Pro wrestling has had plenty of controversial stars throughout its 100+ year history, from the initial extravagance of Gorgeous George to “Exotic” Adrian Street to Goldust to The Invisible Man, but perhaps the most polarizing figure has been that of DDT Pro‘s Yoshihiko. And the reason is simple – Yoshihiko is an inflatable blow-up sex doll. In Japan, Yoshihiko is a cultural icon in pro wrestling, while in North America, many purists will argue that for him to be in any sort of a match ruins the industry forever. But for such an industry shaker, Yoshihiko has faced some world-class talent throughout his career, and DDT Pro has just announced that Yoshihiko is going on his first solo US tour this summer, and he’s making his official debut with Game Changer Wrestling (GCW) at their upcoming Homecoming two-night event, where he’ll face AEW’s Joey Janela on the second night.
[Yoshihiko on his First Solo US Tour!]
Yoshihiko will be making his GCW debut, facing Joey Janela at GCW Homecoming, which will take place on July 25/26, 2020, in Atlantic City, NJ.#ddtpro#GCWHomecoming pic.twitter.com/LkBo9RXroA
— DDT ProWrestling (@ddtpro) July 9, 2020
Yoshihiko began wrestling for DDT Pro back in 2005 and has wrestled for the company ever since, usually in multi-tag matches. He’s had strong rivalries with The Golden Lovers (Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi) having wrestled both in tag team action and in singles action. At DDT Max Bump in 2009, Yoshihiko and Danshoku Dino unsuccessfully challenged The Golden Lovers for DDT’s KO-D Tag Team titles. Yoshihiko has fought many of the top stars in Japan, including FREEDOMS‘ Jun Kasai, Kikutaro, Antonio Honda, Aja Kong, Kendo Kashin, Makoto Oishi, and more, and has also challenged for the DDT Ironman Heavymetal Title, DDT Extreme Championship, and the KO-D 10-Man Tag Team title.
Over the years, Yoshihiko has suffered some horrific injuries that would normally retire a regular wrestler. In one match against Antonio Honda, his head burst after a vicious knee drop, and in a match against Kenny Omega, a swing outside the ring also resulted in his head splitting open and losing his stuffing. In another match against Honda, this time dressed like The Undertaker’s American Bad Ass persona, he was shot by Honda. But arguably his most famous match was when he challenged Kota Ibushi for DDT Pro’s top prize, the KO-D Openweight title.
His first opponent on his US tour is none other than Joey Janela from All Elite Wrestling and longtime regular with GCW. Janela is very adept at these kinds of special matches, having had a series of matches against The Invisible Man over the years.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. GCW Homecoming Nights 1 & 2 will air live on FITE.tv, but you can also watch back catalog on IndependentWrestling.tv (IWTV).
