Naofumi Yamamoto

Born: 1977-08-01

Birthplace: Gifu, Gifu Prefecture, Japan

Biography

Naofumi Yamamoto (山本 尚史, Yamamoto Naofumi) is a Japanese professional wrestler and former boxer and mixed martial artist currently signed to All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). Yamamoto started his professional wrestling career under his real name in October 2002 with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he remained until 2007, when he signed with WWE. In 2009, Yamamoto left WWE's developmental territory to join the promotion's main roster under the ring name Yoshi Tatsu (ヨシ・タツ, Yoshi Tatsu). After his June 2014 release from WWE, Yamamoto returned to NJPW the following October, performing under the tweaked ring name Yoshitatsu (ヨシタツ, Yoshitatsu). Following his departure from NJPW in late 2017, Yamamoto became a freelancer, and started working most notably for All Japan Pro Wrestling, who he signed full time for in 2020.