Naofumi Yamamoto
Encyclopedia
is a Japan
ese professional wrestler
and former boxer
, who is currently signed to WWE, performing on its SmackDown brand under the ring name
Yoshi Tatsu.
Yamamoto lost to Wataru Inoue
in his debut match in the first match of a show in the Korakuen Hall. Initially Yamamoto worked low card matches for NJPW, normally on the losing side to gain ring experience. On December 27, 2003, Yamamoto lost to Ryusuke Taguchi
in a match where the winner would get a match on NJPW's most prestigious show, their January 4 Dome Show
Wrestling World. Yamamoto participated in the 2004 Young Lion Cup where he defeated Hirooki Goto
, Aikya Anzawa, and Hiroshi Nagao to earn a total of six points, not enough to qualify for the finals. Yamamoto also participated in the 2005 Young Lion Cup where he only won one match, defeating Yujiro
. In 2006 Yamamoto participated in his first G1 Climax tournament, losing all four matches. Yamamoto teamed up with Manabu Nakanishi
to compete in the 2006 G1 Climax Tag League, defeating Giant Bernard and Travis Tomko
to earn their sole victory in the tournament. On January 8, 2006, Yamamoto and Osamu Nishimura
defated Toru Yano
and a returning Togi Makabe
. Over the summer of 2007 Yamamoto began teaming regularly with Hiroshi Tanahashi
forming a team called "New Japan Dragons", earning a match for the IWGP Tag Team Championship against the then champions, Bernard and Tomko, albeit in a losing effort. For the 2007 G1 Climax Tag League Yamamoto teamed up with Takashi Ilzuka
, while they defeated three teams (Hirooki Goto and Milano Collection A.T., Togi Makabe and Toru Yano, and Giant Bernard and Travis Tomko); the team ended up in last place. On November 2, 2007 Yamamoto wrestled his last match for NJPW, teaming with his mentor Yuji Nagata
in a losing effort against Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano.
(WWE) to a full time contract, which meant that he had to relocate to the United States. He immediately was assigned to WWE's developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling
(FCW), to undergo assessment and training in the "WWE Style" of wrestling. Initially he wrestled as Mr. Yamamoto, then simply as Yamamoto. He briefly teamed with Sheamus O'Shaunessy under the team name "the Movers and the Shakers". Later on he changed his ring name to Yoshitatsu, before tweaking the spelling to Yoshi Tatsu, the name he currently works under.
under the ring name Yoshi Tatsu. He had his first match that night, defeating Shelton Benjamin
, although he lost a rematch to Benjamin on the July 9 episode of ECW. On the October 20 episode of ECW, Tatsu defeated Zack Ryder
to become number one contender for the ECW Championship, although he failed to win the championship the following week against Christian
. On the December 22 edition of ECW Yoshi Tatsu defeated Jack Swagger to earn a spot in the ECW Homecoming battle royal where the winner would challenge Christian for the ECW title at the Royal Rumble
. On the January 12 edition of ECW, however, Tatsu was not able to win the battle royal when he was eliminated by Kane. At the Royal Rumble
Tatsu competed in his first Royal Rumble match, but was eliminated by John Cena
. Tatsu then formed a tag team with Goldust and the duo became the number one contenders for the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship but failed in capturing the titles on the final episode of ECW on Syfy.
brand on the February 22, 2010 edition of Raw, where he teamed up with Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston
to defeat The Legacy
(Randy Orton
, Ted DiBiase
, and Cody Rhodes), after Orton turned on his partners. Tatsu won a 26-Man Battle Royal
in the dark match to open WrestleMania XXVI
by last eliminating Zack Ryder
. In July 2010, Tatsu would be involved in a few backstage brawls with The Nexus
to try to help John Cena
get rid of them, which he failed to do. Yoshi then went to Japan to promote the new WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011
video game. After months of not appearing on WWE television, Tatsu returned on the November 11 episode of WWE Superstars
, defeating Zack Ryder. On the November 29 episode of Raw, Tatsu teamed with Mark Henry
to defeat WWE Tag Team Champions
Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater, after a distraction by John Cena. A week later, Tatsu and Henry received a shot at the titles in a Fatal-4-Way Elimination Tag Team match, which also included The Usos
and Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov. Tatsu and Henry were the first team eliminated in the match. On the February 14th edition of Raw, Maryse and DiBiase were about to kiss but instead Maryse kissed Tatsu. On the 24 February episode of Superstars during the match between Daniel Bryan
and Ted DiBiase, Yoshi Tatsu came out and gave Maryse flowers but Maryse hit DiBiase with the flowers before Bryan used the LeBell Lock on DiBiase, making him tap out allowing Bryan to win the match.
Tatsu was a WWE Pro for the fifth season of WWE NXT
, also known as NXT Redemption, with his rookie being Byron Saxton. On the April 26 episode of WWE NXT, Tatsu was attacked by Saxton after Tatsu cost his match against Lucky Cannon. This would cause tension between the two until the May 17 episode of WWE NXT, where Tatsu would defeat Saxton. On the May 31 episode of WWE NXT, Saxton was the second rookie eliminated.
After Saxton's elimination, Tatsu began a feud with fellow NXT pro Tyson Kidd, whose rookie was also eliminated. Their feud stemmed from Kidd breaking Tatsu's toy figurine of himself and stealing one of the toy figurine's legs. Both wrestlers would trade wins during their series of matches, and Tatsu claimed back the stolen figurine leg by winning a Necklace on a Pole match on the July 26 edition of NXT. After the match, Kidd brutally assaulted the right leg of Tatsu, causing Tatsu to be absent from NXT for more than a month.
However, in the next few weeks, a mysterious Japanese symbol would appear on the TitanTron to distract Kidd during his matches. The symbol turned out to be the Kanji
lettering for “pride
” – a message from Tatsu. Tatsu returned on the September 6th episode of NXT, where he debuted black tights emblazoned with Kanji characters and the Japanese flag, had his small lock of blond hair dyed red and had half his face painted. Tatsu would go on to defeat Kidd on that episode to end the feud. Tatsu later explained that his new look and wrestling style was due to him wanting to better portray Japanese culture
, Japanese pride and the aggressive style of Japanese wrestling; he also explained that his face paint was a tribute to the Great Muta
.
and WWE '12
video games. He was previously featured in King of Colosseum II
and Wrestle Kingdom 2
under his real name.
with a degree in political studies
.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese professional wrestler
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
and former boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
, who is currently signed to WWE, performing on its SmackDown brand under the ring name
Ring name
A ring name is a stage name used by a professional wrestler, martial artist, or boxer. While some ring names may have a fictitious first name and surname, others may simply be a nickname, such as The Undertaker.-Wrestling:...
Yoshi Tatsu.
New Japan Pro Wrestling (2002–2008)
Yamamoto trained for his professional wrestling career in the New Japan Pro Wrestling Dojo before making his professional wrestling debut on October 12, 2002.Yamamoto lost to Wataru Inoue
Wataru Inoue
is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working for New Japan Pro Wrestling.-Professional wrestling career:Inoue made his debut in 1999 on the Japanese independent circuit, then climbed the ladder to get to New Japan Pro Wrestling in 2004...
in his debut match in the first match of a show in the Korakuen Hall. Initially Yamamoto worked low card matches for NJPW, normally on the losing side to gain ring experience. On December 27, 2003, Yamamoto lost to Ryusuke Taguchi
Ryusuke Taguchi
is a Japanese professional wrestler, trained by and currently performing for New Japan Pro Wrestling , where he is a former one-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion and a four-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion....
in a match where the winner would get a match on NJPW's most prestigious show, their January 4 Dome Show
January 4 Dome Show
The January 4 Tokyo Dome Show is a professional wrestling major show, some times broadcast as a Pay-Per-View , held by Japanese Professional wrestling promotion New Japan Pro Wrestling...
Wrestling World. Yamamoto participated in the 2004 Young Lion Cup where he defeated Hirooki Goto
Hirooki Goto
is a Japanese professional wrestler. He has wrestled primarily for New Japan Pro Wrestling since his debut.-Career:Goto attended Kokushikan University, where he took part in freestyle wrestling and Greco-Roman wrestling. Upon graduating, Goto qualified to join New Japan Pro Wrestling, but left the...
, Aikya Anzawa, and Hiroshi Nagao to earn a total of six points, not enough to qualify for the finals. Yamamoto also participated in the 2005 Young Lion Cup where he only won one match, defeating Yujiro
Yujiro Takahashi
, also known by his shortened ring name is a Japanese professional wrestler trained by and currently performing for New Japan Pro Wrestling , where he is a former IWGP Tag Team and IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion with former partner Tetsuya Naitō, with whom he teamed as No...
. In 2006 Yamamoto participated in his first G1 Climax tournament, losing all four matches. Yamamoto teamed up with Manabu Nakanishi
Manabu Nakanishi
is a Japanese professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler who competed in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. He currently works for New Japan Pro Wrestling. He is a former IWGP Heavyweight Champion.-Amateur wrestling career:...
to compete in the 2006 G1 Climax Tag League, defeating Giant Bernard and Travis Tomko
Travis Tomko
Travis David Tomko is an American professional wrestler, known by his ring name Tomko, who most recently worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he previously was a member of Christian's Coalition and the Angle Alliance and often worked alongside A.J. Styles. He was also notable for his...
to earn their sole victory in the tournament. On January 8, 2006, Yamamoto and Osamu Nishimura
Osamu Nishimura
Osamu Nishimura is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working for All Japan Pro Wrestling. Nishimura formerly worked for New Japan Pro Wrestling and MUGA World Pro Wrestling.-Early years :...
defated Toru Yano
Toru Yano
, is a Japanese professional wrestler, trained by and currently signed to New Japan Pro Wrestling , where he is a former IWGP Tag Team Champion.-New Japan Pro Wrestling :...
and a returning Togi Makabe
Togi Makabe
, better known by his ring name is a Japanese professional wrestler, trained by and currently performing for New Japan Pro Wrestling , where he is a former IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Tag Team Champion....
. Over the summer of 2007 Yamamoto began teaming regularly with Hiroshi Tanahashi
Hiroshi Tanahashi
is a Japanese professional wrestler who works primarily for New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he is the current IWGP Heavyweight Champion in his fifth reign.-Early life:...
forming a team called "New Japan Dragons", earning a match for the IWGP Tag Team Championship against the then champions, Bernard and Tomko, albeit in a losing effort. For the 2007 G1 Climax Tag League Yamamoto teamed up with Takashi Ilzuka
Takayuki Iizuka
, better known by his stage name , is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for New Japan Pro Wrestling.-Early years :Takayuki Iizuka made his debut for New Japan Pro Wrestling in November 1986, wrestling against Akira Nogami. In June 1989, Iizuka and Hiroshi Hase went to the Soviet...
, while they defeated three teams (Hirooki Goto and Milano Collection A.T., Togi Makabe and Toru Yano, and Giant Bernard and Travis Tomko); the team ended up in last place. On November 2, 2007 Yamamoto wrestled his last match for NJPW, teaming with his mentor Yuji Nagata
Yuji Nagata
is a Japanese professional wrestler. He was known for his perennial tweener status, currently a solid fan favorite, and his stiff, shoot style wrestling technique....
in a losing effort against Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano.
Developmental territory (2007–2009)
In late 2007 Yamamoto was signed by World Wrestling EntertainmentWorld Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
(WWE) to a full time contract, which meant that he had to relocate to the United States. He immediately was assigned to WWE's developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling
Florida Championship Wrestling
Championship Wrestling from Florida was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as Florida Championship Wrestling...
(FCW), to undergo assessment and training in the "WWE Style" of wrestling. Initially he wrestled as Mr. Yamamoto, then simply as Yamamoto. He briefly teamed with Sheamus O'Shaunessy under the team name "the Movers and the Shakers". Later on he changed his ring name to Yoshitatsu, before tweaking the spelling to Yoshi Tatsu, the name he currently works under.
ECW (2009–2010)
On June 30, 2009, Yamamoto joined the ECW brandWWE Brand Extension
WWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Entertainment , currently promotes its core business of professional wrestling through two "brands" named after their two major television shows Raw and SmackDown...
under the ring name Yoshi Tatsu. He had his first match that night, defeating Shelton Benjamin
Shelton Benjamin
Shelton James Benjamin is an American professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler best known for his tenure in World Wrestling Entertainment. Benjamin has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling in high school and at the University of Minnesota. In addition, Benjamin has acted...
, although he lost a rematch to Benjamin on the July 9 episode of ECW. On the October 20 episode of ECW, Tatsu defeated Zack Ryder
Zack Ryder
Matthew Joseph Cardona, Jr. better known by his ring name Zack Ryder, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE and works on the Raw brand as a wrestler and the SmackDown brand as an assistant to SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long.Cardona wrestled mostly with his tag...
to become number one contender for the ECW Championship, although he failed to win the championship the following week against Christian
Jason Reso
William Jason Reso is a Canadian professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring names Christian and Christian Cage...
. On the December 22 edition of ECW Yoshi Tatsu defeated Jack Swagger to earn a spot in the ECW Homecoming battle royal where the winner would challenge Christian for the ECW title at the Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble (2010)
Royal Rumble was the twenty-third annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on January 31, 2010 at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia and featured talent from the Raw, SmackDown and ECW brands...
. On the January 12 edition of ECW, however, Tatsu was not able to win the battle royal when he was eliminated by Kane. At the Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble (2010)
Royal Rumble was the twenty-third annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on January 31, 2010 at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia and featured talent from the Raw, SmackDown and ECW brands...
Tatsu competed in his first Royal Rumble match, but was eliminated by John Cena
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand....
. Tatsu then formed a tag team with Goldust and the duo became the number one contenders for the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship but failed in capturing the titles on the final episode of ECW on Syfy.
Raw (2010–2011)
After the ECW brand was discontinued, Tatsu made his debut on the RawWWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
brand on the February 22, 2010 edition of Raw, where he teamed up with Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston
Kofi Kingston
Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah , is a Ghanaian American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Kofi Kingston. He is currently signed to WWE and works on its Raw brand where he is one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions with Evan Bourne as Air Boom...
to defeat The Legacy
The Legacy (professional wrestling)
The Legacy was a villainous alliance of professional wrestlers in World Wrestling Entertainment. The group was led by Randy Orton and contained the tag team of Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase....
(Randy Orton
Randy Orton
Randal Keith "Randy" Orton is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE wrestling on its SmackDown brand...
, Ted DiBiase
Ted DiBiase, Jr.
Theodore Marvin "Ted" DiBiase Jr. is an American professional wrestler and actor signed with WWE, where he appears on its SmackDown brand...
, and Cody Rhodes), after Orton turned on his partners. Tatsu won a 26-Man Battle Royal
Battle royal (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a battle royal is a multi-competitor match type in which wrestlers are eliminated until one is left and declared winner...
in the dark match to open WrestleMania XXVI
WrestleMania XXVI
WrestleMania XXVI was the twenty-sixth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on March 28, 2010 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona. This was the fourth WrestleMania to...
by last eliminating Zack Ryder
Zack Ryder
Matthew Joseph Cardona, Jr. better known by his ring name Zack Ryder, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE and works on the Raw brand as a wrestler and the SmackDown brand as an assistant to SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long.Cardona wrestled mostly with his tag...
. In July 2010, Tatsu would be involved in a few backstage brawls with The Nexus
Nexus (professional wrestling)
The Nexus was a villainous professional wrestling stable in the professional wrestling promotion, WWE, that competed on its Raw brand. The group originally consisted of all eight rookies of NXT season one and shifted their roster several times throughout their existence...
to try to help John Cena
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand....
get rid of them, which he failed to do. Yoshi then went to Japan to promote the new WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by THQ for the PlayStation 2 , PlayStation 3 , PlayStation Portable , Wii and Xbox 360 systems. It is the seventh game in the WWE SmackDown vs. Raw series and the final game under the SmackDown vs...
video game. After months of not appearing on WWE television, Tatsu returned on the November 11 episode of WWE Superstars
WWE Superstars
WWE Superstars is a professional wrestling television program produced by World Wrestling Entertainment that originally aired on WGN America in the United States. It debuted on April 16, 2009 and ended its domestic broadcasting on April 7, 2011...
, defeating Zack Ryder. On the November 29 episode of Raw, Tatsu teamed with Mark Henry
Mark Henry
Mark Jerrold Henry is an American professional wrestler signed with WWE, where he performs on its SmackDown brand as the reigning World Heavyweight Champion. He is a 1992 Olympian, and winner of the 2002 Arnold Strongman Classic...
to defeat WWE Tag Team Champions
WWE Tag Team Championship
The WWE Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship in WWE. It was established as a second title for tag teams in WWE in 2002 to complement the original World Tag Team Championship...
Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater, after a distraction by John Cena. A week later, Tatsu and Henry received a shot at the titles in a Fatal-4-Way Elimination Tag Team match, which also included The Usos
The Usos
The Usos are a professional wrestling tag team consisting of twin brothers Jimmy and Jey Uso. The Usos appear in WWE, competing on the SmackDown brand. The pair were previously managed by Tamina...
and Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov. Tatsu and Henry were the first team eliminated in the match. On the February 14th edition of Raw, Maryse and DiBiase were about to kiss but instead Maryse kissed Tatsu. On the 24 February episode of Superstars during the match between Daniel Bryan
Daniel Bryan
Colonel Dan Bryan was an officer in the Irish Army and head of G2 during World War II, known in neutral Ireland as "The Emergency"....
and Ted DiBiase, Yoshi Tatsu came out and gave Maryse flowers but Maryse hit DiBiase with the flowers before Bryan used the LeBell Lock on DiBiase, making him tap out allowing Bryan to win the match.
SmackDown and NXT (2011)
On April 26, Tatsu was drafted to the SmackDown brand as part of the 2011 Supplemental Draft.Tatsu was a WWE Pro for the fifth season of WWE NXT
WWE NXT
WWE NXT is a sports entertainment television program produced by WWE that debuted on February 23, 2010. Described as a hybrid between reality television and WWE's scripted live event shows, the premise of the show follows select talent contracted to WWE's developmental territory Florida...
, also known as NXT Redemption, with his rookie being Byron Saxton. On the April 26 episode of WWE NXT, Tatsu was attacked by Saxton after Tatsu cost his match against Lucky Cannon. This would cause tension between the two until the May 17 episode of WWE NXT, where Tatsu would defeat Saxton. On the May 31 episode of WWE NXT, Saxton was the second rookie eliminated.
After Saxton's elimination, Tatsu began a feud with fellow NXT pro Tyson Kidd, whose rookie was also eliminated. Their feud stemmed from Kidd breaking Tatsu's toy figurine of himself and stealing one of the toy figurine's legs. Both wrestlers would trade wins during their series of matches, and Tatsu claimed back the stolen figurine leg by winning a Necklace on a Pole match on the July 26 edition of NXT. After the match, Kidd brutally assaulted the right leg of Tatsu, causing Tatsu to be absent from NXT for more than a month.
However, in the next few weeks, a mysterious Japanese symbol would appear on the TitanTron to distract Kidd during his matches. The symbol turned out to be the Kanji
Kanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
lettering for “pride
Pride
Pride is an inwardly directed emotion that carries two common meanings. With a negative connotation, pride refers to an inflated sense of one's personal status or accomplishments, often used synonymously with hubris...
” – a message from Tatsu. Tatsu returned on the September 6th episode of NXT, where he debuted black tights emblazoned with Kanji characters and the Japanese flag, had his small lock of blond hair dyed red and had half his face painted. Tatsu would go on to defeat Kidd on that episode to end the feud. Tatsu later explained that his new look and wrestling style was due to him wanting to better portray Japanese culture
Culture of Japan
The culture of Japan has evolved greatly over the millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jōmon period to its contemporary hybrid culture, which combines influences from Asia, Europe and North America...
, Japanese pride and the aggressive style of Japanese wrestling; he also explained that his face paint was a tribute to the Great Muta
Keiji Mutoh
is a Japanese professional wrestler who first gained international fame in the National Wrestling Alliance. He is mostly known for his work as The Great Muta in New Japan Pro Wrestling during the 1990s, but he has also competed in United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Taiwan...
.
Other media
As Tatsu, Yamamoto is featured as a playable superstar for the WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by THQ for the PlayStation 2 , PlayStation 3 , PlayStation Portable , Wii and Xbox 360 systems. It is the seventh game in the WWE SmackDown vs. Raw series and the final game under the SmackDown vs...
and WWE '12
WWE '12
WWE '12 is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by THQ for the PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 systems. It is the first game in the WWE series and the fourteenth overall in the combined series. It is the sequel to WWE SmackDown vs...
video games. He was previously featured in King of Colosseum II
King of Colosseum II
King of Colosseum II is a professional wrestling video game featuring wrestlers from New Japan Pro Wrestling, All Japan Pro Wrestling, Zero One, Pro Wrestling Noah, World Japan and freelance wrestlers...
and Wrestle Kingdom 2
Wrestle Kingdom 2
is a professional wrestling video game for the PlayStation 2. It is the sequel to Yuke's Wrestle Kingdom.There are three different game modes as well as a create a wrestler option and a variety of unlockables...
under his real name.
Personal life
Yamamoto is a graduate from Kokushikan UniversityKokushikan University
is a private university in Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan.Combined teams of the Graduate School of Engineering and the Department of Science and Engineering competed against 130 team and came in 11th place in the 27th Formula SAE in 2007...
with a degree in political studies
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Roundhouse kickRoundhouse kickA roundhouse kick is a kick in which the attacker swings his leg around in a semicircular motion, striking with the front of the leg or foot. This type of kick is utilized in many different martial arts and is popular in both non-contact and full-contact martial arts competitions...
– 2010–present - Diving spinning heel kick
- Roundhouse kick
- Signature moves
- Double knees to the opponent's chest in the corner, rolling snapmare & shoot kick to the chest combo
- Back kick
- Octopus hold
- Roaring elbow
- Shoot kick
- NicknameNicknameA nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
s- "The Cardiac Kid"
- "The Rising Sun"
- Entrance themesMusic in professional wrestlingMusic in professional wrestling serves a variety of purposes. The most common uses of music in professional wrestling is that of the entrance theme, a song or piece of instrumental music which plays as a performer approaches the ring...
- World Wrestling Entertainment / WWEWorld Wrestling EntertainmentWorld Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
- "J-Pop Drop" by Tom Haines and Christopher Branch (2009–present)
- World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE
Championships and accomplishments
- Pro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...
- PWI ranked him #78 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2010