Pancrase

Pancrase Inc. was a mixed martial arts promotion company founded in Japan in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki, Minoru Suzuki and Ken Shamrock. The company apparently ceased operations in 2008. The name was based on pankration, a fighting sport in the Ancient Olympic Games. Suzuki and Funaki practised catch wrestling. They based the promotion and its rules on professional wrestling. The promotion claimed that its events consisted of shoots (actual unscripted wrestling) rather than works (scripted performances). The promotion's champions were called King of Pancrase.

Pancrase

Pancrase Inc. was a mixed martial arts promotion company founded in Japan in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki, Minoru Suzuki and Ken Shamrock. The company apparently ceased operations in 2008. The name was based on pankration, a fighting sport in the Ancient Olympic Games. Suzuki and Funaki practised catch wrestling. They based the promotion and its rules on professional wrestling. The promotion claimed that its events consisted of shoots (actual unscripted wrestling) rather than works (scripted performances). The promotion's champions were called King of Pancrase.