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With death-defying stunts
and bloodshed,
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00:00:05,240 --> 00:00:10,320
Japan's Frontier Martial Arts
Wrestling burst into life in 1989,
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00:00:10,480 --> 00:00:13,560
led by revolutionary pioneer,
Atsushi Onita.
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00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:16,360
Onita and his promotion,
they were pioneers.
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00:00:16,520 --> 00:00:21,360
In the late 1980s, the WWE
was relatively homogenized.
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00:00:21,520 --> 00:00:28,080
WCW could get a little wild, but FMW
took it to a whole different level.
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00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:30,920
Onita will, will bleed to death.
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00:00:31,080 --> 00:00:33,080
Every night, he bleeds to death.
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00:00:33,240 --> 00:00:38,840
Other wrestlers have good moves
or a nice body, or something.
10
00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:42,760
But Onita has something inside.
Like a fighting spirit.
11
00:00:42,920 --> 00:00:46,120
FMW will soar!
12
00:00:46,280 --> 00:00:48,280
By putting himself
and his wrestlers
13
00:00:48,440 --> 00:00:51,040
in increasingly dangerous
situations,
14
00:00:51,200 --> 00:00:54,360
Onita filled stadiums
with die-hard fans,
15
00:00:54,520 --> 00:00:57,240
and became a global icon
of hardcore wrestling.
16
00:00:57,400 --> 00:00:59,960
As much as they were known
for the brutality,
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00:01:00,120 --> 00:01:04,080
it was really the imagination
that made that company click.
18
00:01:04,240 --> 00:01:06,080
A no-rope barbed wire match.
19
00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:09,680
They go to the exploding barbed wire,
the exploding ring.
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00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:11,760
And then the electrified pool.
21
00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:14,560
It just got crazier, and crazier,
and crazier.
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00:01:16,320 --> 00:01:19,200
You've gotta be just nuttier
than a fruitcake
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00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:21,560
to get into one of those matches.
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00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:24,400
It got too hot, everybody ran.
25
00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:27,200
And everybody's saying,
"Get out of here!"
26
00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:32,640
The promotion's meteoric rise
was followed by a spectacular crash
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00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:37,760
that left its top star paralyzed
and its new CEO dead.
28
00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:41,520
Some place the blame for FMW's
tragic downfall on its founder,
29
00:01:41,680 --> 00:01:44,760
who sacrificed everything
for fame and fortune.
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00:01:44,920 --> 00:01:51,000
Some of my dad's fans say
that he killed my father.
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00:01:51,160 --> 00:01:53,760
Did he run over some people?
I'm sure he did.
32
00:01:53,920 --> 00:01:58,960
But it was necessary
to be Atsushi Onita.
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00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:01,080
Superstar.
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00:02:10,200 --> 00:02:14,520
I am Atsushi Onita.
35
00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:20,040
Yeah. Nice to meet you.
36
00:02:21,360 --> 00:02:27,600
There was a comic book called Giant
Typhoon, based on Giant Baba.
37
00:02:27,760 --> 00:02:32,720
When I read it I thought,
"Wow! Pro wrestling is awesome.
38
00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:39,040
How amazing that a Japanese person
can fight in Madison Square Garden."
39
00:02:39,200 --> 00:02:44,160
I thought, "Pro wrestling is the only
way for me to see the world."
40
00:02:44,320 --> 00:02:46,040
Japan's wrestling culture
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00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:49,560
was popularized by Giant Baba's
All Japan Pro Wrestling,
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00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:52,960
and Antonio Inoki's
New Japan Pro Wrestling.
43
00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:56,520
Both championed an authentic,
hard-hitting style.
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00:02:57,640 --> 00:03:01,000
When Texan brawlers Terry
and Dory Funk came to perform,
45
00:03:01,160 --> 00:03:05,880
their over-the-top western personas
captivated Japanese audiences.
46
00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:10,040
The Funks, Dory and Terry,
were extremely popular
47
00:03:10,200 --> 00:03:13,120
in Japan back then.
48
00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:15,160
They were adored.
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00:03:16,640 --> 00:03:20,880
For some reason,
the people took to me in Japan.
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00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:26,800
Meaner than a rattlesnake,
tougher than shoe leather.
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00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:30,800
More dangerous than
a hollow-eyed scorpion.
52
00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:35,640
Middle-aged and crazy.
Crazy like a fox.
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00:03:35,800 --> 00:03:40,280
Do you know who that is? That is me.
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00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:44,320
-The best there ever was.
-Oh, my God!
55
00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:48,240
-And the best there ever will be.
-We've got a new champion!
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00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:50,320
Terry Funk.
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00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:53,680
All right, ask me some questions.
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00:03:55,080 --> 00:03:58,680
Terry Funk is one of the most
loved performers in Japanese history.
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00:03:58,840 --> 00:04:01,080
And he worked All Japan, New Japan.
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00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:02,760
An all-time great.
61
00:04:03,920 --> 00:04:08,240
My name is Chris Jericho
and I worked for two tours in FMW.
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00:04:08,400 --> 00:04:12,120
Onita was a guy that started out in,
I think it was All Japan,
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00:04:12,280 --> 00:04:13,800
and he was a high flyer.
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00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:15,680
A young disciple of Giant Baba,
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00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:19,400
Onita rose through the ranks of
All Japan's dojo system
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00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:22,960
before being sent to America
to further his craft
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00:04:23,120 --> 00:04:25,560
and learn
from the styles of the west.
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00:04:25,720 --> 00:04:28,920
Japanese wrestlers were sent
to the different territories
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00:04:29,080 --> 00:04:32,920
to further learn their trade.
It was almost like an apprenticeship.
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00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:37,280
My name is Mick Foley.
The king of the death match.
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00:04:39,360 --> 00:04:42,000
For a few years,
I was the American Onita.
72
00:04:43,520 --> 00:04:46,640
And that was
a huge, huge compliment.
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00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:50,560
Well, Terry told me that
Onita was sent to Amarillo.
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00:04:50,720 --> 00:04:53,760
Onita was very drawn
to Terry's style.
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00:04:53,920 --> 00:04:56,240
He'd watch me
in barbed wire matches.
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00:04:56,400 --> 00:04:59,600
And he really idolized me.
That's why he came to Amarillo,
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00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:05,400
be like Terry Funk, and what
a horrible thing to wanna be.
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00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:09,360
He wanted to be an idiot, too.
79
00:05:09,520 --> 00:05:15,120
There is a community of wrestlers
and we talk amongst each other.
80
00:05:15,280 --> 00:05:18,520
So I trusted Terry the most.
81
00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:22,720
A mighty fine tractor ride here
on the Double Cross Ranch.
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00:05:22,880 --> 00:05:24,840
When Onita arrived in Amarillo,
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00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:29,440
he was recovering from injuries
suffered in the Dominican Republic.
84
00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:33,440
After refusing to lose
to an opponent he deemed inferior,
85
00:05:33,600 --> 00:05:36,520
Onita was taught a painful lesson
by the promoter.
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00:05:36,680 --> 00:05:41,360
He didn't agree with what they wanted
to do with him and they beat him up.
87
00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:45,920
But it wasn't one guy.
It was all of them. Rat Packed him.
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00:05:47,040 --> 00:05:51,720
I was ganged up on.
Terry took me under his wing.
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00:05:51,880 --> 00:05:55,240
What was your first impression
of Onita?
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00:05:55,400 --> 00:05:57,520
Nuts.
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00:05:58,840 --> 00:06:02,080
I spoke Japanese
like he spoke English.
92
00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:05,120
He spoke English
like I spoke Japanese.
93
00:06:05,280 --> 00:06:10,720
We both were lost. But we got along.
94
00:06:10,880 --> 00:06:13,040
I was there for him, I really was.
95
00:06:13,200 --> 00:06:15,680
And I bought him a used car.
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00:06:15,840 --> 00:06:20,000
And I got him a job
and sent him on the road.
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00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:23,160
The Japanese team of
Mr. Onita and Masa Fuchi...
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00:06:23,320 --> 00:06:25,480
After Onita recovers
from his injuries,
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00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:29,000
he and fellow protégé, Masa Fuchi,
travel to Memphis Tennessee
100
00:06:29,160 --> 00:06:32,440
to battle in the infamous
Tupelo Concession Stand Brawl.
101
00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:36,800
Into the concession stand
after tearing down a partition!
102
00:06:36,960 --> 00:06:42,120
The origin of Hardcore Wrestling
for me was in Tennessee.
103
00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:47,720
Slams Onita!
Totally covered by that big fan!
104
00:06:47,880 --> 00:06:51,440
The audience gets into it more
than a normal wrestling match.
105
00:06:51,600 --> 00:06:54,800
Onita, pulling himself
over the counter.
106
00:06:56,840 --> 00:07:01,720
One time,
the audience got too excited.
107
00:07:01,880 --> 00:07:08,440
A young woman kicked me
in the face with her heels.
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00:07:08,600 --> 00:07:11,160
The second she kicked me,
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00:07:11,320 --> 00:07:15,040
I had a huge gash and blood
was gushing from my nose.
110
00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:24,720
I realized hardcore wrestling
triggers people's excitement.
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00:07:24,880 --> 00:07:28,880
That was a revelation for me.
112
00:07:30,920 --> 00:07:32,640
With an improved skill set
113
00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:36,480
and a willingness to inject
thrilling violence into his matches,
114
00:07:36,640 --> 00:07:39,560
Onita makes a return to
All Japan Pro Wrestling.
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00:07:39,720 --> 00:07:42,200
On the cusp of main event stardom,
116
00:07:42,360 --> 00:07:45,960
a freak accident results
in a devastating injury.
117
00:07:49,320 --> 00:07:52,680
When I landed,
118
00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:56,560
I saw the bone sticking out of
my knee through the skin.
119
00:07:58,080 --> 00:08:01,200
My kneecap was shattered.
120
00:08:01,360 --> 00:08:04,320
They told me there would be
no coming back.
121
00:08:04,480 --> 00:08:10,480
I was totally lost. So lost,
I couldn't see which way to go.
122
00:08:10,640 --> 00:08:14,520
The injury permanently hinders
Onita's athleticism,
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00:08:14,680 --> 00:08:18,040
instantly ending his dreams of
becoming a high flying star.
124
00:08:18,200 --> 00:08:23,000
He was limited, as an athlete.
He realized his future in wrestling
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00:08:23,160 --> 00:08:28,080
lay in the powers of perseverance
and imagination.
126
00:08:28,240 --> 00:08:30,520
What do you do in your early 30s,
127
00:08:30,680 --> 00:08:34,520
when your whole career is gone?
He created something new.
128
00:08:34,680 --> 00:08:37,000
After years of working odd jobs,
129
00:08:37,160 --> 00:08:40,800
Onita's thirst for stardom
drives him to devise a bold stunt.
130
00:08:40,960 --> 00:08:45,480
He publicly challenges real-life
karate champion, Masahi Aoyagi,
131
00:08:45,640 --> 00:08:49,200
to compete in a groundbreaking
series of brutal matches,
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00:08:49,360 --> 00:08:52,240
pitting wrestler
against martial artist.
133
00:08:53,800 --> 00:09:00,480
To bring people in,
you need some kind of attraction.
134
00:09:03,720 --> 00:09:10,160
Rather than a match, the fans started
clashing in the stands.
135
00:09:11,520 --> 00:09:14,520
This chaos
makes pro wrestling compelling.
136
00:09:14,680 --> 00:09:19,200
Building upon the violence
Onita was exposed to in America,
137
00:09:19,360 --> 00:09:22,920
their rivalry makes headlines
and draws massive crowds.
138
00:09:23,080 --> 00:09:29,360
That gave me the confidence
that FMW could work. We could do it.
139
00:09:30,360 --> 00:09:34,080
By the time Onita claims victory
in their final bout,
140
00:09:34,240 --> 00:09:39,080
his Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling
promotion is officially born.
141
00:09:40,960 --> 00:09:45,720
FMW had a really good thing going.
They gave you a full course meal.
142
00:09:45,880 --> 00:09:49,520
You got technical wrestling,
flying wrestling, incredible women.
143
00:09:49,680 --> 00:09:52,160
But the hallmark was
the blood and guts.
144
00:09:52,320 --> 00:09:55,840
It was like a buffet of brutality.
145
00:09:56,000 --> 00:09:58,680
People get bored with just one thing.
146
00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:04,480
An important thing in entertainment
is to always push further.
147
00:10:05,360 --> 00:10:08,840
The thinking that goes behind
replacing ropes with barbed wire
148
00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:11,160
is, the audience comes first.
149
00:10:11,320 --> 00:10:15,400
We care about them far more than
the safety of the people doing this.
150
00:10:15,560 --> 00:10:20,960
Real injuries are not a bad thing.
They're encouraged.
151
00:10:21,120 --> 00:10:24,320
And they are impossible to avoid.
152
00:10:26,440 --> 00:10:33,440
When I was a kid, I went to a place
that had barbed wire.
153
00:10:35,160 --> 00:10:38,520
I got hurt.
I learned that barbed wire is scary.
154
00:10:38,680 --> 00:10:41,560
I knew the audience
would have the same impression.
155
00:10:43,760 --> 00:10:46,560
How would you describe
a typical FMW hardcore match?
156
00:10:46,720 --> 00:10:52,200
-What are the things you'd see in it?
-A lot of guys that'd go to no end,
157
00:10:52,360 --> 00:10:58,600
to self-annihilation of their bodies
158
00:10:58,760 --> 00:11:04,840
to have a better match than
what the opposition did.
159
00:11:06,840 --> 00:11:08,320
The wire isn't enough.
160
00:11:08,480 --> 00:11:11,080
We'll have to rig up
electrical shocks to it.
161
00:11:12,480 --> 00:11:16,880
Like, this was,
this was, this was insane!
162
00:11:17,040 --> 00:11:20,720
I wanted to do things
others wouldn't do.
163
00:11:20,880 --> 00:11:27,320
Things Baba or Inoki wouldn't think
of doing, I definitely wanted to do.
164
00:11:27,480 --> 00:11:30,680
To compete with Japan's
two major promotions,
165
00:11:30,840 --> 00:11:37,240
FMW uses increasingly dangerous
stunts, with legitimate bloodshed.
166
00:11:37,400 --> 00:11:41,640
At one show, a female wrestler
got hit with a fireball.
167
00:11:43,240 --> 00:11:48,160
And her outfit,
it burned the fabric into her skin.
168
00:11:48,320 --> 00:11:50,240
I'm getting ready to do my match
169
00:11:50,400 --> 00:11:54,360
and I hear these almost
otherworldly sounds of suffering.
170
00:11:54,520 --> 00:11:57,800
Tears streaming down her face,
sobs like I have never heard.
171
00:11:57,960 --> 00:12:01,480
We talk about a price,
that's really, really steep.
172
00:12:01,640 --> 00:12:05,840
And I had to clear my mind
and go about with my main match.
173
00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:10,840
Onita's roster includes like-minded
performers Tarzan Goto,
174
00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:15,800
Mr. Pogo, Masado Tanaka,
The Gladiator aka Mike Awesome,
175
00:12:15,960 --> 00:12:19,640
as well as up and coming talent
with North American experience.
176
00:12:19,800 --> 00:12:23,760
People wanna see the action.
To see something different.
177
00:12:23,920 --> 00:12:28,760
Hi, this is Ricky Fuji from FMW.
178
00:12:28,920 --> 00:12:33,400
They'd never seen the crowd fighting
each other right beside.
179
00:12:33,560 --> 00:12:35,360
Boom, boom, and they're bloody.
180
00:12:35,520 --> 00:12:38,400
And they're, "Oh, my God,
oh my God, oh my God."
181
00:12:38,560 --> 00:12:40,640
That's why it worked.
Excitement.
182
00:12:40,800 --> 00:12:44,840
A guy called Ricky Fuji,
who had spent time in Calgary,
183
00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:48,520
was able to bring some guys
over to FMW.
184
00:12:48,680 --> 00:12:51,160
My first FMW match was
the main event.
185
00:12:51,320 --> 00:12:53,880
A 20-year-old Chris Jericho
in the main event
186
00:12:54,040 --> 00:12:57,400
against a karate expert
who just beat the shit out of me.
187
00:12:57,560 --> 00:12:59,760
They'd kick you
as hard as they could,
188
00:12:59,920 --> 00:13:01,520
'cause that's all they knew.
189
00:13:01,680 --> 00:13:03,400
"What am I doing here?"
190
00:13:03,560 --> 00:13:05,240
So I was never invited.
191
00:13:05,400 --> 00:13:07,040
It was completely luck.
192
00:13:08,360 --> 00:13:11,600
I'm Sabu. I was in FMW
for three years,
193
00:13:11,760 --> 00:13:14,280
New Japan for a year,
and then an independent.
194
00:13:14,440 --> 00:13:18,920
There goes Sabu! Did you see that?
For the love of God!
195
00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:24,840
My uncle was The Sheik,
and he was a great guy.
196
00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:27,640
He was a mean guy,
and he was a nice guy.
197
00:13:27,800 --> 00:13:31,120
Onita and Tarzan Goto,
they were young boys
198
00:13:31,280 --> 00:13:35,320
when The Sheik and Abdullah
were in Japan in the '70s and '80s.
199
00:13:35,480 --> 00:13:38,200
Every time they came,
they took care of those guys.
200
00:13:38,360 --> 00:13:40,280
Years later,
Onita starts a company,
201
00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:43,360
and he calls up The Sheik.
"Tag team tournament.
202
00:13:43,520 --> 00:13:45,560
Come and bring anybody you want."
203
00:13:45,720 --> 00:13:47,280
"I'll bring my nephew."
204
00:13:47,440 --> 00:13:50,240
And he could've chosen anybody,
but he chose me.
205
00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:55,120
-What's it like to work with wire?
-Oh, it sucks.
206
00:13:55,280 --> 00:13:58,000
My first barbed wire match,
I wound up in hospital.
207
00:13:58,160 --> 00:14:00,720
I was in there all night long
getting stitches.
208
00:14:00,880 --> 00:14:03,200
After that, never again.
It took too long.
209
00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:06,240
So I started crazy glueing my cuts
and taping them.
210
00:14:06,400 --> 00:14:09,240
I basically taped and glued up
all the boys, too.
211
00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:15,760
A single barb can do a lot of damage
in a hurry, and it has.
212
00:14:15,920 --> 00:14:17,920
There are some gaping wounds.
213
00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:21,920
I mean, Sabu really paid the price,
with a roadmap of scars.
214
00:14:22,080 --> 00:14:26,840
Makes me look like, you know,
like a, like a preschooler.
215
00:14:27,960 --> 00:14:32,320
FMW's wrestlers sacrificed
their bodies on a nightly basis,
216
00:14:32,480 --> 00:14:34,240
but none connect with the crowd
217
00:14:34,400 --> 00:14:37,800
quite like the promotion's founder
and star, Atsushi Onita.
218
00:14:37,960 --> 00:14:41,800
Onita had an ability to allow people
to feel his pain
219
00:14:41,960 --> 00:14:45,760
and see themselves in him.
220
00:14:45,920 --> 00:14:49,600
Some people can't connect with
a larger than life superhero.
221
00:14:49,760 --> 00:14:52,720
They can connect with somebody
who looks like they do,
222
00:14:52,880 --> 00:14:57,800
who is limited, physically,
but not limited of will.
223
00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:06,800
Everyday I spilled my juice,
I spilled my blood.
224
00:15:06,960 --> 00:15:11,000
It was rough.
225
00:15:11,160 --> 00:15:13,680
There's man against man,
man against himself,
226
00:15:13,840 --> 00:15:19,000
and now man against the wire,
man against flames.
227
00:15:19,160 --> 00:15:21,280
You're putting on a show,
228
00:15:21,440 --> 00:15:26,200
doing what you love,
but facing fear on a nightly basis.
229
00:15:26,360 --> 00:15:28,080
And you have to tackle it.
230
00:15:28,240 --> 00:15:32,680
You have to earn their respect,
and embrace it wholeheartedly.
231
00:15:32,840 --> 00:15:38,440
If even one person is in the stands,
we will never let FMW go under!
232
00:15:38,600 --> 00:15:44,440
The whole end of his match
would be crying in front of the fans.
233
00:15:45,400 --> 00:15:50,600
The meaning was he had given it
his all, and he was crying,
234
00:15:50,760 --> 00:15:52,880
because the fans
had stood behind him.
235
00:15:53,040 --> 00:15:55,760
And they played Joan Jett's version
of Wild Thing.
236
00:15:55,920 --> 00:15:59,560
And everybody would get up
and crowd around the ringside
237
00:15:59,720 --> 00:16:03,080
as he poured water on his head
and cried.
238
00:16:03,240 --> 00:16:06,920
And, dude, it got over so huge.
239
00:16:18,960 --> 00:16:23,320
In the ambulance, he thinks,
"Okay, what's next?"
240
00:16:24,400 --> 00:16:26,280
That's what I heard, yeah.
241
00:16:28,720 --> 00:16:33,880
Using explosions,
matches at the harbor,
242
00:16:34,040 --> 00:16:37,080
fights in pool and such.
243
00:16:39,280 --> 00:16:42,080
These are all my ideas.
244
00:16:43,200 --> 00:16:46,400
So if he could think it,
he was going to do it.
245
00:16:46,560 --> 00:16:49,600
And I think there was
a reasonably good chance
246
00:16:49,760 --> 00:16:52,320
that he was going to die
in that ring.
247
00:16:53,880 --> 00:16:56,560
In Onita's pursuit to consistently
top himself,
248
00:16:56,720 --> 00:16:59,360
a tag team match with Tarzan Goto
249
00:16:59,520 --> 00:17:03,600
vs Sabu and his 65-year-old uncle,
The Sheik, goes terribly wrong.
250
00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:06,120
Where did the fire match idea
come from?
251
00:17:06,280 --> 00:17:07,600
I don't know.
252
00:17:07,760 --> 00:17:11,760
I assume Puerto Rico, 'cause they
had one, and Onita wanted to top it.
253
00:17:11,920 --> 00:17:14,800
I figured,
they know what they're doing.
254
00:17:14,960 --> 00:17:16,720
They know, it would be safe.
255
00:17:17,480 --> 00:17:20,680
Wow, that's taking things
outside of your own hands
256
00:17:20,840 --> 00:17:24,000
and trusting the environment
someone else has created.
257
00:17:24,160 --> 00:17:25,560
I'm not happy with that,
258
00:17:25,720 --> 00:17:28,960
and I've seen a lot of people
get burned, literally.
259
00:17:29,760 --> 00:17:31,600
It got too hot way too fast.
260
00:17:31,760 --> 00:17:34,280
If it was a building,
I'd have jumped off it.
261
00:17:34,440 --> 00:17:38,400
The flames kept going
higher and higher.
262
00:17:38,560 --> 00:17:44,800
We were losing more and more air
around the ring.
263
00:17:44,960 --> 00:17:48,040
There was an FMW logo.
It melted in our hands.
264
00:17:48,200 --> 00:17:50,600
It melted in our elbows,
hands and knees.
265
00:17:50,760 --> 00:17:54,480
You couldn't hear nothing,
you couldn't breathe. It was a roar.
266
00:17:56,360 --> 00:17:59,920
I jumped out, turned around,
threw a bucket of water.
267
00:18:00,080 --> 00:18:02,520
Then Tarzan Goto got out.
268
00:18:02,680 --> 00:18:05,200
I also knew I had to get out,
and escaped.
269
00:18:05,360 --> 00:18:10,200
I regret to say that only The Sheik
missed his chance to escape.
270
00:18:10,360 --> 00:18:12,000
We couldn't help him.
271
00:18:12,160 --> 00:18:18,280
When I saw The Sheik left behind,
the ring was surrounded by fire.
272
00:18:18,440 --> 00:18:20,400
It was impossible to rescue him.
273
00:18:21,480 --> 00:18:23,480
He went out the other side.
274
00:18:23,640 --> 00:18:25,520
He got burned pretty bad.
275
00:18:25,680 --> 00:18:30,120
The Sheik had burns
to 60 percent of his body.
276
00:18:30,280 --> 00:18:33,520
My uncle carried on wrestling Onita
outside of the ring.
277
00:18:33,680 --> 00:18:36,360
I was trying to throw water
on my uncle.
278
00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:40,160
I threw a bucket of water on him
and the skin on his back came off.
279
00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:43,080
It was a terrible experience.
280
00:18:44,440 --> 00:18:48,160
Were you angry at all with Onita
or anybody else about the danger?
281
00:18:48,320 --> 00:18:52,640
I was just angry that it was bad.
The plan was bad.
282
00:18:52,800 --> 00:18:55,600
I can't be angry at Onita.
He gave me life.
283
00:18:55,760 --> 00:19:00,080
Riding high with an expanding
fanbase and sold-out shows,
284
00:19:00,240 --> 00:19:02,960
Onita revels in
his newfound stardom.
285
00:19:03,120 --> 00:19:08,640
He started as a scrappy underdog,
and he became the king.
286
00:19:09,520 --> 00:19:12,440
And was treated as such.
287
00:19:12,600 --> 00:19:17,200
And he had sticky fingers.
He took all the money.
288
00:19:17,360 --> 00:19:22,400
My success had,
shall we say side effects.
289
00:19:23,720 --> 00:19:30,640
What changed? I got a big head.
290
00:19:30,800 --> 00:19:37,680
I also got myself
a four bedroom house.
291
00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:42,360
And I owned five cars.
292
00:19:44,360 --> 00:19:49,760
I was making about two million a year
293
00:19:49,920 --> 00:19:52,840
at the peak of my success.
294
00:19:55,920 --> 00:20:00,000
Onita's fortune is not only gained
from violence in the ring,
295
00:20:00,160 --> 00:20:04,400
but from ties
with the nefarious underworld.
296
00:20:04,560 --> 00:20:07,760
So the Yakuza, the Japanese mob,
297
00:20:07,920 --> 00:20:11,480
how much were they a part
of wrestling at the time?
298
00:20:11,640 --> 00:20:15,480
They were in control of the arenas.
299
00:20:20,040 --> 00:20:21,960
So the Yakuza
were definitely there.
300
00:20:22,120 --> 00:20:24,320
It's like a money laundering scheme,
301
00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:27,960
holding shows that the mafia
will sponsor and put on.
302
00:20:30,200 --> 00:20:33,600
We would go out to dinner
sometimes with sponsors,
303
00:20:33,760 --> 00:20:35,960
and I would check out their pinkies.
304
00:20:36,120 --> 00:20:40,600
And by and large, a lot of sponsors
were missing their pinkies
305
00:20:40,760 --> 00:20:42,880
because of the business
they were in
306
00:20:43,040 --> 00:20:47,520
where sections of the pinkies
would be eliminated.
307
00:20:47,680 --> 00:20:49,640
I wasn't comfortable with it,
308
00:20:49,800 --> 00:20:54,720
but I accepted that was part of
what made the scene possible.
309
00:20:56,280 --> 00:20:58,800
They told us to avoid
a certain section,
310
00:20:58,960 --> 00:21:03,040
and I go, "There's not many people
in that section, who cares?"
311
00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:06,480
That was the mafia section.
They had 10 people there
312
00:21:06,640 --> 00:21:09,760
with 50 chairs empty
'cause they were scared of them.
313
00:21:09,920 --> 00:21:13,480
I started fighting anyways,
and they wouldn't move for us.
314
00:21:13,640 --> 00:21:15,880
He's a mafia boss,
we don't know that.
315
00:21:16,040 --> 00:21:20,240
But later, we're in the dressing room
getting bang, bang on the door.
316
00:21:20,400 --> 00:21:22,720
They're looking for us.
317
00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:25,720
I run down this hallway
and I got trapped.
318
00:21:26,920 --> 00:21:29,160
These Japanese guys
are knocking me down.
319
00:21:31,640 --> 00:21:34,640
And when I was down,
I was getting boot fucked, kicked.
320
00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:40,440
And then all of a sudden,
Mike Awesome was there.
321
00:21:41,520 --> 00:21:45,040
Mike Awesome, you know,
the huge, monster heel.
322
00:21:47,360 --> 00:21:49,720
Guys started getting flung off.
323
00:21:49,880 --> 00:21:52,320
Mike Awesome saves my life.
324
00:21:52,480 --> 00:21:54,200
I loved him after that.
325
00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:01,760
In four short years,
326
00:22:01,920 --> 00:22:06,440
Onita overcame his injury to build a
promotion to rival his competitors.
327
00:22:07,240 --> 00:22:10,280
To celebrate, Onita invites
his mentor from America
328
00:22:10,440 --> 00:22:15,360
to participate in FMW's
most spectacular stunt to date.
329
00:22:15,520 --> 00:22:18,600
A super-type time bomb
will be today's explosion.
330
00:22:18,760 --> 00:22:21,920
So they had an exploding ring
death match.
331
00:22:22,080 --> 00:22:25,000
And they were really smart
in bringing in Terry Funk.
332
00:22:25,160 --> 00:22:28,680
For him to come to FMW, it changed
the perception of this company.
333
00:22:28,840 --> 00:22:30,560
"Terry's here?"
334
00:22:30,720 --> 00:22:35,960
The first time Terry Funk
came to FMW,
335
00:22:36,120 --> 00:22:40,200
I wanted to show him our success
wasn't about money.
336
00:22:40,360 --> 00:22:45,920
I wanted him to hear
from a lot of people
337
00:22:46,080 --> 00:22:48,840
that Onita is a success.
338
00:22:50,400 --> 00:22:54,600
It was stadium full.
About 30 to 40,000.
339
00:22:54,760 --> 00:22:58,840
And they don't charge 50 cents
a ticket over there, either.
340
00:22:59,840 --> 00:23:02,960
There's the idiots,
it's the front row people.
341
00:23:03,120 --> 00:23:05,920
"We're gonna have an exploding
ring match tonight."
342
00:23:06,080 --> 00:23:09,400
"Oh, I want a front row ticket!"
Bullshit.
343
00:23:09,560 --> 00:23:13,680
Did they show you where
the explosives were gonna be?
344
00:23:13,840 --> 00:23:17,480
Oh, hell no. I had no idea.
345
00:23:20,280 --> 00:23:21,960
I went out to the damn ring.
346
00:23:22,720 --> 00:23:27,360
I'm a glutton for a crowd
being into a match, you know.
347
00:23:28,360 --> 00:23:32,520
I was just out there ready
to capture that crowd.
348
00:23:32,680 --> 00:23:34,080
And we did.
349
00:23:40,800 --> 00:23:45,800
Your whole body
feels the people's cheers.
350
00:23:49,840 --> 00:23:54,320
Standing in front of
50,000 spectators
351
00:23:56,760 --> 00:24:00,440
I felt, like, "I am God."
352
00:24:02,800 --> 00:24:06,160
So the siren starts going off.
353
00:24:08,600 --> 00:24:11,480
And at the end of this clock,
the ring would explode.
354
00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:17,520
And finally, Onita gets the win,
and he leaves the ring.
355
00:24:17,680 --> 00:24:21,160
And this thing is going down,
45 seconds, 30 seconds.
356
00:24:21,320 --> 00:24:23,920
And Onita realizes that his hero,
357
00:24:24,080 --> 00:24:28,440
the God of Japanese wrestling,
is going to be exploded in this ring.
358
00:24:29,520 --> 00:24:32,360
So he goes back in
and tries to wake Funker up,
359
00:24:32,520 --> 00:24:34,720
and he can't.
And now it's 10 seconds.
360
00:24:34,880 --> 00:24:39,480
So what does he do?
He shields Terry Funk with his body.
361
00:24:42,440 --> 00:24:45,280
And it's a bunch of
concussion bombs and fireworks
362
00:24:45,440 --> 00:24:48,760
and by the time it's done,
you can't see anything.
363
00:24:48,920 --> 00:24:51,360
The greatest babyface thing
I've ever seen.
364
00:24:51,520 --> 00:24:56,920
He covered Terry Funk to save him
from the blast after he pinned him.
365
00:24:57,080 --> 00:24:58,520
That's Onita.
366
00:24:59,640 --> 00:25:02,360
What FMW did the best was
create a spectacle.
367
00:25:02,520 --> 00:25:04,600
Funk survived, thanks to Onita,
368
00:25:04,760 --> 00:25:07,480
and they were carrying
each other out, crying.
369
00:25:07,640 --> 00:25:10,400
And Funk was great at it too,
crying, crying.
370
00:25:10,560 --> 00:25:11,920
It's a five-star match
371
00:25:12,080 --> 00:25:16,200
because it had the drama and hooked
you into it, to where you cared.
372
00:25:16,360 --> 00:25:18,560
That's the real secret of wrestling.
373
00:25:18,720 --> 00:25:23,800
That's what Onita knew how to do.
He was a genius at it.
374
00:25:24,800 --> 00:25:28,800
Do you remember being satisfied with
what you were paid from that match?
375
00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:31,080
Well, hell no, I wasn't satisfied.
376
00:25:32,680 --> 00:25:36,320
I never, never saw Onita
after a match, either,
377
00:25:36,480 --> 00:25:39,920
until I came back the next time.
378
00:25:40,080 --> 00:25:42,200
I think he ran and hid.
379
00:25:44,440 --> 00:25:47,680
FMW was at least the number three
promotion in the country,
380
00:25:47,840 --> 00:25:51,320
if not number two, depending on
what was going on at the time.
381
00:25:51,480 --> 00:25:54,920
He legit was one of the most popular
performers in the country.
382
00:25:55,080 --> 00:25:57,000
He did game shows.
383
00:25:57,160 --> 00:26:03,160
TV drama or a singing show.
Something like a talk show.
384
00:26:03,320 --> 00:26:07,000
Almost every day, turn the TV on
and Onita was there.
385
00:26:07,160 --> 00:26:08,560
All the time, yeah.
386
00:26:08,720 --> 00:26:11,160
He'd become such a big part
of the culture.
387
00:26:11,320 --> 00:26:13,320
I think Onita had bigger plans.
388
00:26:13,480 --> 00:26:16,680
In just five short years
after creating FMW,
389
00:26:16,840 --> 00:26:20,840
Onita announces his retirement,
which comes as a shock to his fans.
390
00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:23,960
He didn't wanna do it anymore.
He'd had enough.
391
00:26:24,120 --> 00:26:26,960
And you can fail
and not have any money at all.
392
00:26:27,120 --> 00:26:32,480
Or you can go out like he did with
several million dollars, I'm sure.
393
00:26:38,280 --> 00:26:41,480
Onita continues to headline shows
for another full year,
394
00:26:41,640 --> 00:26:43,960
while the promotion grooms
a young wrestler
395
00:26:44,120 --> 00:26:47,240
to become his future headlining
successor.
396
00:26:47,400 --> 00:26:51,800
Hayabusa!
397
00:26:51,960 --> 00:26:55,440
Hayabusa was the heir apparent
to Onita.
398
00:26:55,600 --> 00:26:58,760
He was,
the word that's coming is "elegant."
399
00:26:58,920 --> 00:27:02,880
But he was also willing to do
the extreme stuff.
400
00:27:03,800 --> 00:27:06,520
Eiji Ezaki is his name,
who later became Hayabusa.
401
00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:09,000
We worked together quite a bit.
402
00:27:09,160 --> 00:27:12,760
My second tour at Kawasaki Stadium
was against Ezaki.
403
00:27:12,920 --> 00:27:17,320
At the time, the big move that he did
was Moonsault, which nobody did.
404
00:27:17,480 --> 00:27:21,160
My father didn't start with
a wrestler's body,
405
00:27:21,320 --> 00:27:26,760
but he made up for it
by training hard.
406
00:27:26,920 --> 00:27:32,600
I am Ayane Ezaki.
Hayabusa is my father.
407
00:27:32,760 --> 00:27:37,840
My father was an exceptional person
who did what he wanted.
408
00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:42,120
So I think he fit right in with
the hardcore wrestling group.
409
00:27:42,280 --> 00:27:47,240
At FMW's sixth anniversary show,
Onita's retirement match features
410
00:27:47,400 --> 00:27:50,080
the effects and gore
that made him an icon.
411
00:27:50,240 --> 00:27:52,680
But his opponent
is out of his element.
412
00:27:52,840 --> 00:27:56,080
I felt bad about Hayabusa.
413
00:27:56,240 --> 00:27:57,960
Sorry to say,
414
00:27:58,120 --> 00:28:03,520
but I didn't think he was
the right guy for death matches.
415
00:28:08,200 --> 00:28:13,640
When you retire, you go through
some kind of internal purification.
416
00:28:16,240 --> 00:28:18,040
You look back and reflect.
417
00:28:24,280 --> 00:28:27,360
Suddenly, the ring vanishes.
418
00:28:35,720 --> 00:28:37,400
It's a sad thing.
419
00:28:44,960 --> 00:28:48,720
Pro wrestling filled my heart
for the first time.
420
00:28:48,880 --> 00:28:55,360
Once in your lifetime, you had better
do what you like wholeheartedly.
421
00:28:57,280 --> 00:29:01,960
Never! Never!
422
00:29:02,120 --> 00:29:06,840
Never allow me to return to the ring
again! All right, Hayabusa?
423
00:29:07,000 --> 00:29:10,080
Onita leaving FMW,
that would create a huge hole
424
00:29:10,240 --> 00:29:14,080
that I think would be
next to impossible to fill,
425
00:29:14,240 --> 00:29:18,440
just because of how synonymous
with that company he was.
426
00:29:18,600 --> 00:29:22,760
And vice versa. It'd be hard to see
Onita anywhere other than FMW.
427
00:29:22,920 --> 00:29:25,160
They're one and the same.
428
00:29:25,320 --> 00:29:29,000
I told them I was leaving
the world of wrestling.
429
00:29:29,160 --> 00:29:34,600
I asked them who would take on
the role of president?
430
00:29:34,760 --> 00:29:38,960
An unlikely successor emerges
to take the reins of FMW:
431
00:29:39,120 --> 00:29:42,160
the promotion's ring announcer,
Shoichi Arai.
432
00:29:50,080 --> 00:29:53,120
"Sudden Impact,
Lance Storm, Chris Jericho-ah!"
433
00:29:53,280 --> 00:29:56,000
And he's kind of like,
kind of a chubby guy,
434
00:29:56,160 --> 00:29:58,800
but wore a tuxedo that was
too small for him.
435
00:29:58,960 --> 00:30:03,280
We will now commence
the next generation of explosives.
436
00:30:03,440 --> 00:30:06,440
But then you hear Arai's
the new general manager.
437
00:30:08,280 --> 00:30:14,240
Like, really? Wow. Well, why not?
He was probably at every show.
438
00:30:14,400 --> 00:30:20,280
Onita retired, then after that,
"Okay, you're the president." "What?"
439
00:30:22,520 --> 00:30:25,040
He don't know what to do.
440
00:30:25,200 --> 00:30:29,000
My dad was a really nice person.
He was really pure.
441
00:30:29,160 --> 00:30:33,080
So I didn't know why he was trying
to get into that company.
442
00:30:33,240 --> 00:30:35,000
I still don't understand.
443
00:30:35,160 --> 00:30:40,160
My name is Shell.
And Shoichi Arai is my dad.
444
00:30:40,320 --> 00:30:45,800
Onita suddenly says that,
"I'll give this company to you.
445
00:30:45,960 --> 00:30:48,080
You can do whatever you want."
446
00:30:48,240 --> 00:30:51,080
But he has no knowledge at all.
447
00:30:51,240 --> 00:30:56,800
Excuse my language, but he gave
jack shit to the ring announcer.
448
00:30:56,960 --> 00:31:03,240
He didn't give nothing to him.
I'll promise you, I'll swear to it.
449
00:31:03,400 --> 00:31:06,160
Before, like when Onita
was there in FMW,
450
00:31:06,320 --> 00:31:11,520
everywhere, always packed
the arena, many people.
451
00:31:12,360 --> 00:31:15,200
New FMW started and just...
452
00:31:19,680 --> 00:31:21,680
Little people.
453
00:31:23,400 --> 00:31:27,760
Without Onita's star power,
FMW popularity wanes.
454
00:31:27,920 --> 00:31:31,920
Please support the new FMW!
455
00:31:32,080 --> 00:31:34,600
After just one starring film role,
456
00:31:34,760 --> 00:31:38,000
Onita realizes his appeal is limited
when he's not wrestling.
457
00:31:38,160 --> 00:31:39,760
In less than a year,
458
00:31:39,920 --> 00:31:44,040
he unexpectedly returns to FMW to
work for his former ring announcer.
459
00:31:44,200 --> 00:31:51,120
I wanted to come back
as a heel, a bad guy.
460
00:31:52,520 --> 00:31:59,320
A clash between the old and the new
FMW would be entertaining.
461
00:32:00,280 --> 00:32:05,480
In Tokyo, they cheered Hayabusa
and I was the heel.
462
00:32:05,640 --> 00:32:10,760
But when in rural areas, the complete
opposite phenomenon occurred.
463
00:32:11,560 --> 00:32:15,200
I am well known
and have a big name,
464
00:32:15,360 --> 00:32:19,200
so the audience cheered me.
465
00:32:19,360 --> 00:32:25,000
But strangely, this created a
feeling of jealousy against me.
466
00:32:25,160 --> 00:32:30,840
Tensions escalated at the arena
and a growing rift emerged.
467
00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:35,760
When Arai ran the company,
468
00:32:35,920 --> 00:32:38,720
he wanted to move away
from death matches, right?
469
00:32:38,880 --> 00:32:41,720
Because they would air our stuff
only on specials
470
00:32:41,880 --> 00:32:43,560
because it was too violent.
471
00:32:43,720 --> 00:32:46,240
To take FMW in a new direction,
472
00:32:46,400 --> 00:32:50,000
Arai hires veteran Japanese star
Hiromichi Fuyuki
473
00:32:50,160 --> 00:32:52,200
to handle
the creative direction.
474
00:32:52,360 --> 00:32:55,880
That's when, like, something changed.
475
00:32:56,040 --> 00:32:59,680
Arai always like,
"Ask Fuyuki, ask Fuyuki."
476
00:32:59,840 --> 00:33:03,720
Then Fuyuki would say,
"Do this, do this, do this."
477
00:33:03,880 --> 00:33:07,320
Fuyuki wants to do
some entertainment style.
478
00:33:07,480 --> 00:33:10,320
He had a belt called
World Entertainment Wrestling,
479
00:33:10,480 --> 00:33:12,640
like WWE, but WEW.
480
00:33:12,800 --> 00:33:14,600
And they stopped death matches.
481
00:33:14,760 --> 00:33:20,800
At the end they were performing
urination, from different angles.
482
00:33:20,960 --> 00:33:22,960
FMW was demeaned to pathetic stuff.
483
00:33:23,120 --> 00:33:27,000
It's beyond me
how that was entertainment!
484
00:33:30,080 --> 00:33:35,000
The tug of war between Onita's
vision and Fuyuki's new direction,
485
00:33:35,160 --> 00:33:39,200
forces Arai to arrange a meeting
with his top talent.
486
00:33:39,360 --> 00:33:44,600
Three days before the meeting,
487
00:33:44,760 --> 00:33:50,480
Arai told me
it was a briefing for a video.
488
00:33:50,640 --> 00:33:54,520
So he lied to me.
489
00:33:54,680 --> 00:34:01,600
I arrived, the wrestlers lined up
and he said, "Onita, please quit."
490
00:34:03,200 --> 00:34:07,600
Yeah, Arai said,
"Onita, please leave FMW."
491
00:34:07,760 --> 00:34:11,640
We gotta do this with... Hayabusa.
492
00:34:15,960 --> 00:34:20,280
I was kicked out of
the place I created, you know?
493
00:34:28,480 --> 00:34:32,760
While Hayabusa struggled to draw
the crowds of his predecessor,
494
00:34:32,920 --> 00:34:37,920
his style was winning new fans
and realizing success for FMW.
495
00:34:39,600 --> 00:34:43,520
Until tragedy struck
on October 22, 2001.
496
00:34:43,680 --> 00:34:46,760
He did a second rope Moonsault
and his foot slipped,
497
00:34:46,920 --> 00:34:50,560
and he went backwards
and landed on his forehead.
498
00:34:54,960 --> 00:34:58,680
Before, if he missed something,
he'd always get up.
499
00:34:58,840 --> 00:35:03,280
But this time we're watching...
He never gets up.
500
00:35:03,440 --> 00:35:04,960
Hayabusa...
501
00:35:05,120 --> 00:35:07,560
Hayabusa?
502
00:35:07,720 --> 00:35:09,400
Hayabusa?
503
00:35:09,560 --> 00:35:12,040
Hayabusa?
504
00:35:12,880 --> 00:35:15,280
I stepped in the ring.
505
00:35:16,480 --> 00:35:19,360
Hayabusa, he's like my brother.
506
00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:24,680
He can talk. But he can't move.
507
00:35:26,120 --> 00:35:29,440
He didn't die, he was paralyzed.
I'd rather have died.
508
00:35:29,600 --> 00:35:33,840
President Arai is running up to him
and they brought a stretcher.
509
00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:37,720
Terrible injury to happen
to just a great guy,
510
00:35:37,880 --> 00:35:43,040
a great, great performer, and
a legit kind of future legend.
511
00:35:44,280 --> 00:35:46,800
All the boxes that needed checking,
he had it.
512
00:35:46,960 --> 00:35:50,360
My father was depressed
right after the injury.
513
00:35:50,520 --> 00:35:54,960
He couldn't wrestle anymore.
Pro wrestling, the job he loved.
514
00:35:55,120 --> 00:35:57,080
And he worried about the future.
515
00:35:58,440 --> 00:36:01,080
His career was cut short
in his prime.
516
00:36:01,240 --> 00:36:06,120
And I think, with his career
went the future of FMW.
517
00:36:06,280 --> 00:36:10,960
They never really found somebody
to replace Hayabusa.
518
00:36:11,120 --> 00:36:15,200
Beyond being an emotional blow
to FMW and its fans,
519
00:36:15,360 --> 00:36:19,280
Hayabusa's injury also
sets in motion a financial disaster.
520
00:36:19,440 --> 00:36:21,040
Without their star,
521
00:36:21,200 --> 00:36:24,280
Arai struggles to keep
his fledgling company afloat.
522
00:36:24,440 --> 00:36:27,120
Arai said,
"Wait, please wait, please wait."
523
00:36:28,120 --> 00:36:30,160
I never got paid.
524
00:36:30,320 --> 00:36:35,920
I remember that my mom say,
"Don't steal house money."
525
00:36:36,080 --> 00:36:37,480
What did that mean?
526
00:36:37,640 --> 00:36:41,800
Was he using the family money
to help pay for the business?
527
00:36:41,960 --> 00:36:43,840
Oh, yes.
528
00:36:45,000 --> 00:36:51,520
Instead of asking me for help,
he borrowed from loan sharks.
529
00:36:51,680 --> 00:36:55,200
Arai was probably too proud
to ask me.
530
00:36:55,360 --> 00:37:00,400
He owed money from the Yakuza
and he couldn't pay them back.
531
00:37:00,560 --> 00:37:03,200
His phone was ringing all the time.
532
00:37:03,360 --> 00:37:07,240
My mom was panicked,
and she screamed.
533
00:37:07,400 --> 00:37:10,920
So I thought, it's not a good thing.
534
00:37:11,080 --> 00:37:14,200
My mom and dad, like, they divorced.
535
00:37:14,360 --> 00:37:17,040
I think he was really suffering.
536
00:37:17,200 --> 00:37:20,240
And, I didn't realize
'cause I was too young.
537
00:37:20,400 --> 00:37:22,480
My last match,
we didn't get paid.
538
00:37:22,640 --> 00:37:26,560
He said he'd send it to me.
And he killed himself the next day.
539
00:37:28,640 --> 00:37:31,080
Hung himself in a schoolyard.
540
00:37:33,240 --> 00:37:35,880
When you borrow money
from the Japanese mafia,
541
00:37:36,040 --> 00:37:39,320
even if you kill yourself,
they'll get it from your family.
542
00:37:39,480 --> 00:37:42,680
That wasn't the end. They said
he was selfish, a coward,
543
00:37:42,840 --> 00:37:46,480
because now his family owes
that money, and they'll get it.
544
00:37:48,160 --> 00:37:50,840
Arai's death triggers
a life insurance payment,
545
00:37:51,000 --> 00:37:54,920
but it's sadly not enough to cover
his family's newly inherited debt.
546
00:37:55,080 --> 00:37:58,400
They came my home suddenly,
and they changed the key
547
00:37:58,560 --> 00:38:02,720
and they changed everything, and we
couldn't get in our house anymore.
548
00:38:02,880 --> 00:38:08,240
My picture, my video, my memories
was all in that house, but it's gone.
549
00:38:08,400 --> 00:38:09,720
I don't have anything.
550
00:38:09,880 --> 00:38:13,880
I don't wanna talk ill of the dead,
551
00:38:14,040 --> 00:38:17,320
but Arai failed in business.
552
00:38:17,480 --> 00:38:21,000
I am still here. I survived somehow.
553
00:38:22,440 --> 00:38:28,880
I feel a little bit that
Onita used my dad.
554
00:38:29,040 --> 00:38:32,600
A lot of people
say that he was too kind.
555
00:38:33,880 --> 00:38:37,880
And too pure. That's why he's gone.
556
00:38:38,880 --> 00:38:43,800
Things went bad and his family left.
557
00:38:43,960 --> 00:38:47,280
The shock of it all is probably
558
00:38:47,440 --> 00:38:52,880
what made him hang himself.
559
00:38:53,040 --> 00:38:58,160
I don't think it was the Yakuza or
the loan sharks that killed him.
560
00:38:58,320 --> 00:39:03,960
You can get away from debts,
tell them you can't pay.
561
00:39:04,120 --> 00:39:09,920
It was more of an emotional thing
for Arai.
562
00:39:16,400 --> 00:39:20,160
Over a decade later,
FMW briefly rises from the ashes
563
00:39:20,320 --> 00:39:25,680
with Onita in the ring and Hayabusa
acting as an executive producer.
564
00:39:25,840 --> 00:39:29,360
But less than a year later,
tragedy strikes again
565
00:39:29,520 --> 00:39:35,080
when Hayabusa collapses at home
and dies at the age of 47.
566
00:39:35,240 --> 00:39:40,440
Hayabusa's dedication
to pro wrestling was amazing.
567
00:39:40,600 --> 00:39:45,320
He never let his injury stop him
from taking on new challenges.
568
00:39:45,480 --> 00:39:49,360
Even after he got injured,
569
00:39:49,520 --> 00:39:52,800
when he was going through
rehabilitation,
570
00:39:52,960 --> 00:39:56,440
he kept a brave face.
571
00:39:58,600 --> 00:40:00,600
He did walk again.
572
00:40:00,760 --> 00:40:03,960
I mean, it's one of the most
gut-wrenching things you see
573
00:40:04,120 --> 00:40:07,280
when he's surrounded by
members of wrestling royalty
574
00:40:07,440 --> 00:40:09,560
from several different promotions.
575
00:40:09,720 --> 00:40:13,000
And it's one of the most emotional
moments you will ever see
576
00:40:13,160 --> 00:40:16,120
when Hayabusa walks to the ring.
577
00:40:29,160 --> 00:40:32,320
FMW was the wild wild west
of professional wrestling.
578
00:40:32,480 --> 00:40:34,880
I mean, it was in the east,
geographically,
579
00:40:35,040 --> 00:40:38,360
but it was this lawless,
wild frontier.
580
00:40:38,520 --> 00:40:41,240
If you could think it,
you could do it.
581
00:40:41,400 --> 00:40:43,600
The spectacle always came first.
582
00:40:44,360 --> 00:40:48,320
And it was a big part of
wrestling history,
583
00:40:48,480 --> 00:40:51,440
and something that's still
borrowed from to this day.
584
00:40:52,800 --> 00:40:58,280
Actually, I think I created
real hardcore wrestling.
585
00:40:58,440 --> 00:41:01,160
And I think that I spread it
around the world.
586
00:41:01,960 --> 00:41:05,600
What I learned in FMW,
of course, I took it to ECW.
587
00:41:05,760 --> 00:41:09,880
ECW was formed from FMW.
588
00:41:10,040 --> 00:41:14,160
Onita, basically, built a promotion
around himself.
589
00:41:14,320 --> 00:41:21,320
An undersized, underdog wrestler,
and made it a huge success.
590
00:41:23,280 --> 00:41:26,880
If you could say anything to him
right now, what would you say?
591
00:41:28,800 --> 00:41:31,920
Is there any reason
that you wanna flip him off?
592
00:41:32,080 --> 00:41:35,800
No, hell, no. I love him.
593
00:41:38,200 --> 00:41:42,040
Hulk Hogan is Hulk Hogan,
no one can replace him.
594
00:41:42,200 --> 00:41:45,920
Hulk Hogan is Hulk Hogan,
Antonio Inoki is Antonio Inoki.
595
00:41:46,080 --> 00:41:48,320
Giant Baba is Giant Baba.
596
00:41:48,480 --> 00:41:53,200
Onita Atsushi can only be Onita.
One generation, no successor.
597
00:41:53,360 --> 00:41:57,360
Subtitles translated by: Shivam
Iyuno-SDI Group
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