FMW Independent Women's & WWA Women's Title No Ropes Exploding Barbed Wire Death Match: Combat Toyoda (c) vs. Megumi Kudo - FMW 7th Anniversary Show 05/05/1996
One of the most famous matches of all time. The most famous deathmatch, surely. If you talk with a fellow wrestling fan on a hardcore level, they are aware of this match. It has quite a reputation, so I was quite excited to see this unfold. This is a retirement match for Toyoda so while the winner isn’t in doubt, the drama is staggeringly high. And that’s without the intense stipulation added on top. This was a match built around atmosphere, everbuilding tension and selling. Onita may have had his best performance on the outside. His facial expressions of worry, regret (for popularizing the match style) and sadness added to this a lot. The slow teases of sending each other into the exploding barbed wire was great. Each strike sending each other just that one step back, edging closer and closer into the wire. They milked it for all its worth, and I was totally captivated by it all. The explosions were visually horrifying and their selling of it was sensational. I loved how each bump into the wire got more intense and violent. And the eventual pay off with Kudo running full pelt attempting to hip attack Toyoda into the wire only to get caught and be german’d into the exploding wire along with Toyoda was epic. Both struggled to continue on after which was shown tremendously in their selling. Kudo’s legs were shaking while she tried to stand up while Toyoda couldn’t even get to that stage. And the finishing stretch with the crowd begging for Toyoda to keep fighting was the perfect finish. The Tiger Driver looked so impactful but the subsequent Ganso powerbomb from Kudo was one of the cringe worthy variations of the move - a very damning statement. The Kudo Driver finished off what was an all time classic. The post-match send off was touching. Kudo had to be helped away, Onita came in with a bucket of water and doused them both due to the fire injuries they suffered and Onita and Toyoda crying in-front of the loving crowd. ****3/4
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