Talk:Atsushi Onita

Junior heavyweight years in AJPW
Contemporary opinion was that Onita tried too hard to wrestle like Sayama, had no real business working that style, and this is what led to his potentially career-ending injuries. His run as AJPW's top junior actually ended when he was injured in a match against Hector Guerrero in late 1983. I believe he shattered his femur and/or ankle, but I've long since forgotten exactly. Bobby Heenan stated in his autobiography that his own wrestling career ended that same year when Onita botched a move and broke his neck. I'm pretty sure that Heenan referred to Onita as "that fucking idiot" or similar. I don't think it will be hard to dig up a copy of the book to confirm that. The accumulated injuries likely played a role in what amounted to a drastic change in his wrestling style when he did return to the ring. RadioKAOS / Talk to me, Billy / Transmissions 17:21, 7 November 2013 (UTC)

Origins of FMW's style
The article says that Onita based FMW's style on what he saw in his years wrestling in Memphis. The issue of his prior injuries is mentioned above, which needs to be taken into consideration. Otherwise, there were a number of territories of the 1970s which specialized in a particularly violent style; The Sheik was arguably a bigger drawing card than Bruno Sammartino during that time. However, the violent style, not to mention many of the promotions which offered it up, had largely petered out by the time Onita came to the United States. Onita and Fuchi had a match against Ricky Morton and Eddie Gilbert in Tupelo which led to a concession stand brawl, the third or fourth such brawl held in the same venue. There was also the empty arena match. That's about the closest Memphis came to FMW, though there are also slight parallels in some of the campy gimmicks conceived by Jerry Lawler. From what I saw, the promotion which preceded FMW in terms of gimmick "death matches" was WWC in Puerto Rico. There may be a clear tie there: didn't Onita do a "stabbing" angle with Jose Gonzales? RadioKAOS / Talk to me, Billy / Transmissions 17:21, 7 November 2013 (UTC)

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