Karl Istaz

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Karl Istaz
Data
Ring name Karl Gotch
Karl Krauser
height 1.85 m
Fighting weight 111 kg
birth August 3, 1924
Antwerp , Belgium
death July 28, 2007
Tampa , Florida
Trained by Billy Riley
debut 1956
retirement 1982

Karl Istaz (born August 3, 1924 in Antwerp , Belgium , † July 28, 2007 in Tampa , Florida , USA ) was a Belgian wrestler and wrestler who became known under his ring name Karl Gotch .

In Japan Gotch was known as the god of wrestling due to his great influence on the Japanese style of wrestling. He had both German and Hungarian roots and was a survivor of the Holocaust .

Life

Istaz was born in Belgium, but when he was around four years old, the family moved to Hamburg , Germany. At the age of nine he began to be interested in wrestling and trained in relevant Hamburg clubs. With the outbreak of World War II , Istaz's story becomes somewhat obscure. Some sources state that Istaz was in a concentration camp , others that he returned to Belgium in good time. It is also sometimes claimed that he was a seven-time Belgian champion in wrestling during this time, but this can be viewed as very unlikely during the war. Istaz himself never mentioned this time in interviews.

After the war, Istaz returned to Belgium and made his living as a laborer who wrestled on the side. In 1948 he represented Belgium at the Olympic Games , but it was not enough for a medal. However, Istaz now wanted to become a professional wrestler and trained under experienced German wrestlers. During a training session he was clearly defeated by an English wrestler who confided in him to have been trained in Wigan , England. Istaz saved money and eventually went to Wigan to train there. There he was trained hard by Billy Riley in his infamous "Snake Pit" gym and in 1955 he made his debut as' Karl Krauser in European professional wrestling.

In France he met Edouard Carpentier , with whom he stayed in contact and who brought him to Canada in 1959 to work for Eddie Quinn. Istaz was a good technician there, but due to his clear German accent and down-to-earth demeanor, he was not yet ready for the North American show wrestling. Therefore, at first he mainly worked in the undercard. In 1960 it caught the attention of promoter Al Halft of Columbus, Ohio. Halft took Istaz under his wing and helped him learn American style and improve his microphone skills. In addition, Halft Istaz gave the ring name Karl Gotch , which was based on the former American heavyweight champion Frank Gotch .

Istaz got a little career push, but built his career in the United States with a backstage argument. He got into an argument with Buddy Rogers along with Big Bill Miller , over the fact that Rogers claimed not to lead a title match with Istaz because Istaz's name did not attract any spectators. In his honor as a "real" wrestler, Istaz felt offended by the "show wrestler" Rogers and attacked him, which led to a broken hand for Rogers. Promoter Halft treated the incident as a triviality, but Istaz was now decried as a troublemaker by the other North American promoters. So he stayed with Halft until 1965 and received it in 1962 Halft's AWA Heavyweight Championship against Don Leo Jonathon . In 1964 he had to give the title back to Lou Thesz . He also toured Australia and Japan. His technically based style was particularly well received in Japan.

For the next few years Gotch worked in San Francisco and Los Angeles , where he had only moderate success. It was only in Florida that he was able to receive the WWA World Tag Team Championship together with Mike DiBiase. Istaz also began to train young wrestlers, including the future coaching legend Hiro Matsuda .

In 1971 he formed a successful team with Rene Goulet in the World Wide Wrestling Federation , which received the WWWF World Tag Team Championship from Luke Graham and Tarzan Tyler in December of that year . In February 1972 they had to give them back to King Curtis Iaukea and Baron Mikel Scicluna.

Istaz was then contacted by Antonio Inoki , who was just about to set up his own promotion with New Japan Pro Wrestling. Since Istaz was a very respected wrestler in Japan, he played with Inoki the main event of his first show. He also performed there as a tag team with Lou Thesz. In the following years, Istaz achieved legendary status in Japan until 1982. He played his last match on January 1, 1982 against Yoshiaki Fujiwara .

Karl Gotch never became famous in the USA; However, he had enormous influence through his career as an active wrestler and trainer in Japan.

Trainer

Karl Gotch was one of the most successful wrestling coaches of all time in Japan. During his career he trained the following wrestlers:

Web links


personal data
SURNAME Istaz, Karl
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gotch, Karl (ring name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Belgian wrestler and wrestler
DATE OF BIRTH August 3, 1924
PLACE OF BIRTH Antwerp , Belgium
DATE OF DEATH July 28, 2007
Place of death Tampa , Florida , USA