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Yota Tsuji (辻 陽太, Tsuji Yōta, born September 8, 1993[3]) is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member of the Los Ingobernables de Japon stable. Tsuji is the winner of the 2024 New Japan Cup and is a one-time NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champion with Bushi and Hiromu Takahashi. He has also made appearances for Revolution Pro Wrestling (RPW),Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw), Over the Top Wrestling (OTT), Pro Wrestling NOAH.
| Yota Tsuji | |
|---|---|
 Tsuji in November 2023 | |
| Birth name | Yota Tsuji |
| Born | September 8, 1993[1][2] Yokohama, Japan[1][2] |
| Alma mater | Nippon Sport Science University[2] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Yota Tsuji Yota |
| Billed height | 1.82 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)[2][1] |
| Billed weight | 227 lb (103 kg)[2] |
| Billed from | Yokohama, Japan[1][2] |
| Trained by | NJPW Dojo Hiroshi Tanahashi Ultimo Guerrero |
| Debut | April 10, 2018[1][2] |
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Before wrestling, Tsuji had played baseball, American football and had done taekwondo.[2][3][1] In March 2012, he graduated from Yokohama Tateno high-school.[2][3] In March 2016, Tsuji graduated from Nippon Sport Science University.[2][3]
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2017–present)
Young lion (2017–2021)
In April 2017, Tsuji was signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) under New Japan's "young lion" system.[2][3] A year later, Tsuji as well as fellow young lion, Yuya Uemura, made their pro-wrestling debuts at Lion's Gate Project 11 where Tsuji was defeated by Tomoyuki Oka.[4][5][6] In his second match, he was defeated by Ren Narita.[7] During night one of Wrestling Dontaku 2018, Tsuji and Shota Umino were defeated by Bullet Club (Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi).[8] At Lion's Gate Project 12, Tsuji and Uemura went to a time-limit draw.[9] At Lion's Gate Project 13, Tsuji and Uemura wrestled to a draw.[10] On September 5, at Aichi, Tsuji teamed with Narita to defeat Uemura and Umino, winning for the first time. After three years, New Japan reported that Tsuji would be going on overseas excursion along with Uemura as of August 1, 2021. On that day, Tsuji wrestled his last match as a young lion, facing Tetsuya Naito, with whom he had a minor feud with, in a losing effort.
Foreign excursion (2021–2023)
It was announced by Revolution Pro Wrestling (RPW) that Tsuji would make his debut for the promotion on September 4. Tsuji wrestled his first match overseas in a losing effort against Kyle Fletcher.
Tsuji debuted for Mexican promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), on November 11, 2022, now under the mononymous name of Yota, accompanied by Vincent and El Mesías, where they defeated El Valiente, Blue Panther and Soberano Jr..[11] On May 14, 2023, Yota lost to Gran Guerrero for the CMLL World Heavyweight Championship.[12]
Los Ingobernables de Japon (2023–present)
Tsuji returned to New Japan Pro-Wrestling at Wrestling Dontaku 2023, attacking IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Sanada and the remainder of the Just 5 Guys stable, whilst challenging Sanada for the title.[13] The title match was made official for Dominion. On June 3 at the press conference the day before the event, Tsuji officially joined Los Ingobernables de Japon (LIJ).[14] The day after at the event, Tsuji unsuccessfully challenged Sanada for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.[15]
In July, Tsuji made his debut in the annual G1 Climax tournament, competing in the A Block.[16] Tsuji finished the tournament with 7 points, narrowly missing out on qualifying to advance to the quarter-final round.[17] On August 13, Tsuji pinned reigning IWGP United Kingdom Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay in an eight-man tag team match, leading Tsuji to held the IWGP United Kingdom Championship over the fallen Ospreay, setting up at title match at Destruction on September 24, which Tsuji failed to win the title from Ospreay.[18] In October, Tsuji returned to the UK at Royal Quest III, defeating Luke Jacobs.[19] The following month, Tsuji participated in the World Tag League, teaming with Zandokan Jr. of CMLL. The duo finished with 6 points, failing to advance to the semi-finals.[20] Following the tournament, Tsuji renewed a feud with former Young Lion dojo stablemate Yuya Uemura, who had joined Just 5 Guys, which started after Uemura pinned Tsuji in a tag-team match. Due to this, a singles match at Wrestle Kingdom 18 was set.[21] On January 4, 2024 at Wrestle Kingdom, Tsuji was defeated by Uemura.[22]
Tsuji and Uemura continued their feud further into the new year. This culminated on February 24, at The New Beginning in Sapporo, where Tsuji defeated Uemura in a Hair vs. Hair match, forcing Uemura to shave his hair.[23] Tsuji attempted to use his momentum, by entering the New Japan Cup, the following month.[24] Tsuji defeated Jeff Cobb, El Phantasmo and Ren Narita, in the first 3 rounds.[25] In the semi-finals, he defeated Evil, to advance to the tournament finals.[26] In the New Japan Cup final, Tsuji defeated three-time cup winner, Hirooki Goto, to win the 2024 New Japan Cup, his first major accolade in NJPW. After the match, Tsuji claimed he was the face of a new era in NJPW, before being joined in the ring by LIJ leader and stablemate, Tetsuya Naito. Tsuji's New Japan Cup win has earned him a shot at Naito's IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at Sakura Genesis, on April 6.[27] At Sakura Genesis, Tsuji was defeated by Naito. On June 9 at Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo Hall, Tsuji teamed with fellow LIJ members Bushi and Hiromu Takahashi to defeat Hiroshi Tanahashi, Oleg Boltin, and Toru Yano to win the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship. This would be Tsuji's first ever championship in NJPW. They later dropped the titles back to them seven days later at New Japan Soul. Tsuji participated in the G1 Climax, competing in the B Block. Tsuji finished with 10 points, and was able to qualify for the playoff stage, where he defeated Konosuke Takeshita in the quarter-final, David Finlay in the semi-final, but lost to Zack Sabre Jr. in the grand finals.
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (2022–present)
Tsuji debuted for Mexican promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), on November 11, 2022, now under the mononymous name of Yota, accompanied by Vincent and El Mesías, where they defeated El Valiente, Blue Panther and Soberano Jr..[11] On May 14, 2023, Yota lost to Gran Guerrero for the CMLL World Heavyweight Championship.[12] On 24 July 2024, he was announced as a participant in the 2024 Grand Prix.[28] On August 24, 2024, Yota, Titan and Zandokan Jr. defeated Los Infernales (Averno, Euforia & Mephisto) by DQ.[29] On August 25, 2024, Yota and Akira defeated Los Guerreros Laguneros (Gran Guerrero & Stuka Jr.)[30] On August 26, 2024 Yota was defeated by Averno in a Lightning Match at the Arena Puebla.[31] On August 27, 2024, Yota lost to Gran Guerrero for the CMLL World Heavyweight Championship by DQ at the Arena Coliseo de Guadalajara.[32]
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Tsuji has a twin brother named Shota, who appeared during the final block A of 2023 G1 Climax disguising himself as Yota to bait Gabriel Kidd during his entrance.[33] Shota is a professional stuntman.[34]
- ESPN
- Ranked No. 23 of the 30 best Pro Wrestlers Under 30 in 2023[35]
- New Japan Pro-Wrestling
| Winner (wager) | Loser (wager) | Location | Event | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yota Tsuji (hair) | Yuya Uemura (hair) | Sapporo, Japan | The New Beginning in Sapporo: Night 2 | February 24, 2024 | [37] |
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