NJPW - Yoshi Tatsu returns... and enters into major feud

[Trill Co$by]

For someone who isn't "as talented as Punk or Bryan", Naofumi Yamamoto (formerly Yoshi Tatsu) made an interesting return at last night's "King of Pro-Wrestling" NJPW event when he intervened on behalf of Heroshi Tanahashi to fend off Jeff Jarrett who was aiding AJ Styles. The backlash for this? The former WWE Superstar will now be facing the former TNA Superstar and former IWGP Heavyweight Champion AJ Styles at their next big event "Power Struggle" on November 8th...

So... as I've said previously (and will continue to say) Yoshi Tatsu was a huge waste of talent in WWE. I'm not much into Japanese style, but when he first started using the face paint gimmick on NXT Redemption it instantly occurred to me how good he was. I'll definitely be looking to keep an eye on his time in NJPW.

 

[MrHashasheen]

So that's AJ's bounce-back match right there. Don't get me wrong, I loved Yoshi back in WWE... but even when he was in NJPW he was never close to being top of the class from what I've heard, so he's a good choice to put over AJ while having a competitive match to get himself over. He's got a good knowledge of the WWE style by now, so the kind of match he and Styles put together should be really interesting.

Hopefully he sticks around.

 

[The Dragon Saga]

For someone who isn't "as talented as Punk or Bryan", Naofumi Yamamoto (formerly Yoshi Tatsu)

He's not. When he returned all the commentators could say was, "it's Yoshi Tatsu from WWE", even Dave Metlzer has said he's surprised they brought him back. Lets see how long he sticks around for, or if they even put him on a full-time schedule, then talk.

 

[Papa Pillman]

Hopefully Yamamoto sticks around NJPW for a little while, and I'd be interested to see him work a schedule with a few ROH dates as well- which is conceivable considering he's been living and working in the States. There are good potential matchups for him in both promotions.

And I know everyone is fucking stoked for the epic dream match that will be Tatsu vs. Jarrett at Wrestle Kingdom!



okay I joke but it would likely be a decent match on a lesser show

 

[Trill Co$by]

He's not. When he returned all the commentators could say was, "it's Yoshi Tatsu from WWE", even Dave Metlzer has said he's surprised they brought him back. Lets see how long he sticks around for, or if they even put him on a full-time schedule, then talk.

When you start realizing that Dave Meltzer is nothing more than a giant mark, you'll begin your path of enlightenment.

 

[OYDK]

Yoshi was good. However his underachieving in the WWE was mostly his own fault. Sure his gimmick was the typical happy, go-lucky, anime looking Asian, but let's not forget that Yoshi didn't work very hard on his English either. It may not seem like much but that's probably the biggest part of making it in the WWE. If you can't communicate well with management and the other talent than you're basically headed to a dead end. Just ask the likes of Yoshi, Cara, and Ultimo Dragon.

 

[The Dragon Saga]

When you start realizing that Dave Meltzer is nothing more than a giant mark, you'll begin your path of enlightenment.

A giant mark that has a clue means much more then a small mark that hasn't a single clue, e.g. Meltzer > you.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

What did Yoshi actually accomplish in his first run in Japan? I loved the guy in his WWE run, but wasn't he more of an afterthought in Japan his first go round?

 

[Papa Pillman]

What did Yoshi actually accomplish in his first run in Japan? I loved the guy in his WWE run, but wasn't he more of an afterthought in Japan his first go round?

He started as a fresh out of the dojo lowcard "young boy" in NJPW and made it up to random tag wrestler. Probably most notably he did tag with Tanahashi a lot during Tanahashi's first IWGP title reign in late '06, and between his first and second reign in the Summer of '07.

 

[Dirk]

Big fan of his. Yoshi Super Hero Number One! ^_^