Tarzan Goto Documentation Project #4

 Tarzan Goto & Jun Kikuzawa vs. Masayoshi Motegi & Shinichi Nakano, WYF 8/9/1997 - GREAT

This was another piece of fucking great pro wrestling. This was not quite the same chaotic, savage massacre as the previous Goto vs. WDF guys tag, but more of a great southern style tag. Some really fun back and forth wrestling early on which was damn cool to see from such a fat guy as Goto, before Motegi ends up suicide diving right into a Goto chairshot (did I mention Motegi is actually awesome?) which sets up the heat section of Goto again mercilessly fucking up Motegi with various foreign objects, including drilling his face with an umbrella. Motegi screaming for his life while Goto was stubbornly trying to crack a beer bottle over his head before he just breaks it and carves him up gave the whole thing a Hillbilly slasher movie feel. Goto has fucking great punches, too. It all builds very well to Nakano getting the hot tag and in turn messing up everyone with his simple, violent offense. Aside from Goto being awesome you also had the future Kikutaro who at this point was a fun fatboy wrestler that gets messed up by the veterans for being a newbie, at one point Nakano just grabs him and drills his face with knee strikes. Really well worked match that blends southern psychology and japanese hierarchy thinking.

 Tarzan Goto & Jun Kikuzawa vs. Basara & Shinichi Nakano, WYF 9/23/1997 - GREAT

Another very good entry in the shockingly awesome WDF vs. Shin FMW series. In this match Nakano teams with Basara, who is a pudgy low ranked guy in an awesome mask (it has a beard). This matchup gives Nakano and Goto the opportunity to work a really nice opening match section, where both guys have great armdrags, firemans carries etc. and then kick the shit out of the lower ranked guy on the other team. Nakano stomps the hell out of future Kikutaro (take that you unfunny motherfucker!) but Basara gets it worse as Goto piledrives him on the floor, ripping his mask open and bloodying him. Goto's awesome and unique use of foreign objects continues in this match as he grabs a broom, then breaks it in half and stabs Basara in the face with the wooden splinters. It's shit that happens in any lousy deathmatch but the way Goto does it makes it look like some horrific inventive abuse. The crowd actually gets into Basara as he absorbs a beatdown and he arguably has his finest moments ever in this match (not a high bar, but it's something), including landing a big diving headbutt that leaves a pool of blood on the other guys chest. Kikuzawa also busts out the fatboy moonsault and Goto makes uses of the ring bell guy's hammer which I am always a sucker for. Really good stuff, Goto always does the same shit, but he can do no wrong in this formular and the WDF guys were perfect foils as usual.

 Tarzan Goto vs. Battle Ranger, FMW 7/31/1994 - EPIC

Really great match which was way better than a Battle Ranger match had any right to be. To be fair, Ranger brings it hard, as hard as you need when you are fighting Tarzan Goto. Ranger goes right at Goto throwing hard palm strikes. Goto goes to par terre and challenges the Ranger to grapple him which rules, but  Ranger throws a stiff kick at his shoulder instead. It's an awesome beginning to a match and it leads to Tarzan in turn levelling an epic gruesome beating on the Ranger, as he rips his mask open, bloodies him and kicks him around, all the while Tarzan was surprisingly great at eating Rangers surprise high spots. Battle Ranger was hitting hard and getting punched in the face, selling big, taking big bumps and getting tables chucked at his head, clearly having the night of his life. The fans got really into Battle Ranger too, after they initially saw him as having no chance, and Goto is really great in his psycho Tenryu role punching Ranger in the face and throwing great looking headbutts and lariats. It builds to a finish that feels extremely dramatic and violent even by FMW, they made it look as if getting your ass kicked was just as bad as getting blown up in a cage, and the stretcher job really underlines that. Fantastic Goto show against an inspiring opponent, and another case for Goto being so much more than just a gorehound.

 TARZAN GOTO DOCUMENTATION MASTER LIST

Tanomusaku Toba Documentation Project #11

 

Tanomusaku Toba & Shuji Ishikawa vs. Touro Owashi & Yasu Urano, DDT 2/19/2021 - FUN

In 2021, Toba can be considered semi retiered. This is his sole appearance so far, and he did his thing. Match was semi-comedic and during the opening portions every move seemed to be followed by a joke, so it was never going to be a great match, but I was entertained due to everyone playing their role and some sense of hierarchy being displayed. Urano impressed me during his opening grappling with Shuji. Then, Owashi, who wrestles like an even lazier Akira Taue, employs some scummy tactics to avoid getting hit by Toba. I was starting to zone out during Uranos and Owashis standup routine but thankfully Toba salvaged things by punching Urano in the face hard. Ishikawa did the bare minimum. I mean, when Owashi is outworking you (by doing a forward roll, in this case) you really are just collecting your paycheck. Toba tagged in for the final segment and looked good potatoeing Urano as he always does. Match seemed to be building to a bigger ending stretch but in the end what we got was basically a working boots old man comedy tag and I had fun.

Tanomusaku Toba vs. Takeshi Yamada, Nightmare Pro 2/2/2002 - GREAT

Two guys who have no problem beating the shit out of each other being given 5 minutes. Exactly what you want, no downtime, not much cooperation, and plenty of brutal hits and neat offense. Yamada is a Nightmare Pro/ex-WYF young boy with some fun hybrid powerhouse offense including an Oklahoma stampede and a nasty STO. And Toba just beats the shit out of him and dares him to shoot back. Really dug how the last KO was sold. I think Yamada was lost in the shuffle soon after or became a forgettable seedy brawler.

Added to 2002 MOTY list at #61.

Tanomusaku Toba vs. Fuminori Abe, DDT/BASARA 4/20/2018 - EPIC

Toba is older and slower, but he can still bring it in a wild fight. This was Abe basically working a sleazy 90s West Japan or CAPTURE match, which is kind of the height of the artform for a guy like him. This was probably the best I‘ve seen Abe look, simply because he slotted right into Tobas style of wrestling, and busted out some slick submissions. Opening minutes were pretty damn stiff already. Toba looks old, fat, and kind of alcoholic, so him taking these blunt force kicks from Abe looked brutal. Then, Abe decided to put on boxing gloves too so he could punch Toba back. It made the match feel even more like a mixed rules match from a 90s sleaze card. Floor brawling with both guys basically eskimo boxing was pretty insane. Finishing run had both guys eating and dishing out some pretty brutal kicks and punches and a cool strap drop moment when Abe takes the gloves off again. Toba almost getting his foot snapped by an Abe Dragon Screw and then punching his way out of a figure was damn great. Brutal finish. Toba was a champion in this, and crazy as it sounds it ended up being Abes best match I‘ve seen too. There‘s just something about Tobas formula of compact, wild and violent matches that is so much better than the usual main events.

TANOMUSAKU TOBA DOCUMENTATION PROJECT MASTER LIST