VIEW FROM THE RISING SUN
by Masanori Horie

King Of The Death Matches

Cactus Jack vs. Terry Funk, Kawasaki Baseball Stadium, August 20, 1995

Kawasaki Baseball Stadium will be closed on March 31, 2000, and it will be pulled down in April. This old and decrepit stadium was opened in April 1952 and held its first wrestling show in September 1957. Since then, it has held 11 big wrestling shows in 40 years. This story is being re-composed, and other pictures and all the results are added as a tribute to Kawasaki Baseball Stadium.

Kawasaki Baseball Stadium

King of the Death Matches
Sunday, August 20, 1995

Masanori and Cactus at the airport
Masanori and Cactus Jack at Narita Airport, Chiba, August 12, 1995

Cactus Jack came out from the dressing room, and his head was wound in a bloody bandage because he took a bump off a ladder into barbed wire that nearly ripped his "other" ear off in a main event with Terry Funk. There were still a bunch of fans waiting for the wrestlers outside of an exit.

Cactus kept showing his ear to reporters; he was always a professional wrestler.

Cactus asked, "Where is a phone?" He usually calls his family after the show whenever he wrestles in Japan. There was a telephone booth near him, but it was impossible for him to call his family in the U.S.A. from one of the oldest baseball stadiums in Japan. He tried and tried to call his family, but he couldn't.

Cactus Jack at Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, January 2, 1995

"HAVE A NICE DAY--A TALE OF BLOOD AND SWEATSOCKS" by Mick Foley
Chapter 29, Pages 337-338:
"When I walked out the door, the screaming fans were gone. The ambulance was history. Only Masa, a faithful Tonto to my Kemosabe, had stayed behind. He explained that everyone had gone, and that he'd make sure I got back to Tokyo. We were in luck also, as the hospital was less than a mile away. So, without a trophy, but with my head held high, the King of the Death Match walked to the hospital with his sidekick Masa."

Terry had already been taken to Kawasaki Municipal Hospital. Another ambulance arrived. Cactus sat down and got checked out by an ambulance man. When the ambulance got to the hospital, Terry, who wound up with very serious burns when his arm caught on fire from one of the explosions, was standing and trembling at the waiting place.

What a cruel and brutal match it was; those wild guys looked pitiful at the hospital.

Suddenly, a Philippine woman was carried in to have a baby there. Seven or eight fellow Philippine girls came with her, and they were very happy and lively. It was funny to see their mood gap.

Cactus approached Terry and said, "Thank you," and they stared at each other.

Cactus said, "Peace and quiet came back to my mind." He found a phone, but it wasn't for international calls.

Terry Funk, Cactus Jack (bandage on head), and Terry Gordy, Narita Airport, August 21, 1995

While Terry was treated, innocent Philippine girls, who had no idea what they did at the baseball stadium, talked friendly with Cactus. He smiled, took his black T-shirt off, and showed them his back with numerous marks of thumbtacks. Doctors and nurses were shocked to see their forehead, body, and arm.

Terry had very sorrowful eyes, but Cactus even joked to a doctor.

It took one hour, 30 minutes for Cactus' treatment, including 15 stitches to his forehead (four), ear (seven), and hand (four), and his arm was burned badly like Terry's.

Terry Funk, Masanori, and the IWA bus, Hachioji, Tokyo, August 18, 1995

The IWA bus was waiting for Cactus in front of the baseball stadium. There were still about 20 fans around the bus. Terry Gordy, Leather Face (Rick Patterson), Head Hunters A & B, and The Iceman ("Mr. Everything" Ricky Santana) were on the bus.

It took about 45 minutes from Kawasaki to their Ark Hotel Tokyo in Ikebukuro, Tokyo.

When the bus arrived at the hotel, the clock read 11:30 p.m. The show started at 3:00 p.m. Cactus could call his family at last. It was a long, hot summer day. He had a small dinner in the "Big Boy" restaurant---hamburger steak and chocolate cake. Nobody knows where his "King of the Death Matches" trophy is.

Cactus Jack shows off the thumbtacks, August 20, 1995

"HAVE A NICE DAY--A TALE OF BLOOD AND SWEATSOCKS" by Mick Foley
Page 338:
"When I returned to the Ikebekuru section of Tokyo, I phoned home and blatantly lied to Colette by telling her I was fine. 'A little banged up, hon, but nothing serious.' I then had a small dinner with Masa, and headed to my room to count T-shirt money and eat ice cream in bed."

Sunday, August 20, 1995---3:00 Kawasaki Baseball Stadium (IWA)---28,757
"King of the Death Matches" (8-man one-night Death Match Tournament)

13. No Rope Scramble Bunkhouse Super Barbed Wired Weapon With A Time Bomb Death Match: Cactus Jack beat Terry Funk (13:21)
12. NWA World Heavyweight title match: Dan Severn beat Tarzan Goto (11:35 Referee's stop)
11. IWA World Tag Team title match: The Head Hunters A & B beat Los Cowboys (Silver King & El Texano) (17:49 A beat Texano)
10. 2 Barbed Wire Boards/2 Nails Boards Death match: Cactus Jack beat Shoji Nakamaki (9:49)
9. Barbed Wire Board/Glass Window Death match: Terry Funk beat Tiger Jeet Singh (6:04)
8. Iceman (Ricky Santana) beat Kamikaze (Shoichi Maruyama) (9:45)
7. WWA World Light Heavyweight title match: Takashi Okano beat Flyingkid Ichihara (17:01)
6. Barbed Wired Baseball Bat/30,000 Thumbtacks Death match: Shoji Nakamaki beat Hiroshi Ono (7:19)

Cactus Jack vs. Terry Gordy

5. Barbed Wired Baseball Bat/30,000 thumbtacks death match: Cactus Jack beat Terry Gordy (6:58)
4. Barbed Wire Board/Chain Death match: Terry Funk beat Leather Face (8:54)
3. Barbed Wire Board/Chain Death match: Tiger Jeet Singh beat Mr. Gannosuke (7:11)
2. Kiyoko Ichiki beat Emi Motokawa (10:24)
1. Keisuke Yamada & Keizo Matsuda beat Yoshihiro Tajiri & Taisuke Tagami (11:44 Yamada beat Tajiri)

Cactus Jack at Narita Airport, August 21, 1995

Wrestling Shows at Kawasaki Baseball Stadium

September 25, 1957---7:00 Kawasaki Baseball Stadium (JWA)---12,000
7. Rikidozan & Toyonobori beat Bobo Brazil & "Bulldog" Danny Plechas (2-1)
(1) Rikidozan & Toyonobori beat Brazil & Plechas (35:05 disqualification)
(2) Rikidozan beat Brazil (1:26)
6. Azumafuji beat Lord Athol Layton (9:35)
5. Kokichi Endo beat Harold Sakata (11:30 disqualification)
4. Michiaki Yoshimura beat Surugaumi (6:27)
3. Osamu Abe beat Hideyuki Nagasawa (6:15)
2. Matamichi Daidozan drew Masaaki Takemura (20 minutes time up)
1. Masayuki Tamanogawa beat Isao Yoshihara (15:50)

June 18, 1966---6:30 Kawasaki Baseball Stadium (JWA)---15,000
9. All Asian Tag Team title match
Hiro Matsuda & Michiaki Yoshimura drew Eddie Graham & Sam Steamboat (1-1)
(1) Matsuda beat Steamboat (33:30)
(2) Graham beat Matsuda (5:26)
(3) 60 minutes time up
8. Giant Baba beat Don Chuy (6:07)
7. Duke Keomuka beat Joe Carrolo (10:13)
6. Killer Karl Kox beat Yoshinosato (8:45)
5. Kantaro Hoshino beat Raizo Kojika (Great Kojika) (8:45)
4. Kotetsu Yamamoto won the Six-Man Battle Royal (17:24)
3. Iwakichi Hirano beat Kazuo Homma (11:08)
2. Kotetsu Yamamoto beat Akihisa Takachiho (Great Kabuki)
1. Hishakaku Otsubo beat Gantetsu Matsuoka (10:17)

July 22, 1967---6:30 Kawasaki Baseball Stadium (JWA)---15,000
5. All Asian Tag Team title match
Giant Baba & Antonio Inoki beat Jesse Ortega & Art Mahilik
(1) Ortega beat Inoki (14:56)
(2) Baba & Inoki beat Ortega (2:54 disqualification)
(3) Baba beat Mahilik (1:01)
4. Kintaro Ohki (Kim ILL) beat Tank Morgan (1-1)
(1) Ohki beat Morgan (9:27)
(2) Morgan beat Ohki (4:04)
(3) 2:24 double countout
3. Antonio Pugliesi beat Umanosuke Ueda (8:04)
2. Michiaki Yoshimuta beat "Catalina" George Drake (17:10)
1. Mitsu Hirai beat Raizo Kojika (Great Kojika) (11:19)

July 1, 1969---6:20 Kawasaki Baseball Stadium (JWA)---8,000
10. Giant Baba & Michiaki Yoshimura beat Fred Blassie & Kurt Von Stroheim (2-1)
(1) Blassie beat Baba (16:08)
(2) Baba & Yoshimura beat Blassie & Stroheim (4:04 disqualification)
(3) Baba beat Stroheim (3:52)
9. Antonio Inoki beat Skull Murphy (2-1)
(1) 22:14 double countout
(2) Inoki beat Murphy (3:10)
8. Kim ILL beat Brute Bernard (11:15 disqualification)
7. Kotetsu Yamamoto won the Eight-Man Battle Royal (15:36)
6. Karl Von Steiger beat Kotetsu Yamamoto (9:13)
5. Kantaro Hoshino beat Edward Perez (10:31)
4. Kurt Von Steiger beat Motoshi Ohkuma (9:08)
3. Atsuhide Koma drew Akihisa Takachiho (Great Kabuki) (15 minutes time up)
2. Haruka Eigen beat Katsuji Adachi (Mr. Hito) (11:03)
1. Mikiyuki Kitazawa beat Masayuki Fujii (5:23)

September 23, 1991---6:30 Kawasaki Baseball Stadium (FMW)---33,221 (sellout)
9. No Rope / Barbed Wire / Cage / Electricity / Explosion Death Match
Atsushi Onita beat Tarzan Goto (16:01 Knockout)
8. Gregory Velichev beat Katsuji Ueda (5th round 1:44 Knockout)
7. The Gladiator (Mike Awesome) & Big Titan (Rick Bogner) beat Sambo Asako & Ricky Fuji (11:12 Knockout)
6. Gundarenko Svetlana beat Megumi Kudo (9:56)
5. WWA Woman's World title match
Combat Toyoda beat Reggie Bennett (11:36)
4. Amigo Ultra (Damian 666), Akihito Ichihara (Flyingkid Ichihara), & Ultracito (Mascarita Sagrada) beat Pandita, Yukihide Ueno (Battle Ranger / Policeman), & Chicito (11:19 Ultracito beat Chicito)
3. Horace Boulder & The Shooter (Katsutoshi Niiyama) beat Jimmy Backlund (Jimmy Del Ray) & Kim Hyun Han (12:48 Boulder beat Kim)
2. Miwa Sato won the Eight-Woman Battle Royal (10:11)
1. Eiji Ezaki (Hayabusa / "H") beat Masashi Honda (Mr. Gannosuke)

May 5, 1993---3:00 Kawasaki Baseball Stadium (FMW)---40,100 (sellout)
10. No Rope / Barbed Wire / Electricity / Explosion / Time Bomb Death Match
Atsushi Onita beat Terry Funk (12:14)
9. Gregory Velichev beat Leon Spinks (3rd round 2:10)
8. The Gladiator (Mike Awesome), Big Titan (Rick Bogner), & Ricky Fuji beat Tarzan Goto, Katsuji Ueda, & Great Punk (Katsutoshi Niiyama) (2-1)
(1) Titan beat Ueda (3:30)
(2) Goto beat Titan (4:34)
(3) Fuji beat Punk (9:31)
7. Megumi Kudo & Combat Toyoda beat Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada (22:17 Kudo beat Toyota)
6. Shinobu Kandori beat Victoria (5:18)
5. Great Sasuke, Kendo, & Battle Ranger (Yukihide Ueno) beat Super Delfin, Espanto V & VI (20:22 Kendo beat V)
4. The Sheik & Sabu beat Dr. Luther (Len St. Clair) & Dr. Hannibal (Steve Gilspie) (6:53 Sabu beat Luther)
3. Eagle Sawai, Yasha Kurenai, Utako Hozumi, Midori Saito, & Mikiko Futagami beat Miwa Sato, Eriko Tsuchiya, Yoshika Maedomari, Kumiko Matsuda, & Yukie Nabeno
(1) Maedomari beat Futagami (14:21)
(2) Eagle beat Maedomari (15:38)
(3) Tsuchiya beat Kurenai (22:06)
(4) Eagle beat Sato (25:52)
2. Rie Nakamura beat Keiko Iwami (10:45)
1. Eiji Ezaki (Hayabusa / "H") beat Koji Nakagawa (10:03)

May 5, 1994---2:00 Kawasaki Baseball Stadium (FMW)---52,000 (sellout)
11. No Rope / Barbed Wire / Cage / Electricity / Explosion Death Match
Gen-ichiro Tenryu beat Atsushi Onita (23:55)
10. World Brass Knuckles Tag Team title match
Mr. Pogo & Hisakatsu Oya beat Tarzan Goto & Mitsuhiro Matsunaga (16:38 Oya beat Matsunaga)
9. Terry Funk beat The Sheik (5:59 Knockout)
8. The Gladiator (Mike Awesome), Big Titan (Rick Bogner), & Ricky Fuji beat Kodo Fuyuki, Jado, & Gedo (15:06 Gladiator beat Gedo)
7. WWA Woman's World title match
Megumi Kudo beat Yumiko Hotta (16:48)
6. Sabu & Damian 666 beat Dr. Luther (Len St. Clair) & Yone Genjin (15:14 Damian beat Yone)
5. Katsuji Ueda beat Katsutoshi Niiyama (3rd round 1:43 Knockout)
4. Sambo Asako & Mr. Gannosuke beat Goro Tsurumi & Hideki Hosaka (12:24 Gannosuke beat Hosaka)
3. Combat Toyoda, Shark Tsuchiya, & Crusher Maedomari beat Eagle Sawai, Noriyo Tateno, & Mizuki Endo (14:44 Maedomari beat Endo)
2. Battle Ranger Z, Masato Tanaka, & Koji Nakagawa beat Great Sasuke, Hanzo Nakajima, & Shiryu (Kaz Hayashi) (18:49 Battle Ranger beat Nakajima)
1. Tetsuhiro Kuroda beat Gosaku Goshogawara (9:28)

May 5, 1995---3:00 Kawasaki Baseball Stadium (FMW)---58,200 (sellout)
11. World Brass Knuckles title match
No Rope / Barbed Wire / Cage / Electricity / Explosion / Time Bomb Death Match
Atsushi Onita beat Hayabusa (Eiji Ezaki / "H") (16:11)
10. World Brass Knuckles Tag Team title match
Hisakatsu Oya & Ricky Fuji beat Mr. Pogo & Yukihiro Kanemura (12:45 Oya beat Kanemura)
9. Katsutoshi Niiyama & Masato Tanaka beat The Gladiator (Mike Awesome) & Horace Boulder (10:25 Niiyama beat Boulder)
8. WWA Woman's World title match
Megumi Kudo beat Bad Nurse Nakamura (14:32)
7. Takashi Ishikawa, Apollo Sugawara, & Kishin Kawabata beat Mitsuhiro Matsunaga, Hideki Hosaka, & Hido (12:35 Ishikawa beat Hido)
6. The Sheik beat Damian 666 (1:47)
5. Judge Dread & Koji Nakagawa beat Dunk Tani (Daikokubo Benkei) & Ryo Miyake (14:26 Dread beat Miyake)
4. Shark Tsuchiya, Crusher Maedomari, & Kaori Nakayama beat Combat Toyoda, Miwa Sato, & Yukari Ishikura (16:27 Tsuchiya knockout Sato)
3. Amigo Ultra (Damian 666) & Ultra Taro beat Battle Ranger Z (Yukihide Ueno) & Mach Hayato (Hayato Nanjo) (15:17 Amigo beat Hayato)
2. Katsuji Ueda beat Tetsuhiro Kuroda (3rd round 1:46)
1. Rikio Ito beat Gosaku Goshogawara (10:36)

May 5, 1996---3:00 Kawasaki Baseball Stadium (FMW)---33,231
12. No-Rope / Barbed Wire / Electric Current / Mine Explosion / Double Hell / Time Bomb / Tornado
Tag Team Death match
Terry Funk & Mr. Pogo beat Hayabusa & Masato Tanaka (19:01 Terry beat Hayabusa)
11. WWA Woman's World title match No Rope / Barbed Wire / Electricity / Explosion Death Match
Megumi Kudo beat Combat Toyota (21:16)
10. No-Rope / Barbed Wire Barricade / Spider Net / Glass Clash Death match
Cactus Jack beat Yukihiro Kanemura (16:49)
9. World Street Fight Six-Man Tag Team title match
Head Hunters A & B and Super Leather (Mike Kerchner) beat The Gladiator (Mike Awesome), Horace Boulder, & Hisakatsu Oya (19:59 Leather beat Boulder)
8. Mitsuhiro Matsunaga, Hido, & Hideki Hosaka beat Shoji Nakamaki, Miguel Perez Jr., & Toryu (Toyonari Fujiyta) (13:18 Matsunaga beat Toryu)
7. Chigusa Nagayo beat Shark Tsuchiya (13:20)
6. Independent World Junior Heavyweight title match
TAKA Michinoku beat Koji Nakagawa (15:39)
5. Ryuma Go & Samurai MAX beat Silver X & Imagine (Ichiro Yoguchi) (15:33 Go beat Imagine)
4. Ricky Morton, Robert Gibson, & Ricky Fuji beat Crypt Keeper (Jose Estrada Jr.), Freddy Kruger, & Boogeyman (9:09 Morton beat Boogeyman)
3. Kamikaze (Yuki Ishikawa), The Shooter (Minoru Tanaka), & Katsutoshi Niiyama beat Daisuke Ikeda, Shouichi Funaki, & Tetsuhiro Kuroda (14:39 Niiyama beat Kuroda)
2. Chaparrita ASARI & Yumi Fukawa beat Kaori Nakayama & Aki Kambayashi (Miss Mongol) (12:08 ASARI beat Kambayashi)
1. Jason the Terrible beat Hayato Nanjo (8:20)

September 28, 1997---3:00 Kawasaki Baseball Stadium (FMW)---50,012 (sellout)
9. No-Rope / Barbed Wire / Electric Current / Mine Explosion / Time Bomb Death match
Atsushi Onita beat W*ING Kanemura (17:41)
8. Kenta Kobashi & Maunukea Mossman beat Hayabusa (Eiji Ezaki/"H") & Jinsei Shinzaki (21:46 Kobashi beat Hayabusa)
7. Double Crown Heavyweight title match: Masato Tanaka beat The Gladiator (Mike Awesome) (15:18)
6. Vader (Leon White) beat Ken Shamrock (7:17 Doctor's stop)
5. Texas Heavyweight title match: Terry Funk beat Kodo Fuyuki (12:23)
4. WWA Woman's World title match: Shark Tsuchiya beat Aja Kong (13:25)
3. Mr. Gannosuke & Hisakatsu Oya beat Jado & Gedo (15:12 Gannosuke beat Gedo)
2. Crusher Maedomari & Miss Mongol beat Kaori Nakayama & Miwa Sato (12:34 Maedomari beat Sato)
1. Tetsuhiro Kuroda beat Ricky Fuji (28:49)