| Kawasaki Dream | |
|---|---|
| Promotion | International Wrestling Association of Japan |
| Date | August 20, 1995[1] |
| City | Kawasaki, Kanagawa,Japan[1] |
| Venue | Kawasaki Stadium[1] |
| Attendance | 28,757[1] |
| Tagline | King of the Deathmatch |
Kawasaki Dream was aprofessional wrestlingsupercard produced by theJapaneseprofessional wrestling promotionInternational Wrestling Association (IWA). The event took place on August 20, 1995 at theKawasaki Stadium inKawasaki, Kanagawa. The event was a huge success for the promotion drawing a crowd of 28,757 attendants, the largest crowd for an IWA Japan show and it was the most successful and biggest show of the promotion.
The key highlight of Kawasaki Dream was the1995 King of the Deathmatch Tournament, an eight-mansingle elimination tournament, which featuredvarious matches ofdeathmatch wrestling style.Cactus Jack won the tournament by defeatingTerry Funk in the final round. The tournament was critically acclaimed and widely well received by the critics and audiences and the tournament final between Cactus Jack and Terry Funk has been considered by some wrestling journalists to be the greatest deathmatch in the history of professional wrestling.[2]
In the first non-televised match,Keisuke Yamada and Keizo Matsuda defeatedYoshihiro Tajiri and Taisuke Tagami when Yamada pinned Tajiri with aninside cradle.
The second match was ajoshi match, in which Kiyoko Ichiki defeatedEmi Motokawa after aTiger Driver.[3]
In the third bout, Iceman took on Kamikaze. Near the end of the match, Kamikaze hit aGerman suplex and attempted aroll-up on Iceman, who reversed it for the win.[4]

Los Cowboys (El Texano andSilver King) defended theWorld Tag Team Championship againstThe Headhunters (Headhunter A and Headhunter B). Headhunters threw King into the crowd and double teamed Texano as Headhunter B nailed asuperbomb to Texano to win the World Tag Team Championship.[4]
Next, Flying Kid Ichihara defended the WWA International Light Heavyweight Championship against Takashi Okano in the first championship match of the event. Okano countered ahurricanrana attempt by Ichihara into asunset flip to win the title.[4]
In the penultimate match,Dan Severn defended theNWA World Heavyweight Championship againstTarzan Goto. Near the end of the match, Goto missed aclothesline on Severn, who hit a German suplex on Goto and applied arear naked choke to make Goto pass out to the hold and thus retained his title.[4]
The first quarter-final match of the King of the Deathmatch tournament was a Barbed Wire Board and Chain match betweenTiger Jeet Singh andMr. Gannosuke. After brawling at ringside for much of the match, the action returned to the ring where Singh applied aCobra Claw on Gannosuke onto barbed wire for the win.[4]
The next Barbed Wire Board and Chain match featuredTerry Funk againstLeatherface. Leatherface gained early control by hitting amoonsault on Funk. Near the end of the match, Funk hit Leatherface with a chained first for the win.[4]
The third match in the tournament was a Barbed Wire Baseball Bat and Thumbtacks match betweenCactus Jack andTerry Gordy. Jack was dropped numerous times on the thumbtacks until he hit aDDT to Gordy on the thumbtacks for the win.[4]
Shoji Nakamaki faced Hiroshi Ono in the next Barbed Wire Baseball Bat and Thumbtacks match. Ono hit twobelly-to-back suplexes to Nakamaki on the thumbtacks until Nakamaki countered a third suplex attempt with apowerbomb and then followed with afull nelson facebuster to Ono on the thumbtacks to advance to the semi-final.[4]
The first semi-final match was a Barbed Wire Board and Glass match pitting Terry Funk against Tiger Jeet Singh. Near the end of the match, Singh raked the eyes of Funk to avoid aspinning toe hold by Funk and spiked his eyes and then Cactus Jack interfered in the match on Singh's behalf as he tried to hit Funk with asaber but Funk avoided it and Jack accidentally knocked out Singh with the saber, allowing Funk to pin him for the win.[4]
The next semi-final was a Barbed Wire Board and Spike Nail match between Shoji Nakamaki and Cactus Jack. After a back and forth match, Jack hit adouble-arm DDT to Nakamaki into the barbed wire board to advance to the final.[4]
The final round of the tournament was a Barbed Wire Rope, Exploding Barbed Wire Boards and Exploding Ring Time Bomb Deathmatch between Terry Funk and Cactus Jack. Tiger Jeet Singh interfered in the match on Jack's behalf by hitting Funk with a sabre and then the twowhipped him into the barbed wire which allowed Jack to gain momentum over Funk. Near the end of the match, Jack hit adiving elbow drop to Funk from the top of a ladder to gain anear-fall and then climbed the ladder to hit a second diving elbow drop but Funk knocked him out and Jack fell into the barbed wire ropes. Funk then collapsed himself into the barbed wire ropes. Jack got up first, crawling to Funk and pinning him. As a result, Jack won the match and won the 1995 King of the Deathmatch Tournament.[4]
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1D | Keisuke Yamada and Keizo Matsuda defeatedYoshihiro Tajiri and Taisuke Tagami | Tag team match | 11:44 | ||||
| 2D | Kiyoko Ichiki defeatedEmi Motokawa | Singles match | 10:24 | ||||
| 3 | Tiger Jeet Singh defeatedMr. Gannosuke | Barbed Wire Board and Chain match IWA King of the Deathmatch tournament quarter-final match | 7:11 | ||||
| 4 | Terry Funk defeatedLeatherface | Barbed Wire Board and Chain match IWA King of the Deathmatch tournament quarter-final match | 8:54 | ||||
| 5 | Cactus Jack defeatedTerry Gordy | Barbed Wire Baseball Bat and Thumbtacks match IWA King of the Deathmatch tournament quarter-final match | 6:58 | ||||
| 6 | Shoji Nakamaki defeated Hiroshi Ono | Barbed Wire Baseball Bat and Thumbtacks match IWA King of the Deathmatch tournament quarter-final match | 7:19 | ||||
| 7 | Takashi Okano defeated Flying Kid Ichihara (c) | Singles match for the WWA International Light Heavyweight Championship | 17:01 | ||||
| 8 | Iceman defeated Kamikaze | Singles match | 9:45 | ||||
| 9 | Terry Funk defeated Tiger Jeet Singh | Barbed Wire Board and Glass match IWA King of the Deathmatch tournament semi-final match | 6:04 | ||||
| 10 | Cactus Jack defeated Shoji Nakamaki | Barbed Wire Board and Spike Nail match IWA King of the Deathmatch tournament semi-final match | 9:49 | ||||
| 11 | The Headhunters (Headhunter A and Headhunter B) defeated Los Cowboys (El Texano andSilver King) (c) | Tag team match for theIWA World Tag Team Championship | 17:59 | ||||
| 12 | Dan Severn (c) defeatedTarzan Goto viatechnical knockout | Singles match for theNWA World Heavyweight Championship | 11:35 | ||||
| 13 | Cactus Jack defeated Terry Funk | Barbed Wire Rope, Exploding Barbed Wire Boards and Exploding Ring Time Bomb Deathmatch IWA King of the Deathmatch tournament final match | 13:21 | ||||
| |||||||
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | ||||||||||||
| Mr. Gannosuke | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Tiger Jeet Singh | 7:11 | |||||||||||||
| Tiger Jeet Singh | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Terry Funk | 6:04 | |||||||||||||
| Terry Funk | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Leatherface | 8:54 | |||||||||||||
| Terry Funk | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Cactus Jack | 13:21 | |||||||||||||
| Cactus Jack | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Terry Gordy | 6:58 | |||||||||||||
| Cactus Jack | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Shoji Nakamaki | 9:49 | |||||||||||||
| Hiroshi Ono | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Shoji Nakamaki | 7:19 | |||||||||||||