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| Abbreviation | DSE |
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Dream Stage Entertainment (DSE) was a Japanese company that promoted various wrestling and mixed martial arts events, most notably mixed martial arts Pride Fighting Championship and Hustle professional wrestling events.
There was speculation in the Japanese press that DSE was a front for Yamaguchi-gumi, a notorious yakuza organization. On June 5, 2006, Fuji Television announced that they were terminating their television contract with DSE effective immediately due to a breach of contract. This left Pride and Hustle without a television outlet in Japan, and the lack of the substantial revenues from the deal threatens its sustainability. Furthermore, Fuji banned anyone connected with DSE on their programs.
On June 12, 2006, SKY PerfecTV!, Japan's leading satellite broadcasting company, announced that they would continue to carry DSE programming, such as Pride and Hustle. Hustle, and the second round of the Pride Open Weight Grand Prix, both scheduled for the Saitama Super Arena, would be broadcast live to millions of homes across Japan. It is important to note that SKY PerfectTV! executives mentioned the decision to carry DSE events was not final and any future problems regarding the alleged connection between DSE and Japanese mafia, as reported by Shukan Gendai , might be reason enough to discontinue the relationship. [1]
On October 21, 2006, Pride held its first MMA event in USA, Pride 32: The Real Deal' took place at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. It was the first Pride event to be held outside Japan, and in front of an audience of 11,727. [2]
A buyout of the company by Zuffa, the operators of UFC, had been rumored since late 2006, but on 26 March 2007, Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta held a press conference in Japan alongside Pride F.C. Executive Nobuyuki Sakakibara, announcing the complete buyout of Pride F.C. and all of its assets by Zuffa (sources close have indicated the buyout to be slightly under $70 million USD). While little official information has been released following the buy-out, it is presumed that DSE will fold and PRIDE F.C. will be operated by the newly created parent company, PRIDE F.C. Worldwide. [3]
In 2008, various executives and on-screen personnel from Dream Stage Entertainment joined FEG latest MMA endeavor, DREAM replaced FEG's previous mixed martial arts fight series, HERO'S. The series retained many of the stylistic flourishes and personnel from Pride FC broadcasts, including fight announcer Lenne Hardt and veteran referee Yuji Shimada.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA promotion in the world as of 2023. It produces events worldwide that showcase 11 weight divisions and abides by the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. As of 2024, it had held over 700 events. Dana White has been its president since 2001 and CEO since 2023. Under White's stewardship, it has grown into a global multi-billion-dollar enterprise.
Mirko Filipović, better known by his ring name Mirko Cro Cop, is a Croatian former professional mixed martial artist, kickboxer and amateur boxer. He is mostly known for his time in Pride Fighting Championships. Cro Cop fought in the UFC, K-1, RIZIN and Bellator. He is widely considered one of the greatest Heavyweight Kickboxers and MMA fighters of all time.
PRIDE Fighting Championships was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion company. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. Pride held more than sixty mixed martial arts events, broadcast to about 40 countries worldwide. PRIDE was owned by the holding company Dream Stage Entertainment (DSE).
Nobuhiko Takada is a Japanese former mixed martial artist, retired professional wrestler, actor, and writer. He competed in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF) and the Union of Wrestling Forces International (UWFI) in the 1980s and 1990s, becoming one of the highest figures of the "shoot-style" movement.
Naoya Ogawa is a Japanese world champion judoka, retired professional wrestler, and mixed martial artist. He won a total of seven medals at the All-Japan Judo Championships, and set a record of seven medals at the World Judo Championships. Ogawa won the silver medal in the +95 kg judo weight class at the 1992 Summer Olympics.
Hustle was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion managed by Nobuhiko Takada. Hustle can be described as an industry experiment to market the sports entertainment style of professional wrestling in Japan.
The World Fighting Alliance (WFA) was a mixed martial arts organization based in the United States.
Deep is a Japan-based mixed martial arts promoting and sanctioning organization. It is promoted by Shigeru Saeki who is also the former Public Relations Director of Pride Fighting Championships. Their inaugural event took place in 2001 and featured Paulo Filho and Royler Gracie. On May 17, 2008, Deep announced a partnership with ZST to share fighters, co-promote shows and eventually unify the promotions.
K-1 PREMIUM Dynamite!! was an annual kickboxing and mixed martial arts (MMA) event held in Japan by the Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG). It began as a co-production between the Pride Fighting Championships (PRIDE) and FEG's K-1 group, with the first event being held on August 28, 2002. The inaugural event was referred to by K-1 as "Dynamite!!" while PRIDE called the event "Shockwave". Its live audience totaled 91,108 people, which is the largest on-record attendance for either organization and the largest attendance in the history of MMA.
Hero's was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion operated by Fighting and Entertainment Group, the parent entity behind kickboxing organization K-1. Grown from and branched off of K-1's earlier experiments in MMA, including the K-1 Romanex event and various MMA fights on its regular K-1 kickboxing cards, it held its first show on March 26, 2005. The promotion was handled by former Rings head Akira Maeda. At a press conference on February 13, 2008, FEG announced that they discontinued Hero's and were creating a new mixed martial arts franchise, Dream, in collaboration with former Pride FC executives from Dream Stage Entertainment.
Pride 34: Kamikaze was a mixed martial arts event held by Pride Fighting Championships on April 8, 2007 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG) was the leading Japanese combat sport promoter founded on September 3, 2003. Its last president was Sadaharu Tanikawa and it was the parent company behind the now-defunct mixed martial arts series Dream and formerly, the largest kickboxing promotion in the world, K-1.
World Victory Road (WVR) was a Japanese mixed martial arts (MMA) organization which promoted the Sengoku Raiden Championship (SRC) in Japan. The organization was formed in 2007 following the purchase of PRIDE FC by Zuffa. It operated in conjunction with the Japan Mixed Martial Arts Federation (JMM). The Sengoku championship was broadcast on Fuji TV and pay-per-view in Japan, and on HDNet in United States.
Dream was a Japanese mixed martial arts (MMA) organization promoted by former PRIDE FC executives and K-1 promoter Fighting and Entertainment Group.
Dream.7: Feather Weight Grandprix 2009 1st Round was a mixed martial arts event promoted by Fighting and Entertainment Group's (FEG) mixed martial arts promotion Dream on March 8, 2009. This event featured six of the opening round fights of the tournament which is contested at a 63 kg (139 lb) weight limit.
Dream.10: Welter Weight Grand Prix 2009 Final Round was a mixed martial arts event promoted by Fighting and Entertainment Group's mixed martial arts promotion Dream on July 20, 2009. Dream's welterweight division has a 76 kilograms (168 lb) weight limit. The event was broadcast live in North America on HDNet.
Rizin Fighting Federation is a Japanese mixed martial arts organization created in 2015 by the former Pride Fighting Championships and Dream Stage Entertainment president Nobuyuki Sakakibara.
The year 2015 was the first year in the history of the Rizin Fighting Federation, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. Only two events were held this year, both consisting of the Rizin World Grand-Prix 2015. Rizin events are broadcast through a television agreement with Fuji Television.
The year 2016 was the second year in the history of the Rizin Fighting Federation, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. The first event of the year was Rizin 1 on April 17, 2016, in Nagoya.
Nobuyuki Sakakibara is a Japanese businessman and mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter. He is known for his executive role in Dream Stage Entertainment, including its promotions Pride Fighting Championships and Fighting Opera Hustle, and works as the current president of Rizin Fighting Federation.