Former IWGP Champion Tadao Yasuda passes away
Former IWGP World Champion Tadao Yasuda has passed away.
Tokyo Sports reported on Tuesday that Yasuda was found dead at his home in Tokyo at the age of 62. Prior to his death, he had reportedly worked for a security company.
Starting out as a sumo wrestler, Yasuda joined New Japan Pro Wrestling in 1993 and made his in-ring debut the following year. He spent most of the 90s as an undercard wrestler, usually wrestling in the opening match. However, that all changed in 2000 when he and Kazuyuki Fujita were sent by Antonio Inoki to the United States to learn mixed martial arts. Yasuda won his debut fight in Pride which saw him get a renewed push in NJPW, reaching the semifinals of the 2001 G1 Climax tournament.
In December of that year, Yasuda earned the biggest win of his mixed martial arts career by defeating Jerome Le Banner. Soon after he won the IWGP World Championship by defeating Yuji Nagata in the finals of a tournament for the vacant title, holding it for 48 days. He had his final MMA match in 2003 holding a 2-4 record and retired from pro wrestling in 2011.
In 2007, Yasuda reportedly attempted to commit suicide via carbon monoxide poisoning. He later denied that claim, saying that the situation was an accident.
Bryan Rose is an editor from California that has been covering professional wrestling for well over a decade. He officially joined F4WOnline as an editor in 2017.