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another million dollars. Arai went into hiding from the yakuza, and planned to write a book about his experience of running FMW. Arai released a statement, where he criticized
Atsushi Onita for his ego and excessive womanizing. Arai's book intended to generate enough money to pay back the yakuza. In
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as the main star of the promotion. Onita returned to FMW in 1996, and insisted on becoming the main focus of the promotion. Arai and the FMW wrestlers eventually met with Onita, and declared that Onita needed to leave FMW, due to Onita's ego and attitude towards the younger stars. FMW shifted its
268:, Hayabusa slipped off the rope and landed on his head, resulting in immediate paralysis. Arai left the commentary booth, and immediately rushed to the ring. Attendance and revenue continued to dwindle, as FMW finally declared bankruptcy on February 15, 2002.
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resulted in a life insurance payment to his ex-wife and child. However, the life insurance payment did not cover all of Arai's debt. The Arai family continued paying his debt to the yakuza for years, until his ex-wife's father paid the remaining balance.
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Arai started with FMW as a backstage assistant. Arai became FMW's ring announcer, and was well known for his high-pitched voice during countdowns of various death-matches. Arai became Chief
Executive Officer of FMW, after
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focus towards an entertainment-based style, similar to WWE. The shift occurred after FMW secured a television and pay-per-view deal with DirecTV, who wanted a role in shaping the product. In addition,
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conversations with
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was named head booker. Eventually, attendance dwindled, and the promotion dealt with several financial issues. In
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Shoichi Arai was buried at
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retired in April 1995. As CEO, Arai toned down the number of death matches, and promoted
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On May 16, 2002, an early morning jogger found Arai hanging by his necktie in Tokyo's
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FMW was three million dollars in debt, and Arai also owed the
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WWA World
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WWA World
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16:Japanese professional wrestler (1965 – 2002)
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109:Learn how and when to remove this message
260:suffered a career-ending injury against
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234:from 1995 until its closure in 2002.
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569:Independent World Junior Heavyweight
47:adding citations to reliable sources
359:Deceased Superstars - Shoichi Arai
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835:Professional wrestling announcers
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594:(1996–1998; 2015–2016)
264:. While attempting an
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610:WEW Hardcore Tag Team
804:Xtreme Pro Wrestling
342:"FMW History Part 3"
328:"FMW History Part 3"
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170:(2002-05-16)
168:May 16, 2002
124:Shoichi Arai
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41:Please help
36:verification
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830:2002 deaths
825:1965 births
723:Megumi Kudo
708:Kodo Fuyuki
698:Tarzan Goto
677:Tournaments
641:(1999–2001)
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411:Kodo Fuyuki
254:Kodo Fuyuki
819:Categories
718:Ricky Fuji
686:Key people
300:References
144:1965-12-19
69:newspapers
764:IWA Japan
288:. Arai's
703:Hayabusa
639:Hardcore
579:Tag team
258:Hayabusa
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633:Women's
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222:(荒井 昌一
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238:Career
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