Yoh

Yoh in May 2023

###

Kurihara, Miyagi, Japan

**Yohei Komatsu** (小松 洋平, *Komatsu Yōhei*) (born June 26, 1988) is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), where he currently performs under the ring name **Yoh**.

In January 2016, Komatsu and fellow young lion Sho Tanaka were sent to the Mexican Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) promotion, where he was known under the ring name **Raijin** (雷神 *Raijin*), named after the Japanese God of thunder, and was part of *La Ola Amarilla* ("the Yellow Wave") alongside Okumura and Kamaitachi to further his wrestling training and gain international experience, a tradition with NJPW "Young Lions" and then to the United States, where they worked most notably for Ring of Honor (ROH) as **The Tempura Boyz**.

Yoh and Sho returned to NJPW in October 2017 as Roppongi 3K, winning the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship in their return match. Yoh and Sho became one of the most of successfull teams in NJPW's junior heavyweight division, holding the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship on five different occasions, while also winning the Super Jr. Tag League/Tournament on three consecutive years in (2017, 2018, 2019), before Sho turned on Yoh in August 2021 to end their team.

## Personal life

Komatsu was born on June 26, 1988 in Kurihara, Miyagi, Japan where he also grew up. He became interested in professional wrestling by watching it on TV with his parents from the age of three. While in school he joined the wrestling club, learning amateur wrestling at a young age.

## Professional wrestling career

After graduating from University Komatsu began training for his professional wrestling career at the New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) Dojo. Initially he worked a part-time job while trying to pass the NJPW "Young Lions" test, which he finally passed in May 2012.

### New Japan Pro Wrestling (2012–2016)

He made his debut for NJPW on November 19, 2012 on NJPW's NEVER Project's Shodai NEVER Musabetsu Kyu Oza Kettei Tournament show where he lost to Takaaki Watanabe. Komatsu competed as one of NJPW's "Young Lions" a class of rookie wrestlers who work mostly against each other early on, wearing all black gear and with no particular ring character, all part of the structured learning process in NJPW. In 2013 he competed in his first major NJPW tournament, teaming up with Kushida to compete in the 2013 Super Junior Tag Tournament. The team lost in the first round to Bushi and Valiente.
 On January 4, 2014 ,Komatsu teamed up with Jushin Thunder Liger, Manabu Nakanishi ,and Super Strong Machine to work a non-televised match at Wrestle Kingdom 8 in Tokyo Dome, NJPW's biggest show of the year. The team lost to Bushi, Captain New Japan, Hiroyoshi Tenzan ,and Tomoaki Honma. Throughout 2013 and 2014 Komatsu often faced off against fellow Young Lion Sho Tanaka, with both men trading victories in both singles and tag team competition. By 2015 Komatsu and Tanaka had begun teaming together on a regular basis, including working together in the New Japan Rumble as part of Wrestle Kingdom 9 on January 5, 2015. The two teamed up to eliminate Tiger Mask and Taichi but were both eliminated by Tama Tonga On January 15, 2015 ,Komatsu competed at the Fantastica Mania 2015 event as he was called upon to replace the injured Rey Cometa in the NJPW/Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) co-promoted event. The team of Komatsu and Kushida lost to Bárbaro Cavernario and Yoshi-Hashi. On February 11 Komatsu lost to Sho Tanaka at The New Beginning in Osaka show and three days later Komatsu and Satoshi Kojima lost to Captain New Japan and Nakanishi. The Invasion Attack 2015 show saw Komatsu, Alex Shelley, Captain New Japan, Kushida and Yuji Nagata defeated Liger, Nakanishi, Ryusuke Taguchi, Sho Tanaka, and Tiger Mask.

He was selected to be one of 16 wrestlers selected to be part of the 2015 Best of the Super Juniors XXII tournament. He lost all his qualifying matches, being defeated by Bárbaro Cavernario, Beretta, Chase Owens, Gedo Liger
Kyle O'Reilly and Taguchi. At Dominion 7.5 in Osaka-jo Hall on July 5, 2015, Nakanishi, Máscara Dorada, Taguchi, Tanaka and Nagata defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Liger, Kojima, Tiger Mask and Komatsu in the untelevised first match of the night. His next match at a major NJPW show was on September 23, 2015 at Destruction in Okayama where he, Tanaka, Katsuyori Shibata and Nagata defeated David Finlay, Jay White, Nakanishi and Tetsuya Naito. A few days later, at Destruction in Kobe Komatsu and Tanaka defeated fellow Young Lions David Finlay and Jay White. In early 2016 it was announced that Komatsu and Tanaka would compete in the 2016 Fantastica Mania series of shows, competing in what NJPW called the "Yohei Komatsu and Sho Tanaka send-off game", announcing that the two would travel to Mexico and work for CMLL as part of their continued in-ring skill development. The team worked the opening match for each of the six Fantastica Mania events, losing each time. On the last night Tetsuya Naito called Komatsu to the ring and implied that he was going to join Naito's group *Los Ingobernables de Japon*, but then proceeded to beat him up, allowing NJPW to use that as a storyline excuse for his absence from the ring.

### Overseas learning excursion (2016–2017)

Komatsu and Tanaka would be the latest in a long line of young Japanese wrestlers to travel to Mexico to learn the *lucha libre* style. In Mexico, Komatsu was given the ring name Fujin, named after the Japanese God of Wind, teaming with Tanaka who would be known as Raijin, named after the Japanese God of Thunder. The duo made their Mexican debut on January 31, teaming up with Okumura, forming the most recent version of *La Ola Amarilla* ("The Yellow Wave"). The group was joined by Kamaitachi, the previous NJPW trainee who has worked for CMLL since 2014. On March 22, Fujin took part in the 2016 edition of The *CMLL Torneo Gran Alternativa*, a tournament in which rookies team up with veterans in a single elimination tournament. Teaming up with Rey Escorpión, Fujin won his block, advancing to the finals of the tournament scheduled for April 5, in which they were defeated in the finals of the tournament by Esfinge and Volador Jr.

In October 2016, Komatsu and Tanaka, now billed as "Yo" and "Sho", The Tempura Boyz, began working regularly for American promotion Ring of Honor (ROH), with whom NJPW also had a working relationship.

### Return to NJPW (2017–present)

On October 9, 2017, at King of Pro-Wrestling, Yoh and Sho returned to NJPW as Roppongi 3K, defeating Funky Future (Ricochet and Ryusuke Taguchi) to become the new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions. Through their affiliation with Romero, Yoh and Sho also became part of the CHAOS stable. On November 5 at Power Struggle, Roppongi 3K defeated Super 69 (ACH and Ryusuke Taguchi) in the finals to win the 2017 Super Jr. Tag Tournament. On January 4, 2018, Roppongi 3K lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship to The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) at Wrestle Kingdom 12 in Tokyo Dome. but won it back on January 28 at the New Beginning in Sapporo. They lost the titles to Yoshinobu Kanemaru and El Desperado on March 6. In May, Yoh entered the 2018 Best of the Super Juniors tournament, finishing the tournament with a record of three wins and four losses, failing to advance to the finals of the tournament.

From October 16 until November 1, Yoh and Sho took part in the Super Jr. Tag League, finishing the tournament with a record of five wins and two losses, advancing to the finals of the tournament. On November 3 at Power Struggle, Yoh and Sho defeated Desperado and Kanemaru, and BUSHI and Shingo Takagi in a three-way match to win the Super Jr. Tag League. Yoh and Sho were booked for another three-way match against Desperado and Kanemaru, and BUSHI and Takagi for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship on January 4, 2019, at Wrestle Kingdom 13 in Tokyo Dome, which was won by BUSHI and Takagi. They would win back the titles from BUSHI and Takagi on March 6, 2019, but lost it to Bullet Club (Taiji Ishimori and El Phantasmo) on June 16. On August 24, Yoh entered the 2019 Super J-Cup, but was eliminated in his first round match by Dragon Lee. From October 16 until November 1, Yoh and Sho took part in the 2019 Super Jr. Tag League, finishing the tournament with a record of five wins and two losses, advancing to the finals of the tournament. On November 3 at Power Struggle, Yoh and Sho defeated El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru to win the Super Jr. Tag League, for the record-setting third time. On January 5, 2020, on the second night of Wrestle Kingdom 14 in Tokyo Dome, Yoh and Sho defeated Taiji Ishimori and El Phantasmo to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship for the fourth time. In June, Yoh took part in the 2020 New Japan Cup, being eliminated from the tournament by BUSHI in the second round.

On August 27, Yoh and Sho were forced to vacate the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, after Yoh was sidelined with a knee injury. On March 21, 2021, Yoh made his return from injury, challeging El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru to a title match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship on behalf of Roppongi 3K. This led to on April 4 at Sakura Genisis, Yoh and Sho defeating Desperado and Kanemaru to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship for the fifth time. Following the match, Yoh challenged Desperado to a title match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. On June 7 at Dominion 6.6 in Osaka-jo Hall, Yoh unsucessfully challenged Desperado for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. Afterwards, Yoh and Sho were challenged by El Phantasmo and Taiji Ishimori to a title match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. This led to on June 23 at Kizuna Road, Yoh and Sho losing the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship against Phantasmo and Ishimori. In August, Yoh and Sho took part in the 2021 Super Jr. Tag League, entering a losing streak, which culminated on August 16, Sho turning on Yoh, to effectively disband the team. Their rivalry culminated into a match on September 4 at Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome, where Yoh was defeated by his former teammate. Yoh made his return to the promotion on November 6 at Power Struggle, saving Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii and Yoshi-Hashi from an attack by Sho, EVIL and Yujiro Takahashi, who had recently won the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship. From November 13 until December 11, Yoh took part in the 2021 Best of the Super Juniors, finishing the tournament with a record of seven wins and four losses, including a victory against his former partner Sho to advance to the finals of the tournament. On December 15, Yoh was defeated in the finals of the tournament by Hiromu Takahashi in the longest match of the tournament's history at 38 minutes and 30 seconds. During the match, Yoh and Takahashi were attacked by Sho, before trying to declare the match as a no-contest, only for the referee to ignore his declaration and continue the match, with both CHAOS and *Los Ingobernables de Japon* making the save. After Takahashi won the final, he declare that it was Yoh’s responsibility to stand up against Sho, setting up a match between them at Wrestle Kingdom 16. On January 4, 2022, Yoh got his revenge over Sho, after defeating him in their match, concluding their feud.

In April, Yoh began a short feud with Hiromu Takahashi, after questioned Yoh's motivation. Yoh, who personally took Takahashi's criticism, scored a victory over him on April, before challenging Takahashi to a match. On May 1 at Wrestling Dontaku, Yoh was defeated by Takahashi. In May, Yoh took part in the 2022 Best of the Super Juniors, finishing the tournament with a record of four wins and five losses, failling to advance to the finals of the tournament. On July 5, Yoh, Goto and Yoshi-Hashi defeated EVIL, Sho and Yujiro Takahashi for the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship, before losing the titles back to them on September 23 in a Tornado Dog Cage Survival match. In November, Yoh took part in the 2022 Super Jr. Tag League alongside Lio Rush. Both finished the tournament with a record seven wins and two losses, advancing to the finals. On December 14, Yoh and Rush defeated Ace Austin and Chris Bey in the finals to win the 2022 Super Jr. Tag League.

On January 4, 2023 at Wrestle Kingdom 17 in Tokyo Dome, Yoh and Rush unsucessfully challenged Catch 2/2 (Francesco Akira and TJP) for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. In May, Yoh took part in the 2023 Best of the Super Juniors. He finished the tournament with a record of six wins and three losses, narrowly failing to advance to the semifinals by two points. On October 7, Yoh picked up a victory over Hiromu Takahashi in match, before challenging the winner of the three-way match between Takahashi, Yoh's partner Lio Rush and Mike Bailey to a title match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. The following day, in a press conference, Yoh requested to replace Rush in the three-way match, which NJPW Chairman Naoki Sugabayashi accepted. On October 9 at Destruction in Ryogoku, Yoh failed to win the title, losing in the three-way match. From October 21 to November 2, Yoh took part in the 2023 Super Jr. Tag League. He was originally scheduled to take part in the tournament with Lio Rush, however, after Rush was sidelined with an ilness, Yoh made an appearance in a Michinoku Pro Wrestling show, as a special guest of the promotion. He would proceed to announce MUSASHI as his partner for the upcoming tournament. They would compete in the tournament as "Musashi Komatsu", a combination of MUSASHI's name and Yoh's surname. Both had grown up as high school amateur wrestlers, and through a connection between their respective coaches, they ended up meeting one another often as well as lodging together during high school meets. They would finish the 2023 Super Jr. Tag League with a record four wins and five losses, failing to advance to the finals of the tournament.

## In wrestling

* **Finishing moves**
	+ Bridging dragon suplex – 2019
	+ *Direct Drive* (Double underhook brainbuster) – 2021-present
	+ *Five Star Clutch* (Double wrist-clutch flip into a bridging cradle pin) – 2018–present
	+ *Out Of Print* (Grounded back roll transitioned into a figure-four calf slicer) - 2021-present
	+ *Roll of K* (Grounded back roll transitioned into a Boston crab) - early career
	+ *Stargazer* (Grounded back roll transitioned into a calf slicer) – 2019–present
* **Signature moves**
	+ Atomic drop
	+ Bridging German suplex
	+ *DNV - Drop the Needle on the Vinyl* (Brainbuster dropped onto the knee)
	+ Dragon screw
	+ Dropkick
	+ Flying elbow strike
	+ Jumping single knee
	+ Jumping reverse STO
	+ Rolling senton from the arpon
	+ Running cutter
	+ Running double knee strike
	+ Single leg Boston crab
	+ Sitout suplex slam, sometimes while crossing the opponent's legs
	+ Sharpshooter
	+ Spinning headlock elbow drop, sometimes to an opponent draped on the ropes
	+ Superkick
* **Nicknames**
	+ "High and Mighty"
	+ **"Direct Drive"**
* **Managers**
	+ Rocky Romero
* **Entrance themes**
	+ "Resolution" by Yonosuke Kitamura
	+ **"Going Down Fighting"** by Masafumi Isobe

## Championships and accomplishments

* **New Japan Pro-Wrestling**
	+ NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi
	+ IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (5 times) – with Sho
	+ Super Jr. Tag Tournament (2017) – with Sho
	+ Super Jr. Tag League (2018, 2019, 2020) – with Sho
	+ Super Jr. Tag League (2022) – with Lio Rush
* **Wrestling Observer Awards**
	+ Rookie of the Year (2013)

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Database > Yohei Komatsu . New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Retrieved on 2016-02-09.
2. ↑ The Addiction take on The Tempura Boyz at Undisputed Legacy . *Ring of Honor*. Retrieved on 2016-12-30.
3. ↑ 10/15/16 Glory By Honor - Dearborn, MI . *Ring of Honor*. Retrieved on 2016-12-02.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Komatsu y Tanaka". *Box y Lucha magazine*Spanish (3218). January 24, 2016.
5. ↑ NEVER  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2014-09-10.
6. ↑ 10月25日、11月6日後楽園で「Super Jr.タッグT」開催!! ヤングバックスが初参戦!! バリエンテ、バレッタも来日!!  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2013-10-15). Retrieved on 2013-10-15.
7. ↑ Road to Power Struggle  (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling. Retrieved on 2013-10-25.
8. ↑ バディファイトPresents Wrestle Kingdom 8 in 東京ドーム  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2014-01-04.
9. ↑ Caldwell, James 2014-01-04. Caldwell's NJPW Tokyo Dome results 1/4: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of New Japan's biggest show of the year – four title changes, former WWE/TNA stars featured, more . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2014-01-04.
10. ↑ Yohei Komatsu matches against Sho Tanaka . Cagematch.net. Retrieved on 2016-02-09.
11. ↑ Complete New Japan WrestleKingdom PPV coverage (page 2) . *Pro Wrestling Insider*. Retrieved on 2015-07-05.
12. ↑ NJPW Presents CMLL Fantastica Mania 2015  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2015-01-15.
13. ↑ 新日本プロレス「The New Beginning in Osaka」  (in Japanese). *Sports Navi*. Yahoo! (2015-02-11). Retrieved on 2015-02-11.
14. ↑ 新日本プロレス「The New Beginning in Sendai」  (in Japanese). *Sports Navi*. Yahoo! (2015-02-14). Retrieved on 2015-02-14.
15. ↑ Rose, Bryan 2015-04-05. New Japan Invasion Attack results 4–5–15: AJ Styles vs. Kota Ibushi . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Archived from the original on 2015-04-14. Retrieved on 2015-04-06.
16. ↑ Best of the Super Jr.XXII  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2015-06-04.
17. ↑ Best of the Super Jr.XXII  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2015-06-05.
18. ↑ Best of the Super Jr.XXII  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2015-05-29.
19. ↑ Best of the Super Jr.XXII  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2015-05-23.
20. ↑ Best of the Super Jr.XXII  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2015-05-22.
21. ↑ Best of the Super Jr.XXII  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2015-05-27.
22. ↑ Best of the Super Jr.XXII  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2015-06-02.
23. ↑ *ja:新日本プロレス「Dominion 7.5 in Osaka-jo hall」* (in Japanese). *Sports Navi*. Yahoo! (2015-07-05). Retrieved on 2015-07-05.
24. ↑ Macklin, Matthew 2015-09-23. NJPW Destruction in Okayama report . *Pro Wrestling Insider*. Retrieved on 2015-09-23.
25. ↑ Macklin, Matthew 2015-09-27. New Japan Destruction in Kobe results . *Pro Wrestling Insider*. Retrieved on 2015-09-27.
26. ↑ 小松洋平、田中翔の"無期限海外遠征"が決定！ 『FANTASTICA MANIA』全6大会で"壮行試合"が実現！  (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling (2016-01-07). Retrieved on 2016-02-09.
27. ↑ Arrancó Fantasticamanía 2016  (in Spanish). *MedioTiempo* (2016-01-17). Retrieved on 2016-01-17.
28. ↑ Zellner, Kris 2016-01-20. The Lucha Report . *Pro Wrestling Insider*. Retrieved on 2016-01-29.
29. ↑ NJPW Presents CMLL Fantastica Mania 2016  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2016-01-20.
30. ↑ Zellner, Kris 2016-01-25. Mario Meija Jimenez aka the original Espectrito & WWF's Mini Vader passes away: The Lucha Report . *Pro Wrestling Insider*. Retrieved on 2016-01-29.
31. ↑ NJPW Presents CMLL Fantastica Mania 2016  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2016-01-23.
32. ↑ NJPW Presents CMLL Fantastica Mania 2016  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2016-01-24.
33. ↑ CMLL vs NJPW, en puerta  (in Spanish). *Esto Enlinea*. Retrieved on 2016-02-09.
34. ↑ Negro Casas contra Volador; la rivalidad continúa  (in Spanish). *Esto Enlinea*. Retrieved on 2016-02-09.
35. ↑ Carrera, Pep. La Ola Amarilla busca conquistar la Arena México  (in Spanish). Plantilla Deportivo. Retrieved on 2016-02-09.
36. ↑ López Peralta, Gonzalo 2016-03-23. Arena México Lucha Libre 22 de Marzo de 2016  (in Spanish). *Yahoo! Deportes*. Yahoo!. Retrieved on 2016-03-23.
37. ↑ Card finalized for Dearborn on October 15 . *Ring of Honor*. Retrieved on 2017-01-24.
38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 38.2 Rose, Bryan 2017-10-08. NJPW King of Pro Wrestling live results: Kazuchika Okada vs. Evil . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2017-10-09.
39. ↑ King of Pro-Wrestling  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro-Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2017-10-09.
40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 Currier, Joseph 2017-11-05. NJPW Power Struggle live results: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2017-11-05.
41. ↑ Renner, Ethan 2018-01-03. NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12 live results: Okada-Naito, Omega-Jericho . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2018-01-04.
42. ↑ Prowrestle theme music list . *RMLabel*. Retrieved on 2016-07-12.
43. ↑ Meltzer, Dave (January 27, 2014). "The 2013 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Annual Awards Issue". *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Campbell, California: 1–36. ISSN 1083-9593.