Japanese Legend Tarzan Goto Passes Away
One of the most recognizable wrestlers from the glory era of deathmatch wrestling, Tarzan Goto, has passed away at the age of 58 after battling liver cancer.
If you were a wrestling fan in the 90s when the Internet became a thing and suddenly there was access to what was going on in other countries, FMW probably grabbed your interest at some point. Learning these wild deathmatches were going on in Japan that included the likes of American wrestlers like Terry Funk and Cactus Jack alongside Japanese stars like Atsushi Onita and Tarzan Goto was definitely an experience. Goto was represented in numerous games that made their way to America and became a staple in titles like Virtual Pro Wrestling and Fire Pro Wrestling.
A former sumo wrestler, Seiji “Tarzan” Goto began his pro wrestling career in the ’80s, even spending time in the United States during that time. In the ’90s though, Goto became a prominent face of FMW and even competed in the first-ever exploding barbed wire deathmatch against Onita. Goto also appeared briefly in ECW at a time when bringing in an icon like Goto was a really big deal for Extreme fans.
The fact that Goto was only 58 was a bit surprising since his intimidating look always made him look older during his FMW days. Below is a classic Goto match as he defends his IWA Championship against the only and only Cactus Jack:
