1 00:00:09,400 --> 00:00:10,400 - Yeah! 2 00:00:21,586 --> 00:00:22,806 - You want violence? 3 00:00:24,415 --> 00:00:26,065 You want it? I don't hear you? 4 00:00:42,955 --> 00:00:43,905 - Pencils? 5 00:00:43,956 --> 00:00:45,516 Syringes. 6 00:00:49,919 --> 00:00:53,439 - Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, 7 00:00:54,358 --> 00:00:56,058 holy shit, holy shit. 8 00:01:07,458 --> 00:01:11,418 Please don't die, please don't die, please don't die. 9 00:01:11,462 --> 00:01:14,122 - Fuck you! 10 00:01:16,163 --> 00:01:21,123 - C-Z-Dub, C-Z-Dub, C-Z-Dub, C-Z-Dub, C-Z-Dub, 11 00:01:21,864 --> 00:01:24,524 C-Z-Dub, C-Z-Dub. 12 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:30,440 - Within the universe of professional wrestling, 13 00:01:30,481 --> 00:01:33,531 deathmatch is the often maligned stepchild, 14 00:01:33,571 --> 00:01:36,751 criticized for being a vulgar and unnecessary preoccupation 15 00:01:36,792 --> 00:01:38,532 for sick fans and untalented wrestlers. 16 00:01:38,576 --> 00:01:41,616 It rarely breaks out of the underground. 17 00:01:41,666 --> 00:01:43,966 Yet deathmatch has endured for decades. 18 00:01:44,016 --> 00:01:46,056 I'm curious to learn why wrestlers continue 19 00:01:46,106 --> 00:01:49,366 to evolve this style far from the spectacle and fame 20 00:01:49,413 --> 00:01:52,683 of the main stage. 21 00:01:52,721 --> 00:01:55,461 The origin of deathmatch wrestling lies in the hardcore 22 00:01:55,506 --> 00:01:57,636 brawling style of Terry Funk. 23 00:01:57,682 --> 00:02:01,162 His matches utilze chairs, baseball bats, and bloody faces 24 00:02:01,208 --> 00:02:04,078 positioning it squarely at oddds with the cartoonish spandex 25 00:02:04,124 --> 00:02:07,174 world coporate wrestling was promoting. 26 00:02:07,214 --> 00:02:09,434 This new level of spectacle had a major impact on the young and 27 00:02:09,477 --> 00:02:11,387 impressionable wrestler from Japan. 28 00:02:11,435 --> 00:02:15,525 Atsushi Onita is a legendary deathmatch wrestler. 29 00:02:15,570 --> 00:02:18,230 Credited for inventing and bringing deathmatch wrestling 30 00:02:18,268 --> 00:02:20,918 to Japan, with the help of the genre's godfather, 31 00:02:20,966 --> 00:02:22,396 Terry Funk. 32 00:02:41,204 --> 00:02:42,164 The god himself. 33 00:02:58,439 --> 00:02:59,789 The bat of Onita. 34 00:02:59,831 --> 00:03:03,361 This is like wrestling history in my hands right now, 35 00:03:04,271 --> 00:03:05,841 and I would like to buy it, sir. 36 00:03:08,579 --> 00:03:10,929 How can you put a price on a piece 37 00:03:10,973 --> 00:03:13,983 of deathmatch wrestling history? 38 00:03:15,238 --> 00:03:16,628 That's exactly what I'm gonna say to my wife 39 00:03:16,674 --> 00:03:18,334 when she says, how could spend that much money 40 00:03:18,372 --> 00:03:20,902 on a used, blood-covered baseball bat? 41 00:03:23,681 --> 00:03:24,811 I'm sorry, Lauren. 42 00:03:29,861 --> 00:03:32,521 I was wondering if you could do me a favour, 43 00:03:32,560 --> 00:03:37,570 and autograph this piece of wrestling history? 44 00:03:43,223 --> 00:03:44,703 Onita took what Terry Funk had pioneered 45 00:03:44,746 --> 00:03:47,486 in the United States and evolved hardcore wrestling 46 00:03:47,531 --> 00:03:49,051 into the theatrical bloodbath 47 00:03:49,098 --> 00:03:51,578 that is today's deathmatch wrestling. 48 00:05:38,773 --> 00:05:41,123 - Prior to what you saw in Memphis, there was no blood 49 00:05:41,166 --> 00:05:43,296 in Japanese wrestling at that time, right? 50 00:06:23,078 --> 00:06:25,248 - Absolutely, punk rock for life. 51 00:06:30,868 --> 00:06:33,308 Onita's creation brought about a new level of theatrics 52 00:06:33,349 --> 00:06:36,479 and adrenaline to a sport that seemingly had no bounds, 53 00:06:36,526 --> 00:06:39,086 and from this chaos rose a new and heightened dynamic 54 00:06:39,137 --> 00:06:41,267 for wrestlers to contend with in a quest 55 00:06:41,313 --> 00:06:43,053 to satiate their audiences. 56 00:06:54,501 --> 00:06:56,631 - When I watched Onita as a teenager, 57 00:06:56,677 --> 00:06:59,157 he was more than just a wrestler to me. 58 00:06:59,201 --> 00:07:00,511 When I watched his matches, 59 00:07:00,550 --> 00:07:02,200 I thought I was watching a movie. 60 00:07:02,247 --> 00:07:04,077 To me, he's the greatest storyteller of all time, 61 00:07:04,119 --> 00:07:05,509 him and Terry Funk. 62 00:07:05,555 --> 00:07:07,165 - Do you think, as a genre, it's misunderstood 63 00:07:07,209 --> 00:07:08,689 by people and they don't see the storytelling 64 00:07:08,732 --> 00:07:10,822 that's being given to them? 65 00:07:10,865 --> 00:07:12,035 - All the time. 66 00:07:12,083 --> 00:07:13,563 They just look at it as garbage wrestling. 67 00:07:13,607 --> 00:07:14,607 It's just blood and guts. 68 00:07:14,651 --> 00:07:16,171 There is bad hardcore wrestling, 69 00:07:16,218 --> 00:07:17,518 and there is good hardcore wrestling. 70 00:07:17,567 --> 00:07:18,867 And there's bad hardcore workers, 71 00:07:18,916 --> 00:07:20,606 and there's good hardcore workers. 72 00:07:20,657 --> 00:07:22,787 Masada, Danny Havoc, Onita, Terry Funk, 73 00:07:22,833 --> 00:07:24,313 those are the good ones. 74 00:07:24,356 --> 00:07:25,786 And then there's the bad one that just go in there 75 00:07:25,836 --> 00:07:27,186 and hit each other with no psychology and no story 76 00:07:27,229 --> 00:07:28,929 and no build. 77 00:07:31,451 --> 00:07:35,061 - People think that because you're a deathmatch wrestler, 78 00:07:35,106 --> 00:07:39,016 you're not trained or you don't know how to wrestle. 79 00:07:39,067 --> 00:07:40,977 Like a lot of these guys are legit wrestlers, 80 00:07:41,025 --> 00:07:43,895 they just love deathmatch wrestling. 81 00:07:43,941 --> 00:07:46,251 - So yea, do you consider yourself a deathmatch wrestler, 82 00:07:46,291 --> 00:07:47,551 or are you just a wrestler? 83 00:07:47,597 --> 00:07:48,857 - I'm just a wrestler that does deathmatches. 84 00:07:48,903 --> 00:07:49,433 - Okay. 85 00:07:50,948 --> 00:07:52,818 - We just go in there and tell very violent stories. 86 00:07:52,863 --> 00:07:54,653 A little different from everybody else, 87 00:07:54,691 --> 00:07:57,351 but red equals green at the end of the day. 88 00:07:57,389 --> 00:07:59,439 - Cage of death, Cage of death, 89 00:07:59,479 --> 00:08:02,439 Cage of death, Cage of death. 90 00:08:02,482 --> 00:08:04,572 - What do you think sets apart a deathmatch fan 91 00:08:04,614 --> 00:08:06,574 from just any other fan of wrestling? 92 00:08:06,616 --> 00:08:08,576 - It's the ultimate fuck you. 93 00:08:08,618 --> 00:08:10,928 Fuck you to the establishment. 94 00:08:10,968 --> 00:08:12,928 Fuck you to conventional wrestling 95 00:08:12,970 --> 00:08:15,930 or conventional society. 96 00:08:15,973 --> 00:08:18,373 We've created our own genre. 97 00:08:18,410 --> 00:08:19,930 - So you said we there. 98 00:08:19,977 --> 00:08:22,327 What is the group that you're speaking for when you say we. 99 00:08:22,371 --> 00:08:23,551 - The wrestlers. 100 00:08:23,590 --> 00:08:26,030 It's that connection that I feel with them. 101 00:08:32,163 --> 00:08:35,303 Now I know they're a different breed than I am, 102 00:08:35,340 --> 00:08:37,820 but they kinda look like me. 103 00:08:37,865 --> 00:08:40,555 I can say, hey, maybe I could do it. 104 00:08:46,438 --> 00:08:48,398 - Non-deathmatch wrestlers 105 00:08:48,440 --> 00:08:50,090 rarely decide to do deathmatches. 106 00:08:50,138 --> 00:08:52,488 It's even rarer for a wrestler like Shane Strickland, 107 00:08:52,532 --> 00:08:54,452 one of the biggest talents in indie wrestling, 108 00:08:54,490 --> 00:08:56,800 to get in on the ultraviolence. 109 00:08:59,103 --> 00:09:01,633 I gotta ask you why you're doing this to yourself, Shane. 110 00:09:01,671 --> 00:09:04,111 - Because people don't expect me to. 111 00:09:04,152 --> 00:09:05,112 I want to always show that I can 112 00:09:05,153 --> 00:09:06,503 do a little bit of everything. 113 00:09:06,546 --> 00:09:08,456 This new generation, we've been around the world, 114 00:09:08,504 --> 00:09:11,334 we have experience in all aspects of styles of wrestling. 115 00:09:11,376 --> 00:09:14,856 We are the hybrid, we can do everything. 116 00:09:14,902 --> 00:09:16,342 There's nothing we can't do. 117 00:09:44,061 --> 00:09:45,061 - God! 118 00:09:58,206 --> 00:10:00,206 - Oh shit, oh man. 119 00:10:06,518 --> 00:10:08,998 - Do it, baby, do it. 120 00:10:15,919 --> 00:10:20,179 - Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, 121 00:10:21,272 --> 00:10:24,102 holy shit, holy shit, holy shit. 122 00:10:28,105 --> 00:10:30,665 - Do you think this is gonna hurt Shane's career 123 00:10:30,717 --> 00:10:31,937 by doing this? 124 00:10:31,979 --> 00:10:33,549 Is other companies gonna look down on him? 125 00:10:33,589 --> 00:10:35,069 - I don't think it does. 126 00:10:35,112 --> 00:10:37,902 If anything, it makes him come off as the most-rounded 127 00:10:37,941 --> 00:10:40,901 wrestler on the scene today. 128 00:10:42,076 --> 00:10:43,116 - I'm afraid he's gonna hit. 129 00:10:43,164 --> 00:10:44,434 - That wood? 130 00:10:44,469 --> 00:10:45,469 - Yeah. 131 00:11:04,576 --> 00:11:05,576 - Holy shit! 132 00:11:07,231 --> 00:11:11,581 - C-Z-Dub, C-Z-Dub, C-Z-Dub, C-Z-Dub 133 00:11:11,627 --> 00:11:16,627 C-Z-Dub, C-Z-Dub, C-Z-Dub, C-Z-Dub. 134 00:11:16,893 --> 00:11:19,773 - Yeah, that was unexpected. 135 00:11:19,809 --> 00:11:23,729 - C-Z-Dub, C-Z-Dub. 136 00:12:17,388 --> 00:12:20,298 - There has to be good wrestling at that core. 137 00:12:23,917 --> 00:12:25,567 - Like most things Japanese, the training 138 00:12:25,614 --> 00:12:27,754 for deathmatch wrestlers in Japan requires a 139 00:12:27,790 --> 00:12:30,270 certain refinement and dedication to the form 140 00:12:30,314 --> 00:12:32,324 that you see nowhere else in the world. 141 00:12:35,493 --> 00:12:37,583 - Here at Freedoms, promoter and trainer, 142 00:12:37,626 --> 00:12:39,626 Takashi Sasaki builds these wrestlers 143 00:12:39,671 --> 00:12:41,631 with all the working knowledge and foundation 144 00:12:41,673 --> 00:12:43,593 of a conventional wrestler, 145 00:12:43,632 --> 00:12:47,032 and treats the violent genre with all the seriousness 146 00:12:47,070 --> 00:12:49,070 of a high art form. 147 00:12:51,074 --> 00:12:53,294 Why is it so important to have this foundation 148 00:12:53,337 --> 00:12:55,297 for all your wrestlers in Freedoms? 149 00:13:20,843 --> 00:13:22,583 - That glass is flying dangerously close. 150 00:13:22,627 --> 00:13:23,627 - Very close. 151 00:13:29,156 --> 00:13:33,156 - When do you kinda think deathmatch first came to Japan? 152 00:13:33,203 --> 00:13:35,953 - Wrestling in Japan was always very dependent on America. 153 00:13:35,989 --> 00:13:39,079 Onita was very heavily influenced by what happened 154 00:13:39,122 --> 00:13:40,822 more in the 70s. 155 00:13:43,170 --> 00:13:46,130 Memphis being that innovative, violent territory. 156 00:13:46,173 --> 00:13:50,183 That came into Japan, and they added their own twist on it. 157 00:13:55,573 --> 00:13:58,233 What people think is that pro wrestling started here 158 00:13:58,272 --> 00:14:00,882 and it was exported to America. 159 00:14:00,927 --> 00:14:02,017 It's not the case. 160 00:14:33,176 --> 00:14:35,916 - Violento Jack is a masked deathmatch luchador 161 00:14:35,962 --> 00:14:37,922 from Tabasco, Mexico. 162 00:14:37,964 --> 00:14:40,184 Lucha extrema as it's known in his home country 163 00:14:40,227 --> 00:14:43,137 is a very niche genre within Mexican wrestling. 164 00:14:43,186 --> 00:14:45,146 Jack has traveled all the way to Japan 165 00:14:45,188 --> 00:14:47,668 to live out his ultraviolent dream. 166 00:14:47,712 --> 00:14:49,192 What was it about Japanese deathmatch 167 00:14:49,236 --> 00:14:51,016 that made you want to come here as opposed 168 00:14:51,064 --> 00:14:53,374 to going to America or staying in Mexico? 169 00:15:32,192 --> 00:15:35,372 - It's that fighting spirit, the burning spirit. 170 00:15:46,380 --> 00:15:48,990 - Nobody has felt it more than 43 year old Jun Kasai, 171 00:15:49,035 --> 00:15:54,515 aka Crazy Monkey. 172 00:15:54,562 --> 00:15:57,002 He is a seemingly indestructible machine, 173 00:15:57,043 --> 00:15:58,833 who's transcended the underground to become 174 00:15:58,870 --> 00:16:00,260 a full-blown star in Japan. 175 00:16:27,290 --> 00:16:30,290 - What do you think the fans get out of watching deathmatch? 176 00:17:28,134 --> 00:17:29,144 - Oh my God! 177 00:18:04,387 --> 00:18:05,387 - Oh no! 178 00:18:45,689 --> 00:18:46,999 - Here? 179 00:18:47,038 --> 00:18:49,168 - Okay. 180 00:19:11,193 --> 00:19:13,023 - But this would be something that the audience 181 00:19:13,064 --> 00:19:14,544 would be very familiar with? 182 00:19:40,657 --> 00:19:45,357 - Does it hurt less when you get hurt by a weapon 183 00:19:45,401 --> 00:19:49,491 that you know was made with love by your wife? 184 00:20:01,504 --> 00:20:04,424 - The crowd just goes to, like, next gear 185 00:20:04,464 --> 00:20:06,214 when Jun Kasai comes in the ring. 186 00:20:08,381 --> 00:20:11,471 It's like a board of yakitori skewers. 187 00:21:49,482 --> 00:21:51,312 - Oh my God! 188 00:21:54,617 --> 00:21:57,657 - Do you wish that Jun had followed his passion 189 00:21:57,707 --> 00:21:59,967 into another style of wrestling and maybe 190 00:22:00,014 --> 00:22:02,504 steered away from deathmatch? 191 00:22:56,462 --> 00:22:58,552 - Have you ever thought of what was gonna happen 192 00:22:58,594 --> 00:23:00,034 when one day Jun decides he doesn't want 193 00:23:00,074 --> 00:23:01,474 to wrestle anymore? 194 00:23:12,391 --> 00:23:14,181 - So congratulations on your new little one. 195 00:23:14,218 --> 00:23:16,218 What's her name? 196 00:23:17,787 --> 00:23:20,957 - Do you hope that one day she goes into joshi? 197 00:23:21,835 --> 00:23:22,575 - Mmm. 198 00:24:29,468 --> 00:24:33,168 - Kasai, Kasai, Kasai, 199 00:24:33,950 --> 00:24:35,000 Kasai, Kasai! 200 00:24:45,614 --> 00:24:48,144 Kasai, Kasai, Kasai! 201 00:24:48,182 --> 00:24:50,452 - What do you think every time a wrestler comes up to you 202 00:24:50,489 --> 00:24:51,789 and tells you you inspired them 203 00:24:51,838 --> 00:24:53,358 to get into deathmatch wrestling. 204 00:25:06,635 --> 00:25:09,725 - Kasai, Kasai, Kasai! 205 00:25:13,860 --> 00:25:15,780 - Danny Havoc burst onto the deathmatch scene 206 00:25:15,818 --> 00:25:19,168 at the tender age of 18. Making a name for himself in a series 207 00:25:19,213 --> 00:25:21,223 of increasingly bloody matches. 208 00:25:21,258 --> 00:25:23,478 His dedication to the Japanese Japanese style of deathmatch 209 00:25:23,522 --> 00:25:25,002 combining technical wrestling maneuvers 210 00:25:25,045 --> 00:25:27,525 with ultraviolent weaponry, built him a loyal fanbase 211 00:25:27,569 --> 00:25:30,009 that few wrestlers achieve. 212 00:25:31,530 --> 00:25:34,790 - I remember the exact moment that I felt like 213 00:25:34,837 --> 00:25:36,397 I knew this was what I was gonna do. 214 00:25:36,447 --> 00:25:40,357 I was sitting on my couch in Iowa with my cousin. 215 00:25:40,408 --> 00:25:44,888 We were watching a CZW show called Un-F'n-Believable. 216 00:25:46,240 --> 00:25:50,330 And Jun Kasai was over from Japan and did some really 217 00:25:50,374 --> 00:25:52,594 shocking and horrific things. 218 00:25:52,638 --> 00:25:53,988 - Oh my goodness! 219 00:25:54,030 --> 00:25:54,990 Oh, did you see what happened? 220 00:25:55,031 --> 00:25:56,901 - I said, this is not in Japan, 221 00:25:56,946 --> 00:25:58,376 this is not across the world. 222 00:25:58,426 --> 00:26:02,166 This is happening in my country, 20-some hours away. 223 00:26:02,212 --> 00:26:05,172 I could conceivably graduate and go do this, 224 00:26:05,215 --> 00:26:07,345 that's what I want. 225 00:26:07,391 --> 00:26:09,351 And from that point on, 226 00:26:09,393 --> 00:26:14,923 I pursued that goal single-mindedly. 227 00:26:14,964 --> 00:26:18,454 The first match I had, the ring was just littered 228 00:26:18,489 --> 00:26:21,359 with little pieces of broken glass. 229 00:26:21,405 --> 00:26:25,055 The level of blood loss and the amount of cuts, 230 00:26:25,105 --> 00:26:26,665 it was a bit of a shock. 231 00:26:26,715 --> 00:26:30,195 I remember my ex saying that she could smell the iron 232 00:26:30,240 --> 00:26:33,720 of the blood before I unlocked the door 233 00:26:33,766 --> 00:26:35,026 and came into her apartment. 234 00:26:42,339 --> 00:26:45,779 I suppose an argument could be made that the people 235 00:26:45,821 --> 00:26:49,261 who are fans of this are sadistic in some way. 236 00:26:49,303 --> 00:26:53,613 I've never felt like the people who come up to the table 237 00:26:53,655 --> 00:26:55,915 and wanna buy a t-shirt or wanna chat and take a picture 238 00:26:55,962 --> 00:26:57,832 were there to see me get hurt. 239 00:26:59,313 --> 00:27:00,713 - Thank you, thank you for everything you've done. 240 00:27:00,749 --> 00:27:01,919 - Appreciate it. 241 00:27:01,968 --> 00:27:03,878 Overcoming the odds and the risk, 242 00:27:03,926 --> 00:27:07,446 I think that's where the appeal lies for most of the fans. 243 00:27:10,063 --> 00:27:11,243 - Appreciate it man. Thank you. 244 00:27:12,631 --> 00:27:14,111 - What was it about this violence that you think 245 00:27:14,154 --> 00:27:15,684 you found so appealing? 246 00:27:15,721 --> 00:27:18,591 - Well, it's kinda personal. 247 00:27:18,637 --> 00:27:22,987 Like I was in my mid-20s and I was going through, 248 00:27:23,032 --> 00:27:24,992 just a different time in my life. 249 00:27:25,034 --> 00:27:30,134 Actually, I had to stop cold turkey drugs and alcohol, 250 00:27:30,170 --> 00:27:32,690 and like, that wasn't the easiest thing, 251 00:27:32,738 --> 00:27:36,438 and that early sobriety, I was a pretty angry person, 252 00:27:36,480 --> 00:27:41,400 and this just gave me an outlet. 253 00:27:41,442 --> 00:27:44,882 I think violence, in and of itself, is not a bad thing. 254 00:27:44,924 --> 00:27:47,454 You know, random violence is not welcome, 255 00:27:47,491 --> 00:27:49,711 but when it's between consenting adults, 256 00:27:49,755 --> 00:27:52,705 it's okay, because you look at mixed martial arts, 257 00:27:52,758 --> 00:27:56,068 you look at any kind of sports, it's watered-down war, 258 00:27:56,109 --> 00:28:00,939 so we have outlets to fulfill that thing that's inside us, 259 00:28:00,983 --> 00:28:05,993 and I was at a point where I wasn't afraid to suppress it. 260 00:28:06,772 --> 00:28:09,512 I cultivated it. 261 00:28:12,255 --> 00:28:18,775 - 95 to 98% of the people avidly following it 262 00:28:18,827 --> 00:28:21,657 are working-class, blue collar, hardworking people 263 00:28:21,700 --> 00:28:23,350 who need to let off a little steam 264 00:28:23,397 --> 00:28:24,827 at the end of a hard week. 265 00:28:33,537 --> 00:28:35,017 - What do you think the audience is getting 266 00:28:35,061 --> 00:28:37,671 out of the violence when they come to a show like this? 267 00:28:37,716 --> 00:28:39,586 - I can only speak from my own experience, 268 00:28:39,630 --> 00:28:41,150 like, do you ever watch Jackass? 269 00:28:41,197 --> 00:28:42,677 - Mm-hm. 270 00:28:42,721 --> 00:28:44,591 - The balls that people have got to do this shit, 271 00:28:44,635 --> 00:28:47,595 the mentality behind why we do it, 272 00:28:47,638 --> 00:28:49,468 and I think just the absolute spectacle of everything, 273 00:28:49,510 --> 00:28:53,910 and the shock value, it's a live-action stunt show, 274 00:28:53,949 --> 00:28:56,169 and I think that is, 275 00:28:56,212 --> 00:28:58,562 and I don't think, I hope no wants to see anyone 276 00:28:58,606 --> 00:29:00,386 actually get physically and properly hurt. 277 00:29:00,434 --> 00:29:03,054 You wanna see people do this and get up and walk again 278 00:29:03,089 --> 00:29:04,389 and go okay, cool. 279 00:29:04,438 --> 00:29:06,268 The stunt has gone well. 280 00:29:20,454 --> 00:29:22,464 - What the fuck are they doing? 281 00:29:30,856 --> 00:29:32,806 Oh my God! 282 00:29:33,989 --> 00:29:35,209 - Wow! 283 00:29:35,251 --> 00:29:37,251 - Holy Shit! 284 00:30:09,068 --> 00:30:11,068 Oh my God! 285 00:30:35,355 --> 00:30:37,875 - When you're watching a deathmatch, what's the most 286 00:30:37,923 --> 00:30:40,453 exciting weapon for you to see them bring out? 287 00:31:10,085 --> 00:31:12,035 - Is there ever a point where you've thought, 288 00:31:12,087 --> 00:31:14,867 this is going too far or this has gone too far 289 00:31:14,916 --> 00:31:16,346 in terms of the violence? 290 00:31:52,475 --> 00:31:54,645 - You were thinking about dying in the ring? 291 00:32:27,641 --> 00:32:29,951 - After 13 years of constant physical abuse, 292 00:32:29,991 --> 00:32:32,911 Danny has decided to exit the ring at the age of 31. 293 00:32:33,429 --> 00:32:36,609 He's invited us to witness his Viking funeral, 294 00:32:36,650 --> 00:32:39,000 one final match at CZW headquarters 295 00:32:39,044 --> 00:32:41,354 against long time rival, Alex Colon. 296 00:32:42,612 --> 00:32:44,222 - So, do we wanna do the Spanish Fly before that? 297 00:32:44,266 --> 00:32:45,216 - No. 298 00:32:45,267 --> 00:32:46,617 That's the end. 299 00:32:46,660 --> 00:32:47,880 Do they have the big ladder, or are they over here 300 00:32:47,922 --> 00:32:50,102 finagling with little kiddie ladders? 301 00:32:50,142 --> 00:32:51,622 - I think they have a big ladder, 302 00:32:51,665 --> 00:32:53,965 but I think the match before us is a ladder match, so. 303 00:32:54,015 --> 00:32:55,315 - I don't care. 304 00:32:55,364 --> 00:32:56,634 - Well I'm saying, if that gets damaged, 305 00:32:56,670 --> 00:32:57,930 there goes our plan. 306 00:33:02,067 --> 00:33:03,017 - This has been christened 307 00:33:03,068 --> 00:33:04,238 the Viking funeral match. 308 00:33:04,286 --> 00:33:05,716 - Whatever that is. 309 00:33:05,766 --> 00:33:07,806 - Whatever that is, but- Well, tell me what that is, 310 00:33:07,855 --> 00:33:09,195 what is this match to you? 311 00:33:09,248 --> 00:33:11,988 - Honestly, I think it's the most important match 312 00:33:12,033 --> 00:33:12,993 of my wrestling career. 313 00:33:13,034 --> 00:33:15,044 Like, this is not just for me, 314 00:33:15,080 --> 00:33:17,560 this is for someone who I find to be like a real good friend 315 00:33:17,604 --> 00:33:19,654 of mine, who's really stuck his neck out for me 316 00:33:19,693 --> 00:33:21,563 and stuck up for me in good times and bad times, 317 00:33:21,608 --> 00:33:25,528 and he's probably the real reason why I'm still 318 00:33:25,568 --> 00:33:29,438 honestly part of this company, so this means as much to me 319 00:33:29,485 --> 00:33:31,355 as it does to him. 320 00:33:31,400 --> 00:33:33,880 - Alex is unbelievably talented 321 00:33:33,924 --> 00:33:38,544 and we are by and large very close and that allows us 322 00:33:38,581 --> 00:33:42,721 to trust each other enough to do fairly horrible things. 323 00:33:42,759 --> 00:33:45,019 - What we do, at least from a deathmatch perspective 324 00:33:45,066 --> 00:33:46,676 is very taboo. 325 00:33:46,720 --> 00:33:48,680 Like a lot of professional wrestlers look down 326 00:33:48,722 --> 00:33:51,122 upon people who do this stuff 'cause they feel like 327 00:33:51,159 --> 00:33:54,289 it's unnecessary, it's way past being violent, 328 00:33:54,336 --> 00:33:55,986 it's not for normal society. 329 00:33:56,034 --> 00:33:58,124 - To the uninitiated, deathmatch can come across 330 00:33:58,166 --> 00:34:01,816 as pure chaos, but there's a deep psychological element 331 00:34:01,865 --> 00:34:04,085 to the choice of weapons and the violence 332 00:34:04,129 --> 00:34:05,909 that plays out in the ring. 333 00:34:05,956 --> 00:34:07,736 - It's not that we're just stringing some barbed wire 334 00:34:07,784 --> 00:34:10,924 together on some things and throwing guys in things 335 00:34:10,961 --> 00:34:12,441 and breaking tables. 336 00:34:12,485 --> 00:34:14,265 There's an art form behind it. 337 00:34:14,313 --> 00:34:18,233 There's a direct mentality of how he's trying 338 00:34:18,273 --> 00:34:20,283 to accomplish his vision. 339 00:34:20,319 --> 00:34:22,929 When challenges arise, it really hurts his vision. 340 00:34:22,973 --> 00:34:25,153 Like, we had the challenge with the glass today. 341 00:34:25,193 --> 00:34:27,113 They're still short a pane of glass 342 00:34:27,152 --> 00:34:28,852 of what they originally planned, 343 00:34:28,892 --> 00:34:30,682 and that has to adjust his vision. 344 00:34:30,720 --> 00:34:31,980 If you look at the drawings 345 00:34:32,026 --> 00:34:33,896 and how he draws things up, it's specified. 346 00:34:33,941 --> 00:34:36,251 - Glass, glass, glass, glass. 347 00:34:36,291 --> 00:34:40,381 45 to 50% of the weapons that I constructed in some way 348 00:34:40,426 --> 00:34:42,986 involve panes of glass. 349 00:34:43,037 --> 00:34:46,127 The powers that be is how we shall refer to DJ, 350 00:34:46,171 --> 00:34:49,441 he waited until like a few days ago to order the glass, 351 00:34:49,478 --> 00:34:52,348 so I'm already stressed, already trying to mentally 352 00:34:52,394 --> 00:34:57,144 prepare myself for this big match that has a lot riding 353 00:34:57,182 --> 00:35:00,012 on it for me personally, and I get a call like, 354 00:35:00,054 --> 00:35:03,414 four hours ago, all the glass is gone now. 355 00:35:09,933 --> 00:35:12,813 Our main man, the guy who puts together all these 356 00:35:12,849 --> 00:35:14,979 tremendous contraptions, he is currently 357 00:35:15,025 --> 00:35:19,285 at his own house disassembling a storm door 358 00:35:19,334 --> 00:35:22,994 that separates his kitchen from the foyer. 359 00:35:23,033 --> 00:35:23,993 - Got it? 360 00:35:24,034 --> 00:35:25,044 - Yep. 361 00:35:31,564 --> 00:35:34,524 - Ooh, now, is it, do we feel it's the right kind of glass? 362 00:35:35,829 --> 00:35:37,529 - God bless America. 363 00:35:38,919 --> 00:35:40,179 - Hopefully I get a raise out of this. 364 00:35:40,225 --> 00:35:41,655 - Yeah. 365 00:35:41,704 --> 00:35:44,884 Well at the very least, you can get DJ to buy you 366 00:35:44,925 --> 00:35:46,095 a new storm door. 367 00:35:49,277 --> 00:35:50,927 - Oh whoa. 368 00:35:50,974 --> 00:35:53,724 - I don't like the glass on the metal. 369 00:36:12,953 --> 00:36:14,743 - Anybody else breaks this glass but you, 370 00:36:14,781 --> 00:36:16,221 I'm gonna fucking kill 'em. 371 00:36:22,049 --> 00:36:23,699 - Why is this the last match? 372 00:36:23,746 --> 00:36:25,526 Why is it important for you to end it tonight? 373 00:36:25,574 --> 00:36:29,544 - I see the writing on the wall that the physical damage 374 00:36:29,578 --> 00:36:32,228 I have done, it's catching up with me. 375 00:36:34,409 --> 00:36:37,409 I have a degenerative spinal condition 376 00:36:37,456 --> 00:36:39,716 brought on 100% by wrestling. 377 00:36:39,762 --> 00:36:42,902 It's not yet at the point where I'm physically stooped over, 378 00:36:42,939 --> 00:36:45,939 but it is worsening and it is exacerbated 379 00:36:45,986 --> 00:36:48,896 with each of these crazy dangerous stunts 380 00:36:48,945 --> 00:36:50,295 that I put myself through. 381 00:36:51,426 --> 00:36:53,246 - What do you wanna see happen tonight? 382 00:36:53,298 --> 00:36:56,038 What do you hope the fans watching walk away with? 383 00:36:56,083 --> 00:36:58,873 What do you hope their take away is tonight? 384 00:36:58,912 --> 00:37:00,572 - I want people to remember it. 385 00:37:03,133 --> 00:37:04,443 Matches come and go. 386 00:37:04,483 --> 00:37:06,753 With this, I just want this to be a memory. 387 00:37:06,789 --> 00:37:08,789 I want this to be a memory at least for somebody 388 00:37:08,835 --> 00:37:10,095 in the crowd. 389 00:37:10,140 --> 00:37:11,710 I want somebody to see me one day and be like, 390 00:37:11,751 --> 00:37:14,101 "Hey, I remember that match you had with Danny Havoc 391 00:37:14,144 --> 00:37:16,674 and it stuck in my mind for a very long time." 392 00:37:16,712 --> 00:37:18,632 I just want it to mean something to somebody. 393 00:37:20,412 --> 00:37:23,762 - When I watch myself back, I watch my recent performances. 394 00:37:23,806 --> 00:37:26,716 I see the things that I can't physically do 395 00:37:26,766 --> 00:37:28,416 as well I used to. 396 00:37:28,463 --> 00:37:31,033 I don't think that I can do it month in, month out 397 00:37:31,074 --> 00:37:33,474 routinely up to the standards that I want 398 00:37:33,512 --> 00:37:36,382 to hold myself to, so I would rather get out 399 00:37:36,428 --> 00:37:40,818 before I start to regret sticking around. 400 00:37:41,911 --> 00:37:43,131 - For guys that are new here and guys 401 00:37:43,173 --> 00:37:44,313 that haven't been here long, 402 00:37:44,349 --> 00:37:45,309 if you don't know who Danny Havoc is, 403 00:37:45,350 --> 00:37:47,000 Danny Havoc is fucking CZW. 404 00:37:47,047 --> 00:37:49,697 There would never be a CZW if it wasn't for Danny Havoc. 405 00:37:49,745 --> 00:37:51,825 Danny Havoc is a guy that should be 406 00:37:51,878 --> 00:37:53,838 one of the biggest stars in the world right now. 407 00:37:53,880 --> 00:37:55,840 - So the boys chipped in. 408 00:37:55,882 --> 00:37:56,842 We hear you like booze. 409 00:37:58,363 --> 00:38:00,673 There's some pictures in here to celebrate your career 410 00:38:00,713 --> 00:38:04,373 as well as some money for your marriage upcoming. 411 00:38:04,412 --> 00:38:05,892 - Thank you. 412 00:38:05,935 --> 00:38:07,585 - And over 50 cards from fans, the boys, promoters, man. 413 00:38:07,633 --> 00:38:09,683 So we love you and don't forget. 414 00:38:11,898 --> 00:38:13,328 - Thank you guys, thank you very much. 415 00:38:13,378 --> 00:38:15,378 That's really sweet, thank you. 416 00:38:16,424 --> 00:38:17,164 - Alright, let's get to work. 417 00:38:17,207 --> 00:38:19,247 Let's get to work. 418 00:38:30,395 --> 00:38:31,395 - Okay guys, standing room only. 419 00:38:31,439 --> 00:38:32,659 I got two tickets left. 420 00:38:38,185 --> 00:38:40,875 - What role do you think the work that you did, 421 00:38:40,927 --> 00:38:44,837 the wrestling, the deathmatches, play in these people's lives? 422 00:38:44,887 --> 00:38:46,237 - I've met most of these people. 423 00:38:46,280 --> 00:38:47,980 I've chatted with them in the parking lot. 424 00:38:48,021 --> 00:38:51,291 They've gotten to watch me essentially grow up. 425 00:38:51,329 --> 00:38:53,109 I was 18 when I started this. 426 00:38:53,156 --> 00:38:56,196 If these people are long time CZW fans 427 00:38:56,246 --> 00:38:59,026 they've watched a coming of age tale 428 00:38:59,075 --> 00:39:01,375 through barbed wire and light tubes. 429 00:39:01,426 --> 00:39:04,516 Over the last 12 and a half years, you know. 430 00:39:13,612 --> 00:39:16,272 Does two more set up enough? 431 00:39:16,310 --> 00:39:17,360 - Yeah. 432 00:39:18,791 --> 00:39:20,531 - Call it a couple more times before we go out. 433 00:39:40,334 --> 00:39:42,994 At a certain age, most young men are invariably drawn 434 00:39:43,032 --> 00:39:45,562 to things that they would term, badass. 435 00:39:48,777 --> 00:39:52,427 I wanted to be badass desperately, 436 00:39:52,477 --> 00:39:55,177 and I felt that deathmatch wrestling was very badass. 437 00:39:59,222 --> 00:40:01,702 I've always termed myself durable. 438 00:40:01,747 --> 00:40:04,267 Most people haven't been flung into barbed wired. 439 00:40:04,314 --> 00:40:07,584 Most people probably haven't had a fluorescent ceiling light 440 00:40:07,622 --> 00:40:09,622 smashed over their dome. 441 00:40:10,843 --> 00:40:15,463 ♪ Felt drunk, a loaded gun, swing it up high ♪ 442 00:40:15,500 --> 00:40:20,640 ♪ I ripped it out of your hand ♪ 443 00:40:20,679 --> 00:40:25,679 ♪ We can both climb high, or fry dead in the sand ♪ 444 00:40:29,775 --> 00:40:33,425 ♪ We've all been waiting to find what we need ♪ 445 00:40:35,041 --> 00:40:40,001 ♪ We've been waiting to find 446 00:40:40,046 --> 00:40:42,176 ♪ Our situations all align 447 00:40:44,746 --> 00:40:49,746 ♪ Our situations all align 448 00:40:50,578 --> 00:40:52,148 ♪ Yeah 449 00:40:52,188 --> 00:40:53,188 - Oh shit! 450 00:41:00,458 --> 00:41:04,068 - C-Z-Dub, C-Z-Dub, C-Z-Dub, C-Z-Dub 451 00:41:05,724 --> 00:41:08,734 C-Z-Dub, C-Z-Dub. 452 00:41:10,511 --> 00:41:13,861 ♪ We've all been waiting 453 00:41:13,906 --> 00:41:18,906 ♪ To find 454 00:41:19,825 --> 00:41:23,385 ♪ We've all been waiting 455 00:41:23,437 --> 00:41:25,697 ♪ To find 456 00:41:31,097 --> 00:41:32,397 - There it is. 457 00:41:32,446 --> 00:41:34,926 The oh shit sandwich. 458 00:41:34,970 --> 00:41:38,280 It looks strikingly like Danny's diagram of it. 459 00:41:49,115 --> 00:41:50,725 Oh shit! 460 00:42:01,170 --> 00:42:03,610 That was awesome! 461 00:42:03,651 --> 00:42:06,521 Danny Havoc! 462 00:42:12,660 --> 00:42:15,400 - Alex, Alex, Alex, Alex. 463 00:42:19,058 --> 00:42:20,928 - And god damn it, I'm an unathletic kid 464 00:42:20,973 --> 00:42:23,113 from the middle of Iowa, 465 00:42:23,149 --> 00:42:24,589 and the fact that I got to be out here 466 00:42:24,629 --> 00:42:27,369 and entertain all you people for almost 13 years 467 00:42:27,414 --> 00:42:30,294 makes me as happy as I can possibly be. 468 00:42:30,330 --> 00:42:35,070 Alex, thank you for the crazy ass series of matches 469 00:42:35,117 --> 00:42:36,897 that we put on over the last few years. 470 00:42:36,945 --> 00:42:38,895 I'm very proud of everything we've done 471 00:42:38,947 --> 00:42:40,167 in the ring together. 472 00:42:44,257 --> 00:42:45,647 Goodnight! 473 00:42:49,567 --> 00:42:53,567 - Ladies and gentlemen, Danny Havoc. 474 00:42:55,050 --> 00:42:57,880 - Was it what you hoped it would be? 475 00:42:57,923 --> 00:43:01,933 Was it what you thought of when you were planning it out? 476 00:43:01,970 --> 00:43:03,190 - Yes. 477 00:43:03,232 --> 00:43:06,672 I enjoy violence and that's probably 478 00:43:06,714 --> 00:43:09,244 not a normal thing to say, but I do. 479 00:43:09,282 --> 00:43:12,852 Pro wrestling enables you to get that out. 480 00:43:12,894 --> 00:43:15,774 You're exorcizing some demons and then you go back, 481 00:43:15,810 --> 00:43:18,030 you give them a big hug, and you say, that was awesome, 482 00:43:18,073 --> 00:43:19,343 we killed it. 483 00:43:19,379 --> 00:43:21,859 It's a feel good way to do something violent 484 00:43:21,903 --> 00:43:24,383 and otherwise potentially very negative. 485 00:43:29,955 --> 00:43:32,385 Kasai! Kasai! Kasai! 486 00:43:32,435 --> 00:43:34,995 Thank you Havoc! 487 00:43:35,047 --> 00:43:38,347 Kasai! Kasai! Kasai! 488 00:43:38,398 --> 00:43:40,918 Thank you Havoc! 489 00:43:40,966 --> 00:43:43,706 Kasai! Kasai! Kasai! 490 00:43:43,751 --> 00:43:46,411 Thank you Havoc!