1 00:00:09,421 --> 00:00:10,422 - Yeah! 2 00:00:21,607 --> 00:00:22,826 - You want violence? 3 00:00:24,436 --> 00:00:26,090 You want it? I don't hear you? 4 00:00:42,976 --> 00:00:43,934 - Pencils? 5 00:00:43,977 --> 00:00:45,544 Syringes. 6 00:00:49,940 --> 00:00:53,465 - Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, 7 00:00:54,379 --> 00:00:56,077 holy shit, holy shit. 8 00:01:07,479 --> 00:01:11,440 Please don't die, please don't die, please don't die. 9 00:01:11,483 --> 00:01:14,138 - Fuck you! 10 00:01:16,184 --> 00:01:21,145 - C-Z-Dub, C-Z-Dub, C-Z-Dub, C-Z-Dub, C-Z-Dub, 11 00:01:21,885 --> 00:01:24,540 C-Z-Dub, C-Z-Dub. 12 00:01:28,021 --> 00:01:30,459 - Within the universe of professional wrestling, 13 00:01:30,502 --> 00:01:33,549 deathmatch is the often maligned stepchild, 14 00:01:33,592 --> 00:01:36,769 criticized for being a vulgar and unnecessary preoccupation 15 00:01:36,813 --> 00:01:38,554 for sick fans and untalented wrestlers. 16 00:01:38,597 --> 00:01:41,644 It rarely breaks out of the underground. 17 00:01:41,687 --> 00:01:43,994 Yet deathmatch has endured for decades. 18 00:01:44,037 --> 00:01:46,083 I'm curious to learn why wrestlers continue 19 00:01:46,127 --> 00:01:49,391 to evolve this style far from the spectacle and fame 20 00:01:49,434 --> 00:01:52,698 of the main stage. 21 00:01:52,742 --> 00:01:55,484 The origin of deathmatch wrestling lies in the hardcore 22 00:01:55,527 --> 00:01:57,660 brawling style of Terry Funk. 23 00:01:57,703 --> 00:02:01,185 His matches utilze chairs, baseball bats, and bloody faces 24 00:02:01,229 --> 00:02:04,101 positioning it squarely at oddds with the cartoonish spandex 25 00:02:04,145 --> 00:02:07,191 world coporate wrestling was promoting. 26 00:02:07,235 --> 00:02:09,454 This new level of spectacle had a major impact on the young and 27 00:02:09,498 --> 00:02:11,413 impressionable wrestler from Japan. 28 00:02:11,456 --> 00:02:15,547 Atsushi Onita is a legendary deathmatch wrestler. 29 00:02:15,591 --> 00:02:18,246 Credited for inventing and bringing deathmatch wrestling 30 00:02:18,289 --> 00:02:20,944 to Japan, with the help of the genre's godfather, 31 00:02:20,987 --> 00:02:22,424 Terry Funk. 32 00:02:41,225 --> 00:02:42,183 The god himself. 33 00:02:58,460 --> 00:02:59,809 The bat of Onita. 34 00:02:59,852 --> 00:03:03,378 This is like wrestling history in my hands right now, 35 00:03:04,292 --> 00:03:05,858 and I would like to buy it, sir. 36 00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:10,950 How can you put a price on a piece 37 00:03:10,994 --> 00:03:13,997 of deathmatch wrestling history? 38 00:03:15,259 --> 00:03:16,652 That's exactly what I'm gonna say to my wife 39 00:03:16,695 --> 00:03:18,349 when she says, how could spend that much money 40 00:03:18,393 --> 00:03:20,917 on a used, blood-covered baseball bat? 41 00:03:23,702 --> 00:03:24,834 I'm sorry, Lauren. 42 00:03:29,882 --> 00:03:32,537 I was wondering if you could do me a favour, 43 00:03:32,581 --> 00:03:37,586 and autograph this piece of wrestling history? 44 00:03:43,244 --> 00:03:44,723 Onita took what Terry Funk had pioneered 45 00:03:44,767 --> 00:03:47,509 in the United States and evolved hardcore wrestling 46 00:03:47,552 --> 00:03:49,075 into the theatrical bloodbath 47 00:03:49,119 --> 00:03:51,600 that is today's deathmatch wrestling. 48 00:05:38,794 --> 00:05:41,144 - Prior to what you saw in Memphis, there was no blood 49 00:05:41,187 --> 00:05:43,320 in Japanese wrestling at that time, right? 50 00:06:23,099 --> 00:06:25,275 - Absolutely, punk rock for life. 51 00:06:30,889 --> 00:06:33,326 Onita's creation brought about a new level of theatrics 52 00:06:33,370 --> 00:06:36,504 and adrenaline to a sport that seemingly had no bounds, 53 00:06:36,547 --> 00:06:39,115 and from this chaos rose a new and heightened dynamic 54 00:06:39,158 --> 00:06:41,291 for wrestlers to contend with in a quest 55 00:06:41,334 --> 00:06:43,075 to satiate their audiences. 56 00:06:54,522 --> 00:06:56,654 - When I watched Onita as a teenager, 57 00:06:56,698 --> 00:06:59,178 he was more than just a wrestler to me. 58 00:06:59,222 --> 00:07:00,528 When I watched his matches, 59 00:07:00,571 --> 00:07:02,225 I thought I was watching a movie. 60 00:07:02,268 --> 00:07:04,096 To me, he's the greatest storyteller of all time, 61 00:07:04,140 --> 00:07:05,533 him and Terry Funk. 62 00:07:05,576 --> 00:07:07,186 - Do you think, as a genre, it's misunderstood 63 00:07:07,230 --> 00:07:08,710 by people and they don't see the storytelling 64 00:07:08,753 --> 00:07:10,842 that's being given to them? 65 00:07:10,886 --> 00:07:12,061 - All the time. 66 00:07:12,104 --> 00:07:13,584 They just look at it as garbage wrestling. 67 00:07:13,628 --> 00:07:14,629 It's just blood and guts. 68 00:07:14,672 --> 00:07:16,195 There is bad hardcore wrestling, 69 00:07:16,239 --> 00:07:17,545 and there is good hardcore wrestling. 70 00:07:17,588 --> 00:07:18,894 And there's bad hardcore workers, 71 00:07:18,937 --> 00:07:20,635 and there's good hardcore workers. 72 00:07:20,678 --> 00:07:22,811 Masada, Danny Havoc, Onita, Terry Funk, 73 00:07:22,854 --> 00:07:24,334 those are the good ones. 74 00:07:24,377 --> 00:07:25,814 And then there's the bad one that just go in there 75 00:07:25,857 --> 00:07:27,206 and hit each other with no psychology and no story 76 00:07:27,250 --> 00:07:28,947 and no build. 77 00:07:31,472 --> 00:07:35,084 - People think that because you're a deathmatch wrestler, 78 00:07:35,127 --> 00:07:39,044 you're not trained or you don't know how to wrestle. 79 00:07:39,088 --> 00:07:41,003 Like a lot of these guys are legit wrestlers, 80 00:07:41,046 --> 00:07:43,919 they just love deathmatch wrestling. 81 00:07:43,962 --> 00:07:46,269 - So yea, do you consider yourself a deathmatch wrestler, 82 00:07:46,312 --> 00:07:47,575 or are you just a wrestler? 83 00:07:47,618 --> 00:07:48,880 - I'm just a wrestler that does deathmatches. 84 00:07:48,924 --> 00:07:49,446 - Okay. 85 00:07:50,969 --> 00:07:52,841 - We just go in there and tell very violent stories. 86 00:07:52,884 --> 00:07:54,669 A little different from everybody else, 87 00:07:54,712 --> 00:07:57,367 but red equals green at the end of the day. 88 00:07:57,410 --> 00:07:59,456 - Cage of death, Cage of death, 89 00:07:59,500 --> 00:08:02,459 Cage of death, Cage of death. 90 00:08:02,503 --> 00:08:04,592 - What do you think sets apart a deathmatch fan 91 00:08:04,635 --> 00:08:06,594 from just any other fan of wrestling? 92 00:08:06,637 --> 00:08:08,596 - It's the ultimate fuck you. 93 00:08:08,639 --> 00:08:10,946 Fuck you to the establishment. 94 00:08:10,989 --> 00:08:12,948 Fuck you to conventional wrestling 95 00:08:12,991 --> 00:08:15,951 or conventional society. 96 00:08:15,994 --> 00:08:18,388 We've created our own genre. 97 00:08:18,431 --> 00:08:19,955 - So you said we there. 98 00:08:19,998 --> 00:08:22,348 What is the group that you're speaking for when you say we. 99 00:08:22,392 --> 00:08:23,567 - The wrestlers. 100 00:08:23,611 --> 00:08:26,048 It's that connection that I feel with them. 101 00:08:32,184 --> 00:08:35,318 Now I know they're a different breed than I am, 102 00:08:35,361 --> 00:08:37,842 but they kinda look like me. 103 00:08:37,886 --> 00:08:40,584 I can say, hey, maybe I could do it. 104 00:08:46,459 --> 00:08:48,418 - Non-deathmatch wrestlers 105 00:08:48,461 --> 00:08:50,115 rarely decide to do deathmatches. 106 00:08:50,159 --> 00:08:52,509 It's even rarer for a wrestler like Shane Strickland, 107 00:08:52,553 --> 00:08:54,467 one of the biggest talents in indie wrestling, 108 00:08:54,511 --> 00:08:56,818 to get in on the ultraviolence. 109 00:08:59,124 --> 00:09:01,649 I gotta ask you why you're doing this to yourself, Shane. 110 00:09:01,692 --> 00:09:04,129 - Because people don't expect me to. 111 00:09:04,173 --> 00:09:05,130 I want to always show that I can 112 00:09:05,174 --> 00:09:06,523 do a little bit of everything. 113 00:09:06,567 --> 00:09:08,481 This new generation, we've been around the world, 114 00:09:08,525 --> 00:09:11,354 we have experience in all aspects of styles of wrestling. 115 00:09:11,397 --> 00:09:14,879 We are the hybrid, we can do everything. 116 00:09:14,923 --> 00:09:16,359 There's nothing we can't do. 117 00:09:44,082 --> 00:09:45,083 - God! 118 00:09:58,227 --> 00:10:00,229 - Oh shit, oh man. 119 00:10:06,539 --> 00:10:09,020 - Do it, baby, do it. 120 00:10:15,940 --> 00:10:20,205 - Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, 121 00:10:21,293 --> 00:10:24,122 holy shit, holy shit, holy shit. 122 00:10:28,126 --> 00:10:30,694 - Do you think this is gonna hurt Shane's career 123 00:10:30,738 --> 00:10:31,956 by doing this? 124 00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:33,566 Is other companies gonna look down on him? 125 00:10:33,610 --> 00:10:35,090 - I don't think it does. 126 00:10:35,133 --> 00:10:37,919 If anything, it makes him come off as the most-rounded 127 00:10:37,962 --> 00:10:40,922 wrestler on the scene today. 128 00:10:42,097 --> 00:10:43,141 - I'm afraid he's gonna hit. 129 00:10:43,185 --> 00:10:44,447 - That wood? 130 00:10:44,490 --> 00:10:45,491 - Yeah. 131 00:11:04,597 --> 00:11:05,598 - Holy shit! 132 00:11:07,252 --> 00:11:11,604 - C-Z-Dub, C-Z-Dub, C-Z-Dub, C-Z-Dub 133 00:11:11,648 --> 00:11:16,653 C-Z-Dub, C-Z-Dub, C-Z-Dub, C-Z-Dub. 134 00:11:16,914 --> 00:11:19,787 - Yeah, that was unexpected. 135 00:11:19,830 --> 00:11:23,747 - C-Z-Dub, C-Z-Dub. 136 00:12:17,409 --> 00:12:20,325 - There has to be good wrestling at that core. 137 00:12:23,938 --> 00:12:25,591 - Like most things Japanese, the training 138 00:12:25,635 --> 00:12:27,768 for deathmatch wrestlers in Japan requires a 139 00:12:27,811 --> 00:12:30,292 certain refinement and dedication to the form 140 00:12:30,335 --> 00:12:32,337 that you see nowhere else in the world. 141 00:12:35,514 --> 00:12:37,603 - Here at Freedoms, promoter and trainer, 142 00:12:37,647 --> 00:12:39,649 Takashi Sasaki builds these wrestlers 143 00:12:39,692 --> 00:12:41,651 with all the working knowledge and foundation 144 00:12:41,694 --> 00:12:43,609 of a conventional wrestler, 145 00:12:43,653 --> 00:12:47,048 and treats the violent genre with all the seriousness 146 00:12:47,091 --> 00:12:49,093 of a high art form. 147 00:12:51,095 --> 00:12:53,315 Why is it so important to have this foundation 148 00:12:53,358 --> 00:12:55,317 for all your wrestlers in Freedoms? 149 00:13:20,864 --> 00:13:22,605 - That glass is flying dangerously close. 150 00:13:22,648 --> 00:13:23,649 - Very close. 151 00:13:29,177 --> 00:13:33,181 - When do you kinda think deathmatch first came to Japan? 152 00:13:33,224 --> 00:13:35,966 - Wrestling in Japan was always very dependent on America. 153 00:13:36,010 --> 00:13:39,100 Onita was very heavily influenced by what happened 154 00:13:39,143 --> 00:13:40,841 more in the 70s. 155 00:13:43,191 --> 00:13:46,150 Memphis being that innovative, violent territory. 156 00:13:46,194 --> 00:13:50,198 That came into Japan, and they added their own twist on it. 157 00:13:55,594 --> 00:13:58,249 What people think is that pro wrestling started here 158 00:13:58,293 --> 00:14:00,904 and it was exported to America. 159 00:14:00,948 --> 00:14:02,036 It's not the case. 160 00:14:33,197 --> 00:14:35,939 - Violento Jack is a masked deathmatch luchador 161 00:14:35,983 --> 00:14:37,941 from Tabasco, Mexico. 162 00:14:37,985 --> 00:14:40,204 Lucha extrema as it's known in his home country 163 00:14:40,248 --> 00:14:43,164 is a very niche genre within Mexican wrestling. 164 00:14:43,207 --> 00:14:45,166 Jack has traveled all the way to Japan 165 00:14:45,209 --> 00:14:47,690 to live out his ultraviolent dream. 166 00:14:47,733 --> 00:14:49,213 What was it about Japanese deathmatch 167 00:14:49,257 --> 00:14:51,041 that made you want to come here as opposed 168 00:14:51,085 --> 00:14:53,391 to going to America or staying in Mexico? 169 00:15:32,213 --> 00:15:35,390 - It's that fighting spirit, the burning spirit. 170 00:15:46,401 --> 00:15:49,012 - Nobody has felt it more than 43 year old Jun Kasai, 171 00:15:49,056 --> 00:15:54,539 aka Crazy Monkey. 172 00:15:54,583 --> 00:15:57,020 He is a seemingly indestructible machine, 173 00:15:57,064 --> 00:15:58,848 who's transcended the underground to become 174 00:15:58,891 --> 00:16:00,284 a full-blown star in Japan. 175 00:16:27,311 --> 00:16:30,314 - What do you think the fans get out of watching deathmatch? 176 00:17:28,155 --> 00:17:29,156 - Oh my God! 177 00:18:04,408 --> 00:18:05,409 - Oh no! 178 00:18:45,710 --> 00:18:47,016 - Here? 179 00:18:47,059 --> 00:18:49,192 - Okay. 180 00:19:11,214 --> 00:19:13,042 - But this would be something that the audience 181 00:19:13,085 --> 00:19:14,565 would be very familiar with? 182 00:19:40,678 --> 00:19:45,379 - Does it hurt less when you get hurt by a weapon 183 00:19:45,422 --> 00:19:49,513 that you know was made with love by your wife? 184 00:20:01,525 --> 00:20:04,441 - The crowd just goes to, like, next gear 185 00:20:04,485 --> 00:20:06,226 when Jun Kasai comes in the ring. 186 00:20:08,402 --> 00:20:11,492 It's like a board of yakitori skewers. 187 00:21:49,503 --> 00:21:51,331 - Oh my God! 188 00:21:54,638 --> 00:21:57,685 - Do you wish that Jun had followed his passion 189 00:21:57,728 --> 00:21:59,991 into another style of wrestling and maybe 190 00:22:00,035 --> 00:22:02,516 steered away from deathmatch? 191 00:22:56,483 --> 00:22:58,572 - Have you ever thought of what was gonna happen 192 00:22:58,615 --> 00:23:00,051 when one day Jun decides he doesn't want 193 00:23:00,095 --> 00:23:01,488 to wrestle anymore? 194 00:23:12,412 --> 00:23:14,196 - So congratulations on your new little one. 195 00:23:14,239 --> 00:23:16,241 What's her name? 196 00:23:17,808 --> 00:23:20,985 - Do you hope that one day she goes into joshi? 197 00:23:21,856 --> 00:23:22,596 - Mmm. 198 00:24:29,489 --> 00:24:33,188 - Kasai, Kasai, Kasai, 199 00:24:33,971 --> 00:24:35,016 Kasai, Kasai! 200 00:24:45,635 --> 00:24:48,159 Kasai, Kasai, Kasai! 201 00:24:48,203 --> 00:24:50,466 - What do you think every time a wrestler comes up to you 202 00:24:50,510 --> 00:24:51,815 and tells you you inspired them 203 00:24:51,859 --> 00:24:53,382 to get into deathmatch wrestling. 204 00:25:06,656 --> 00:25:09,746 - Kasai, Kasai, Kasai! 205 00:25:13,881 --> 00:25:15,796 - Danny Havoc burst onto the deathmatch scene 206 00:25:15,839 --> 00:25:19,190 at the tender age of 18. Making a name for himself in a series 207 00:25:19,234 --> 00:25:21,236 of increasingly bloody matches. 208 00:25:21,279 --> 00:25:23,499 His dedication to the Japanese Japanese style of deathmatch 209 00:25:23,543 --> 00:25:25,022 combining technical wrestling maneuvers 210 00:25:25,066 --> 00:25:27,547 with ultraviolent weaponry, built him a loyal fanbase 211 00:25:27,590 --> 00:25:30,027 that few wrestlers achieve. 212 00:25:31,551 --> 00:25:34,815 - I remember the exact moment that I felt like 213 00:25:34,858 --> 00:25:36,425 I knew this was what I was gonna do. 214 00:25:36,468 --> 00:25:40,385 I was sitting on my couch in Iowa with my cousin. 215 00:25:40,429 --> 00:25:44,912 We were watching a CZW show called Un-F'n-Believable. 216 00:25:46,261 --> 00:25:50,352 And Jun Kasai was over from Japan and did some really 217 00:25:50,395 --> 00:25:52,615 shocking and horrific things. 218 00:25:52,659 --> 00:25:54,008 - Oh my goodness! 219 00:25:54,051 --> 00:25:55,009 Oh, did you see what happened? 220 00:25:55,052 --> 00:25:56,924 - I said, this is not in Japan, 221 00:25:56,967 --> 00:25:58,403 this is not across the world. 222 00:25:58,447 --> 00:26:02,190 This is happening in my country, 20-some hours away. 223 00:26:02,233 --> 00:26:05,193 I could conceivably graduate and go do this, 224 00:26:05,236 --> 00:26:07,369 that's what I want. 225 00:26:07,412 --> 00:26:09,371 And from that point on, 226 00:26:09,414 --> 00:26:14,942 I pursued that goal single-mindedly. 227 00:26:14,985 --> 00:26:18,467 The first match I had, the ring was just littered 228 00:26:18,510 --> 00:26:21,383 with little pieces of broken glass. 229 00:26:21,426 --> 00:26:25,082 The level of blood loss and the amount of cuts, 230 00:26:25,126 --> 00:26:26,693 it was a bit of a shock. 231 00:26:26,736 --> 00:26:30,218 I remember my ex saying that she could smell the iron 232 00:26:30,261 --> 00:26:33,743 of the blood before I unlocked the door 233 00:26:33,787 --> 00:26:35,049 and came into her apartment. 234 00:26:42,360 --> 00:26:45,799 I suppose an argument could be made that the people 235 00:26:45,842 --> 00:26:49,280 who are fans of this are sadistic in some way. 236 00:26:49,324 --> 00:26:53,633 I've never felt like the people who come up to the table 237 00:26:53,676 --> 00:26:55,939 and wanna buy a t-shirt or wanna chat and take a picture 238 00:26:55,983 --> 00:26:57,854 were there to see me get hurt. 239 00:26:59,334 --> 00:27:00,727 - Thank you, thank you for everything you've done. 240 00:27:00,770 --> 00:27:01,945 - Appreciate it. 241 00:27:01,989 --> 00:27:03,904 Overcoming the odds and the risk, 242 00:27:03,947 --> 00:27:07,472 I think that's where the appeal lies for most of the fans. 243 00:27:10,084 --> 00:27:11,259 - Appreciate it man. Thank you. 244 00:27:12,652 --> 00:27:14,131 - What was it about this violence that you think 245 00:27:14,175 --> 00:27:15,698 you found so appealing? 246 00:27:15,742 --> 00:27:18,614 - Well, it's kinda personal. 247 00:27:18,658 --> 00:27:23,010 Like I was in my mid-20s and I was going through, 248 00:27:23,053 --> 00:27:25,012 just a different time in my life. 249 00:27:25,055 --> 00:27:30,147 Actually, I had to stop cold turkey drugs and alcohol, 250 00:27:30,191 --> 00:27:32,715 and like, that wasn't the easiest thing, 251 00:27:32,759 --> 00:27:36,458 and that early sobriety, I was a pretty angry person, 252 00:27:36,501 --> 00:27:41,419 and this just gave me an outlet. 253 00:27:41,463 --> 00:27:44,901 I think violence, in and of itself, is not a bad thing. 254 00:27:44,945 --> 00:27:47,469 You know, random violence is not welcome, 255 00:27:47,512 --> 00:27:49,732 but when it's between consenting adults, 256 00:27:49,776 --> 00:27:52,735 it's okay, because you look at mixed martial arts, 257 00:27:52,779 --> 00:27:56,086 you look at any kind of sports, it's watered-down war, 258 00:27:56,130 --> 00:28:00,961 so we have outlets to fulfill that thing that's inside us, 259 00:28:01,004 --> 00:28:06,009 and I was at a point where I wasn't afraid to suppress it. 260 00:28:06,793 --> 00:28:09,534 I cultivated it. 261 00:28:12,276 --> 00:28:18,805 - 95 to 98% of the people avidly following it 262 00:28:18,848 --> 00:28:21,677 are working-class, blue collar, hardworking people 263 00:28:21,721 --> 00:28:23,374 who need to let off a little steam 264 00:28:23,418 --> 00:28:24,854 at the end of a hard week. 265 00:28:33,558 --> 00:28:35,038 - What do you think the audience is getting 266 00:28:35,082 --> 00:28:37,693 out of the violence when they come to a show like this? 267 00:28:37,737 --> 00:28:39,608 - I can only speak from my own experience, 268 00:28:39,651 --> 00:28:41,175 like, do you ever watch Jackass? 269 00:28:41,218 --> 00:28:42,698 - Mm-hm. 270 00:28:42,742 --> 00:28:44,613 - The balls that people have got to do this shit, 271 00:28:44,656 --> 00:28:47,616 the mentality behind why we do it, 272 00:28:47,659 --> 00:28:49,487 and I think just the absolute spectacle of everything, 273 00:28:49,531 --> 00:28:53,927 and the shock value, it's a live-action stunt show, 274 00:28:53,970 --> 00:28:56,190 and I think that is, 275 00:28:56,233 --> 00:28:58,583 and I don't think, I hope no wants to see anyone 276 00:28:58,627 --> 00:29:00,411 actually get physically and properly hurt. 277 00:29:00,455 --> 00:29:03,066 You wanna see people do this and get up and walk again 278 00:29:03,110 --> 00:29:04,415 and go okay, cool. 279 00:29:04,459 --> 00:29:06,287 The stunt has gone well. 280 00:29:20,475 --> 00:29:22,477 - What the fuck are they doing? 281 00:29:30,877 --> 00:29:32,835 Oh my God! 282 00:29:34,010 --> 00:29:35,229 - Wow! 283 00:29:35,272 --> 00:29:37,274 - Holy Shit! 284 00:30:09,089 --> 00:30:11,091 Oh my God! 285 00:30:35,376 --> 00:30:37,900 - When you're watching a deathmatch, what's the most 286 00:30:37,944 --> 00:30:40,468 exciting weapon for you to see them bring out? 287 00:31:10,106 --> 00:31:12,065 - Is there ever a point where you've thought, 288 00:31:12,108 --> 00:31:14,894 this is going too far or this has gone too far 289 00:31:14,937 --> 00:31:16,373 in terms of the violence? 290 00:31:52,496 --> 00:31:54,672 - You were thinking about dying in the ring? 291 00:32:27,662 --> 00:32:29,969 - After 13 years of constant physical abuse, 292 00:32:30,012 --> 00:32:32,928 Danny has decided to exit the ring at the age of 31. 293 00:32:33,450 --> 00:32:36,627 He's invited us to witness his Viking funeral, 294 00:32:36,671 --> 00:32:39,021 one final match at CZW headquarters 295 00:32:39,065 --> 00:32:41,371 against long time rival, Alex Colon. 296 00:32:42,633 --> 00:32:44,244 - So, do we wanna do the Spanish Fly before that? 297 00:32:44,287 --> 00:32:45,245 - No. 298 00:32:45,288 --> 00:32:46,637 That's the end. 299 00:32:46,681 --> 00:32:47,899 Do they have the big ladder, or are they over here 300 00:32:47,943 --> 00:32:50,119 finagling with little kiddie ladders? 301 00:32:50,163 --> 00:32:51,642 - I think they have a big ladder, 302 00:32:51,686 --> 00:32:53,993 but I think the match before us is a ladder match, so. 303 00:32:54,036 --> 00:32:55,342 - I don't care. 304 00:32:55,385 --> 00:32:56,647 - Well I'm saying, if that gets damaged, 305 00:32:56,691 --> 00:32:57,953 there goes our plan. 306 00:33:02,088 --> 00:33:03,045 - This has been christened 307 00:33:03,089 --> 00:33:04,264 the Viking funeral match. 308 00:33:04,307 --> 00:33:05,743 - Whatever that is. 309 00:33:05,787 --> 00:33:07,832 - Whatever that is, but- Well, tell me what that is, 310 00:33:07,876 --> 00:33:09,225 what is this match to you? 311 00:33:09,269 --> 00:33:12,011 - Honestly, I think it's the most important match 312 00:33:12,054 --> 00:33:13,012 of my wrestling career. 313 00:33:13,055 --> 00:33:15,057 Like, this is not just for me, 314 00:33:15,101 --> 00:33:17,581 this is for someone who I find to be like a real good friend 315 00:33:17,625 --> 00:33:19,670 of mine, who's really stuck his neck out for me 316 00:33:19,714 --> 00:33:21,585 and stuck up for me in good times and bad times, 317 00:33:21,629 --> 00:33:25,546 and he's probably the real reason why I'm still 318 00:33:25,589 --> 00:33:29,463 honestly part of this company, so this means as much to me 319 00:33:29,506 --> 00:33:31,378 as it does to him. 320 00:33:31,421 --> 00:33:33,902 - Alex is unbelievably talented 321 00:33:33,945 --> 00:33:38,559 and we are by and large very close and that allows us 322 00:33:38,602 --> 00:33:42,737 to trust each other enough to do fairly horrible things. 323 00:33:42,780 --> 00:33:45,044 - What we do, at least from a deathmatch perspective 324 00:33:45,087 --> 00:33:46,697 is very taboo. 325 00:33:46,741 --> 00:33:48,699 Like a lot of professional wrestlers look down 326 00:33:48,743 --> 00:33:51,137 upon people who do this stuff 'cause they feel like 327 00:33:51,180 --> 00:33:54,314 it's unnecessary, it's way past being violent, 328 00:33:54,357 --> 00:33:56,011 it's not for normal society. 329 00:33:56,055 --> 00:33:58,144 - To the uninitiated, deathmatch can come across 330 00:33:58,187 --> 00:34:01,843 as pure chaos, but there's a deep psychological element 331 00:34:01,886 --> 00:34:04,106 to the choice of weapons and the violence 332 00:34:04,150 --> 00:34:05,934 that plays out in the ring. 333 00:34:05,977 --> 00:34:07,762 - It's not that we're just stringing some barbed wire 334 00:34:07,805 --> 00:34:10,939 together on some things and throwing guys in things 335 00:34:10,982 --> 00:34:12,462 and breaking tables. 336 00:34:12,506 --> 00:34:14,290 There's an art form behind it. 337 00:34:14,334 --> 00:34:18,251 There's a direct mentality of how he's trying 338 00:34:18,294 --> 00:34:20,296 to accomplish his vision. 339 00:34:20,340 --> 00:34:22,951 When challenges arise, it really hurts his vision. 340 00:34:22,994 --> 00:34:25,171 Like, we had the challenge with the glass today. 341 00:34:25,214 --> 00:34:27,129 They're still short a pane of glass 342 00:34:27,173 --> 00:34:28,870 of what they originally planned, 343 00:34:28,913 --> 00:34:30,698 and that has to adjust his vision. 344 00:34:30,741 --> 00:34:32,003 If you look at the drawings 345 00:34:32,047 --> 00:34:33,918 and how he draws things up, it's specified. 346 00:34:33,962 --> 00:34:36,269 - Glass, glass, glass, glass. 347 00:34:36,312 --> 00:34:40,403 45 to 50% of the weapons that I constructed in some way 348 00:34:40,447 --> 00:34:43,014 involve panes of glass. 349 00:34:43,058 --> 00:34:46,148 The powers that be is how we shall refer to DJ, 350 00:34:46,192 --> 00:34:49,456 he waited until like a few days ago to order the glass, 351 00:34:49,499 --> 00:34:52,372 so I'm already stressed, already trying to mentally 352 00:34:52,415 --> 00:34:57,159 prepare myself for this big match that has a lot riding 353 00:34:57,203 --> 00:35:00,031 on it for me personally, and I get a call like, 354 00:35:00,075 --> 00:35:03,426 four hours ago, all the glass is gone now. 355 00:35:09,954 --> 00:35:12,827 Our main man, the guy who puts together all these 356 00:35:12,870 --> 00:35:15,003 tremendous contraptions, he is currently 357 00:35:15,046 --> 00:35:19,312 at his own house disassembling a storm door 358 00:35:19,355 --> 00:35:23,011 that separates his kitchen from the foyer. 359 00:35:23,054 --> 00:35:24,012 - Got it? 360 00:35:24,055 --> 00:35:25,056 - Yep. 361 00:35:31,585 --> 00:35:34,544 - Ooh, now, is it, do we feel it's the right kind of glass? 362 00:35:35,850 --> 00:35:37,547 - God bless America. 363 00:35:38,940 --> 00:35:40,202 - Hopefully I get a raise out of this. 364 00:35:40,246 --> 00:35:41,682 - Yeah. 365 00:35:41,725 --> 00:35:44,902 Well at the very least, you can get DJ to buy you 366 00:35:44,946 --> 00:35:46,121 a new storm door. 367 00:35:49,298 --> 00:35:50,952 - Oh whoa. 368 00:35:50,995 --> 00:35:53,737 - I don't like the glass on the metal. 369 00:36:12,974 --> 00:36:14,758 - Anybody else breaks this glass but you, 370 00:36:14,802 --> 00:36:16,238 I'm gonna fucking kill 'em. 371 00:36:22,070 --> 00:36:23,724 - Why is this the last match? 372 00:36:23,767 --> 00:36:25,552 Why is it important for you to end it tonight? 373 00:36:25,595 --> 00:36:29,556 - I see the writing on the wall that the physical damage 374 00:36:29,599 --> 00:36:32,254 I have done, it's catching up with me. 375 00:36:34,430 --> 00:36:37,433 I have a degenerative spinal condition 376 00:36:37,477 --> 00:36:39,740 brought on 100% by wrestling. 377 00:36:39,783 --> 00:36:42,917 It's not yet at the point where I'm physically stooped over, 378 00:36:42,960 --> 00:36:45,963 but it is worsening and it is exacerbated 379 00:36:46,007 --> 00:36:48,923 with each of these crazy dangerous stunts 380 00:36:48,966 --> 00:36:50,316 that I put myself through. 381 00:36:51,447 --> 00:36:53,275 - What do you wanna see happen tonight? 382 00:36:53,319 --> 00:36:56,060 What do you hope the fans watching walk away with? 383 00:36:56,104 --> 00:36:58,889 What do you hope their take away is tonight? 384 00:36:58,933 --> 00:37:00,587 - I want people to remember it. 385 00:37:03,154 --> 00:37:04,460 Matches come and go. 386 00:37:04,504 --> 00:37:06,767 With this, I just want this to be a memory. 387 00:37:06,810 --> 00:37:08,812 I want this to be a memory at least for somebody 388 00:37:08,856 --> 00:37:10,118 in the crowd. 389 00:37:10,161 --> 00:37:11,728 I want somebody to see me one day and be like, 390 00:37:11,772 --> 00:37:14,122 "Hey, I remember that match you had with Danny Havoc 391 00:37:14,165 --> 00:37:16,690 and it stuck in my mind for a very long time." 392 00:37:16,733 --> 00:37:18,648 I just want it to mean something to somebody. 393 00:37:20,433 --> 00:37:23,784 - When I watch myself back, I watch my recent performances. 394 00:37:23,827 --> 00:37:26,743 I see the things that I can't physically do 395 00:37:26,787 --> 00:37:28,441 as well I used to. 396 00:37:28,484 --> 00:37:31,052 I don't think that I can do it month in, month out 397 00:37:31,095 --> 00:37:33,489 routinely up to the standards that I want 398 00:37:33,533 --> 00:37:36,405 to hold myself to, so I would rather get out 399 00:37:36,449 --> 00:37:40,844 before I start to regret sticking around. 400 00:37:41,932 --> 00:37:43,151 - For guys that are new here and guys 401 00:37:43,194 --> 00:37:44,326 that haven't been here long, 402 00:37:44,370 --> 00:37:45,327 if you don't know who Danny Havoc is, 403 00:37:45,371 --> 00:37:47,024 Danny Havoc is fucking CZW. 404 00:37:47,068 --> 00:37:49,723 There would never be a CZW if it wasn't for Danny Havoc. 405 00:37:49,766 --> 00:37:51,855 Danny Havoc is a guy that should be 406 00:37:51,899 --> 00:37:53,857 one of the biggest stars in the world right now. 407 00:37:53,901 --> 00:37:55,859 - So the boys chipped in. 408 00:37:55,903 --> 00:37:56,860 We hear you like booze. 409 00:37:58,384 --> 00:38:00,690 There's some pictures in here to celebrate your career 410 00:38:00,734 --> 00:38:04,390 as well as some money for your marriage upcoming. 411 00:38:04,433 --> 00:38:05,913 - Thank you. 412 00:38:05,956 --> 00:38:07,610 - And over 50 cards from fans, the boys, promoters, man. 413 00:38:07,654 --> 00:38:09,699 So we love you and don't forget. 414 00:38:11,919 --> 00:38:13,355 - Thank you guys, thank you very much. 415 00:38:13,399 --> 00:38:15,401 That's really sweet, thank you. 416 00:38:16,445 --> 00:38:17,185 - Alright, let's get to work. 417 00:38:17,228 --> 00:38:19,274 Let's get to work. 418 00:38:30,416 --> 00:38:31,417 - Okay guys, standing room only. 419 00:38:31,460 --> 00:38:32,679 I got two tickets left. 420 00:38:38,206 --> 00:38:40,904 - What role do you think the work that you did, 421 00:38:40,948 --> 00:38:44,865 the wrestling, the deathmatches, play in these people's lives? 422 00:38:44,908 --> 00:38:46,257 - I've met most of these people. 423 00:38:46,301 --> 00:38:47,998 I've chatted with them in the parking lot. 424 00:38:48,042 --> 00:38:51,306 They've gotten to watch me essentially grow up. 425 00:38:51,350 --> 00:38:53,134 I was 18 when I started this. 426 00:38:53,177 --> 00:38:56,224 If these people are long time CZW fans 427 00:38:56,267 --> 00:38:59,053 they've watched a coming of age tale 428 00:38:59,096 --> 00:39:01,403 through barbed wire and light tubes. 429 00:39:01,447 --> 00:39:04,537 Over the last 12 and a half years, you know. 430 00:39:13,633 --> 00:39:16,287 Does two more set up enough? 431 00:39:16,331 --> 00:39:17,376 - Yeah. 432 00:39:18,812 --> 00:39:20,553 - Call it a couple more times before we go out. 433 00:39:40,355 --> 00:39:43,010 At a certain age, most young men are invariably drawn 434 00:39:43,053 --> 00:39:45,578 to things that they would term, badass. 435 00:39:48,798 --> 00:39:52,454 I wanted to be badass desperately, 436 00:39:52,498 --> 00:39:55,196 and I felt that deathmatch wrestling was very badass. 437 00:39:59,243 --> 00:40:01,724 I've always termed myself durable. 438 00:40:01,768 --> 00:40:04,292 Most people haven't been flung into barbed wired. 439 00:40:04,335 --> 00:40:07,600 Most people probably haven't had a fluorescent ceiling light 440 00:40:07,643 --> 00:40:09,645 smashed over their dome. 441 00:40:10,864 --> 00:40:15,477 ♪ Felt drunk, a loaded gun, swing it up high ♪ 442 00:40:15,521 --> 00:40:20,656 ♪ I ripped it out of your hand ♪ 443 00:40:20,700 --> 00:40:25,705 ♪ We can both climb high, or fry dead in the sand ♪ 444 00:40:29,796 --> 00:40:33,452 ♪ We've all been waiting to find what we need ♪ 445 00:40:35,062 --> 00:40:40,023 ♪ We've been waiting to find 446 00:40:40,067 --> 00:40:42,199 ♪ Our situations all align 447 00:40:44,767 --> 00:40:49,772 ♪ Our situations all align 448 00:40:50,599 --> 00:40:52,166 ♪ Yeah 449 00:40:52,209 --> 00:40:53,210 - Oh shit! 450 00:41:00,479 --> 00:41:04,091 - C-Z-Dub, C-Z-Dub, C-Z-Dub, C-Z-Dub 451 00:41:05,745 --> 00:41:08,748 C-Z-Dub, C-Z-Dub. 452 00:41:10,532 --> 00:41:13,883 ♪ We've all been waiting 453 00:41:13,927 --> 00:41:18,932 ♪ To find 454 00:41:19,846 --> 00:41:23,414 ♪ We've all been waiting 455 00:41:23,458 --> 00:41:25,721 ♪ To find 456 00:41:31,118 --> 00:41:32,423 - There it is. 457 00:41:32,467 --> 00:41:34,948 The oh shit sandwich. 458 00:41:34,991 --> 00:41:38,299 It looks strikingly like Danny's diagram of it. 459 00:41:49,136 --> 00:41:50,746 Oh shit! 460 00:42:01,191 --> 00:42:03,629 That was awesome! 461 00:42:03,672 --> 00:42:06,545 Danny Havoc! 462 00:42:12,681 --> 00:42:15,423 - Alex, Alex, Alex, Alex. 463 00:42:19,079 --> 00:42:20,950 - And god damn it, I'm an unathletic kid 464 00:42:20,994 --> 00:42:23,126 from the middle of Iowa, 465 00:42:23,170 --> 00:42:24,606 and the fact that I got to be out here 466 00:42:24,650 --> 00:42:27,391 and entertain all you people for almost 13 years 467 00:42:27,435 --> 00:42:30,307 makes me as happy as I can possibly be. 468 00:42:30,351 --> 00:42:35,095 Alex, thank you for the crazy ass series of matches 469 00:42:35,138 --> 00:42:36,923 that we put on over the last few years. 470 00:42:36,966 --> 00:42:38,925 I'm very proud of everything we've done 471 00:42:38,968 --> 00:42:40,187 in the ring together. 472 00:42:44,278 --> 00:42:45,671 Goodnight! 473 00:42:49,588 --> 00:42:53,592 - Ladies and gentlemen, Danny Havoc. 474 00:42:55,071 --> 00:42:57,900 - Was it what you hoped it would be? 475 00:42:57,944 --> 00:43:01,948 Was it what you thought of when you were planning it out? 476 00:43:01,991 --> 00:43:03,210 - Yes. 477 00:43:03,253 --> 00:43:06,692 I enjoy violence and that's probably 478 00:43:06,735 --> 00:43:09,259 not a normal thing to say, but I do. 479 00:43:09,303 --> 00:43:12,872 Pro wrestling enables you to get that out. 480 00:43:12,915 --> 00:43:15,788 You're exorcizing some demons and then you go back, 481 00:43:15,831 --> 00:43:18,051 you give them a big hug, and you say, that was awesome, 482 00:43:18,094 --> 00:43:19,356 we killed it. 483 00:43:19,400 --> 00:43:21,881 It's a feel good way to do something violent 484 00:43:21,924 --> 00:43:24,405 and otherwise potentially very negative. 485 00:43:29,976 --> 00:43:32,413 Kasai! Kasai! Kasai! 486 00:43:32,456 --> 00:43:35,024 Thank you Havoc! 487 00:43:35,068 --> 00:43:38,375 Kasai! Kasai! Kasai! 488 00:43:38,419 --> 00:43:40,943 Thank you Havoc! 489 00:43:40,987 --> 00:43:43,729 Kasai! Kasai! Kasai! 490 00:43:43,772 --> 00:43:46,427 Thank you Havoc!