In this episode I’m joined by pro-wrestler Tad Murphy to talk about the legendary wrestler Karl Gotch.
Karl Gotch was a German-Hungarian wrestler born in Belgium who trained at the infamous ‘Snake Pit’ in Wigan, England, then competed in the United States and then taught several generations of pro-wrestlers in Japan.
His influence is the common link between just about every major Japanese MMA organisation (including Pride, Shooto, Pancrase, Shootboxing, Rizin, etc), as well as every Submission Wrestling, and Pro Wrestling organisation too.
Here’s Tad Murphy’s family tree showing the connections between Gotch, the various MMA, Catch Wrestling and Pro Wrestling organisations in Japan. Click here to view the high-res version.
As you can see, Karl Gotch is connected to almost all MMA activity in Japan for the last 30 years. It’s an amazing story and I hope you join us in this episode!
How to Listen to Our Podcast Episode About Karl Gotch
You can listen to the audio-only version of this conversation as episode 317 of The Strenuous Life Podcast (my podcast) on any of the podcasting platforms including
- Apple Podcasts,
- Google Podcasts,
- Spotify,
- Stitcher,
- Or anywhere else you get your podcasts!
You can also stream just the audio right here on this page using the player below…
About Tad Murphy
First check out my previous episode with Tad Murphy called Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Pro Wrestling But Were Afraid to Ask.
Then follow Tad Murphy in his wrestler persona on Instagram at @tadwrestler or in his customer success career at @lincolnmurphy
Finally, if you could find it in your black little heart to leave a rating or a review of The Strenuous Life Podcast on Apple Podcasts I would be forever indebted to you!
Thank you very much,
Stephan Kesting