1 00:00:02,600 --> 00:00:05,080 With death-defying stunts and bloodshed, 2 00:00:05,240 --> 00:00:10,320 Japan's Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling burst into life in 1989, 3 00:00:10,480 --> 00:00:13,560 led by revolutionary pioneer, Atsushi Onita. 4 00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:16,360 Onita and his promotion, they were pioneers. 5 00:00:16,520 --> 00:00:21,360 In the late 1980s, the WWE was relatively homogenized. 6 00:00:21,520 --> 00:00:28,080 WCW could get a little wild, but FMW took it to a whole different level. 7 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:30,920 Onita will, will bleed to death. 8 00:00:31,080 --> 00:00:33,080 Every night, he bleeds to death. 9 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, 17 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. 20 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. 22 00:01:16,320 --> 00:01:19,200 You've gotta be just nuttier than a fruitcake 23 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:21,560 to get into one of those matches. 24 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 27 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. 30 00:01:44,920 --> 00:01:51,000 Some of my dad's fans say that he killed my father. 31 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. 33 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:01,080 Superstar. 34 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 41 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:49,560 was popularized by Giant Baba's All Japan Pro Wrestling, 42 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. 44 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. 49 00:03:16,640 --> 00:03:20,880 For some reason, the people took to me in Japan. 50 00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:26,800 Meaner than a rattlesnake, tougher than shoe leather. 51 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. 53 00:03:35,800 --> 00:03:40,280 Do you know who that is? That is me. 54 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! 56 00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:50,320 Terry Funk. 57 00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:53,680 All right, ask me some questions. 58 00:03:55,080 --> 00:03:58,680 Terry Funk is one of the most loved performers in Japanese history. 59 00:03:58,840 --> 00:04:01,080 And he worked All Japan, New Japan. 60 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. 62 00:04:08,400 --> 00:04:12,120 Onita was a guy that started out in, I think it was All Japan, 63 00:04:12,280 --> 00:04:13,800 and he was a high flyer. 64 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:15,680 A young disciple of Giant Baba, 65 00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:19,400 Onita rose through the ranks of All Japan's dojo system 66 00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:22,960 before being sent to America to further his craft 67 00:04:23,120 --> 00:04:25,560 and learn from the styles of the west. 68 00:04:25,720 --> 00:04:28,920 Japanese wrestlers were sent to the different territories 69 00:04:29,080 --> 00:04:32,920 to further learn their trade. It was almost like an apprenticeship. 70 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:37,280 My name is Mick Foley. The king of the death match. 71 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. 73 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:50,560 Well, Terry told me that Onita was sent to Amarillo. 74 00:04:50,720 --> 00:04:53,760 Onita was very drawn to Terry's style. 75 00:04:53,920 --> 00:04:56,240 He'd watch me in barbed wire matches. 76 00:04:56,400 --> 00:04:59,600 And he really idolized me. That's why he came to Amarillo, 77 00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:05,400 be like Terry Funk, and what a horrible thing to wanna be. 78 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. 82 00:05:22,880 --> 00:05:24,840 When Onita arrived in Amarillo, 83 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. 86 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. 88 00:05:47,040 --> 00:05:51,720 I was ganged up on. Terry took me under his wing. 89 00:05:51,880 --> 00:05:55,240 What was your first impression of Onita? 90 00:05:55,400 --> 00:05:57,520 Nuts. 91 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. 96 00:06:15,840 --> 00:06:20,000 And I got him a job and sent him on the road. 97 00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:23,160 The Japanese team of Mr. Onita and Masa Fuchi... 98 00:06:23,320 --> 00:06:25,480 After Onita recovers from his injuries, 99 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. 108 00:07:08,600 --> 00:07:11,160 The second she kicked me, 109 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. 111 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. 115 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, 123 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 125 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, 132 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