Naofumi Yamamoto
Yoshitatsu in May 2016
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| Birth name | Naofumi Yamamoto |
|---|---|
| Born |
August 1, 1977 Gifu, Gifu, Japan |
| Residence | Los Angeles, California |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Mr. Yamamoto Naofumi Yamamoto Yamamoto Yoshitatsu Yoshi Tatsu |
| Billed height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) |
| Billed weight | 102 kg (225 lb) |
| Billed from | Tokyo, Japan |
| Trained by |
Florida Championship Wrestling Kotetsu Yamamoto NJPW Dojo Yuji Nagata |
| Debut | October 12, 2002 |
Naofumi Yamamoto (山本 尚史 Yamamoto Naofumi, born August 1, 1977) is a Japanese professional wrestler and former boxer.
Yamamoto started his professional wrestling career under his real name in October 2002 with New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), where he remained until 2007, when he signed with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). In 2009, Yamamoto left WWE's developmental territory to join the promotion's main roster under the ring name Yoshi Tatsu. After his June 2014 release from WWE, Yamamoto returned to NJPW the following October, performing under the tweaked ring name Yoshitatsu (ヨシタツ Yoshitatsu).
With a sports background in boxing and jujutsu, Yamamoto passed an audition held by New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) in September 2001 and began training professional wrestling at the promotion's dojo the following March. During his training, Yamamoto also travelled to Los Angeles to train at the local NJPW dojo. Yamamoto made his in-ring debut on October 12, 2002, facing Wataru Inoue in 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 chance at a match on NJPW's most prestigious show, the January 4 Dome Show Wrestling World. Yamamoto participated in the 2004 Young Lion Cup where he defeated Hirooki Goto, Akiya 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 Tag League, defeating Giant Bernard and Travis Tomko to earn their sole victory in the tournament. On January 8, 2006, Yamamoto and Osamu Nishimura defeated 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 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.
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