(NOAH) YO-HEY: My Turning Point

Translated by Dino (@purodino)

Since last year, YO-HEY has been a full-timer in NOAH, and has become a wrestler at the heart of the junior division. His life as a wrestler has had a series of peaks and valleys, all of which have brought him to this point. We look back on six turning point matches over roughly ten years. (By Inoue)

Turning Point Match 1
vs. Akira Tozawa
(DRAGON GATE ★ March 5, 2009, Korakuen)

YO-HEY loved American pro wrestling. During his fan days, his idols were The Rock, Booker T, and Jeff Hardy. Jeff in particular has had a marked influence on his current fighting style.

He gradually began thinking about becoming a WWE superstar – but first, he thought he should debut in a Japanese promotion. And so at that time, he chose DRAGON GATE, which was developing a "USA" brand.

During his time as a rookie, though there were no parts of training that seemed useless, he had to endure doing odd jobs, dubbed "spiritual discipline." At the time, he felt only that it was tough, but now looking back, "even though there were some tiresome parts to it, it was nothing more than that," and instead, he now thinks it was an invaluable experience.

YO-HEY, who had an inherent flair and bright disposition, was well-liked by his seniors, and even accompanied CIMA to Aichi when he went to get treatment for his neck injury. At this time, a person having a headlock applied to them appeared on the cover of Weekly Pro Wrestling, and there's a bit of a story behind it.

His debut match took place on December 22, 2008. His ring name was still his real name of Youhei Fujita. His opponent was Kenichi Chikano (Now Kenshin Chikano/DOVE). Clamoring recklessly, they exchanged blows, and it was over in the blink of an eye, leaving nothing but an impression after five minutes.

During this time, he'd go on to wrestle singles matches with his seniors, and among those was the first turning point match, with Akira Tozawa.

"It was my first time having a match at Korakuen, and I had a great feeling of accomplishment, you know. I could really hear the 'Fujita!' chants, and beyond wrestling being painful and such, it felt really good.

"The more support I got, the more my performance improved. It's precisely in matches where you feel that kind of thing, the nervousness breaks through and the calm quickly comes on.

"And Akira Tozawa is a WWE superstar now. Though of course he was strict as my senior, at times he'd unexpectedly have some kind words for me. At that time, Shingo Takagi and YAMATO were among the people still around the dojo, and they taught me a lot. It makes me nostalgic to think about it."

After that fight, on March 20, 2009 in Kobe, he joined WARIO RS-5, led by CIMA, and changed his name to RYOMA. In DRAGON GATE's first show at Ryogoku Kokugikan, he served in the opening match as the fresh face, bearing expectation and hope for the future.

But in May of that same year, he would end up leaving DRAGON GATE.

After some twists and turns, he re-debuted in February 2011 in the ring of Apache Pro Wrestling Army, led by Kintaro Kanemura (retired). In order to try out for WWE, he was determined to go to America, and a fateful acquaintance would introduce him to FUNAKI. 

Turning Point Match 2
vs. Jojo Bravo
(America RCW ★ May 2011, exact date unknown, San Antonio)

YO-HEY joined FUNAKI dojo, and went to work in San Antonio, Texas. That included wrestling in RCW (River City Wrestling). And somehow he was suddenly recognized, and was scheduled to have a title match...

"For the first time in my life, I became champion and had a defense, then quickly lost it (laughs). I was surprised, you know. I was really bracing myself before the match to give up the belt, then they said to me 'You're the champion.'

"RCW was a promotion that primarily had shows in San Antonio, Texas, several times a month. Wrestlers who would appear at TNA and such at the time would also appear in it, it was on a moderate scale. As for the matches, I started thinking, "Is this America!?" Whatever I'd do, it was like "Boom! Boom!" All of it felt really good.

"For example, when I'd do a dropkick there or a flying moonsault press, the whole house would go 'oooh!' Maybe it's because it was a title match, but Jojo and I both really gave it all we'd got. After the match, lots of small children asked for my autograph."

Though it was just one half year of his career, YO-HEY had the fundamentals drilled into him in DRAGON GATE, and he also had a great physical ability. And in the American ring, that erupted. Various promoters from the area had come to see that show, and YO-HEY has good memories of the tremendous praise they gave him.

YO-HEY, whose confidence had deepened in the fight with Jojo, tried out for WWE. Using his connection with FUNAKI when he went to call on RAW, suddenly he was to wrestle a match with Jamie Noble the next day before the SmackDown show. It was really a stroke of luck.


WWE superstars were gathered around the ring. Booker T, who he looked up to, was there too, and seeing his fighting spirit, he yelled out "yes!" "good!" and such. He wasn't expecting this situation, and as his excitement increased, he won the match with a flying moonsault press. There was a tremendous reaction...

"The superstars around all said 'you're really good!' and such. But at that time, I heard that, right after Sin Cara (Místico) had started, Vince McMahon said "We don't need any more light heavyweights. And when KAZMA (SAKAMOTO) and Taishi Takizawa joined the FCW sub-brand (now NXT), they didn't need more Japanese people either... In many ways, it seems like the timing wasn't right."

In the end, he didn't pass the tryout. Incidentally, the man himself said, after that, whether Japanese or American, many have tried out – and Japanese people have probably passed in the greatest numbers, haven't they?

Turning Point Match 3

vs. Buffalo & Tsubasa
GUNSO & HAYATA
(DOVE ★ April 2, 2016, Osaka)

After that, YO-HEY returned to Japan, and made the world tryouts for SMASH, led by TAJIRI. Though he wasn't a full-time member of the roster, he came to wrestle with them regularly, and when the promotion folded, its successor, WNC (Wrestling New Classic) became his primary battleground.

He was based in Osaka. And though he was also wrestling in ZERO1 and Apache, he was wrestling about 3-4 matches per month. He was frantically chasing his dream, and his early twenties were a time of incredible upheaval. In his mid-twenties, he felt like "well, things might work out," and passed the time well without too much great excitement.

"Some people who were in DRAGON GATE at the same time as me, like Kotoka and Kazuki Hirata, were working really hard, and though I thought it was amazing, I didn't feel impatient or anything. Because at worst, I thought, maybe I can run a farm or something. Seems like a carefree life."

From 2013 onward, he wrestled regularly in Dotonbori and DOVE. And it's also around this time that he began wrestling regularly with HAYATA, his current partner with whom he has a mysterious and enduring connection.

YO-HEY formed the "Gin Gin Boys" tag team with Kenshin, who had been in DRAGON GATE with him. [Translator's Note: "Gin Gin" (ギンギン) is an onomatopoetic word that can mean "ecstatic" or "splitting headache."] Together they made their way toward challenging for the DOVE tag title.

"Though I came up against Kenshin just once in WNC, Kenshin idly said 'Hey, because I need YO-HEY, I've come to DOVE.' We'd experienced a lot together, and now that we were having our supreme reunion, I became ecstatic (laugh). Among my cohort, I'd always been together with Kenshin, so of course there were special memories."

Infinity, the team of Buffalo and Tsubasa, was champion. HAYATA was in yet another challenging team. YO-HEY won through the game-like format with his contemporary, Kenshin, who'd even been his opponent in his debut match, and with the DOVE tag champions looking on. Excluding the belt he'd suddenly gotten from RCW International, it should be remembered as his first crowning as a pro wrestler.

Turning Point Match 4
Vs. HAYATA
(DOVE ★ July 23, 2016, Osaka)

At almost the same time, DOVE was going to hold its "peak" singles tournament, and YO-HEY would collide with HAYATA. It was surprisingly their first one-on-one fight.

"Though we'd come up against each other  a lot in tags and such, it was our first time having a singles match. Because HAYATA and I are the same age, had some things in common, and got along in private too, we've constantly been together since then and now we're like husband and wife (laugh).

"For that reason, there were very special feelings. How to describe it... It was fun, wasn't it. It wasn't tiring or tough or anything at all, only fun. I think maybe he thought so too.

Because we were close, it felt like we could do anything. He'd do this axe kick he usually didn't do, and such. Two times, even. And he'd do an unusually robust round of elbow strikes. The emotion really had to come out when I fought with HAYATA."

HAYATA started wrestling in NOAH for the first time in December of the year before last. YO-HEY, seeming to follow his wife, also stepped onto the green mat in January of last year.

Turning Point Match 5
vs. Daisuke Harada and Tadasuke
(NOAH ★ July 22, 2017, Kyoto)

In NOAH, the ring is large and the ropes are high. For a high-flyer like YO-HEY, "in the beginning I couldn't show what I could do," though it only took him a short time to get used to it. And for all that, he had the moral support of HAYATA, who had also started wrestling in NOAH, and Tadasuke always being nearby, as well as the support of RATEL'S boss, Daisuke Harada. In the ring, a fight with "XX," Taiji Ishimori and Hi69, heated up. Because Atsushi Kotoge and Kenoh had transitioned to the heavyweight division, they played a key role in NOAH's depleted junior division.

For the newcomers, Ishimori, a mainstay of the division, was an especially great barrier standing in their way. In February, YO-HEY tagged with HAYATA in a title match for the junior heavyweight tag belt, and they lost. In May, HAYATA defeated Hajime Ohara for the GHC junior title, and lost it in his June defense against Ishimori.

YO-HEY, saying "I have to avenge my wife!" immediately declared his challenge. During the "11th Global Junior Tag League" on July 20, in a match that felt like a prelim, they lost to "XX." Amid that, they approached the first RATEL'S showdown.

"It was a match in NOAH where my personality could come out. The situation was that the winner would go to the junior tag league finals. It was the main event at the Kyoto show. In this match, I used the Bamboo Dragonfly for the first time in NOAH. Though it's nice and exciting to wrestle new opponents, of course the four of us had been wrestling originally in Osaka. They made me show something of myself. It gave me strength."

YO-HEY & HAYATA, who had gotten the better of the RATEL'S showdown, came head-to-head with "XX" once again. They'd had a series of defeats in the past, but finally they won the GHC junior tag title.

Turning Point Match 6
vs. Taiji Ishimori
(NOAH ★ August 6, 2017, Korakuen)

After finally being able to get back at "XX," the big stage was waiting for YO-HEY. He made his first GHC junior challenge. At the time, Ishimori was the champion. They were to be in the main event at the show to mark the anniversary of NOAH's launch.

"Little by little my condition was improving, but I didn't expect I would be in a main event singles match for NOAH's anniversary show. Though HAYATA was my partner, he'd taken the GHC junior belt previously, hadn't he? Honestly, there was a bit of a feeling of a rivalry too, it was frustrating you know.

"But that one became famous overnight. In part, it motivated me to have him speak from above me. I wasn't a full time member of the roster yet, and having a title match with Ishimori gave me a sense of accomplishment, the feeling like maybe I'm being recognized by everyone."

YO-HEY and Ishimori both came from DRAGON GATE (Toryumon), and Ishimori was YO-HEY's senior who helped him out when he was having a rough time outside the ring. Now they were competing in NOAH's ring, but that foundation brought many emotions.

With the two turning points of the RATELs confrontation and the GHC title match with Ishimori in the past, on August 26 at Korakuen, they collided with "XX" for the junior tag title. YO-HEY captured the big title, and on September 1 he officially joined NOAH.

He aimed to be a WWE superstar, learned the basics in DRAGON GATE, had a period of wandering, and now he had finally reached the ark. Though it had taken some time, YO-HEY had become a wrestler at the heart of the pro wrestling world, an even greater goal.

"It was like my passion for pro wrestling grew again. It hadn't been the case up to then, though – up until the year before last, I didn't feel that way at all. I was preparing my escape route to becoming a farm boy.

"A year has passed since I started wrestling in NOAH, and up to now I think it's like a new wind is blowing and everything is fresh. But I know I can't always stay like this.

In terms of personality, being like that is probably in my nature, a new and different stimulus from somewhere... it's like that for me, and like that for the fans too, I want to become a wrestler who always has something to show. Because I saw WWE and thought I wanted to be a pro wrestler, I want to stir everyone up. I'll become the Number 1 most exciting guy."

That life is also exciting. YO-HEY's great strides have just begun.