Mick Foley throughout his career has fought in several "hardcore, death matches". But most of you probably have never even heard of or seen death matches! So, this section of my Foley-tribute is to help explain death matches since Mick Foley is considered by wrestling fans all over the world to be "KING OF THE DEATH MATCH"!

*Special Note* Most of the wrestlers mentioned in this section wrestle in various Japanese organizations.


Barbed Wire


The barbed wire format began to appear in the late 1970's/early 1980's, mostly in the Southern Independent promotions, and in the World Wrestling Council. They were really only used when a feud got so intense that nothing else would settle it. The standard barbed wire match is to wrap horizontally three strands of the wire between the ropes, stretching around all four ringposts. On occasions, the barbed wire was wrapped vertically around the ropes (Spider Net). In these matches, anything goes, and victories are settled by pinfall, submission or until a participant can't continue.

Over the years, the barbed wire has been used in different ways....


Barbed Wire Cage


Many promotions have used this format, such as the now-defunct Smoky Mountain Wrestling, the NWA and Tri-state. There are different variations of a 'barbed wire cage' match. Sometimes, the cage was almost completely constructed out of barbed wire, while other times a standard cage is simply put up when a barbed wire match is taking place to stop any of the participants from running away. The Japanese, of course, have taken the idea beyond this. In most of their barbed wire cage matches, the barbed wire is wound in and out of the cage, and the wire is usually either electrically charged or primed with small explosives. Also, the ropes are completely removed, resulting in maximum carnage.


No-Rope Barbed Wire


At first, this style of match was only promoted in Japan. More recently, ECW have held events like these, but not very often. Basically, in a no-rope barbed wire match, the ropes are completely removed and replaced with razor-sharp barbed wire. The matches are generally fought under Streetfight rules, and always results in horrendous bloodshed. There are, of course, much more lethal variations. One example is the no-rope exploding barbed wire match. This is when the wire is either electrically charged or primed with small explosives. When the wrestler's skin brushes against the wire, there are small explosions.

Barbed Wire Baseball Bat


W*ING were the first people to stage barbed wire baseball bat matches, and they were only really contested on a few occasions. In the standard barbed wire baseball bat match, a bat wrapped in barbed wire is placed in the centre of the ring. Both participants stand at opposite sides of the arena. After the count of ten, they rush down to the ring, and the first to pick the bat up can legally use it on his opponent. Barbed wire baseball bat matches like the one described above, to my knowledge, haven't been contested for a while. However, baseball bats wrapped in barbed wire are often used as added extras in more dangerous matches. For example, in a no-rope barbed wire match, there may be a baseball bat lying in the ring, which can be used on opponents. Or perhaps, in a ladder match, a barbed wire bat is hung in the air.

They are usually now also set on fire, just to inflict that extra damage on the opponent.


Barbed Wire Bumps--Barbed Wire Boards--Spider net


In a barbed wire bumps match, at ringside, there are huge boards laden with truckloads of barbed wire. Inside the ring, a pretty normal match takes place, but when either wrestler is thrown out of the ring, it gets a little more brutal. Barbed wire bumps matches can be a little boring at times, because a large percentage of the contest is spent with either wrestler trying to eject the other from the ring and onto the steely barbs.

Barbed wire board matches are basically the same, except there is much less barbed wire involved. In a barbed wire bumps match, ringside is completely covered in wire, but in a barbed wire boards match, there are individual boards surrounding the ring, which can be easily picked up and used on the opponent.

Spider Nets are when two sides of the ring have barbed wire vertically wrapped around the ropes. Because the WWC was the first promotion to do this, the spider nets are often called 'Caribbean Spider Nets'.

Also, in FMW, Mr Pogo & Atsushi Onita contested barbed wire bumps matches where, at ringside, mixed in with the wire, were landmines. Landmine matches usually only occur outside. The only one to be contested inside was held on 28/8/94, where Onita fought Aoyagi. Onita was horribly cut up during the match. Also, in December 1994, at an arena in Tokyo (not Korakuen Hall), FMW held a series of matches with Onita (under the Great Nita gimmick) and Tarzan Goto (under his Ho Chi Ming) gimmick against Mr Pogo and Kisakatsu Ohya, which had landmines at ringside.


Barbed Wire Brick

The IWA is the only promotion to have sanctioned barbed wire brick matches. Basically, at ringside, there are piles of bricks with barbed wire wrapped around the centre of them. They can be legally used on your opponent in any way. In the Terry Funk vs Cactus Jack finals at Kawasaki Staduim on 20/8/95, there were bricks underneath the ring. Also, Leatherface & Cactus fought Nakamaki & Ono on 7/3/95 in a Barbed Wire Brick match, plus in April 1995, Cactus & Crypt Keeper fought Nakamaki & Leatherface.

Barbed Wire Ladder


This is basically the standard ladder match, except the ladder is wrapped in barbed wire.

Double Hell Matches


Double Hell matches are when exploding (or non-exploding) barbed wire is put up at two sides of the ring, and the other two are left with nothing. However, at ringside on the empty sides, there are huge boards laden with barbed wire and landmines/explosives (and sometimes glass). This makes it a lot easier for a participant to fall out to ringside.

Barbed Wire Chain


Shoji Nakamaki fought Hiroshi Ono in 1994 in a Barbed Wire Chain match. Also, in 2/94, Freddy Krueger faced The Winger in a barbed wire strap match. Krueger beat Winger after he took the strap off his wrist wrapped it around Winger's body and then piledrived him.

Glass


It was proposed that, on December 8th, 1993, Atsushi Onita would face Mitsuhiro Matsunaga in a 'Wonder Crush Death' match, where the ring would be surrounded by a cage made out of glass. And on the glass, would be rows and rows of small explosives. An insane idea, all right, and Onita realised this, as the idea was shelved in favour of a no-rope exploding barbed wire match. However, the 'glass' idea was out, and the Japanese fans were craving it. It was actually the IWA who had the first glass death match. During the Headhunters short feud, the two contested in such a match. The twins then went on to fight Shoji Nakamaki & Horishi Ono in one as well. The IWA's format was this: at ringside there were wooden crates, about the size of a door, and each had a pane of glass in them. There were four in total, two at two sides of the ring. The other two sides had barbed wire boards. You could break the glass and dig it into your opponents head or throw them into the crate.

FMW have combined barbed wire and glass into the 'barbed wire glass platform'. This is a platform at ringside, constructed from barbed wire and wood, with plates of glass lying on top. This was used in the Cactus Jack/W*ing Kanemura confrontation at the 1996 Kawasaki Baseball Stadium Show, and also at the Shiodome match on 1st August, which saw Mr Pogo fight Terry Funk.

In the United States, broken glass has been used in matches. In ECW in July 1995, Ian Rotten faced Axl Rotten in what was called a "Tiapaid Death match". Both wrestlers superglued pieces of jagged, broken glass to their hands.

Glass was also used in an independent promotion in New Jersey, USA. Ian Rotten faced Mad Man Pondo in a "Barbed Wire, Broken Glass, Thumbtack, Mouse Trap Death Match".


Nails


Wrestling's International New Generation were the first group to sanction a Spike Nail Death match. Basically, to win, you have to make your opponent take a bump on the huge planks of wood infested with six-inch nails at ringside. To my knowledge, W*ING only promoted two such matches, both between Leatherface and Mitsuhiro Matsunaga. In the first meeting the two psychotic men had, Leatherface ran a chainsaw over Matsunaga's head! The IWA and FMW have also sanctioned matches which involve nails. In FMW, Super Leather had a weapon, which looked like a large toothbrush, but with nails instead of bristles. He used it against Mitsuhiro Matsunaga during their third 'Spike Nail' match on 5/9/95.


Swimming Pool


FMW sanctioned a Swimming Pool match on 25th September, 1994... Click Here For A Diagram Of The Swimming Pool Death Match

Thumbtacks


The IWA was the first promotion to stage a 'Thumbtack Match'. Basically, there is a tray placed in the middle of the ring, and into it are poured thousands and thousands of thumbtacks. You can throw your opponent into them, drive your opponents head into them, or do absolutely anything you like with them in order to win the match! Big Japan Pro Wrestling staged a 'Thumbtacks In Balloons' match on 22/5/96. The match, which saw Axl Rotten and Shoji Nakamaki lock up with Kendo Nagasaki and Seiji Yamakawa, had six black balloons suspended above the ring. At a certain point in the match, the balloons exploded and released 30,000 thumbtacks onto the ring.

Perhaps the most violent thumbtacks match took place at the IWA's Kawasaki Dream card on 20/8/95, where Shoji Nakamaki fought former tag team partner, Hiroshi Ono. Nakamaki actually powerbombed Ono into the thumbtacks, which made one of the sickest ever bumps.


Fire


Fire is a regular ingredient in Hardcore matches. One of the first fire matches was held in 1992, and saw Tarzan Goto & Atsushi Onita clash with Sabu and his 68-year old Uncle, The Sheik. Huge, petrol-soaked rags were wrapped around the barbed wire, then set alight. Promoter Onita was forced, however, to abandon the idea when the Shiek slipped into a coma a few months after the match due to heat-induced injuries. W*ING, however, staged a similar match on 31/10/96, which saw Yukihiro Kanemura being powerbombed onto a huge inferno of flames. The IWA have also staged fire matches, where buckets are hung from the ropes, and in them are rags, which are set alight.

Mitsuhiro Matsunaga fought Mr Pogo in a Fire Death match on 2/8/92. Huge containers with raging fire in them were put up at ringside. The ropes were completely taken down. The two fought again in another fire match on 29/8/95. This was similar to a Double Hell match, only with poles with the ends set on fire pointing into the ring.

Now who says wrestling is fake?:)