Vinny Lupton
Superstar
Summary: the ring ropes were too flammable and the ring apron caught on fire as well. Within minutes everyone bailed. Sheik (Sabu's uncle) had to be hospitalized for burns and the stadium had to be evacuated
(Fast forward a minute, idk why the intro is backlund getting hit in the balls)
FIGHTING FIRE WITH WIRE ...
The Sheik & Sabu vs Atsushi Onita & Tarzan Goto Sanda, Japan, May 1992
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IT seemed like the perfect idea.
Pioneering Japanese promotion Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) focused on impossibly violent gimmick matches that often involved the use of explosives.
But explosive charges don’t come cheap and, as a low-budget indie concern, the company was always trying to cut costs. So it came up with a concept that it thought provided the same gruesome spectacle at a fraction of the cost: a match in which the ring was surrounded by fire.
For this tag contest, the ropes were taken down and replaced by barbed wire, around which were wrapped a dozen thick wads of fabric soaked in paraffin.
The Japanese team of Atsushi Onita and Tarzan Goto entered the ring first, closely followed by their American opponents The Sheik – a Michigan native but billed as being from Syria – and his nephew Sabu.
The Sheik was 65 at the time and, beyond playing up to his maniacal persona, was limited in what he could do physically – he looked to be in pain just walking to the ring. He’d be in even more pain on leaving it.
The scrap began with Onita clobbering The Sheik, while Goto and Sabu took it in turns to pummel one another.
Meanwhile, stagehands began to light the fabric around the ring. Within seconds, it was apparent that the flames were far too large – an excess of flammable material had been used and a strong breeze in the outdoor arena helped to fan the blaze.
BATTLE TO THE DEATH ... FMW contest
Far from providing the illusion of violence, the match placed all four wrestlers and the referee in genuine peril.
Nonetheless, the grapplers briefly continued with their pre-planned exchanges – The Sheik even stabbed Onita in the forehead with a fork, his weapon of choice.
But it soon became difficult to see what was taking place as the flames were so high the participants were obscured.
The wind blew the fire on to the edge of the mat, which ignited due to the paraffin dripping on to it from the rags above.
The referee grimaced in the heat and, less than two minutes in, called off the match and ordered the wrestlers to leave the ring.
Sabu dove under the bottom strand of barbed wire to escape the inferno. The other wrestlers crawled out of the opposite side of the ring to the relative safety of the floor, while attendants hopelessly flung buckets of water at the flames, to little effect.
Onita and The Sheik briefly continued the performance with a tussle at ringside, which culminated in Sheik throwing a fireball at his opponent using magician’s flash paper.
Even though it was Onita who was left laying as he sold the effects of the fireball, it was The Sheik who was legitimately injured during the debacle - he failed to duck far enough beneath the flames on exiting the ring and was hospitalised with horrific burns to his back.
The event ended with the venue filled with smoke, the ring reduced to a burnt-out husk, as a small fire smouldered at ringside. FMW stuck to the explosives after that.
(Fast forward a minute, idk why the intro is backlund getting hit in the balls)
FIGHTING FIRE WITH WIRE ...
The Sheik & Sabu vs Atsushi Onita & Tarzan Goto Sanda, Japan, May 1992
Advertisement
IT seemed like the perfect idea.
Pioneering Japanese promotion Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) focused on impossibly violent gimmick matches that often involved the use of explosives.
But explosive charges don’t come cheap and, as a low-budget indie concern, the company was always trying to cut costs. So it came up with a concept that it thought provided the same gruesome spectacle at a fraction of the cost: a match in which the ring was surrounded by fire.
For this tag contest, the ropes were taken down and replaced by barbed wire, around which were wrapped a dozen thick wads of fabric soaked in paraffin.
The Japanese team of Atsushi Onita and Tarzan Goto entered the ring first, closely followed by their American opponents The Sheik – a Michigan native but billed as being from Syria – and his nephew Sabu.
The Sheik was 65 at the time and, beyond playing up to his maniacal persona, was limited in what he could do physically – he looked to be in pain just walking to the ring. He’d be in even more pain on leaving it.
The scrap began with Onita clobbering The Sheik, while Goto and Sabu took it in turns to pummel one another.
Meanwhile, stagehands began to light the fabric around the ring. Within seconds, it was apparent that the flames were far too large – an excess of flammable material had been used and a strong breeze in the outdoor arena helped to fan the blaze.
BATTLE TO THE DEATH ... FMW contest
Far from providing the illusion of violence, the match placed all four wrestlers and the referee in genuine peril.
Nonetheless, the grapplers briefly continued with their pre-planned exchanges – The Sheik even stabbed Onita in the forehead with a fork, his weapon of choice.
But it soon became difficult to see what was taking place as the flames were so high the participants were obscured.
The wind blew the fire on to the edge of the mat, which ignited due to the paraffin dripping on to it from the rags above.
The referee grimaced in the heat and, less than two minutes in, called off the match and ordered the wrestlers to leave the ring.
Sabu dove under the bottom strand of barbed wire to escape the inferno. The other wrestlers crawled out of the opposite side of the ring to the relative safety of the floor, while attendants hopelessly flung buckets of water at the flames, to little effect.
Onita and The Sheik briefly continued the performance with a tussle at ringside, which culminated in Sheik throwing a fireball at his opponent using magician’s flash paper.
Even though it was Onita who was left laying as he sold the effects of the fireball, it was The Sheik who was legitimately injured during the debacle - he failed to duck far enough beneath the flames on exiting the ring and was hospitalised with horrific burns to his back.
The event ended with the venue filled with smoke, the ring reduced to a burnt-out husk, as a small fire smouldered at ringside. FMW stuck to the explosives after that.
