Yoshiaki Yatsu

[GOTNW]

I guess I could give him another look but his biggest problem for me is how unmemorable he is. Before I went through the 80s All Japan tags he was "the guy who took the first Dr.Death Backdrop". To me the big standouts of those tags were Choshu, Tenryu and Hansen. The biggest strenght of the All Japan tags to me is that you could put a solid worker in the mix, give him a clearly defined role and the match wouldn't suffer. I'm not especially interested in arguing about the merits of Gordy, Dibiase, young Kawada etc. but it seems obvious to me that the matches benefited because they had to do only certain things which gave them the opportunity to do them better than they usually would. I didn't see Yatsu do anything that would make me think he would work outside of that context and by all accounts both his singles and post All Japan work is quite disappointing.

[JerryvonKramer]

You're definitely the first person I've seen argue that Ted and Gordy are better than they usually are in Japan, and that is interesting in itself.

 

Yatsu stood out for me in many of the tags because 1. he was doing so much of the work, just as Tenryu does a lot of the work as Jumbo's number two, and 2. He has some of the best offense ever and throws bombs for fun. And those two things are memorable in themselves.

 

I don't think you could just stick any random competent worker in there and get the same match, because what they were doing in itself is special. They were working 100 miles an hour. And since so much of that work is Yatsu's, I think you have to give it to him. A case where exceptional workrate is taken for granted?

[Tim Cooke]

The five Choshu/Yatsu vs Jumbo/Tenryu matches wouldn't be as good without Yatsu. All four played key roles in the match and it's not like you could just dump a solid worker like Animal Hamaguchi in there and expect to have the same quality

[JerryvonKramer]

Maybe it is a quirk of the selections on the NJ set or maybe it's something to do with the fact that Fujinami vs. Choshu singles feud didn't really resonate to me, but the "before" and "after" effect from when Yatsu comes into the picture (in the terms of that set)'to me is possibly more breathtaking than the similar effect that him and Choshu turning up in AJ had a year later.

 

I've been trying to put my finger on it. Choshu gives you the "big deal" vibe and feeling, but I think Yatsu is like a kind of catalyst. Everything just seems faster with him around. Bigger bombs. Bigger bumps. Million miles an hour. Boom boom boom. I don't think Choshu gives you that alone, it's the special chemical reaction that the combination of him and Yatsu gives you.

 

The stretch Yatsu had from 84 to the end of 89 has to be as good as anyone's.

 

I'd argue Yatsu is probably the MVP of the 5v5 gauntlet match and given that it's my new working #1 for greatest match ever, I have to have a think about if I want to try to give Yatsu a last minute boost somehow to finish higher on the list.

 

Dude was incredible.

[Childs]

Maybe it is a quirk of the selections on the NJ set or maybe it's something to do with the fact that Fujinami vs. Choshu singles feud didn't really resonate to me, but the "before" and "after" effect from when Yatsu comes into the picture (in the terms of that set)'to me is possibly more breathtaking than the similar effect that him and Choshu turning up in AJ had a year later.

 

I've been trying to put my finger on it. Choshu gives you the "big deal" vibe and feeling, but I think Yatsu is like a kind of catalyst. Everything just seems faster with him around. Bigger bombs. Bigger bumps. Million miles an hour. Boom boom boom. I don't think Choshu gives you that alone, it's the special chemical reaction that the combination of him and Yatsu gives you.

 

The stretch Yatsu had from 84 to the end of 89 has to be as good as anyone's.

 

I'd argue Yatsu is probably the MVP of the 5v5 gauntlet match and given that it's my new working #1 for greatest match ever, I have to have a think about if I want to try to give Yatsu a last minute boost somehow to finish higher on the list.

 

Dude was incredible.

I really do think you're overstating Yatsu's impact because of your apathy to Choshu-Fujinami. That series was something special, both to contemporary viewers and to those who watched for the DVDVR project. If Yatsu elevates your interest in everything he's in, that's great and deserves to be reflected in your rankings. But recognize it as a matter of personal taste.

[JerryvonKramer]

Would you not agree that the work is ... significantly faster and more action packed in the tags and gauntlet than in those singles matches?

[GOTNW]

I think it's more a matter of the format of the matches than anything. I like Yatsu but I feel like the only difference between him and a modern guy like Suwama is how much the match structures of the 80s better used their similar skillsets.

[Childs]

Would you not agree that the work is ... significantly faster and more action packed in the tags and gauntlet than in those singles matches?

Faster? Yes. But I agree with GOTNW that it was more a matter of format than the injection of a single wrestler. None of this is meant to knock Yatsu, who was really good. I just don't see him as a game changer.

[WingedEagle]

As much as I love Yatsu, it almost feels like something about a singles match holds Choshu back. Does he lack the cardio? Odd sense of pacing? I'm right about where Jerry is on the NJ set with the '84 Gauntlet up next (hopefully later today), and as was the case on the All Japan set, I absolutely always prefer Chosu in tags as opposed to singles. Its as though the shackles come off and he's no longer married to the mat. Just night & day in his approach and performance.

[JerryvonKramer]

As much as I love Yatsu, it almost feels like something about a singles match holds Choshu back. Does he lack the cardio? Odd sense of pacing? I'm right about where Jerry is on the NJ set with the '84 Gauntlet up next (hopefully later today), and as was the case on the All Japan set, I absolutely always prefer Chosu in tags as opposed to singles. Its as though the shackles come off and he's no longer married to the mat. Just night & day in his approach and performance.

Yes! I am calling it the Yatsu effect but that could be correlation/ cause confusion.

 

Then again it seems his tags with Saito or Hamaguchi as the partner seem slower.

[Childs]

As much as I love Yatsu, it almost feels like something about a singles match holds Choshu back. Does he lack the cardio? Odd sense of pacing? I'm right about where Jerry is on the NJ set with the '84 Gauntlet up next (hopefully later today), and as was the case on the All Japan set, I absolutely always prefer Chosu in tags as opposed to singles. Its as though the shackles come off and he's no longer married to the mat. Just night & day in his approach and performance.

He's not holding back in the singles matches; he's wrestling incredibly hard. He's just building the match in a different way. Matwork is not a shackle for chrissakes.

[WingedEagle]

 

As much as I love Yatsu, it almost feels like something about a singles match holds Choshu back. Does he lack the cardio? Odd sense of pacing? I'm right about where Jerry is on the NJ set with the '84 Gauntlet up next (hopefully later today), and as was the case on the All Japan set, I absolutely always prefer Chosu in tags as opposed to singles. Its as though the shackles come off and he's no longer married to the mat. Just night & day in his approach and performance.

He's not holding back in the singles matches; he's wrestling incredibly hard. He's just building the match in a different way. Matwork is not a shackle for chrissakes.

 

It is a major shackle when its not compelling or interesting and leads nowhere. I'm not looking for an amateur exchange out there. In most of the Fujinami series it felt like a crutch to pass time. Admittedly much of that time they'd look to put over the Scorpion, but there was nothing unique in how he built towards it, worked to soften up Fujinami or otherwise do much more than tease it. I say most of the series because there were some exceptions, notably the 8/4/83 match where the exchanges were much more active and there felt like a real struggle with every attempt rather than standing or lying around with a grip on your opponent.

[elliott]

I ranked Yatsu 63rd in 2016 and that's another one I feel ok about. Its probably a touch closer to 50 than he should be, but I've always been a fan and he definitely stands out in a loaded generation. He's probably closer to that 80-140 range I keep referencing where he might make it and he might not. At his best he is one of the best offensive wrestlers of his generation but he will also just let you beat his brains in relentlessly. I'd like to take a look at his early 90s work because the old reputation about him falling off in the late 80s was oversold.

[strobogo]

Yatsu is pretty cool. He definitely carries Choshu tags probably 95% of the time. Also lol that he got a WWF Championship match and double lol that he absolutely BLASTED Hulk in the face with a missile dropkick. 

[Jetlag]

I've found out that Yatsu has really good longevity for a guy who's considered a heavyweight spot machine. SPWF was a pretty bizarre promotion, as half the roster left in 1994 and Yatsu was left to scrap cards together, but he always works hard on those shows and has some cool matches. He also looks good in the early 2000s still working places like World Japan and NJPW in one off appearances. The most notable thing is he never really changed his style, he's always there being Yatsu, hitting bulldogs and powerslams and it never ceases to entertain.

[overbooked]

I've watched a lot of mid-80s All Japan over the last year or two and Yatsu has been an absolute revelation. I think he was the most consistently entertaining wrestler on the roster during that period, which is high praise in my book considering who else was there at that time. I'm looking forward to properly watching how his career progressed, but he's already on my list one way or another, just from that peak.

[JerryvonKramer]

Has anyone ever done an in-depth Yatsu vs. Kurt Angle comparison? I'd be interested to see that.

[Jetlag]

13 hours ago, JerryvonKramer said:

Has anyone ever done an in-depth Yatsu vs. Kurt Angle comparison? I'd be interested to see that.

I am gonna do the comparison and say Yatsu is better based on the fact his matches have never made me want to stab my eyes out and I gave way more a shit about his prison hold than Angles Ankle Lock.

[concrete1992]

This obviously my own personal journey but I'm going through the NJPW 80s set and Yatsu is an injection of life into it. He is put in situations where he can be that ball of energy so it feels slightly unfair to give him that nod but as I was starting to lose steam he really carried me.

I just watched the '84 Gauntlet for the very first time and I thought he was the star of the show. He had to work against junior Takada and make it interesting, the fact he did that so well is a feat.

Now, I don't know where I'll land on Yatsu at the end of the day but if he is this good for any sort of extended period of time I can't imagine not having him on my list somewhere. I am a big fan of wrestlers that deliver Hoots and think Yatsu might end up fitting the bill.

[elliott]

Awesome! I freaking love Yatsu. Have you watched him in 80s AJPW or is this your general intro to him?

[concrete1992]

I've seen a couple of the big AJPW tags but literally just that, one or two. So this feels like my first proper intro to the wrestler.

[elliott]

Sweet! Enjoy! I'm a huge fan. Just a dynamite offensive wrestler in those years. I should watch some Yatsu singles matches. As a tag worker he's undeniable and that alone gets him on my list. You're right about that Takada match as part of the gauntlet being a great performance.