 Goto in 2009 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Seiji Goto (1963-08-16)August 16, 1963[1] |
| Died | May 29, 2022(2022-05-29) (aged 58) |
Spouse | Despina Montagas |
| Children | 3 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Tarzan Goto Ho Chi Winh Ghost Face |
| Billed height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1] |
| Billed weight | 150 kg (331 lb)[2] |
| Trained by | Jumbo Tsuruta |
| Debut | February 19, 1981[1] |
| Retired | December 9, 2018 |
Seiji Goto (後藤政二,Gotō Seiji; August 16, 1963 – May 29, 2022), better known by hisring nameTarzan Goto (ターザン後藤), was a Japaneseprofessional wrestler who wrestled on theindependent circuit most of his career. He is best known for hisexplodingsteel cage matches againstAtsushi Onita inFrontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW).
In 1979, Goto joined asumostable,Kokonoe, but shortly afterwards he retired from sumo.
| Year | January Hatsu basho,Tokyo | March Haru basho,Osaka | May Natsu basho,Tokyo | July Nagoya basho,Nagoya | September Aki basho,Tokyo | November Kyūshū basho,Fukuoka |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | x | (Maezumo) | West Jonokuchi #32 5–2 | East Jonidan #95 2–5 | West Jonidan #120 Sat out due to injury 0–0–7 | West Jonokuchi #24 Retired 0–0–7 |
| Record given aswins–losses–absences Top division champion Top division runner-up Retired Lower divisions Non-participation Sanshō key:F=Fighting spirit;O=Outstanding performance;T=Technique Also shown:★=Kinboshi;P=Playoff(s) | ||||||
Goto debuted forAll Japan Pro Wrestling on February 19, 1981, againstShiro Koshinaka. While in AJPW, he was student ofJumbo Tsuruta. In 1983, he won the Rookie of the Year award at Tokyo Sports' Pro Wrestling Awards.
In November 1985, Goto went to the United States to wrestle.[1] His first stop on his excursion was in Kansas City for theNWA Central States Wrestling. He'd also wrestle forJim Crockett Promotions on shows within the area. In June 1986, Goto moved to Memphis, wrestling forContinental Wrestling Association, where he teamed withAkio Sato and managed byTojo Yamamoto. While in the United States, he married female wrestler Despina Montagas. In 1988, he wrestled forWorld Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico. In 1989, he wrestled in Florida forProfessional Wrestling Federation.[1]
In 1989, Goto returned to Japan after being proposed by the founder of the pioneeringhardcore wrestlingpromotionFrontier Martial-Arts Wrestling,Atsushi Onita.[1]
In August 1990, Goto had the first-everexplodingbarbed wire match with Onita, which started a revolution between the small "garbage wrestling" organizations ofJapan. Two months later, Goto and his wifeDespina Montagas teamed up in Japan's first mixed tag team match, defeatingRicky Fuji andMegumi Kudo. He wrestled in many matches forFMW even one that he lost in which he tagged with Onita and lost toSabu andHorace Boulder.
In 1991, he and tag team partner Atsushi Onita became the first-everFMW Brass Knuckles Tag Team Champions in the finals of a ten-team tournament defeating Gregory Veritchev and Koba Krutanize. He had severaldeath matches for theFMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship against his formerAJPW comrade, Atsushi Onita. On January 30, 1992, Goto captured theFMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship after defeatingBig Titan. Due to the wind conditions, Goto's and Onita's fire deathmatch versusThe Sheik and Sabu was called off. He later became a two-time tag team champion with Gregory Veritchev.
In February 1995, Goto formed Lethal Weapon withHisakatsu Oya andRicky Fuji. However, upset about possibly losing to Onita in his retirement match, Goto announced that he was leaving FMW in April 1995, just two days after no-showing an event in Korakuen Hall.
After leaving FMW, Goto wrestled throughout the Japanese indies. He also contested two matches forExtreme Championship Wrestling in July 1996 at theHeat Waveevent, defeatingAxl Rotten both nights. Goto also worked forInternational Wrestling Association of Japan from 1995 to 1999. Goto returned to one-night returns to AJPW in 2001 and 2002. In 1995, he formed Super FMW, which lasted from 1995 to 1998 in its first run and from 2009 to 2018 in its second run. His last match to date was on December 9, 2018, teaming with Reina Ayukawa defeating Taro Ramen and Sase in a Caribbean Barbed wire Thumbtacks Death Match. It would also end up being the very last show for Super FMW, although another show was originally scheduled for November 10, 2019, but due to poor ticket sales, it was rescheduled to March 29, 2020. Unfortunately, the show would be canceled due to COVID-19 and Super FMW quietly folded.
Goto was married toDespina Montagas, and they have three sons.[4] He had since remarried in December 2016.
On May 29, 2022,[5] Goto died fromliver cancer at the age of 58.[6]
,Internet Wrestling Database
Media related toTarzan Goto at Wikimedia Commons