Strangle Mania 1

Throwback Theater
March 25, 2013
“Strangle Mania 1” 1996

Right off the bat I have to tell you I am not a fan of the Insane Clown Posse I guess they have talent if you like that kind of music. With that being said I will say that I do like ICP when it comes to to movies and wrestling this brings me to my next review 1996”s “Strangle Mania 1”. If you are a fan of old school death match wrestling then this is the video for you. Picture for a moment an alternate Universe where Good Ol' JR and the King have no censors for they're commentary. Monday Night Raw would feature the Mushroom Boys in a broken glass death match instead of John Cena vs Randy Orton. The greatest champion would not be Stone Cold Steve Austin but instead Cactus Jack. If you think that sounds fun well rejoice my fellow wrestling fans and welcome to the wild world of Japanese death match wrestling as brought to you by the Insane Clown Posse.

Released in 1996 during the last big boom in pro wrestling “Strangle Mania” comes from the twisted minds of Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J and the world of IWA Japan. Most of the video is ICP providing commentary to the 1994 Kawasaki Dream King of the Death Match tournament. After the opening credits and a quick intro we jump right into the action as we witness an hour and a half of huge hulking wrestlers hitting each other with everything from barbed wire to broken glass. Seeing the likes of the Headhunters and Leatherface to the almost unknown Lama Nama Numi and Deadly Fred all beating the hell out of each other for the entertainment of the fans. There are many highlight to “Strangle Mania 1” to tell you about.

The Mushroom Boys explode in a Broken Glass Death Match AKA “The Clones of Abdullah the Butcher”. Only in the Sumo and Giant Monster cultures of Japan could this match take place, we really get to see the fat fly. This match is brutal with a capital B seeing two 400 pound behemoths stab one another with glass and do flying dives off the top of the turnbuckle is something to see. This is the closest thing I have ever seen to a real live Kajiu battle. Then of course is the main event Cactus Jack vs. Terry Funk in a no rope barbed wire exploding bomb death match. The clips shown on WWE TV do no justice to the sheer brutality of this match. Seeing Terry and Cactus both get ripped up by barbed wire and blown up by “C4” is a sight to see. The violence is offset by the genius and hilarious commentary by ICP.

Try this next time you are watching a Pay per View after the show is over pop this in the old DVD player and try not to be entertained or laugh at the commentary. Try not to wince in pain watching one of these warriors getting slammed into barbed wire. If you want to have one heck of a movie and beer night watch this and the even more awesome “Strangle Mania 2” back to back. For more fun go to YouTube and lookup Botchamania the greatest Pro Wrestling blunders of all time. Go out and seek good Wrestling!!!!