WARNING: STRONG VIOLENCE AHEAD
So, this may be one of the most exciting things I’ve ever gotten to cover. Atsushi Onita is a deathmatch icon, a wrestling legend, and the innovator of explosion matches. Now, he was resurrecting FMW, the company he made that propelled him to the moon and bringing back those explosions in full force. This was FMW-E, the E standing for explosions and entertainment. There would be five matches bringing back the variety show approach and giving fans a taste of what this new FMW would be capable of. Across the five matches we’d see Yumehito Imanari take on Buatsushi Futonita, The Brahman Brothers tackle Gabai Ji-Chan and Kikutaro, a money throwing bunkhouse three-way deathmatch and more leading to the main event where Atsushi Onita teams with Ricky Fuji and Minoru Fujita against Abdullah Kobayashi, Onryo and Yuko Miyamoto in the Deathmatch of Hell. Let’s get into the action.
Fake Explosion Match: Yumehito Imanari defeated Buatsushi Futonita via Confetti Cannon to the face
The show opened with a fake explosion match between Yumehito Imanari of DDT and Buatsushi Futonita, a very obvious parody of Onita. He had fake explosion weapons and tried to fire the crowd up the same way Onita would. Imanari attacked early by hitting Futonita with his jacket and the pair locked up. A headbutt war broke out and Imanari threw Futonita into the “exploding” barbed wire. The wire dance continued and Futonita gained an advantage by throwing powder in Imanari’s eyes to land a DDT. Futonita locked on a Half Crab and Imanari risked his own body to break the hold with an “exploding” rope break, sending the ref and Futonita flying. The fight reset and the pair tried to back each other into the wire by pointing and shouting FIRE at each other. Neither could force the other back far enough so Futonita enlisted the ref to help and they both sent Imanari into the “wire.” Futonita hit his attempt at the Thunder-Fire Bomb and kept getting two counts as Imanari refused to stay down. He went for the “exploding” bat, mimicking the siren, and blasted into Imanari’s midsection. This sent confetti everywhere and somehow only netted Futonita another two. Imanari was pissed now and snatched a confetti cannon away from Futonita. He shot it into Futonita’s face and took the win. Imanari had suffered countless fake explosions and even seen the ref turn against him but had survived this deadly battle. I found this funny as hell and think it was a really fun way to open the show. What better way to tease what’s to come than by faking it?
HASEGAWA, Naoshi Sano & Yuchi Taniguchi defeated Monster Leather, Mr. Atomic & Toshiya Kawarai via Fireball Pin Trap on Leather
Next up was some six-man tag action. It was going to be a battle between talents from multiple companies forging shaky alliances to get the job done. On one side, HASEGAWA, Naoshi Sano, and Yuchi Taniguchi representing A-Team, BJW, and freelancing against Monster Leather, Mr. Atomic, and Toshiya Kawarai who were all roamers and veterans. Team Leather struck first and fights broke out around the ring. Mr. Atomic and Taniguchi battled it out in the ring as the action around the ring slowed down and order resumed. HASEGAWA and Leather took up the fight with HASEGAWA showing off his speed advantage with springboards and a head-scissor. Leather hammered him back with the same ferocity as his namesake and the villainous team all picked on HASEGAWA. After minutes of bullying and his team turning to desperate lengths to avoid a pin, HASEGAWA took out Leather with a Slingblade and tagged out to Taniguchi. He took out everyone with chops and eye pokes, then let his whole team run riot on Leather, HASEGAWA ending the chain with a bulldog. He rolled out to beat Kawarai with his own sign and HASEGAWA took the win with a pin trap on Leather after a fireball hit him. This was pretty chaotic and rather short but provided a nice slice of frantic tag action to keep the pace flowing. Everyone tried to have fun and I’ll never tire of Leatherface chainsaw entrances.
Gabai Ji-Chan & Kikutaro vs The Brahman Brothers (Brahman Kei and Shu) ends in No Contest
Oh, you weren’t ready for this. Are you ready to see two maniacal brothers with a whole ton of props fight one of the most beloved comedic wrestlers on the planet and wrestling’s grandpa Luchador? I hope so because that’s what you’re about to see. Everyone in the ring got tired of Ji-Chan taking forever to get to the ring and the Brahmans attacked Kikutaro. Brahman Shu sorted plunder whilst Kei chopped up Kikutaro as Ji-Chan tried to hobble up the stairs. Kikutaro finally made a comeback and Ji-Chan finally got to his corner. Shu was ready to fight, stop sign in hand but once again had to wait as Ji-Chan needed to disrobe. When the time finally came, it was stick vs sign. Neither won and Shu tried to tell Ji-Chan to ditch the cane but Ji-Chan needed him to speak up. Shu hit the world’s slowest whip and lost his patience again, hammering down blows on Ji-Chan. He got tripped up and Ji-Chan used his head as a golf ball. Ji-Chan was firing up and he attempted a body slam but his back gave out. The Brahmans took full control with Ji-Chan being victim to straight-up choking. Kikutaro and Kei both hit their hands on the ring-post and everyone eventually returned to the ring. Kikutaro was trapped under Ji-Chan and the Brahmans gave him a Kancho with a wooden stake and drove it further into the tunnel with a stop sign smack. Kikutaro recoiled from the impact and accidentally headbutted Ji- Chan’s balls. They both collapsed into the corner and the Brahmans further punished their plums with a suitcase and bowling ball. Ji-Chan fought back with his stick and took the Brahmans for slow-motion rope walking. He ended up crotched though as his stick was snatched away. That fired the old man up and he took both Brahmans out before nailing the Great Muta Shining Wizard. Kikutaro came in for a chop-off and took out Shu with a Dragon Screw. He went for the longest finisher ever and got dropped with a Brainbuster. They got into a hostage standoff with Kikutaro holding Shu hostage and Kei holding Ji-Chan hostage. Kikutaro made peace with the Brahmans and everyone attacked the ref instead. The match was thrown out and peace on Earth was restored for everyone but the ref. Thus ended a match of comedy gold and pure fun. FMW was always about variety and this kept that trend going.
Throwing Money Bunkhouse Deathmatch: Drew Parker defeated Miss Mongol & Nene Dai via Barbed-Wire Board Swanton on Dai
Now was the time for innovation. In Mexican wrestling, there is often the tradition of throwing money into the ring after a good match. Now, Onita was changing the game with a deathmatch that evolved with donations. Miss Mongol and Nene Dai had been originally announced for this three-way with a mysterious X hovering over the third person. That fighter was coming from the commentary booth. Drew Parker was coming to play. After a three-way standoff, the pair started throwing slugs. Mongol was done playing and took both out with double low blows into a double clothesline. The kendo stick goal was reached and that entered the match, as did a barbed-wire bat. Mongol choked out Dai with the stick and gave her a caning when she made the ropes. Parker threw Mongol out and tried to take over the beating but Dai gave him a kicking. The pair went back-and-forth over the bat and Parker ground it into Dai’s head. Mongol burst back into the match and both women turned their attention to Parker, tearing at his bandages and choking him with their boots. This didn’t last long as Mongol turned on Dai and wanted Parker to work with her. They hit a double Suplex and the next weapon goal was reached, this time it was a guitar. Parker hit Dai with it and Mongol went back after her with the kendo stick. We got a choking chain as Mongol choked Dai and Parker choked Mongol, then Mongol threw Parker into the barbed-wire around the ring ropes. Parker tried to dislodge himself as Mongol went back after Dai, striking her with a whip as a trashcan entered the fray. Parker got his revenge on Mongol by trapping her in the trashcan and beating that in with the kendo stick. Parker and Dai slugged it out and Mongol whacked them both with the guitar. She forced a meeting of the minds and took the barbed-wire bat to Dai again. Parker saved the day with a trashcan and trapped Dai in it, making her ears ring as he smashed the kendo stick into it again. Mongol forced Dai’s head into the wire but threw her back when she saw a Demon bat had been brought out.
Parker and Mongol worked together again and winded Dai with the bat, driving the heavy implement of destruction into Dai’s midsection. They fought over the pin and Parker struggled with the Demon bat so Mongol brained him with the guitar. Mongol destroyed the rest of the guitar over Dai and tried to scalp her again with the barbed-wire bat. A ladder entered the match and Dai met it as Mongol bounced her into it. Things went from bad to worse for Dai as Mongol dropped her on the ladder again with a Samoan Drop. Parker and Mongol fought over the ladder so Dai got some vengeance and dropkicked it into the pair. She fired up and nailed Parker and Mongol with furious kicks before punctuating her comeback with a Double Missile Dropkick. Mongol once again hit them both in the head with the trashcan and Dai set up the barbed-wire board that entered the ring. Parker and Dai danced around it, then teamed up to whip Mongol through it, trapping her in the wire. They threw the board down and dumped Mongol on it again after catching her crossbody attempt. Dai tried to steal the win with quick roll-ups and Mongol threw pepper powder at the pair, blinding Dai. Parker threw Mongol out and dropped Dai with a Brainbuster for two. Parker trapped Dai under the barbed-wire board and took the win with a Swanton Bomb into it. Parker had stood tall after a vicious plunder-fest. This was really fun. I know I’ve said that a lot but this was the general vibe of the show. Dai provided an underdog I couldn’t help pulling for and Drew was battling Mongol for dominance. It was a well-executed plunder fight and well worth a watch.
Deathmatch Of Hell: Atsushi Onita, Minoru Fujita & Ricky Fuji defeated Abdullah Kobayashi, Onryo & Yuko Miyamoto via Exploding Table Piledriver on Onryo
Last but not least, it was time for the explosions. This match was all about exploding barbed-wire tools and weaponry. From bats and ropes to tables, it was all going to blow up and there were six bodies that could be affected. It would be team Onita vs team Kobayashi in this hellish inferno. Onita had Minoru Fujita and Ricky Fuji at his side to battle the forces of BJW and 666. Plus, if Onita lost, that iconic leather jacket would go up in smoke. If Kobayashi lost, Onita was going to blow up his motorbike. Both teams instantly went on the attack and tried to force each other into the wire. The camera focused on Onita and Kobayashi struggling on the apron but Fuji and Fujita were both in separate bouts around the ring. Onita hit an early DDT but only got two. The two scuffled again and Onita got the first taste of exploding wire. Holy shit did it explode, that one blast set Onita’s back on fire. Brawling broke out around ringside and Kobayashi took his fork to Onita. Onryo and Miyamoto were taking out Fujita and Fuji as Kobayashi continued to tear into Onita. He tried to tear and bite at Onita’s arm but Onita wouldn’t quit. Fuji came to Onita’s rescue and started punching it out with Kobayashi. Onryo took over the fight and Fujita saved Fuji from the double team. Onryo pummelled Fuji with elbows and Kobayashi had gone back after Onita, trying to choke him out with rope. Fujita and Miyamoto battled around the land mines and into the crowd as Onita and Kobayashi collided with the commentary desk. Great Kojika, who was there on commentary threw some jabs at Kobayashi and the duo brawled out into the sea of fans. Miyamoto and Fujita were back at the landmines and Onita cracked Kobayashi in the head with a chair. The other four were back in the ring with Fujita and Fuji throwing jabs. Onryo and Miyamoto dodged the elbow and dropkicked the pair into the other side of explosive ropes. The whole of team Kobayashi circled Onita like sharks and dropped him with a double Suplex. Kobayashi and Miyamoto had exploding bats and sandwiched Onita between dual explosions. Everyone in the ring was downed in the blast and Kobayashi dropped an elbow for good measure. The whole team jumped on Onita for the pin but Fuji and Fujita made the save.
the GREAT NITA spews his red mist and DDTs Abdullah Kobayashi into the EXPLODING BARBED-WIRE BOARDS #FMWE pic.twitter.com/Azx1pW1zUm
— Tripping Balls (@IsThisWrestling) July 4, 2021
Onita broke a chair on Kobayashi’s head and they rolled towards the landmines. They headbutted and slapped it out on the apron and Fujita saved Onita from doom. Onita sprayed Kobayashi with mist and dropped Kobayashi into the landmines with a DDT. They were both wrapped in the wire and smoke filled the venue. Fuji was taking control in the ring and everyone was trying to prevent pins. Miyamoto hit a low visibility handspring elbow and fought with Fujita over a Tombstone. Fujita landed the Tombstone but Onryo took him out with an elbow. Onita and Kobayashi fought back up but Onryo was ready and hit Onita with powder and a low blow. Onita refused to die and Kobayashi was bounced off the exploding wire ropes. Everyone was down and as the smoke continued to cloud, people stirred. The exploding table appeared and Onita killed off Onryo with a Piledriver through it. Everyone was dead and Onita made the pin, taking the win. Onita had won the first FMW-E but he’d taken the brunt of the punishment. The ending to this battle was as sadistic as expected and the audience was electric. This had been incredible. They really did bring the explosives, a whole lot of them too. This was incredible. Onita made a final speech but was cut off by Shadow WX, who returned to join the party and set Onita ablaze with a fireball as the cameras stopped rolling. Thus ended the first of hopefully many FMW-E shows. Onita wants to bring explosions to the world, he definitely started strong.
All images courtesy of FMW-E, Tokyo Sports, TAM Liger, IsThisWrestling