FMW
Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded on July 28, 1989, by Atsushi Onita as (FMW). The promotion specializes in hardcore wrestling involving weapons such as barbed wire and fire. They held their first show on October 6, 1989. In the late 1990s, FMW had a brief working agreement with Extreme Championship Wrestling, and as well had 14 DVDs released in the U.S. by Tokyopop. On March 4, 2015, FMW was resurrected under the name . With the resurrected FMW not holding any events since 2018, Onita announced in 2021 that he would be starting Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling-Explosion in which the promotion would specialize in exploding death matches. The promotion was highlighted in the third season of the Vice TV's pro wrestling docuseries ''Dark Side of the Ring'' in September 2021. History FMW under Atsushi Onita (1989–1995) The Atsushi Onita era of FMW originally consisted of a promotion that featured not only professional wrestling ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hayabusa (wrestler)
was a Japanese professional wrestler, stage actor, musician and professional wrestling promoter, better known under the ring name . He was best known for his time with Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW), where he primarily wrestled throughout his career and was the franchise player of the company between 1995 and 2001. Ezaki initially competed for FMW as a low-carder between 1991 and 1993 before travelling to Mexico where he developed the "Hayabusa" character and his signature wrestling style during his time with lucha libre organizations. He returned to FMW in 1995 and received a significant push as the face of the company, winning his first Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship later that year. He spent much of 1996 on the sidelines due to injury and lost the majority of his high-profile matches upon his return. He started gaining popularity and championship success in 1997 and won the Double Championship in 1998 and held the title for most of the year. He developed ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Atsushi Onita
is a Japanese actor, politician, and semi-retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) and is credited with introducing Japan to the deathmatch style of professional wrestling. He founded FMW in 1989 to defeat Masashi Aoyagi under his own rules and made it a full-fledged organization after his deathmatch style became popular with the Japanese fans. He was the company's top superstar, wrestling at sold out events with large crowds, making it a hugely successful company and earning a lot of money. Onita sold the company to Shoichi Arai and retired in 1995 to pursue an acting career, which was unsuccessful, forcing him to return as a wrestler in 1996. He led stables ZEN and Team Zero after his comeback and departed the company in 1998 as he was upset at his position in the company. He held the FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship a record seven times and headlined the first six editions of the company's premier eve ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mitsuhiro Matsunaga
is a Japanese retired professional wrestler best known for his deathmatch wrestling style, having competed in memorable deathmatches in Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW), Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) and Wrestling International New Generations (W*ING). He is renowned for participating in the first-ever deathmatch in Japanese wrestling history on December 10, 1989 and is also credited for participating in a Piranha Deathmatch against Kendo Nagasaki on August 19, 1996, which has been considered to be the most popular and greatest deathmatch in Japanese wrestling history by wrestling journalists and many sports websites and Matsunaga has received critical acclaim for his performance. Matsunaga began his career in FMW where he specialized in the deathmatch wrestling style and adopted it as his own trademark style. He competed in many infamous deathmatches in W*ING and high-profile feuds with Mr. Pogo, Freddy Krueger and Leatherface in many successful deathmatches earned him the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tarzan Goto
, better known by his ring name , was a Japanese professional wrestler who wrestled on the independent circuit most of his career. He is best known for his exploding steel cage matches against Atsushi Onita in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW). Sumo wrestling career In 1979, Goto joined a sumo stable, Kokonoe, but shortly afterwards he retired from sumo. Career record Professional wrestling career All Japan Pro Wrestling (1981–1985) Goto debuted for All Japan Pro Wrestling on February 19, 1981, against Shiro Koshinaka. While in AJPW, he was student of Jumbo Tsuruta. In 1983, he won the Rookie of the Year award at Tokyo Sports' Pro Wrestling Awards. United States (1985–1989) In November 1985, Goto went to the United States to wrestle. His first stop on his excursion was in Kansas City for the NWA Central States Wrestling. He'd also wrestle for Jim Crockett Promotions on shows within the area. In June 1986, Goto moved to Memphi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Shoichi Arai
Shoichi Arai (荒井 昌一 ''Arai Shōichi'') (December 19, 1965 – May 16, 2002) was a Japanese professional wrestling promoter. Arai ran Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling from 1995 until its closure in 2002. Career Arai started with FMW as a backstage assistant. Arai became FMW's ring announcer, and was well known for his high-pitched voice during countdowns of various death-matches. Arai became Chief Executive Officer of FMW, after Atsushi Onita retired in April 1995. As CEO, Arai toned down the number of death matches, and promoted Hayabusa as the main star of the promotion. Onita returned to FMW in 1996, and insisted on becoming the main focus of the promotion. Arai and the FMW wrestlers eventually met with Onita, and declared that Onita needed to leave FMW, due to Onita's ego and attitude towards the younger stars. FMW shifted its focus towards an entertainment-based style, similar to WWE. The shift occurred after FMW secured a television and pay-per-view deal with DirecTV ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sabu (wrestler)
Terrance Michael "Terry" Brunk (born December 12, 1964) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Sabu. He is known for his trademark style of hardcore wrestling, which he pioneered in his time with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) from 1995 to 2000. He is a three-time World Heavyweight Champion having held the ECW World Heavyweight Championship twice and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship once. Under the tutelage of his uncle Ed "The Sheik" Farhat, Brunk began his career wrestling in the North American independent scene in 1985 under the name of Sabu, before traveling to Japan, competing in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), winning several championships, including the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. He returned to the United States in 1995, briefly working for World Championship Wrestling (WCW), before beginning his most well-known stint in ECW, where he quickly became a fixture of the pro ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hardcore Wrestling
Hardcore wrestling is a form of professional wrestling where disqualifications, count-outs, and all other different rules do not apply. Taking place in usual or unusual environments, hardcore wrestling matches allow the use of numerous items, including ladders, tables, chairs, thumbtacks, barbed wire, light tubes, shovels, baseball bats (sometimes wrapped in barbed wire), golf clubs, hammers, axe handles, chains, crowbars, wrenches, tongs, and other improvised weapons used as foreign objects. Although hardcore wrestling is a staple of most wrestling promotions, where they are often used at the climaxes of feuds, some promotions (such as Big Japan Pro Wrestling, International Wrestling Syndicate, IWA-MS, Game Changer Wrestling, Combat Zone Wrestling) specialize in hardcore wrestling, with many matches performed in this manner. Hardcore wrestling was first acknowledged as a major wrestling style in Japan with promotions such as Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling and W*ING. It then ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tiger Jeet Singh
Jagjeet Singh Hans (born April 3, 1944) is an Indo-Canadian semi-retired professional wrestler, known better by his ring name Tiger Jeet Singh. He was known for his elaborate ring entrances, and generally performed as a heel. He wrestled in Japan for 22 years and was the first professional wrestler in Japan to defeat sumo wrestler Wajima Hiroshi. He held Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling's World Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship and headlined the company's flagship event Anniversary Show in 1992. Professional wrestling career Early career (1965-1972) In the 1960s, Hans began wrestling and emigrated from his hometown in Punjab to Canada, arriving with $6 in his pocket. Hans trained in Toronto under Fred Atkins and eventually signed with Frank Tunney, a Toronto wrestling promoter. Atkins dubbed Hans "Tiger" after witnessing his ferocious style of fighting. Tiger made his Maple Leaf Gardens debut in 1965, wrestling as a heel. His first main event in Toronto was a tag team ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Damián 666
Leonardo Carrera Gómez (born July 9, 1961) is a Mexican professional wrestler best known under the name Damián 666. He has worked for World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW), Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA), World Wrestling Association (WWA) and various promotions on the Mexican independent circuit, including ''Perros del Mal Producciones'' (PdM). Carrera also worked under the ring name Galaxy in WCW, a masked Luchador. Carrera often teams with Halloween, leading to the formation of the team "Mexico's Most Wanted", which has worked extensively in North America for such promotions as Xtreme Pro Wrestling (XPW) and Revolution Pro Wrestling (RPW). Carrera's son currently wrestles on the international independent circuit as Bestia 666. Professional wrestling career Early career (1985–1991) Carrera made his debut in 1985 after being trained by Luis Canales, he would later receive addit ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Original Sheik
Edward George Farhat (June 7, 1926 – January 18, 2003) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name The Sheik (often called The Original Sheik to distinguish him from The Iron Sheik, who debuted in 1972). Farhat is credited as one of the originators of the hardcore wrestling style. He was also the promoter of Big Time Wrestling, and the uncle of ECW wrestler Sabu. Farhat promoted his shows at Cobo Hall in Detroit and was the booker for Frank Tunney's shows at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto from 1971 to 1977. Early life Edward George Farhat was born one of ten children in Lansing, Michigan, on June 7, 1926, to Lebanese immigrants. Unlike most of his older brothers, he did not attend college as myth says. His older brother Edmund did, which is where the confusion usually takes place. Edward quit school in the eighth grade and worked during the depression. He falsified his birth certificate in order to join the Army (possibly using his older brother E ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Professional Wrestling Match Types
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. Throughout professional wrestling's decades long history, some gimmick matches have spawned many variations of the core concept. Singles match The singles match is the most common of all professional wrestling matches, which involves only two competitors competing for one fall. A victory is obtained by pinfall, submission, knockout, countout, or disqualification. Some of the most common variations on the singles match is to restrict the possible means for victory. Duchess of Queensbury Rules match A Duchess of Queensbury Rules match is a singles match contested under specific, often disclosed rules is replaced by a title usually meant to sound traditional for one combatant. A wrestler challenging another wrestler to a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |