Known as: Tadao Yasuda, King of Debt (or Borrowing Money King)
Height: 6 Feet 3 Inches (or 4 Inches! who knows!)
Weight: 280-330lbs
Time in New Japan: 1994-2004
Discipline(s): Sumo, Professional Wrestling
Signature Moves: Tiger Driver, Various Chokes (Forearm, Arm Triangle, Rear Naked, Guillotine)
MMA Record: 2-4
TADAO YASUDA. A former sumo turned pro-wrestler in the mid 1990s, in the early 2000s he began to try his hand at mixed martial arts despite being years passed his prime. A noted gambling addict (hence his nickname), he was able to channel arrogance and bravado that produced incredibly interesting outings in both real and fake fighting arts. Horribly misunderstood in the modern day, Yasuda played an important role both in the development of Inokiism in kakutogi by achieving some amazing upset wins and in pro-wrestling by leading one of the most notorious bad dude factions in all the land: the crazed cult of the Makai Club. This is meant to better show in a historical context why Tadao Yasuda mattered, and what great things can be found when we re-evaluate the past.
TADAO YASUDA BATTLES THE FIRST SON OF INOKIISM:
Before Tadao Yasuda ascends to the heights of Inokiism (even if they were rather brief for him), he found himself at Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2000 fighting Naoya Ogawa from the Universal Fighting-Arts Organization (UFO) which was a continuation of Inoki's concept of the mixed matches that he explored year ago with the World Martial Arts Association (WMA). Revived in 1998, it only ran a handful of shows of middling success financial wise but it succeeded in cultivating Naoya Ogawa into the original prince of Inokiism, the total blurring of the lines of what constitutes a shoot match and pro-wrestling. If Akira Maeda and Satoru Sayama's goal was leaving pro-wrestling behind, Inoki's goal was to level the playing field between pro-wrestling and *real* combat systems. Inoki found his moment in the Kakutogi boom.
Back to the match itself! This one is quick and hot; in less than 5 minutes, it's over. What it really accomplishes is putting a wrapper on the UFO vs NJPW feud that had been going since 1998 reaching its pinnacle at Wrestling World 1999 when an all out brawl broke out between the factions after Ogawa "shot" on Hashimoto (this was a work but it seems in recent years people have begun to believe it as a true event, but that just really exposes how Inokiism did blur the lines). This match is less for Yasuda as much it is to show the first era of Inokiism represented by Ogawa and UFO wane as guys like Kazuyuki Fujita and Tadao Yasuda take the reigns.
THE KING OF DEBT SMASHES THE HYPER BATTLE CYBORG:
This here is the moment when the new era of Inokiism was solidified. Exactly one year after the first Bom-Ba-Ye year end showcase of all things Inoki, 2001's edition brought us something else: the collision of K-1 and NEW JAPAN! The stakes of a confrontation like this were massive as one can imagine. The success of Kazuyuki Fujita in the world of PRIDE had emboldened Inoki and this event is an example of how truly emboldened he was.
KOSOTO GAKE! Yasuda, lover of everything blood choke related, utilizes this minor outer hook perfectly after slinging Le Banner off of the ropes. Every time this gets back to the feet, Yasuda uses everything in him to rush in and grab Le Banner because he absolutely had to neutralize Le Banner's ability to strike. Yasuda's strong sumo skills, combined with slick judo and pro-wrestling ability, wins the day here after a long struggle on the ground when Yasuda forces Jerome Le Banner to tap out from a gag-inducing forearm choke across the throat. The moment is solidified as Antonio Inoki runs into the ring to slap and hug Yasuda.
Yasuda in this moment became another anointed one in the court of Antonio Inoki; an crusader on the path to prove that New Japan is the KING OF SPORTS. Yet sadly, this event is typically remembered as the time when Yuji Nagata, quickly rising to the top in New Japan, was dispatched by Mirko Cro-Cop in seconds. In isolation, this is a regrettable fight to have constructed but when its analyzed as the part of an entire event and lodged in a whole ongoing world of conflict in fight sports, it makes sense! That blow of Nagata's loss is softened by the jubilant brutality of Yasuda laying his forearm across the throat of one of the greatest kickboxers of all time as thousands of fans cheer.
THE KING OF DEBT BECOMES THE KING OF NEW JAPAN:
Shortly after Tadao Yasuda's win against Jerome Le Banner, he gets his reward; a shot at the IWGP Heavyweight championship. After Kazuyuki Fujita vacated the title due to an injury to his Achilles, a tournament was held and the finals were at Fighting Spirit 2002 between Nagata and Yasuda.
This match is awesome. An amazing back and forth that exemplifies in many ways what Inokiism meant to the actual wrestling itself. Yasuda here utilizes the same Kosoto Gake off the ropes from the Le Banner fight to bring Nagata down into half guard, a prime position to apply numerous choking techniques. Nagata at one point tries to have an elbow exchange with Yasuda who replies with no nonsense punching. For a full analysis of the fight, check out my friends review of it over here at Zrakomlat! Tadao Yasuda is able to win this fight with another choke, a guillotine.
The era of Yasuda is here, but it is short lived. After a successful defense against Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Tadao Yasuda loses the title in April at the Toukon Special against the resilient Yuji Nagata. I find it quite funny how people detest Yasuda and call his incredibly short run as champ a failure. These people do not understand the logic of Inokiism, the results of real shoot fights have incredible weight here in this era. Nagata had to wait a little longer for his time because he lost his encounter with K-1 while Yasuda, a man Inoki knew would not be a long term champ, succeeded and thus was awarded.
YASUDA IS LATE AND DON FRYE IS PISSED:
Inoki eggs of Yasuda after he is disrespected by Don Frye. Check out the resulting match over on my earlier blog post on Bas Rutten's time in New Japan.
THE FINAL UFO:
THE FINAL UFO AND THE WANING OF YASUDA IN MMA:
UFO Legend was a failure financially. Thousands of tickets were given out for free yet the audience was still under 30 thousand, the lowest attendance for kakutogi event in that building (at least at the time). It is a mixed bag of an event with some spectacular fights and some slogs. The TV rating goal of 15% of viewers was not reached as they only managed a 10.8% of TV viewership. UFO Legend is the send off for the UFO brand, though it seems like they had maybe wanted to do more of these. It marks some of the first notable downturns in attendance on Inoki branded ventures; an omen for the demise of the Bom-Ba-Ye shows and Inokiism in New Japan as a whole.
This match is fairly uneventful despite the grandeur of the production and entrances. Fujita manages a quick win with the side arm triangle choke, a favorite of Yasuda's. Inoki is shown at times and was clearly displeased with this fight and the event as a whole. Just days later, Yasuda would send masked men to assault Masahiro Chono at Strong Style Spirit. Once the crown wrestler of Inokiism, Yasuda makes the transition to cult leader in New Japan.
THE SUPER ROOKIE OUTSMARTS THE KING:
I have chosen here not to discuss MAKAI CLUB as I have already covered their shenanigans in other posts (go check em out!) and will continue to as I explore this era. What this post has really been about is how different people become bearers of the Inokiist mission throughout this era from Ogawa to Fujita, from Yasuda and Nagata, and then to Shinsuke Nakamura and Lyoto Machida. Nakamura here is coming off of a win over the kickboxer Jan Nortje (who beat Yasuda at Bom-Ba-Ye 2002) at NJPW Ultimate Crush and is on his way to another MMA victory at Jungle Fight 1 in September. Nakamura was on his way to the crown of the IWGP title in December, and he makes a pit stop here to fight the former king Tadao Yasuda.
Yasuda is such an old bastard in this one. Instead of shoot technique, he employs low blows and sneaky Makai Club interference to try and defeat the Super Rookie. Even after a tiger driver and numerous choke attempts, Nakamura is able to slap on a triangle choke and manages to tap out the boss of Makai. The reaction of the crowd shows a new era of New Japan and Inokiism has arrived; the year of Ultimate Crush is winding down and the late era of Inoki in New Japan is here.
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