January 7, 2002 Observer Newsletter: Inoki New Years Eve show, Nash to WWF, more
The closing moments of the worst year in the modern history of pro wrestling ended with the creation of a most unlikely star.
Antonio Inoki’s New Years Eve special was built around the creation of a comeback storyline for Tadao Yasuda, a 38-year-old former sumo. Not a wrestling comeback, but a sentimental life comeback. The television show built up his life-long problem with gambling, and that he started pro wrestling at the age of 31 to pay back debts, and then, when he continued to gamble, piling up debuts of about $760,000, his wife left him, taking his daughter with her. On 3/25, Yasuda became something of a pushed pro wrestling star with an unlikely win in a dreadfully boring Pride match over Masaaki Satake, that proved once again, you can never fully predict what will happen in a shoot.
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Dave Meltzer is the founder and lead writer on the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the weekly constant when it comes to news and reviews in pro wrestling and mixed martial arts for more than 40 years. Dave also co-hosts Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and had had bylines for The National, Yahoo Sports, MMA Fighting and others.