The man widely credited with bringing ‘deathmatch’ wrestling to Japan, Atsushi Onita, has revealed plans to launch a new promotion.
Onita was the man behind the legendary FMW (Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling) promotion, which specialised in hardcore wrestling, and was an early innovator of the genre.
The promotion ran, in its original form, from 1989 to 2002, with the likes of Mick Foley, Terry Funk and Chris Jericho having all frequented the company.
At a press conference held on May 6th, Onita announced to the world that he would be reviving FMW, only with a twist, re-branding the company as FMWE – Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling Explosion.
Onita explained:
I have revived FMW. The meaning of E is explosion. It is an explosion… I decided to create an organisation specialising in barbed wire explosion with President Kajiki.
We are launching this promotion to broadcast our matches live, worldwide. Live streaming has become a major trend since COVID-19.
Having helped develop the likes of the Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch, Onita was recently used as part of the promotion for the Kenny Omega/Jon Moxley bout at AEW Revolution.
The surge of interest in the deathmatch style is reported to have contributed to Onita’s decision to bring the promotion back, with the legendary grappler adding:
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.
FMWE’s first event is currently scheduled for July 4th in Yokohama at the Tsurumi Fruit and Vegetable Market.
The company expect the event to be streamed live but have announced no specifics as yet.
Inside The Ropes will be providing more information on FMWE as it becomes available.