Dream Stage Entertainment (DSE) was a Japanese

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

that promoted various

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

and

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

events, most notably mixed martial arts

Pride Fighting Championship PRIDE Fighting Championships (Pride or Pride FC, founded as KRS-Pride) 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 even ...

and Hustle

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

events.

Company history

Allegations of links to organized crime

There was speculation in the Japanese press that DSE was a front for

Yamaguchi-gumi is Japan's largest ''yakuza'' organization. It is named after its founder Harukichi Yamaguchi. Its origins can be traced back to a loose labor union for dockworkers in Kobe before World War II. It is one of the largest criminal organizations i ...

, a notorious

yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them , while the ''yakuza'' call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ...

organization. On June 5, 2006,

Fuji Television JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba today is a large artificial island in Tokyo Bay, Japan, across the Rainbow Bridge from central Tokyo. Odaiba was initially b ...

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! is a direct broadcast satellite (DBS) service that provides satellite television, audio programming and interactive television services to households in Japan, owned by parent company SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation The SKY Perfect JSAT Group is ...

, 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 is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Chūō-ku, Saitama, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. It opened preliminarily on May 5, 2000, and then was officially opened on September 1 of the same year. Its maximum spectator capacity is 36,500, making i ...

, 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 A week is a unit of time equal to seven days. It is the standard time period used for short cycles of days in most parts of the world. The days are often used to indicate common work days and rest days, as well as days of worship. Weeks are ofte ...

'', might be reason enough to discontinue the relationship.

DSE's impacts in the US

On October 21, 2006, Pride held its first MMA event in USA, '' Pride 32: The Real Deal took place at the

Thomas & Mack Center The Thomas & Mack Center is a multi-purpose arena located on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in Paradise, Nevada. It is home of the UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team of the Mountain West Conference. History The facility was fi ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. It was the first Pride event to be held outside Japan, and in front of an audience of 11,727.

Dissolution

A buyout of the company by

Zuffa Zuffa, LLC () is an American sports promotion company specializing in mixed martial arts. It was founded in January 2001 in Las Vegas, Nevada, by Station Casinos executives Frank Fertitta III and Lorenzo Fertitta to be the parent entity of the ...

, the operators of

UFC 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 Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

, had been rumored since late 2006, but on 26 March 2007,

Dana White Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who serves as president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at $500 milli ...

and Lorenzo Fertitta held a press conference in Japan alongside Pride F.C. Executive

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 preside ...

, 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.link
{{webarchive , url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070513131440/http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=3669&zoneid=13 , date=May 13, 2007 In 2008, various executives and on-screen personnel from Dream Stage Entertainment joined FEG latest MMA endeavor,

DREAM A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...

replaced FEG's previous mixed martial arts fight series, HERO'S. The series retained many of the stylistic flourishes and personnel from

Pride FC PRIDE Fighting Championships (Pride or Pride FC, founded as KRS-Pride) 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 even ...

broadcasts, including fight announcer

Lenne Hardt Lenne Hardt (born May 10, 1963) is an American voice actress and ring announcer for Japanese mixed martial arts organizations. Her resume includes PRIDE Fighting Championships, DREAM, ONE Championship and Glory World Series and she currently work ...

and veteran referee

Yuji Shimada is a Japanese mixed martial arts and professional wrestling referee, as well as professional wrestling booker, authority figure and occasional wrestler. He has refereed more than 1,000 contests in major MMA promotions including Pride Fightin ...

Head Officials

- President and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

Nobuhiko Takada Nobuhiko Takada ( ja, 高田伸彦, ring name: ) (born April 12, 1962) is a Japanese former mixed martial artist, retired professional wrestler, actor, and writer. He competed in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), Universal Wrestling Federation (UW ...

- General Director and President of Hustle *

Sotaro Shinoda , known as , is an American actor and model in Japan. He was born in Newport Beach, California. He is best known for his portrayal of Ken Hisatsu/Geki Chopper in the 2007 Super Sentai series ''Juken Sentai Gekiranger''. Biography Sotaro was bo ...

- Vice President *

Shigeru Saeki is a Japanese mixed martial arts promoter and executive. Saeki had worked as a photojournalist in various sports media and in 2001, he became the president of the promotion Deep 2001. Saeki joined Dream Stage Entertainment (DSE) to promote Pri ...

- Public Relations Director and

Deep Deep or The Deep may refer to: Places United States * Deep Creek (Appomattox River tributary), Virginia * Deep Creek (Great Salt Lake), Idaho and Utah * Deep Creek (Mahantango Creek tributary), Pennsylvania * Deep Creek (Mojave River tributary), ...

Promoter

References

External links

HUSTLE WebsitePRIDE WebsiteEnglish translation
of a ''Shukan Gendai'' article on DSE's yakuza links
SkyPerfectTV! says 'Yes' to PRIDE...for now
Mixed martial arts organizations