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Akira Maeda calls out PRIDE

By Zach Arnold | April 3, 2007

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By Zach Arnold

On the RINGS HP blog, HERO’s supervisor Akira Maeda wrote a controversial posting discussing PRIDE and the company’s behind-the-scenes activities. Maeda did so in a roundabout way. Gryphon noticed this posting and he thinks the mystery man Maeda is alluding to is Sakakibara. However, my personal guess he’s alluding to the now infamous “Mr. I” (aka Ishizaka), who Shukan Gendai labeled as “DSE’s virtual yakuza owner.” Or he may be in fact talking “to” both men.

The theme of Maeda’s article is discussing a three-company system that was/is attached to PRIDE (including DSE) that publications like Shukan Gendai and posters on the 2ch Japanese message board were deeming to be ‘dummy companies’. We had a past site commenter named white ninja who made this claim (read the past comment here). The one guess I can make about Maeda’s “three company” assertion would be: DSE, the production company PRIDE outsourced to, and PRIDE’s main ticket distribution operation. In Maeda’s posting, his assertion is that this three-company system siphoned off cash from DSE like a parasite and that these pressures led to the death of former PRIDE President Naoto Morishita (Maeda in his posting does not label Morishita’s death a suicide).

In one regard, I’m not surprised that Akira Maeda would be ‘open’ like this in commentary. On the other hand, this is a sensitive issue to touch upon. Read Gryphon’s translation and mine together here to get a better sense of what is said in this Japanese post.

Start of summary translation

From now on with UFC’s acquisition of PRIDE, the kakutougi world will see an era of heavy fighting between us worldwide.

UFC purchased the group with a strategy of planning on holding a competition (Ed. — Maeda labeled this as a ‘gimmick’) between their competing promotions to gain fan interest from this internal competition and they will do this until it becomes no longer interesting.

I can learn a lot from American corporate strategy (promotional) ideas.

A certain person (Ed. — Sakakibara) bravely declared his withdrawal from DSE and wished for a return to TV, but does this actually happen?

The point of major concern is the actual owner of the three companies that operate PRIDE events. (Ed. — Maeda’s talking about Ishizaka here.)

In trying to get a clean image, even if this owner gives up ownership of one of the companies, it is a fact that over the last 10 years he has built up a money making system from PRIDE events and so simply lifting his hands from one company will not make any different, just as Shukan Gendai points out.

It was the relationship with these three companies that was the major cause for concern for the former President of DSE, Mr. Morishita. He was very worried and troubled about the happenings behind the scenes with these companies.

Ahh, sorry sorry (‘gomen gomen’), even his friends don’t know these things and maybe I am speaking of these things too lightly, but my reflections:

1) Excuse me but even if people are going to complain, I can say that we can’t keep these things uselessly a secret between you and your friends (in an intimate relation)

2) According to Shukan Gendai, you guys (Ed. — Sakakibara and Ishizaka is likely who Maeda is addressing here) are parent and child? Brothers? Best friends? Slaves? Please let us know which one.

I pray for PRIDE’s revival on national television and I sincerely pray for the late Mr. Morishita.

Topics: All Topics, HERO's, Japan, Media, MMA, PRIDE, UFC, Yakuza, Zach Arnold | No Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

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  1. […] week, Akira Maeda claimed that the old elements of DSE would not go away from the ‘new’ PRIDE. He named both the […]