On a new Pacific Rim with Jim Valley, he and co-host Fumi Saito remembers Sabu, his friend of over 30 years.
Fumi fills in a lot of Sabu’s history going back to his uncle — the “Original” Sheik Ed Farhat — Sabu’s training and upbringing in the business, his real age (not the one widely reported), his three wrestling influences on which he based his in-ring style, an act of kindness Hana Kimura’s mother never forgot, and much more.
Enjoy stories and a side of Sabu you won’t hear anywhere else.
Figure Four Daily with Bryan Alvarez and Lance Storm is back with tons to talk about including Lance’s thoughts on the WWE and WON Halls of Fame, how to take a proper suplex and the weird names people give spots in wrestling, his memories of his time in FMW in Japan, and more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Michael James Penzel, best known as Corporal Kirchner in the WWF and later in Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling as Leatherface, has passed away at the age of 64.
Kirchner started his career in 1980 training under Verne Gagne and first started working in the World Wrestling Federation as a preliminary wrestler. Kirchner soon adopted the name Corporal Kirchner, highlighting his experience as a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division of the United States Army. He feuded with Nikolai Volkoff in 1986, leading to a match at WrestleMania 2 where he defeated Volkoff in a flag match. Kirchner left the company in 1987.
After a tour in New Japan Pro Wrestling, Kirchner adopted a new gimmick, Leatherface (and later Super Leather), based on the character from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre film franchise. He would wrestle under the gimmick in Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling through 2002, when FMW closed down.
WWE.com had reported in 2006 that Kirchner had died. The story was taken down after Kirchner contacted WWE saying that he was still alive.
The Pacific Rim Pro Wrestling podcast is back. Fumi Saito and Jim Valley talk about Fumi’s thoughts on The Dark Side of the Ring episode on Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling and Atsushi Onita, including stories and insight not featured in the documentary. Plus, Fumi dispels the myth that New Japan Pro Wrestling is dying or in trouble. Then we answer your questions on the culture of masked wrestlers in Japan, how would things be different had Misawa not left All Japan and created Pro Wrestling NOAH, should All Japan and NOAH do a super show, an update on Tokyo Dome construction, and much more.
Onita held a press conference on Thursday to announce the launch of Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling Explosion (FMWE), a new wrestling promotion that will borrow some of its name and logo from the legendary FMW company that Onita founded in 1989. Onita will serve as a figurehead for the company, while Hidetaka Kajiki will serve as company president. The new FMWE will hold its first show, titled “Independence Day” on July 4 in Yokohama at the Tsurumi Fruit and Vegetable Market.
“I have revived FMW,” Onita said. “The meaning of E is explosion. It is an explosion… I decided to create an organization specializing in barbed wire explosion with President Kajiki.”
Onita said that there are plans to broadcast FMWE events live, but offered no specifics as to a potential streaming platform or partner.
“We are launching this promotion to broadcast our matches live, worldwide, Onita said. “Live streaming has become a major trend since COVID-19.”
He went on to cite AEW’s recent exploding barbed wire death match as the catalyst for this revival.
“The reason is that the first explosion death match was done at FMW. When I went to America, many people asked me to have my original explosion match in America. Then I dreamed of making it happen not only in the United States, but all over the world.”
“Action, action action. Let’s do everything,” said Onita.
Tickets for FMWE Independence Day go on sale on Friday. More information on ticket sales can be found on the new promotion’s website.
The full press conference can be streamed below.
Thanks to YouTube, Google Translate and Yahoo Japan for translation help.
Hiromichi “Kodo” Fuyuki, a controversial and tragic figure in Japanese wrestling, passed away from cancer on 3/19 at the age of 42, just a few days after putting together and shooting the angle for what would have been just about the biggest match of his career.
Cancer overcame the president of the World Entertainment Wrestling promotion at 6:50 p.m. that night at Yokohama City Hospital. Within wrestling, word of his impending death had gotten around as wrestlers Kintaro Kanemura, Tetsuhiro Kuroda, Chocoball Mukai and Shinsuke Same were at the hospital every night. Shinya Hashimoto, Mitsuharu Misawa, Genichiro Tenryu, Yoshinari Ogawa, Hayabusa, Rumi Kazama and Shinobu Kandori were also among the wrestlers who came to see him on the last three days of his life.
Just before his death, his wife, Kaoru Fuyuki, called reporters at Tokyo Sports and told them he wasn’t going to last the night, and said he wanted them to shoot newspaper photos of him with his wife.
The oldest show here at F4WOnline.com that doesn’t include A Man Named Vince is back, and we are reinvigorated, with fighting spirit.
Maybe it’s because of the American presidential debate. Maybe it’s the American throw ball game. Either way, we’re pretty sure it’s not Monday Night Raw or the Clash. And on this edition of the original alternate, the topics include, but aren’t limited to, where we stand on the climb of YOSHI-HASHI, Katsuyori Shibattering ram, BUSHI, Kyle O’Reilly Moves Like…, the last few New Japan shows and the company’s direction, DDT’s Osaka Bay Blues, Dragon Gate feeling blue, and the hosts occasionally working blue, NOAHone was there to see the show, FMW, Nick Numbers and the Numeral Posse, continuing unabashed loved for the U-30 pro wres landscape, and much more.
It’s the radio show whose strongest attribute is its temperament, the Adam and Mike BIG AUDIO NIGHTMARE.
Eiji Ezaki, best known as Hayabusa, passed away on Thursday from bleeding on the brain. He was just 47.
Ezaki started as the masked Hayabusa in Mexico in 1993 and came back to Japan in 1994 as the FMW representative in the Super J Cup. Hayabusa was the best flying wrestler in the promotion, an innovator in his era, and grew to be the top star in the promotion after the retirement of Atsushi Onita. He also used the name H.
He had remained the top star in FMW until he suffered a career ending broken neck when he slipped on the ropes doing a quebrada (the same move Chris Jericho uses as the lionsault) in a 2001 match with Mammoth Sasaki at Korakuen Hall. The injury left him paralyzed. After wrestling he attempted to make it as a singer while working in a wheelchair.
He was eventually able to walk and last year in a public appearance in front of many of the biggest stars in wrestling like Genichiro Tenryu, Kenta Kobashi and Keiji Muto, he got out of his wheelchair and was able to, with the aid of a cane, walk to the ring.
