Yoshiaki Yatsu (谷津嘉章 ''Yatsu Yoshiaki'', born July 19, 1956) is a Japanese

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

, amateur wrestler and

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

. He is known for being one-half of the first-ever

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Baba, ...

World Tag Team Champions with

Jumbo Tsuruta , better known by his ring name , was a Japanese professional wrestler who wrestled for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) for most of his career, and is well known for being the first ever Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, having won the PWF Heavyw ...

, having won the

NWA International Tag Team Championship ''This was a regional NWA championship based in Japan. For the version of this title that was promoted in NWA All Star Wrestling in Canada, see NWA International Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version).'' The NWA International Tag Team Champio ...

and the

PWF Tag Team Championship The Pacific Wrestling Federation (PWF) World Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team championship in All Japan Pro Wrestling, created in 1984. It was unified with the NWA International Tag Team Championship in 1988, to create ...

, and unifying the two titles.

Amateur wrestling career

1976 Summer Olympics

At the age of 20, Yatsu competed in

freestyle wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling originated from Great Britain and the United States. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. American high school and men's college wrestling ...

at the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. He did not place in the tournament.

1980 Summer Olympics

He would have participated in the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, but Japan chose to follow the American-led boycott.

Controversial IOC Banishment

In 1986 Yatsu took a hiatus from professional wrestling in order to one last time chase his Olympic dream. However, after winning a Japanese National Championship in the super heavyweight division in 1986 and while training for the 1987 Asian Wrestling Championships, the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

declared that Yatsu was a professional athlete and banned him from not only that competition, but also from the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

. The decision stunned many people, but Yatsu didn't file an appeal.

Professional wrestling career

In 1980, after Japan decided not to send their athletes to take part in the Summer Olympics in Moscow, Yoshi "The Yak" Yatsu garnered a great deal of national attention, when he announced his intention of becoming a

. Yatsu worked for the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

as the Great Yatsu from 1980 to 1981. Within just a few years, Yatsu became a regular headliner for

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...

(NJPW), before joining

Riki Choshu , better known by his ring name , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler who is best known for his longtime work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as both a wrestler and a booker. He is considered one of Japan’s most influential wrestlers ...

, when he left the promotion for

(AJPW) at the end of 1984. In All Japan Yatsu and Choshu formed a tag team, which would go on to win the

. While Yatsu was training for his Olympic dream, Choshu left All Japan and returned to New Japan. Upon his return to professional wrestling, Yatsu decided not to join his tag team partner in New Japan, but to stay in All Japan. Afterwards, All Japan broke up the tag team of

Genichiro Tenryu , better known as is a retired Japanese professional wrestler and professional wrestling promoter. At age 13, he entered sumo wrestling and stayed there for 13 years, after which he turned to Western-style professional wrestling. "Tenryu" was his ...

and

and made Tsuruta Yatsu's new tag team partner. The tag team, known as "The Olympics", would go on to win the

World Tag Team Championship The world tag team championship is the name usually given to the primary tag team championships in professional wrestling promotions. Nomenclature The name of the promotion is often preceded to the term "world tag team championship" as the ...

five times, the

PWF World Tag Team Championship The Pacific Wrestling Federation (PWF) World Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team championship in All Japan Pro Wrestling, created in 1984. It was unified with the NWA International Tag Team Championship in 1988, to create ...

once and in 1987 the team also won the

World's Strongest Tag Determination League __NOTOC__ The , more commonly known in the West as the Real World Tag League, is an annual professional wrestling tournament held by All Japan Pro Wrestling since 1977, usually, run on the first weeks of December. The first tournament was actually ...

. In 1990 the team broke up when Yatsu jumped to

Super World of Sports Super World of Sports, more commonly known as SWS, was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion from 1990 to 1992. Its motto was "Straight and Strong". History Formation In April 1990, Genichiro Tenryu, one of the top stars of All Japan Pro Wr ...

. In 1991, while working for the promotion, Yatsu unsuccessfully challenged

Hulk Hogan Terry Eugene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is widely regarded as the most recognized wrestling star worldwide and the most popular wrestler of the 19 ...

for the

WWF Championship The WWE Championship is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, representing the Raw brand division. It is one of two world titles on WWE's main roster, alongside SmackDown's ...

. When Super World of Sports folded in 1992, Yatsu formed his own promotion Social Pro Wrestling Federation (SPWF), but would wrestle himself only semi-regularly. In 1994 he returned to New Japan to take part in the G1 Climax tournament. In recent years, Yatsu has been the president of a transportation company. On November 30, 2010, he returned to the professional wrestling ring to wrestle his retirement match. The match took place in front of 500 fans at Shinjuku Face in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, and saw Yatsu and

Koji Ishinriki Koji, Kōji, Kohji or Kouji may refer to: *Kōji (given name), a masculine Japanese given name *Kōji (Heian period) (康治), Japanese era, 1142–1144 *Kōji (Muromachi period) (弘治), Japanese era, 1555–1558 *Koji orange, a Japanese citrus ...

losing to

Tatsumi Fujinami (born December 28, 1953) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to WWE on a legend's contract. Fujinami is most well known for his long tenure with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was a six-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion. H ...

and

Tiger Mask is a Japanese manga series written by Ikki Kajiwara and illustrated by Naoki Tsuji. The series was first published in Kodansha's ''Bokura Magazine'' from 1968 to 1970 and was later published in ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from 1970 to ...

, when Yatsu submitted to Fujinami. In September 2015, Yatsu came out of retirement to team with his son Teriyaki Yatsu and began competing for smaller promotions. In April 2019, he debuted for

Dramatic Dream Team is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Its name stands for Dramatic Dream Team, which was the promotion's official name from 1997 to 2004. Founded in March 1997 by Shintaro Muto, the promotion was eventually bo ...

(DDT). In 2021, nearly 2 years since he had his right leg amputated he returned to the ring as part of the 15-person gauntlet battle royal match at

CyberFight , operating simply as CyberFight (CF), is a Japanese professional wrestling parent company based in Tokyo. It is a subsidiary of the CyberAgent internet advertising company. CyberFight serves as an umbrella brand for two existing promotions: Pro Wr ...

CyberFight Festival 2021 CyberFight Festival 2021 was a professional wrestling event promoted by CyberFight for its four brands, DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT), Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah), Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling (TJPW), and Ganbare☆Pro-Wrestling (GanPro). It took place on Ju ...

Mixed martial arts career

After spending multiple years out of the spotlight, Yatsu, aged 44, received a big money offer to fight for

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

promotion

Pride Fighting Championships PRIDE Fighting Championships (Pride or Pride FC, founded as KRS-Pride) was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion company. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. Pride held more than sixty mixed martial arts even ...

. On October 31, 2000, Yatsu faced

Gary Goodridge Gary Henry Goodridge (born January 17, 1966), nicknamed "Big Daddy", is a Trinidadian-Canadian former heavyweight kickboxer and mixed martial artist fighting out of Barrie, Ontario. Prior to kickboxing and MMA, he was also one of the top ranked ...

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

. Yatsu, who hadn't had any stand-up training at all and hadn't competed outside of professional wrestling in 13 years, was defeated at 8:58 in the first round. Despite being dominated, Yatsu received a standing ovation from the crowd due to the amount of damage he absorbed without quitting, even trying a

leglock A leglock is a joint lock that is directed at joints of the leg such as the ankle, knee or hip joint. A leglock which is directed at joints in the foot, is sometimes referred to as a foot lock and a lock at the hip as a hip lock. Leglocks are featu ...

at a point. The two were booked in a rematch on September 24, 2001. Goodridge again dominated the fight, got Yatsu in a

guillotine choke The guillotine choke, also known as Mae Hadaka Jime (前裸絞, "front naked choke"; compare to a rear naked choke) in judo, is a chokehold in martial arts applied from in front of the opponent, often on the ground but can also be done while stan ...

and asked for his corner to throw in the towel, which they did. In December 2015, he became a supervisor for

DEEP Deep or The Deep may refer to: Places United States * Deep Creek (Appomattox River tributary), Virginia * Deep Creek (Great Salt Lake), Idaho and Utah * Deep Creek (Mahantango Creek tributary), Pennsylvania * Deep Creek (Mojave River tributary), ...

Personal life

In 1991, at the age of 35, Yatsu was diagnosed with diabetes. On June 25, 2019, Yatsu underwent an operation to amputate his right leg below the knee, as bacteria had entered his bloodstream and his right toe was progressively necrotic.

Championships and accomplishments

Amateur wrestling

* 1976 Japanese Olympic Trials - First place, 198 pounds *

1978 Asian Games The 8th Asian Games () were held from 9 to 20 December 1978, in Bangkok, Thailand. Originally, the host city was Singapore but Singapore dropped its plan to host the Games due to financial problems. Then Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, was de ...

- First place, super heavyweight * 1979 Asian Wrestling Championships - First place, 220 pounds *1979 Japanese National Championships - First place, super heavyweight * 1980 Japanese Olympic Trials - First place, 220 pounds *1986 Japanese National Championships - First place, super heavyweight

Professional wrestling

( 1 time) – with

( 5 times) – with Jumbo Tsuruta :*

(

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

) – with Jumbo Tsuruta :*January 2nd Korakuen Hall Heavyweight Battle Royal (1990) *

DDT Pro-Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Its name stands for Dramatic Dream Team, which was the promotion's official name from 1997 to 2004. Founded in March 1997 by Shintaro Muto, the promotion was eventually bo ...

KO-D 8-Man Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling championship owned by the DDT Pro-Wrestling promotion. Meant for teams of five wrestlers, the title is believed to be the first of its kind in professional wrestling. The title was first announced on April 30, 201 ...

( 1 time) – with Akito,

Hiroshi Yamato , better known by his ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler who currently works as a freelancer. Trained by the All Japan Pro Wrestling promotion, he started his career in February 2007 working in Mexico for the International Wrestling ...

and

Keigo Nakamura is a Japanese people, Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler currently working for the Japanese professional wrestling promotion, promotion DDT Pro-Wrestling where he is a former KO-D 8-Man Tag Team Championship, KO-D 8-Man Tag Te ...

* International Wrestling Promotion :*IWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Goro Tsurumi *

:* SWS Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Haku *''

Tokyo Sports is a Japanese daily sports newspaper founded in 1960. See also * Tokyo Sports Film Award * Tokyo Sports Puroresu Awards The are Japanese professional wrestling, or ''puroresu'', awards that have been handed out by the ''Tokyo Sports'' mag ...

'' :* Best Tag Team Award (1989) – with Jumbo Tsuruta :* Outstanding Performance Award (1986) *

World Class Championship Wrestling World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), later known as the World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA) (1986–1991) was an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed ...

WCCW Television Championship The WCWA Television Championship was a secondary professional wrestling championship that was used and defended in the World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA). Originally created in 1979 as the NWA Television Championship, one of many television ...

( 1 time)

Mixed martial arts record

, Loss , align=center, 0-2 ,

, TKO (corner stoppage) ,

Pride 16 The year 2001 is the 5th year in the history of the Pride Fighting Championships, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 2001 had 6 events beginning with, ''Pride 13 - Collision Course''. Title fights Debut Pride FC fighters Th ...

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:03 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 0-1 ,

, TKO (punches) , Pride 11 - Battle of the Rising Sun , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 8:58 ,

, Japan ,

Submission grappling record

KO PUNCHES , - style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;" , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Result , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Opponent , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Method , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Event , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Date , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Round , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Time , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Notes , - , Loss, ,

Ricco Rodriguez Ricco Rodriguez (born August 19, 1977) is an American semi-retired mixed martial artist currently competing in the heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 1999, he has competed for the UFC, PRIDE Fighting Championships, EliteXC, I ...

, , Points , , ADCC 2001 +99 kg, , 2001, , , , , , , -

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yatsu, Yoshiaki 1956 births Living people Japanese male sport wrestlers Japanese male professional wrestlers Japanese male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing freestyle wrestling Olympic wrestlers of Japan Wrestlers at the 1976 Summer Olympics Asian Games medalists in wrestling Asian Games gold medalists for Japan Wrestlers at the 1978 Asian Games Medalists at the 1978 Asian Games 20th-century Japanese people 21st-century Japanese people 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers World Tag Team Champions (AJPW) KO-D 8-Man/10-Man Tag Team Champions NWA International Tag Team Champions PWF World Tag Team Champions