Discuss here.

Really only saw him in those great 80's AJPW tags with Jumbo against Choshu, but haven't seen much else of him. Any recommendations outside of those AJPW tags?

To me the case against Yatsu is that he falls off a cliff hard and fast once the 1990's hit. He has some sprinkling of good matches in 1990 and 1991 as he was hanging on but is pretty much a nonfactor by 1993. Shocking considering he is still damn good in the 1989 RWTL. He will be in debate for me but I can see him being a casualty of too short a peak.

Really only saw him in those great 80's AJPW tags with Jumbo against Choshu, but haven't seen much else of him. Any recommendations outside of those AJPW tags?

 

Yes. Watch a young Yatsu work at a level above 90% of the World Class roster circa 1983 or so.

Never asked but how recently have you watched those hyped 80's All Japan tags Joe? Yatsu being so offensive minded during those matches feels like a wrestler you would get really behind.

Yatsu is almost certainly making my list. One of my favourite guys from 80s All Japan, I'm looking forward to seeing him in early 80s New Japan.

 

He has been good in early 80s WWF too.

 

I'm a sucker for high artillery offense and Yatsu is a human suplex machine. He brings so much to those Choshu tags.

 

I am still undecided on what to do about post-peaks. How far do you hold them against guys? Longevity of peak is a consideration for me, I'm not sure if "quality of work in post-peak" is one. Incidentally, I don't see Bockwinkel as having a post-peak at all.

Yatsu is a mixed bag. His execution could be way off depending on the match and any chops/punches/lariats he threw were pretty likely to look really weak. He was never going to be more than a midcard guy as far as charisma goes. But man, the guy had fire and his suplexes and slams looked awesome. And he tended to work really smart most of the time, which is a huge plus.

I just watched Jumbo/Yatsu vs. Tenryu/Kawada from 2/23/89. #14 on the DVDVR set. Amazing match that reminds you how good all four of those guys are. It reiterates the legend of revered dudes who we all know are supposed to be all-time greats, but who you want to catch in new matches you haven't seen before to view them with fresh eyes at their best. Yatsu is a crazed killer in this, working as Jumbo's hot-headed bad lieutenant. Maybe it's that I've watched Serpico and The French Connection recently, but there's just something about him that screams corrupt cop in a great way. Awesome offense, arguing with the ref, believable heat with his opponents, talking trash, great selling. Yatsu here gives the best performance of four top 100 guys here working at the top of their game in what I can say is the best match I've watched in quite a while. The snap on Jumbo's last suplex on Kawada is worth the price of admission.

 

Yatsu's a guy I want to watch more of, as he combines certain things I like about a variety of guys: Fuchi, Fujiwara, Animal Hamaguchi. Feels like a multifaceted talent who deserves more attention.

Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (12/6/89) [DVDVR: #4, 5840 points]

 

Great match. Initially it seems more of a Hansen-Jumbo war than a Yatsu showing. Hansen's chops are obscene here: from the sound of his striking, you expect swaths of flesh to fly off his opponents like a Cronenberg movie. At first I though I liked this less than the Tenryu/Kawada match, largely because it feels like more of a typical Hansen tag brawl that you've seen elsewhere. I didn't like Yatsu as much as FIP pin cushion being eaten up by Hansen, which doesn't seem like a knock on Yatsu as he does well in the role, even if it's less fun than him on the rampage. And that beating he takes tells the right story, because he comes back with a vengeance. Halfway through he really becomes an exciting FIP, and you're begging for him to make the tag. The taped-down headgear is a little wacky, but it tells a fun story of him saving the day. The bulldog on the floor was insane, and by the end Hansen is really giving Yatsu a lot of offense in a way that suggests he really respected him.

When did Yatsu fell off a cliff already ? I like him even passed his prime (hell, I like him in SWS), but in 86 or so while teaming with Choshu, Yatsu looked like one of the best wrestler in the world. And then whooop. He's kinda the Barry Windham of Japan, although he fell much quicker and was never as good as Barry was once he did.

Are there any other really strong Yatsu singles matches besides the 10/28/88 match with Hansen?

Are there any other really strong Yatsu singles matches besides the 10/28/88 match with Hansen?

 

vs Takada from the 4/19/84 gauntlet was absolutely spectacular. But yeah, what else? Yatsu is a lock for my list but it is because of the tag work. Would like to check out any good-great singles stuff.

vs Takada from the 4/19/84 gauntlet was absolutely spectacular.

 

Oh yeah. They showed up all the other guys. (BTW, I was quite disapointed with Animal Hamaguchi and Yoshiaki Fujiwara in this, two guys I'm a big fan of)

 

But yeah, Yastu was first and foremost a tag guy since his peak came with the Ishin Gundan. But what a great worker for a few years.

That's insane. Yes, Yatsu and Takada produced the most spectacular segment of that gauntlet, but the whole thing is best watched as a single narrative, not as a series of individual matches. In that light, Hamaguchi and Fujiwara played their parts well. The whole thing is on a short list of my very favorite things in wrestling history.

 

As for Yatsu, he's hurt in this competition by his lack of memorable singles matches. Though I liked his partner vs. partner match against Jumbo and found that his match against Brody during Brody's last run surpassed my expectations. He'd make a list of 150 for me, not sure about 100.

I consider Yatsu vs. Tenryu in SWS and to a lesser degree the mid 90s Yatsu vs. Fujiwara singles to be very notable singles bouts. I also heard he was good in Choshu's promotion in the early 2000s but there's not footage online. EDIT: I just checked and he also had good singles matches against Choshu and Hara.

That's insane. Yes, Yatsu and Takada produced the most spectacular segment of that gauntlet, but the whole thing is best watched as a single narrative, not as a series of individual matches. In that light, Hamaguchi and Fujiwara played their parts well. The whole thing is on a short list of my very favorite things in wrestling history.

 

The whole thing is great. It doesn't mean I can't judge the individual performances. And Hamaguchi and Fujiwara's really weren't up to their working standarts to me, and their segment didn't do much for me, I think it was kinda goofy to be honest (as Fuji can be at times, as opposed to great, although the shit eating grin at the end was awesome). Yatsu, Takada, Fujinami & Choshu were the clear standouts in this thing.

Yatsu is making my list. I've been incredibly impressed with him going through his tags with Jumbo and Choshu. He's a guy that I'd love to rank highly but if his singles match with Hansen is as good as it gets then it's going to be really hard ranking him.

 

Might be better if I put this in The Microscope gimmick, but a Yatsu vs. Taue debate would be a lot of fun. Who was the better fourth guy?

Might be better if I put this in The Microscope gimmick, but a Yatsu vs. Taue debate would be a lot of fun. Who was the better fourth guy?

 

I think that is a fun one as I said on a show recently.

 

For me, I think Yatsu sometimes comes across as the best guy in those tags, whereas that's almost never the case with Taue.

 

Yatsu consistently outshone Choshu for me in most of the tags, partly because he was doing a lot of the heavy-duty workrate. His offense is just un-real too.

 

Taue has a bigger body of work, especially in singles.

I don't see it as much of a comparison at all. Yatsu can't touch Taue's resume of high-end singles matches. Yatsu might have had more talent, but the production wasn't there.

Yatsu vs. Tenyru from the 7 singles match series on 3/13/86 is a clusterfuck mixed with moments of brilliance. But his lack of good to great singles matches definitely hurts him but man was he a great tag guy throughout the entire Choshu's Army vs. All Japan tag series.

I'd also like a Choshu vs. Yatsu comparison. Would people put Yatsu definitively second? And if so, why?

Yes, not even a contest. Choshu is a top 30 guy for me and as I said, Yatsu is on the bubble to make my list. Again, Yatsu can't touch Choshu's resume of great singles matches. And even if you boil it down to just tag matches, Choshu (post-1982) was always a clear A side on his teams and Yatsu a clear B. Sure, Yatsu was often the workhorse. I won't dispute that he sometimes outperformed Choshu when they teamed up. But Choshu was the guy who brought the heat to those matches and the guy who created most of the big moments. He was a worker who swung the momentum and working styles of whole promotions at his peak. Yatsu just didn't bring that kind of juice.

Yatsu's performance in the 1994 G1 was interesting. His match against Choshu was more of a showcase for how great Choshu is, but Yatsu held his own. The Fujiwara match was fine. Simple and effective. Big fan of his match against Mutoh. Crowd was super hot towards the finishing stretch and I thought Yatsu was very, very good there. If Yatsu is on the bubble for you, I would give those a look.

Watched some 80s All Japan recently and he hasn't been very impressive, don't have much use for him outside of a pretty German (which he managed to fuck up in one of the most important matches of his career, lol). Doubt anyone would think he's a top 100 guy ever if he debuted twenty years later.

Watched some 80s All Japan recently and he hasn't been very impressive, don't have much use for him outside of a pretty German (which he managed to fuck up in one of the most important matches of his career, lol). Doubt anyone would think he's a top 100 guy ever if he debuted twenty years later.

This statement is a headscratcher. I honestly think Yatsu is one of the most blow-away great guys in all the 80s AJ footage. And at the time everyone was talking about the AJ 80s set a few years ago, pretty much everyone was saying that.

 

Why don't you think he's impressive?