FMW (Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling ) - Crash & Burn

Welcome to the bizarre and brutal world of Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling (FMW), where contestants gleefully choking each other with barbed wire is commonplace and it takes flaming torches used as cudgels to get the crowd really excited. These wrestling matches from Japan have a decidedly weird edge to them, with the announcers promising plenty of blood while declaring "this isn't cartoon wrestling, Monday night soap opera wrestling." Watching an unfortunate gladiator with a flaming pant leg hop about in agony as blood streams down his face seems to validate that claim. The announcers provide plenty of toilet humor in English, and even the subtitles (translated from Japanese) are sprinkled with a hefty dose of obscenities. Among the wrestlers are favorites Tanaka, Matsunaga, and "Mr. Pogo," women wrestlers such Sub Miss Sato and "Mother In Law," and a trash-talking American bad guy, Mike Awesome. Some of the wrestlers specialize in acrobatic "flying" moves, but the emphasis is on brutality, as tables, chairs, barbed wire, and--oh boy--flaming torches, are all used as weapons. A lot of the wrestling is fairly graphic, with "juice job" cuts to the head producing a lot of blood in some matches, so this material is inappropriate for children or squeamish adults. But those who want wild and weird action might find this style of ring work appealing. --Robert J. McNamara