Masakatsu Funaki is a well-known Japanese professional wrestler who performed in New Japan Pro Wrestling, PWFG, as well as the UWF and its later incarnation, the UWFi. However, he is most famous as the co-founder of Pancrase along with Minoru Suzuki, one of the first modern-day non-rehearsed shoot wrestling promotions, following five years after the inception of Shooto but predating America's Ultimate Fighting Championship by a month. Not only the organization's co-founder, Funaki was also one of Pancrase's most successful fighters, scoring submission victories over the likes of Ken Shamrock, Frank Shamrock, Guy Mezger and Bas Rutten through the course of his 50-fight career. New Japan Pro Wrestling (新日本プロレス, shin nihon puroresu) is a major professional wrestling federation in Japan, founded by Antonio Inoki in 1972. ... The acronym UWF can refer to the following things: The University of West Florida The Universal Wrestling Federation, an American professional wrestling promotion, forerunner to the WCW. One of a number of related Japanese pro wrestling promotions called Universal Wrestling Federation. ... Pancrase or Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling is a mixed martial arts promotion in Japan founded in 1993. ... Shooto is a modern mixed martial arts organization in Japan especially known for its fighters at or under 155 pounds, and a style practiced by those who compete in the organization. ... Ultimate Fighting Championship is a U.S.-based mixed martial arts organization. ... Pancrase or Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling is a mixed martial arts promotion in Japan founded in 1993. ... Ken Shamrock (born Kenneth Wayne Kilpatrick) is a mixed martial arts fighter. ... Frank Shamrock (born December 8, 1972) is a famous mixed martial arts competitor. ... Bas Rutten (February 24, 1965 -) is a Mixed Martial Arts expert, three time Undefeated Pancrase champion and a former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight Champion. ...
Funaki is a healthy, wealthy man admired by men who have seen it all as announcers and done it all in competition such as Bas Rutten; his brother is the clown prince of wrestling and Smackdown's number one announcer.
Funaki set out to be a savior--to be the one to revitalize Japan's tradition of full contact mixed martial arts--- and, it might be argued, he failed in that attempt.
One may reasonably hold the opinion that Funaki attempted to be a savior and failed, or reasonably hold the opinion that he attempted to be a hero but was grounded by feet of clay or reasonably argue he otherwise fell short of the ideal he put it upon himself to embody.
MasakatsuFunaki is a well-known Japanese professional wrestler who performed in New Japan Pro Wrestling, PWFG, as well as the UWF.
Not only the organization's co-founder, Funaki was also arguably Pancrase's most successful fighter to date, scoring submission victories over the likes of Ken Shamrock, Frank Shamrock, Guy Mezger, Yuki Kondo and Bas Rutten through the course of his 50-fight career.
According to Sherdog.com's ratings, he was one of the top four mixed martial artists in the world from 1993 to 1998 (being the top-rated mixed martial artist in 1996) and is currently rated as the second most successful Japanese fighter of all-time behind Kazushi Sakuraba.
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