Tarzan Goto
| Tarzan Goto | |
|---|---|
 Goto in 2009 | |
| Ring name(s) |
Tarzan Goto Ho Chi Winh Ghost Face |
| Billed height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1] |
| Billed weight | 150 kg (330 lb)[2] |
| Born |
August 16, 1963 [1] Shimada, Shizuoka [1] |
| Debut | February 19, 1981 [1] |
Seiji Gotō (後藤政二 Gotoh Seiji), better known by his ring name Tarzan Goto (ターザン後藤), is a Japanese professional wrestler who has wrestled on the independent circuit most of his career. He is best known for his exploding steel cage matches against Atsushi Onita in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW).
Sumo wrestling career
In 1979, Goto joined a sumo stable, Kokonoe, but shortly afterwards he retired from sumo.
Professional wrestling career
All Japan Pro Wrestling (1981–1989)
Goto then joined All Japan Pro Wrestling in 1980 and moved to the US to pursue a career in wrestling.[1]
In the 1980s, Goto wrestled mainly in the American southern states including Tennessee (CWA)[1] and Florida (FCW),[3] and sometimes wrestled as Ho Chi Winh, which was a gimmick based on the Vietnamese hero Ho Chi Minh,[4] and married a female American wrestler named Despina Montagas.
Goto also wrestled in Puerto Rico around 1988.[1]
Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (1989–1995)
In 1989, Goto returned to Japan after being proposed by the founder of the pioneering hardcore wrestling promotion Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling, Atsushi Onita.[1]
In August 1990, Goto had the first-ever exploding barbed wire match with Onita, which started a revolution between the small "garbage wrestling" organizations of Japan. Two months later, Goto and his wife Despina Montagas teamed up in Japan's first mixed tag team match, defeating Ricky Fuji and Megumi Kudo. He wrestled in many matches for FMW even one that he lost in which he tagged with Onita and lost to Sabu and Horace Boulder.
In, 1991, he and tag team partner Atsushi Onita became the first-ever FMW Brass Knuckles Tag Team Champions in the finals of a ten-team tournament defeating Gregory Veritchev and Koba Krutanize. He had several death matches for the FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship against his former AJPW comrade, Atsushi Onita. On January 30, 1992, Goto captured the FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship after defeating Big Titan. Due to the wind conditions, Goto's and Onita's fire deathmatch versus The Sheik and Sabu was called off. He later became a two-time tag team champion with Gregory Veritchev.
Until the 1990s, he occasionally wrestled as Ho Chi Winh.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Belly to back inverted mat slam
- Figure four leglock
- Vertical drop brainbuster
- Signature moves
- Lariat
- Sitout powerbomb
Championships and accomplishments
- CWA/AWA International Tag Team Championship (5 times) - with Akio Sato
- FMW WWA Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- FMW WWA Martial Arts Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Atsushi Onita (1) and Gregory Veritchev (1)
- IWA World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
- IWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Mr. Gannosuke
- NWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Mr. Gannosuke
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
- 5 Star Match (1992) with El Hijo del Santo & Atsushi Onita vs. Negro Casas, Tim Patterson & Horace Boulder on May 16