Combat Toyoda vs. Megumi Kodo
No Ropes Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch for the FMW Independent and WWA World Women’s Championship
FMW 7th Anniversary Show (May 5, 1996)
Back in FMW for their 7th Anniversary show a year later, and two exploding barbed wire deathmatches were booked. While the main event (Mr Pogo and Terry Funk Vs. Hayabusa and Masato Tanaka) was superb, the semi-final match of the show demands inclusion. This was the first time two women competed in this type of match. The unified FMW Independent World Women’s Championship and WWA World Women’s Championship was defended. Combat Toyoda went into the match as champion but was also scheduled to retire after the event. She personally chose Megumi Kudo (who she’d defeated for the title back in December 1995) as her challenger.
The first explosion from barbed wire contact arrives seven minutes into the match, and the teases building up to it made it more worthwhile. Kudo is the first to trigger the explosion, with Toyoda following three minutes later. One side of the barbed wire is hit without an explosion, before a series of near-falls from high-impact moves – including some vicious powerbombs from Toyoda. At 17-minutes in, Toyoda hitting Kudo with a German suplex into the exploding barbed wire is a thing of violent beauty! The Kudome Valentine (popular now as the Vertebreaker) finishes the match for Kudo to regain the title.
This match warrants inclusion not only because it’s the first time two women wrestled the style of match, but because it was one of the first where the gimmick doesn’t overshadow the wrestling. It’s the only one on this list to go over the twenty-minute mark and keeps the crowd invested fully throughout – which is difficult enough in any twenty-minute match. This is a great professional wrestling match. The stipulation adds to the match, rather than being the main spectacle as it has often been in men’s action – especially when Onita is involved. This is a prime example of how to make a gimmick fit around the performers, rather than the wrestlers adapting to the gimmick.
Nanae Takahashi vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto
No Rope, Barbed Wire, Current Blast Death Table Match
Blast Queen Title
Zero1 Super Fireworks Current Blast Festival (August 18, 2019)
Pro Wrestling Zero1 has gone through many changes over the years. With that comes a strange array of titles. For fans of violent, stipulation-led wrestling, they have a few of interest – The Blast King, Blast Queen, and Blast King Tag Team Championships. The two singles titles can change hands in tag matches – with people losing it to their own partners depending on who gets the winning fall. They are all defended in a variety of “Current Blast Death” matches. These are matches with a specific stipulation – in this instance, the “Current Blast Death Table” part of the title means there is a table rigged with explosives (as long as it has been activated by a wrestler in the corner). Add in the barbed wire stipulation, and you have utter chaos.
Takahashi comes in as reigning champion for her first defence. Both women get whipped into barbed wire boards on the outside. Takahashi introduces a ladder. Both women end up trapped in the ladder and stagger into the barbed wire ropes for the first explosion. A headbutt from Takahashi sends Matsumoto into another explosion. Takahashi only gets a two-count from a Sunset Driver on a barbed wire board. Takahashi sets Matsumoto on the table, activates the explosives, and climbs the ladder – only to be stopped and powerbombed onto the exploding table! Matsumoto hits Takahashi with a barbed wire board, sending her into the ropes and another big explosion. Matsumoto wins the match, and the title, with a Saito Suplex.
In terms of the quality of film production, this isn’t that great. The camera angle on the filming is in an awkward position (due to it being an outside show), so we miss some of the early action outside the ring. There isn’t any commentary, so we just get random talking from someone to the left of the camera. BUT, the in-ring action is high quality. Both women deliver and take a beating. However, the reason this added is the spectacle of the explosions. Pyrotechnics have come a LONG way since the 90s, and this match is a great example of how good the gimmick can look while remaining relatively safe for the competitors.
The eagle-eyed among you will notice these five deathmatch ‘s all come from Japanese promotions. While there have been some variations of this match in America, these have all been somewhat copies of what has happened in Japan. Companies like Combat Zone Wrestling and Xtreme Pro Wrestling have had their fair share, but jumped on the over-gimmicked aspect, and none of the matches are really that memorable. The majority of the time they happened within deathmatch tournaments, so were lost in the maelstrom of violence.
The five listed are all showcased for a reason. The first-ever. The one where psychology started to click. The one that gained worldwide notoriety. The first women’s one. Then one more recent to show what can be done with modern-day products. The art of the deathmatch.
In all of these exploding barbed wire deathmatches (with many, many varying titles) there is a common theme “less is more”. The likes of CZW and XPW didn’t utilise that, and their over-the-top presentation ruined the moments. I’m hoping AEW learns from matches like this list instead – and with the wrestling minds of Omega and Moxley, I’m sure they will.
Whatever way the match goes, it’s it will be historic – the first match of its kind aired on a televised product by a “mainstream” western company. Omega and Moxley have a lot to live up to. Tune in to AEW Revolution this Sunday to find out whether they succeed.