Dream Stage Entertainment (DSE) was a Japanese

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

that promoted various

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

and

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

events, most notably mixed martial arts Pride Fighting Championship and Hustle

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

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 longshoreman, dockworkers in Kobe before World War II. It is one of the largest organized cr ...

, 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 ''yak ...

organization. On June 5, 2006,

Fuji Television JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as or , is a Japanese television station that serves the Kantō region as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network System (FNS). The station is owned-and- ...

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. SKY PerfecTV! is also a dire ...

, 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, Chūō-ku, Saitama (city), 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 capa ...

, 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.

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 first ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

. 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 TKO Operating Company, LLC (TKO OpCo), doing business as Zuffa (), 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 I ...

, 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 TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

, 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 is the CEO and president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at . Out ...

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 sensation (psychology), 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 ...

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 wo ...

and veteran referee Yuji Shimada.

Head officials

- President and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

Nobuhiko Takada Nobuhiko Takada (, 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 (UWF) and the Uni ...

- General director and president of Hustle * Sotaro Shinoda - Vice president * Shigeru Saeki - 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
Defunct mixed martial arts promotions