Zach Arnold has five lessons we can take from the fall of PRIDE:
1. The majority of MMA's star power in Japan is reliant on pro-wrestling. Until pro-wrestling has a UWF-type revival, MMA will not have a PRIDE-level revival.
2. The more money MMA makes in Japan, the more the yakuza wants to get involved. Without major television money, the yakuza isn't that interested in the business.
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The Shukan Gendai negative media campaign against PRIDE, linking them to organized crime, killed the company's credibility in Japan. Unlike America, shame is still a big part of the Japanese culture.
3. Most Japanese entertainment entities are very good at running business on their home turf due to their nationalistic ways, but are just as lousy about exporting their product on a global scale because their knowledge of doing business is based solely on what the Japanese want
4. As WWE proved, UFC will not be able to run big in Japan unless they run a pure Japanese-style product and Zuffa is unwilling to do this.
5. Once the MMA boom died in Japan, the business reset to pre-PRIDE levels. (K-1 is K-1, and New Japan is the dominant wrestling power. K-1 understands principle #4.)
Golden Boy - I still laugh at Zuffa for the millions they paid and got nothing in return expect videos.
Yeah, it's not like they got any top of the line fighters to jump ship after shutting down the organization. And it's not like they shut down their largest competition at the time either.
Dana publically claimed that it had all been worth the price just for the video library alone - but then shortly thereafter, the Fertittas actually sued the former owners of Pride to try and get their money back and legally undo the transaction.
If they had truly been satisfied with their purchase, I highly doubt they would have ultimately resorted to legal action to recover their money.
Pretty good observations. The year or so layoff between PRIDE and DREAM was far too long for the typical fickle Japanese consumer. The hardcore fans are still there, but the casual fringe fans have turned to other sources of entertainment, it seems. K-1 is now much more well known than DREAM, according to my random casual polling of Japanese people.
Two years ago today Dream Stage Entertainment put on their last event PRIDE 34 at the Saitama Super Arena.
