[1997-09-28-FMW] Atsushi Onita vs W*ING Kanemura (Exploding Cage)

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Last few minutes. We join with five minutes left on the clock and the sirens sounding. I have to point out how iconic that siren sound is to me after Funk vs Onita in '93. It just makes these matches seem even more cinematic than they already are. If I remember right, the existence of W*ING is on the line here. If Kanemura loses, the promotion is no more. Well, there is no victor yet when the ring explodes. Onita powerbombs Kanemura in the rubble for a couple of great nearfalls after they regain some sense of composure, and a third powerbomb finally brings the match home for Onita. From here on, W*ING Kanemura is Kintaro Kanemura.

[FLIK]

Worth noting Kanemura was working this match on a broken ankle. No way he logically should have been wrestling but it was the biggest match of his career & the show drew 50,000+ so, ya know...

 

If Kanemura loses, the promotion is no more.

The promotion had closed up yrs ago, they'd ocasionally run side stand alone shows but they really only existed as a stable within FMW at this point. The other stip was that if Onita lost he'd re-retire again.

 

From here on, W*ING Kanemura is Kintaro Kanemura.

He didn't become "Kintaro" until 99, he went back to using Yukihiro Kanemura after this match which was his original ring name when he started wrestling.

 

This match also leads to Onita turning heel on FMW as he was impressed enough with Kanemura that he decideds to join with him, Hido, Hosaka & later Tetsuhiro Kuroda to form the ZEN stable. A month or so later, Gannosuke, Oya & Awesome also joined.

[Kevin Ridge]

My problem with the count down portion is the fans didn't seem to be buying any of the pinfall attempts. There was so little heat until the last few seconds. The whole anticipation was the clock running out. They knew they were getting their ring explosion. Nice job by the referee when it gets to the last few seconds and he freaks out by diving to the mat for cover.

[Zenjo]

Did anyone watching the yearbook not turn the sound right down for this? The sirens were deafening. Matches like this were what Onita built FMW upon and it drew some huge crowds for major shows.

[BAHU]

My problem with the count down portion is the fans didn't seem to be buying any of the pinfall attempts. There was so little heat until the last few seconds. The whole anticipation was the clock running out. They knew they were getting their ring explosion. Nice job by the referee when it gets to the last few seconds and he freaks out by diving to the mat for cover.

Onita/Funk in 93 finished before the ring exploded The explosions still go off even if the three count takes place. Now the previous two times (5/5/95 and 5/5/96) had explosions during the match so I am sure that it was expected but it wasn't unheard of to have the explosion go off after the match.

[soup23]

I liked the sirens giving the match an inevitable dread to it. Visual was stunning too. You could tell Wing was really hampered by the injury but he gutted through and Onita is able to take home the hard fought victory.

[PeteF3]

I was ready to sniff at this, but okay, Kanemura working hurt changes things. Nowhere near the best of the FMW death matches, as it seems like that blaring siren hurt the crowd heat and even if it was conceivable that the match could end before the explosion, I sure wasn't thinking of that. The explosion itself is pretty impressive, though.