Yoshiaki Yatsu
| Yoshiaki Yatsu | |
|---|---|
| Born |
July 19, 1956 Oura, Gunma, Japan |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) |
Yoshiaki Yatsu N'Tollah Yatsu Akiyoshi Tsuya |
| Billed height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) |
| Billed weight | 120 kg (260 lb) |
| Debut | December 29, 1980 |
| Retired | November 30, 2010 |
Yoshiaki Yatsu (谷津嘉章 Yatsu Yoshiaki) (born July 19, 1956) is a retired Japanese professional wrestler, amateur wrestler and mixed martial artist. He is known for being one-half of the first-ever World Tag Team Champions with Jumbo Tsuruta, having won the NWA International Tag Team Championship and the PWF Tag Team Championship, and unifying the two titles.
At the age of 20, Yatsu competed in amateur wrestling at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. He did not place in the tournament.
He would have participated in the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, but Japan chose to follow the American-led boycott.
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 declared that Yatsu was a professional athlete and banned him from not only that competition, but also from the 1988 Summer Olympics. The decision stunned many people, but Yatsu didn't file an appeal.
In 1980, after Japan decided not to send their athletes to take part in the Summer Olympics in Moscow, Yatsu garnered a great deal of national attention, when he announced his intention of becoming a professional wrestler. Within just a few years, Yatsu became a regular headliner for New Japan Pro Wrestling, before joining Riki Choshu, when he left the promotion for All Japan Pro Wrestling at the end of 1984. In All Japan Yatsu and Choshu formed a tag team, which would go on to win the NWA International Tag Team Championship.
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