The Flying Hammerlock Video Review #51: Funk Vs. Onita

 

This review is dedicated to the memory of Terry Funk.  R.I.P.

No Ropes Barbed Wire Time Bomb Death Match: Atsushi Onita vs. Terry Funk, FMW 4th Anniversary Show, Kawasaki Stadium, Kawasaki, Kanegawa, Japan, May 5, 1993
 

This was promoted as a dream match between FMW's ace Onita and the hardcore legend Funk. Onita was the FMW WFDA World Martial Arts Champion at the time, but this match was non-title, as Onita does not wear the belt to the ring. This was the first Exploding Ring match.
 

Onita walks out, of course, to "Wild Thing" and Funk is already waiting for him in the aisle.  They slide into the ring and have a face off before the introductions.   The referee's protective gear has to be seen to be believed.  Oddly, the referee does the pre-match frisk despite the kind of match this is and the promotion it is.  They circle each other a few times and tie up and fight over the tie up until Funk breaks it with an elbow to Onita's head.  He follows that with a headbutt and a chop.  Funk goes into his famous dancing punches routine.  The punches send Onita into the EXPLODING BARBED WIRE!  KABOOM!  Onita is down and Funk is pulling on Onita's shirt.   Funk brings Onita up by his head and goes back to the classic Funk jabs, knocking Onita back to the mat.   Funk brings Onita up again and is holding Onita's hair and trying to drag him to the wire.   Onita is bleeding from his arm and his back.  Funk hits the piledriver for 2.  Funk hits a Swinging Neckbreaker and a knee drop for a 2 count.  Funk brings Onita up by his hair and whips him into the wire for the second explosion!  Funk yells "Get up! Get up! Get up you son of a bitch!"   Funk brings Onita up again and punches away at him.  Onita responds with a side headlock and Funk tries to counter it with a belly to back suplex but just drops Onita forward instead.  Funk grabs Onita and tries to feed him to the wire.  Funk brings Onita to his feet and Onita responds with a belly to back suplex.   Both guys are down on the mat and Funk hits a Junkyard Dog-style headbutt.  Funk brings Onita up by his hair and again tries to feed Onita to the wire.   Onita grabs Funk's head and launches Funk into the wire for the third explosion.   Funk goes into his over-the-top selling routine, nearly falling into the wire again and eventually landing face first on the mat.  Funk is bleeding from the forehead and Onita hits him with a DDT for 2.  Onita brings Funk up and grabs a side headlock and Funk tries to counter it with a belly to back suplex.   Funk lifts Onita by his leg and drops him on the mat.  Funk gets up and throws a punch that nearly hits the referee.  Funk staggers and falls to the mat.  Both guys get up and Onita headbutts Funk.  Some more headbutts and Funk is dangerously close to the wire.  Onita tries again and Funk grabs him and launches him THROUGH the wire, sending Onita to the floor.   Onita's hand is bloody and he walks around the ring and carefully crawls underneath the wire to get back in the ring and Funk collapses next to him.  Funk does some more exaggerated selling, nearly hitting the wire, and the countdown clock comes on the screen indicating that there are only five minutes left until the big explosion.  Onita and Funk start trading punches as the countdown starts.   Onita connects and Funk goes down and Onita covers but only gets 2.  Both guys are up and Funk grabs Onita by the head and starts headbutting him.  Onita headbutts Funk who returns to his staggering around and finally falls down.   Funk takes Onita down with a big punch and goes for the Spinning Toe Hold.  He applies it a few times but Onita kicks him away sending Funk into the wire for the fourth explosion.  Onita grabs Funk and hits a DDT for the pin at the 12:14 mark, with 2:46 left on the clock before the big explosion.   Funk grabs something and is choking Onita with it.   The referee stops Funk and Funk responds with an elbow to the back of the referee's neck.   Onita hits Funk with the referee's protective mask.   Onita gives Funk a Thunder Fire Powerbomb.   Again.  The ref pulls Onita away as the siren hits to indicate less than a minute left on the clock and Onita throws the ref to the floor.   Onita tries to drag Funk out of the ring before the big explosion hits but instead throws himself on top of Funk.   The clock hits zero and KABOOM!  All the canisters go off in an incredible visual.  *****!

After the match Funk and Onita are shown in the locker room.  Funk thanks Onita for what he did for him out there but says "I can't be beaten by you" and says that "next time" they'll do it by Funk's rules.   Onita says something in Japanese except for the words "spinning toe hold."  After that, Onita is shown outside of the arena talking to his adoring fans who are pressed up against a fence.
 

This match is a classic and set the standard for explosion matches to come.  It's not for everyone but for those who like this style or want to experience it for the first time, it's absolutely worth watching.  Recommended and you can watch it here.