Nickname: "TomaTomaChan," "11th descendant of the Legendary Tama Ming Checkers Dynasty," "KING OF COMEDY"
Birthplace: Narita, Chiba Prefecture
Birthdate: July 18, 1982
Theme Music: "Happy Days" by Ai Otsuka
Weight: 111kg (244lbs)
Height: 193cm (6'4")
Debut: August 14, 2002 (vs. James Goodwin)
Physical Appearance:
Go is very tall for your average Japanese person, and very lanky as a
result. He has a reasonably athletic build, but not much in the way of
muscle mass. Go has quirky, but lovable facial features, including a
scraggly goatee (thought more trimmed since becoming Chairman of the
Wrestler's.) and long hair (which is tied in a ponytail during Chairman
duties.)
Ring Costume: Go wears long red tights with a
white stripe going down both legs. The back of Go's trunks sport a
checkerboard pattern, showing his love for the simple board game. In
addition to white wrist tape, Go wears knee pads matching his tights,
along with white boots. As a homage to his Hisai Tomagochi character, Go
wears Hisai's ceremonial robe and monks hat to the ring, and wears his
old face paint transplanted onto a mask for bigger matches.
Title History:
* KOF Tag Team Titles
- (w/ TAKU) RYUJI & Manabe Tsuji (04/11/2010) / Vacated (11/02/2012)
Tournament History:
* Sakura Tag Festival (FURY - 2010): TAKU & Go Taniguchi beat RYUJI & Manabe Tsuji (22:17) when Taniguchi used the Tama Tama Drop on RYUJI.
Trademark Moves:
* Tama Tama Drop (Standing Fireman's Carry thrown into a seated uranage.)
* Aqua-Line (Delayed Northern Light Suplex hold.)
* Giant Swing
* Northern Chop
* Running Neckbreaker Drop
Biography:
Playing basketball and volleyball in college, Go Taniguchi was
recruited to join Kazuma Fujita's dojo in early 2002. Fujita discovered
Go after seeing him being interviewed on TV by a reporter. In the
report, Go mentioned that being a professional wrestler was his
ambition, leading to Fujita reaching out.
Despite
having good size, Go struggled with the fundamentals of pro-wrestling
early on, and was considered very clumsy gearing towards his announced
debut. Knowing this, Go used his natural charisma, and unique style of
dry wit to adapt a colorful comedy persona named "Hisai Tomagochi."
While the name itself was nothing more than phonetic jibberish, the
character was rooted deep in kabuki mythology. In the early days of the
character, Hisai would perform a unique kabuki dance for luck. It was
also here that Hisai's fascination with Checkers appeared, as he would
routinely challenge opponents to "Checkers-style" Deathmatches, which
were nothing more than ordinary checker games -- usually resulting in
Hisai turning the board over as he neared defeat.
Enjoying
a long run under the comedy character, Hisai announced plans in mid
2005 to to compete as a serious wrestler for the first time in a move
largely inspired by his best friend Taku Okamoto shedding his Kinniku
Kamen character. The persona has brought Go immense popularity, and has
garnered him regular appearances on many TV variety shows. While
wrestling primarily as himself, Go has been known to revive Hisai when
fans need a laugh.
While being relegated to support for
the next few years, Go ranked amongst one of the most beloved members
of the Pro-Wrestling FURY roster. It wouldn't be until 2010 that Go
would break out as a tag team star upon forming the "FURY Machine Guns"
with best friend TAKU. The two won the 2010 Sakura Tag Festival
tournament, and the KOF Tag Team Titles in the process. The two would
enjoy a fruitful reign as champions for the next year. However, title
inactivity in 2011 forced the two to vacate the belts, with repeated
attempts to re-take the titles proving unsuccessful.
In
the final days of Pro-Wrestling FURY, Go began to assume much more
front office duties, and began serving as a liaison between the office
and the wrestlers. Upon KJPW's inception in 2013, Go was unanimously
voted to represent the wrestler's on their behalf, becoming Wrestler's
Chairman. Despite his growing responsibilities, Go is a consummate
entertainer, and can not be underestimated as a competitor.