| Date: 07/29 | 2:35 PM |
| Views: 1,409 | |
The www.WrestlingObserver.com website is reporting that Karl Charles Istaz b/k/a Karl Gotch passed away last night at 9:45 PM just days before his 83rd birthday. Gotch was a "place-winner" in the 1948 Olympics in London and later came to wrestle professionally in the US. He was considered by some "the toughest man alive" and had quite a reputation as a shooter. He eventually teamed with Rene Goulet to win the WWWF World Tag Team titles. His reputation grew even further in Japan where he was nicknamed "The God of Professional Wrestling" and was a trainer for both New Japan Pro Wrestling and UWF. The shoot style of Gotch trained wrestlers like Nobuhiko Takada is credited by many as leading to the explosion in popularity of mixed martial arts in Japan. Today we honor Gotch's contributions to professional wrestling and MMA and offer our condolences to his family and friends.