Review of Pride FC: Shockwave 2003

Introduction

Emanating from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, Shockwave 2003 was one of three fighting events held on New Year`s Eve 2003 in "The Land of the Rising Sun". Fight sports have virtually replaced the previous Japanese tradition of a concert on New Year`s Eve, and although it`s difficult to imagine a UK audience watching Cage Rage over Jools Holland, Japanese fans tune in in record numbers every year.

Although there are other interesting bouts on the card, the big match of the evening was a re-match from 2002`s Shockwave event, as 1992 Olympic Judo champion Hidehiko Yoshida took on Royce Gracie. Their first contest was marred by an awful refereeing decision, as the referee believed that Gracie had been rendered unconscious when replays showed that that was clearly not the case.

Video

Video is presented in 4:3 fullscreen PAL, and is excellent for a DVD of this genre. The image is less sharp than UK viewers will be used to, but this is a legacy of the recording`s NTSC origins. Still, that makes zero difference to the viewer`s enjoyment, and this is as good as any live-to-tape event - especially with a 3hr running time - is going to get.

Audio

Audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 and is very good for a DVD of this genre. Commentary, music, and in-ring activity can be heard clearly at all times. Commentary is provided excellently by Mauro Ranallo and Bas Rutten, with occasional guests such as former pro wrestling star Bill Goldberg.

Features

This is a lovely 2-disc set from FightDVD, and there are some great extras here to compliment the show itself.

On Disc One, we have a photo gallery, as well as text on the rules of PRIDE, a glossary of fight terms, and fighter biographies.

On Disc Two, there is a bonus match between Hayato Sakurai and Daiju Takase, which is good whilst standing, but poor on the ground. There is also a Fighter Entrances music video (which is one hundred times better than it sounds), another music video on the ring girls of PRIDE, and a featurette in which we follow Royce Gracie as he prepares for his imminent grudge re-match with Hidehiko Yoshida.

Whilst these extras are all worthy of a look, it is the extensive fighter interviews (also on Disc Two) that are the most interesting. These are uncut, unlike the excerpts from them that appear in the main feature. There is even some footage of the pre-event press conference, with a particular focus on Heath Herring as he prepares for his bout with the debuting Giant Silva.

Conclusion

The event began with a nice dose of brutality, as Quinton "Rampage" Jackson took on Ikuhisa Minowa, in a match which was fought primarily on the ground. That suited both men, with Minowa looking for a submission, and Jackson eager to strike.

Giant Silva`s PRIDE debut was also going to be more of a freak show than a contest, given the poor reaction time of the 7ft 2 Brazilian. This was a long match, and wasn`t particularly enjoyable.

Murilo "Ninja" Rua was up next, taking on Akira Shoji in a short but brutal bout, before Yoshida and Gracie rekindled their rivalry in a fascinating ground-based contest which garnered a fantastic reaction from the normally-quiet Japanese crowd.

After the technical showpiece that was Yoshida vs Gracie, Don Frye and Gary Goodridge were only interested in throwing kicks and punches (and how!) in the next bout, after which another Gracie brother, Daniel, faced Wataru Sakata in a good ground-based contest, which included a finish to make anyone wince.

Mario Sperry and Yuki Kondo were next up, in a bout which centred around who would take who to the mat, before Rony Sefo faced Kiyoshi Tamura in a bout which was strategically interesting, but was not much of a contest.

The main event made up for the previous bout`s shortcomings, however, as crowd-favourite Kazushi Sakuraba faced Antonio Rogerio Nogueira - not to be confused with his brother Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira! - in another good bout. A little more stand-up action would have been nice perhaps, but what was done otherwise was technically excellent, as you would expect from these two.

Overall, Shockwave 2003 was a very good event, perhaps one of the most consistently good cards PRIDE has ever promoted. Particular plaudits must go to Hidehiko Yoshida and Royce Gracie for having an excellent match, and showing fans that not all good matches are fought standing.

The fact that this event has been treated so well, in that it is a two-disc set, only heightens its appeal. This is certainly one for the collection.