Nickname: "Spirit of Sumo, "Fake Ozeki"
Birthplace: Kyoto, Kyoto
Birthdate: April 06, 1979
Theme Music: "Shout Your Soul!!"
Weight: 129kg (285lbs)
Height: 183cm (6'0")
Debut: August 14, 2002 (vs. Kyoko Okazaki)
Physical Appearance: Living the Sumo lifestyle, Yoshida is a large individual, while still packing on some muscle. His hair is long and dark; though with a noticeable receding hairline beginning to appear. As he has had through out most of his career, Yoshida still has a full beard, and has become something of a trademark for him.
Ring Costume: Yoshida wears something resembling a singlet; though with the thighs cut short. The bottom-half of the singlet is dark yellow with "YOSHIDA SUMO DOJO" printed in black lettering on the rear. The top-end is black, with dark yellow trim. While traditionally wrestling barefooted, he has begun wearing dark yellow boots, along with black knee pads. During his entrances, he wears an elegant robe fashioned with a beautiful flower design.
Title History:
* KOF Tag Team Titles
- (w/ Chikao Kessin) Tetsuhiro Kaneda & Takayuki Morita (12/21/2004) / Hiroaki Nakata & Yoshihiro Shimoda (5/18/2005)
* PWC World Tag Team Titles (2)
- (w/ Chikao Kessin) Makoto Tachibana & Tatsumichi Akamatsu (8/20/2006) / Tatsumichi Akamatsu & Makoto Tachibana (10/25/2006)
- (w/ Chikao Kessin) Jason Ramsey & Naoyuki Watanabe (5/31/2008) /
Tournament History:
* PWC Tag League (P*J - 2006): Masafuji Yoshida & Chikao Kessin beat Makoto Tachibana & Tatsumichi Akamatsu (18:54) when Yoshida used a Cross-Armed Fire Thunder on Akamatsu
Trademark Moves:
* Masayume (High-Lift Waistlock Slam. Name translates to "fulfilling your dream.")
* Powerbomb
* Nodowa Otoshi
Biography: Masafuji Yoshida dreamed of being a great Yokozuna as a child, and worked all of this life to reach his ambition. When Yoshida began pursuing his goal in high school however, he suffered a debilitating shoulder injury, forcing him to ultimately retire from Sumo.
After rehabilitating his injury for over two years, Yoshida turned his goals to pro-wrestling, and applied to Kazuma Fujita's dojo in Osaka. Despite the weak point, Yoshida was a good prospect for pro-wrestling, having a good attitude, and even better strength. He would debut in August of 2002, and make the transition with all of the other 1st term graduates of Fujita's school in forming Pro-Wrestling FURY in October.
After initially getting off on the wrong foot by having his lies of being a former Ozeki exposed, Yoshida formed the popular "Sumo Brothers" tag team with Chikao Kessin. The two would capture the KOF Tag Team Titles in 2006. However, the two accomplished even more outside of FURY, winning PROMO * JAPAN's PWC Tag League tournament in 2006 en route to winning the PWC World Tag Team Titles. The Sumos would enjoy a second reign as champions in 2008 after defeating "The Superstar" Jason Ramsey and Naoyuki Watanabe. After failing to win the KOF Tag Titles later in the year, Yoshida proposed to end the Sumo Brother team, feeling he was holding Kessin back as a singles player. Towards the end of FURY's life, Yoshida formed a pseudo-comedy group
called "Yoshida Sumo Dojo" after taking rookie Tetsuji Kawamura under
his wing, with Kessin taking part on occasion.
Joining KJPW, Yoshida has widely acknowledged that he is no where near his athletic prime, and enjoys his relative gatekeeper status on the roster. While encouraging Kessin to pursue being a singles wrestler, Yoshida continues to remain close with his friend, with the two even reforming the Sumos when the situation calls for it.
