Tuesday, February 24, 1970

GO TANIGUCHI (渓口轟)

Real Name: Go Taniguchi
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.