inagaki gets White to the mat again with a double-leg takedown. They get too close to the ropes again, and the referee calls for another break. Blood from Inagaki’s gushing nose is now visible on Vernon’s legs, and this bout is certainly getting gnarly. Inagaki realizes White’s strikes may be too much to handle at this point, and shoots for another double-leg. He secures it again and gains top control on White. Inagaki is more active hunting for a submission this time, and that’s probably smart. Once again, though, they are too close to the ropes, and the referee calls for a clean break. I imagine that’s frustrating for Inagaki.

After the reset, White lands a hard thrust kick right to Inagaki’s abdomen, and another knockdown is called as Inagaki falls to the mat. Inagaki is down three points now, and he gets up again to keep the match going. Inagaki presses White into a corner and pummels again with strikes, including knees, but White fights out valiantly. He has the momentum now as he lands several of his own palm strikes and forearms that seem to really bother Inagaki. Inagaki is in the danger zone now as he stumbles over, and….BOOM…White catches him with a vicious soccer kick! The referee calls for another ten count as Inagaki SOMEHOW manages to fight his way back to his feet. But I don’t think this will last much longer. Inagaki is clearly hurt and is barely hanging on. White picks him apart with more palm strikes, and the referee finally intervenes to make Inagaki visit the ringside doctor. The doctor thinks that’s enough for Inagaki, and the referee obliges by calling for a TKO. VERNON WHITE is your winner, and he shows off with cool Taekwondo moves Mortal Kombat style. That was a well-deserved victory!

Vernon White was very impressive, and I think he realized that he had a striker advantage over Inagaki midway through the match. Inagaki’s fatigue was kicking in around this time, and he couldn’t keep up with Vernon’s refined skills when it came to the stand-up. In this sense, it was a classic grappler vs striker dynamic, and like some modern MMA bouts, the grappler ends up abandoning a more aggressive takedown approach simply because he loses energy early and can only assert himself and create takedown opportunities by striking as well. Because of that, the way this match devolves into a brutal striking contest felt very natural and familiar (even if I don’t watch that much modern MMA). The way Inagaki’s face gets more and more swollen as the match wears on is also not unexpected. This felt more like a true Pancrase shoot than anything inspired by pro wrestling, although an opening match going 20 minutes plus does seem like a good response to potential concerns about the quickness of Pancrase’s bouts, even if it was inadvertent. Overall, that was a tremendous example of what early Pancrase brought to the table and how unpredictable it was. ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: ****1/2

Ryushi Yanagisawa vs Andre van den Oetelaar

Yanagisawa, who is wearing his red gear again, opens the match by immediately going for a double leg takedown, but Oetelaar stuffs it and establishes control on the mat for the first minute or so. Oetelaar even sets up a cross armbar attempt, but Yanagisawa defends well and reverses it, putting Oetelaar on his back. The next few minutes see some very tentative grappling from Yanagisawa while Oetelaar relies on a simple guard to defend and doesn’t seem too bothered by Yanagisawa. I don’t think Yanagisawa is clueless here, but he does look like he is short of ideas, and some fans seem to agree as one or two audibly crack jokes, prompting laughs from the audience. Yanagisawa continues to work as we reach the five-minute mark, but Oetelaar is giving him a ton of defensive trouble, and Yanagisawa just can’t get anything going right now. Yanagisawa tries using his legs as leverage and continues to use his hands to lightly grapple with his Dutch opponent. The referee finally decides to stand both back up after what he deems to be a lengthy period of stalemate.

Oetelaar stuffs another takedown attempt from Yanagisawa, and easily establishes control on the mat. For a former boxer, Oetelaar does appear to be quite capable on the mat, even if he hasn’t threatened Yanagisawa with any real submission attempts so far. Oetelaar is content with smothering Yanagisawa on the mat and making him work on his back, even if it is light work. After another period of inactivity, the referee stands both back up. Predictably, Yanagisawa doesn’t waste much time going for another takedown, but Oetelaar also blocks this attempt, and despite Yanagisawa attempting to set something up, Oetelaar gains control of Yanagisawa’s back again. Poor Yanagisawa must be wondering what is going wrong here, and Oetelaar has been in total control through this bout. Again, Oetelaar can’t really set up any actual submission attempts, and Yanagisawa is content with his passive defense to buy time. The referee calls for another reset. This has probably been the weakest Pancrase match so far? It’s not one-sided, but Yanagisawa just can’t get anything going, and Oetelaar is no submission wizard. Yanagisawa feints a high kick before going for another takedown, and he gets some momentum here as Oetelaar is forced into a guard by Yanagisawa, who establishes top control. Yanagisawa tries to go for a leg submission, but he can’t find a good angle, so he switches to side control, and Oetelaar turtles up. Yanagisawa is just not taking his chances here, though, and doesn’t threaten Oetelaar too much besides a Gotch toe hold attempt, which does lead to an opening that allows Yanagisawa to try and get a guillotine choke in, but he can’t get all of it. Oetelaar is on his back again and tries to defend with a guard, but Yanagisawa switches and tries to set up a leg submission, but his movement allows Oetelaar to latch onto Yanagisawa’s legs in the process. We have a bit of a leglock exchange here now, and Yanagisawa FINALLY finds something. He takes Oetelaar’s ankle and sets up a heel hook that forces Oetelaar to tap!

At 15:51, Yanagisawa finally picks up his first victory after a bout that wasn’t particularly impressive, all things considered. Yanagisawa wasn’t as active as he should have been on the mat, and Oetelaar was happy to take advantage by controlling the pace and using his upper body strength to maintain positional dominance. Yanagisawa didn’t really find openings until the last 5 minutes or so, in which Oetelaar’s fatigue weakened his defense. This wasn’t the most exciting Pancrase bout, and probably could have benefited from a little “give and take,” if you will. ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: **3/4

James Matthews vs Yoshiki Takahashi

Takahashi opens the proceedings by immediately hitting Matthews with several palm strikes before following up with a high, hard kick to the head. Matthews goes down! The referee calls for a ten count, and Matthews is slow to get back up, but he manages to beat it. Takahashi keeps up the pressure, and Matthews attempts a lazy double leg, but Takahashi blocks it while hitting Matthews with body shots. The two end up in a tangle on the mat, and Takahashi quickly moves for a cross armbar attempt, which he sets up pretty easily and snags the arm. Matthews is quick to tap, and that’s it! That was a refreshingly fast match, and the action was good if brief in its nature. ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: ***1/4

Wayne Shamrock vs Yusuke Fuke

Shamrock wastes no time in pressuring Fuke into a corner after a sharp low kick. Shamrock blasts Fuke with several knees from a quick clinch, and Fuke falls to the mat, allowing Shamrock to establish back control. He quickly locks in a rear-naked choke, and Fuke struggles to break out. He falls asleep before he can tap, and that’s it! That was another quick bout! No energy wasted here at 44 seconds. Shamrock is very pleased with himself. Backstage, Fuke offers a few comments reflecting on the blitzing he just experienced. So far, everything on this show has felt quite real. In other words, the way these bouts have developed has felt different from the previous shows. The “pro wrestling” side of Pancrase hasn’t been quite evident here in Kobe. The struggle and violence, for lack of a better term, has been genuine. I don’t think this was deliberate; it’s just the vibe this show has taken, I suppose. ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: ***1/4

Maurice Smith vs Minoru Suzuki

It is time for our much-anticipated bout between Maurice Smith and Minoru Suzuki! This should be great. We haven’t seen a true stylistic clash in Pancrase yet, perhaps outside of Bas Rutten’s matches, and with the rules in place for this bout (Suzuki is wearing kickboxing gloves), we should really see some interesting action. Suzuki is also wearing all white, perhaps as a callback to the same gear he wore during his encounter with Smith at UWF U-COSMOS in November 1989. Maurice Smith isn’t wearing kickpads or boots either, so I wonder how that will affect his approach. Pancrase’s rules prohibit kicking without kneepads, but they might have made special exceptions for this bout.

There’s no time to waste, and we are quickly underway after the ring introductions. After a quick exchange near the turnbuckle, Smith earns his first knockdown of the match after a hard left hook. Suzuki gets up and doesn’t appear to be too hurt by that. That was quick, though! Smith continues to pressure Suzuki, and Suzuki ties Smith up before the referee breaks them apart. Maurice Smith is allowed to kick, which makes sense, but he is mostly relying on hooks and jabs. I’d say Smith has had control of this round (I believe these are three-minute rounds), and Suzuki has been pressed quite a bit. His striking defense isn’t up to par, and Smith has his way in picking his shots. The bell sounds, and that’s the end of Round 1. I’d give that to Smith 10-8.

Round 2 is underway, and Suzuki tries to throw more kicks to bother Smith, but Smith keeps up the pressure. There is another brief tie-up near the ropes, and Suzuki is quicker on his feet, to his credit. Near the turnbuckle, Smith lands a few hard body shots with his hands, and Suzuki manages to stay on his feet. Suzuki is more eager to tie up Maurice Smith in this round, and that’s probably smart, as Smith is dictating the tempo of this bout with cleaner striking. After another tie-up, Suzuki lands a sharp spinning backfist that gets a pop from the crowd. It’s another relatively relaxed round for Smith, as he doesn’t have much trouble here either. I have that at 10-9 for Smith. In the corner, Suzuki seems pretty exhausted already, and Smith looks in way better shape.

Here’s Round 3! Maurice Smith immediately opens up with a straight right punch that sends Suzuki to the canvas for the second knockdown of the match. Suzuki manages to get back up and is pretty shaken by the looks of things. Suzuki falls after another swing from Smith, and the referee rules it an accidental fall. Suzuki gets up and ties up with Smith, but that doesn’t stop Smith from knocking him back down with some close-range jabs. After Suzuki beats the count, Smith immediately punishes him with a hard right jab, and Suzuki falls to the mat for the third and final time. It’s a TKO victory for Smith at 52 seconds in the third round!

After the match, Suzuki and Smith embrace and shake hands. Smith gives Suzuki his props, but Suzuki does sound like he is pretty upset with himself in the backstage comments. I don’t think he should be; fighting Smith on his own terms is a brave thing to do! He put up a decent fight, even if Smith never lost control of things. I thought it was pretty cool overall. Keeping in theme for this show, that was a very real kickboxing contest between someone who was a master at the art and someone willing to step outside their comfort zone. I must admit that my memory led me to believe that we would be seeing a mixed round system there, with different rules for each one. That’s probably in the next encounter, though! ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: ***1/2

Masakatsu Funaki vs Cees Besems

Funaki quickly takes Besems down in the opening seconds after a kick attempt, and they end up in a scramble near the ropes. Funaki gains top control, and Besems reaches for the ropes. Perhaps he realizes his best bet is to stay on his feet. Funaki quickly takes him down again, though, this time with a double-leg. Besems does manage to get him in a guillotine hold, which leads to a messy and chaotic scramble before Funaki takes him down for a third time. With Funaki in side control, he attempts a cross-armbar but doesn’t get it all, so he ends up back in side control again. Besems decides to go for the ropes again. The referee appears to warn Besems about using closed fists, which I might have missed. Funaki goes for another double leg after the reset, and quickly locks in a keylock from side control, forcing a quick tapout from Besems. That’s it! Funaki looks pretty pissed off, and I assume he didn’t enjoy the closed fist too much. On the slow-motion replay, we are shown the closed fist, which Funaki dodges for the double-leg takedown. After the match, Funaki offers his comments backstage. He doesn’t look too happy there either. That was a short and a bit messy contest, but tons of energy! ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: ***1/4