Yoshi Tatsu

Sep 9, 2009 - by Steve Gerweck

Photo credit: World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.

Photo credit: World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.

Real name: Naofumi Yamamoto
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 230 lbs.
Date of birth: July 11, 1977
Hometown: Gifu, Japan
Pro debut: October 12, 2002
Trained by: NJ Dojo, FCW, & Chono
Finishing move: The Cloverleaf

Biography

– Yamamoto has a background in various combat sports
– Yamamoto passed a NJPW Dojo trial in September 2001 and reported for training in March 2002
– Yamamoto debuted on October 12, 2002, losing to Wataru Inoue
– Yamamoto earned his first win on December 23, 2002, defeating fellow rookie Ryusuke Taguchi
– At Battle Final 2005, Yamamoto defeated Hiroshi Nagao
– In late 2007, Yamamoto left NJPW in order to sign a WWE development deal. He debuted for FCW as ‘Mr Yamamoto’ on December 4, 2007, teaming with Ichiban to defeat Derrick Linkin
– In October 2008, Mr Yamamoto became simply ‘Yamamoto’
– In January 2009, Yamamoto became Yoshitatsu
– Yoshi Tatsu graduated to the ECW brand on June 30, 2009, defeating Shelton Benjamin in his debut match
– Following the demise of the ECW brand in February 2010, Yoshi Tatsu was moved to the Raw roster, but spent the majority of the year competing on WWE’s B-shows
– Yoshi Tatsu was one of the ‘pros’ for NXT Season 5
– In April 2011, Tatsu was drafted to Smackdown, but would still remain largely absent from main roster shows
– On June 12, 2014, Tatsu was released by WWE. He would return to the indies under the ‘Yamamoto’ name
– On August 16, Yamamoto defeated Aaron Epic to win the SCW Florida Heavyweight Title, and would defend it against Chico Adams twice over the next three days
– On August 31, Yamamoto defeated Lince Dorado to retain the SCW Florida Heavyweight Title
– On September 6, Yamamoto defeated Tristan Keali’i to retain the SCW Florida Heavyweight Title
– On September 26, Yamamoto defeated Alex Porteau to retain the SCW Florida Heavyweight Title
– The next day, Yamamoto defeated Rhett Giddins to win the RIOT Heavyweight Title
– In October 2014, Yamamoto returned to New Japan under the name ‘Yoshitatsu’ and was given the gimmick of ‘Bullet Club Hunter’. Unfortunately, he botched taking AJ Styles’ Styles Clash in his first match back with the company and broke two bones in his neck, forcing him out of action for 18 months
– Yoshitatsu returned to television as a member of the NJPW announce team at Wrestle Kingdom 10 in January 2016
– Yoshitatsu returned to in-ring action at Invasion Attack 2016, teaming with Hiroshi Tanahashi & Michael Elgin to defeat BULLET CLUB (Kenny Omega, Nick Jackson & Matt Jackson) and win the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Titles
– On April 23, 2016, Yoshitatsu, Tanahashi & Elgin defeated BULLET CLUB (Kenny Omega, Yujiro Takahashi & Bad Luck Fale) to retain the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Titles
– In February 2017, Yoshitatsu had a brief stint in Mexico’s CMLL
– In a dark match prior to Wrestling Dontaku 2017, Yoshitatsu & Hirai Kawato defeated Katsuya Kitamura & Tomoyuki Oka
– In July 2017, Yoshitatsu left New Japan to become a freelancer, though would compete almost exclusively for All Japan
– On February 3, 2018, Yoshiken (Yoshitatsu & Kento Miyahara) defeated Violent Giants (Shuji Ishikawa & Suwama) to win the AJPW Tag Team Titles, but would lose them to The Big Guns (Zeus & The Bodyguard) before the month was out
– On March 30, 2019, Yoshitatsu defeated Davey Cusano to win the vacant UCE Corona Premier Intercontinental Title
– On May 27, Yoshitatsu defeated TAJIRI to retain the UCE Corona Premier Intercontinental Title and win the AJPW GAORA TV Title
– On July 17, Yoshitatsu defeated Hideki Sekine to retain the UCE Corona Premier Intercontinental Title
– On July 27, Yoshitatu defeated TORU to retain the AJPW GAORA TV Title
– On August 28, Yoshitatsu defeated Noriyuki Yoshida to retain the AJPW GAORA TV Title
– On October 9, Yoshitatsu defeated UTAMARO to retain the AJPW GAORA TV Title
– On December 31, at a WRESTLE-1 event, Yoshitatsu defeated Seigo Tachibana to retain the AJPW GAORA TV Title
– On January 1, 2020, Yoshitatsu signed a full-time contract with All Japan
– On Janaury 18, Yoshitatsu defeated Ricky Fuji to retain the AJPW GAORA TV Title
– On February 23, Yoshitatsu defeated GAINA to retain the AJPW GAORA TV Title
– On May 27, Yoshitatsu defeated Seigo Tachibana to retain the AJPW GAORA TV Title
– On July 23, Yoshitatsu defeated Yusuke Odaka to retain the AJPW GAORA TV Title
– On December 27, Yoshitatsu defeated Tsuyoshi Okada to retain the UCE Corona Premier Intercontinental Title
– On July 22, 2021, Yoshitatsu, Carbell Ito & Seigo Tachibana defeated TOTAL ECLIPSE (Yusuke Kodama, Hokuto Omori & TAJIRI) to win the AJPW TV Six-Man Tag Team Titles
– On September 10, Yoshitatsu, Ito & Tachibana defeated Black Menso-re, All Mighty Inoue & Lowther to retain the AJPW TV Six-Man Tag Team Titles
– On September 12, Yoshitatsu, Ito & Tachibana defeated Black Menso-re, El Brave & Koji Nizumi to retain the AJPW TV Six-Man Tag Team Titles, but the titles would be vacated later that month after Ito was ruled out of action with a fractured wrist
– On October 16, Yoshitatsu, Seigo Tachibana & Takayuki Ueki defeated Takao Omori, Raimu Imai & TAMURA to win the vacant AJPW TV Six-Man Tag Team Titles
– On March 27, 2022, Yoshitatsu defeated Takayuki Ueki to retain the UCE Corona Premier Intercontinental Title
– On October 30, Yoshitatsu & TAJIRI defeated Hikaru Sato & Dan Tamura to win the AJPW All Asia Tag Team Titles
– On November 16, Yoshitatsu & TAJIRI defeated Black Menso-re & Izanagi to retain the AJPW All Asia Tag Team Titles, but Yoshitatsu would lose the titles to Gungnir of Anarchy (Yusuke Kodama & Masao Hanabatake) later that month
– On February 4, 2023, Yoshitatsu & Atsushi Onita defeated NOSAWA Rongai & Kendo Kashin in a Bunkhouse Current Blast Death Match to win the AJPW All Asia Tag Team Titles
– On April 15, Yoshitatsu & Onita defeated Black Menso-re & Takao Omori in a Bunkhouse Megaton Current Blast Death Match to retain the AJPW All Asia Tag Team Titles
– On April 29, Yoshitatsu & Onita defeated Shuji Ishikawa & Hikaru Sato in a Barbed Wire Blast, Blast Bat & Barbed Wire Barricade Mine Death Match to retain the AJPW All Asia Tag Team Titles


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