Rickson Gracie FAQ

[Patrick Jane]

You might already know the story, but I guess Gotch and Funaki fell out regarding the direction Funaki was taking Pancrase. He used to show each Pancrase event to Gotch to get his input but apparently Gotch didn't like the striking aspect and also didn't like the use of foreigners. I guess eventually Gotch basically cut Funaki off over it. At least, that was what I got from the translation of the video Funaki posted regarding it.

In the interviews i read, Gotchs attitude towards Funaki in general was that he is not terrible but isn't a great wrestler because he always cared more about putting people over than properly wrestling. He named the Rickson Gracie match as a prime example of that, as he apparently was utterly unimpressed with Rickson Gracie in general (direct quote about Rickson: "You know what I'll do? I'm an old man. I'll tie one leg and one arm behind my back and I'll bet he couldn't even pull my dick off my belly. He doesn't even know the sleeper or a real strangle hold."). I guess Funaki's habit of stretching Pancrase matches to length and giving opponents chances for a more exciting match might have rubbed him the wrong way. Then again, he also didn't like Ken Shamrock (direct quote: "He's an asshole. He wouldn't know his elbow from his asshole.") but loved Minoru Suzuki ("He has a killer instinct none of the other guys have") and Akira Maeda (comparing him to "a young Fritz Kley").

I wonder what Gotch's beef with foreigners was. I would have guessed him to like more international talent, as he spoke mostly ill about the mentality of japanese people in general, especially Antonio Inoki and Satoru Sayama.

 

[Kforcer]

In the interviews i read, Gotchs attitude towards Funaki in general was that he is not terrible but isn't a great wrestler because he always cared more about putting people over than properly wrestling. He named the Rickson Gracie match as a prime example of that, as he apparently was utterly unimpressed with Rickson Gracie in general (direct quote about Rickson: "You know what I'll do? I'm an old man. I'll tie one leg and one arm behind my back and I'll bet he couldn't even pull my dick off my belly. He doesn't even know the sleeper or a real strangle hold."). I guess Funaki's habit of stretching Pancrase matches to length and giving opponents chances for a more exciting match might have rubbed him the wrong way. Then again, he also didn't like Ken Shamrock (direct quote: "He's an asshole. He wouldn't know his elbow from his asshole.") but loved Minoru Suzuki ("He has a killer instinct none of the other guys have") and Akira Maeda (comparing him to "a young Fritz Kley").

I wonder what Gotch's beef with foreigners was. I would have guessed him to like more international talent, as he spoke mostly ill about the mentality of japanese people in general, especially Antonio Inoki and Satoru Sayama.

Here's a video of a guy who is translating the video Funaki posted talking about his relationship with Gotch: