Yoshiaki Matsuda

Name: Yoshiaki Matsuda
Height: 6'0 (183 cm)
Weight: 236 lb (107 kg)
Place of Birth: Mineyama Town, Kyoto
Theme "Maybe I'm A Lion? "
Birthday: 02/24/82
Debut: 2001

Signature Moves:
Saito Suplex
Uranage
Front Neck Lock
Sleeper Hold
PK

Titles Won:
IFS Openweight Championship (1)
Hiroyuki Takano (10/07/07) / Katsumi Gakusha (05/27/08)

Tournaments Won:
FREEDOM ROAD 07: Yoshiaki Matsuda defeated Jun Kobayashi at 19:03 when Matsuda used a Uranage on Kobayashi.

Profile:
PROFILE:
Recruited to Jason Ramsey's "Tenchu-Do" training center for aspiring pro-wrestlers and mixed martial-artists at the age of 19. Matsuda spent his youth pursuing the grappling arts in both amaresu and judo and experienced varying levels of success throughout his amateur career. Spending two years in Tenchu-Do training primarily for a career path in mixed martial-arts, he also chose to gain the added experience of pro-wrestling training. During these years he met and formed a strong, competitive rivalry with fellow classmen, Hiroyuki Takano. After two years, Matsuda debuted professionally in Tokyo and continued to freelance around the country gaining experience while continuing to advance his training at Tenchu-Do. A year passed and Matsuda was offered a unique opportunity to further his training by going on a worldwide odyssey with Tenchu-Do head trainer and noted freelancer, Torayashi Ryoku. Two plus years, most of that time spent in North America along with three other Tenchu-Do graduates, including his rival Takano. Matsuda returned after the two year long journey, having gained critical experience, and was now ready to make his mark on pro-wrestling at home.

FREEDOM Year One (2006-2007):
Matsuda began slowly and unassuming, being defeated quite early in the tournament to determine the first IFS Openweight Champion (losing to Kazuhiro Okamura). As the year progressed Matsuda evolved beyond just an antagonist of Hiroyuki Takano and became much more defined both in and out of the ring, gradually winning the favor of the fanbase even though he would refuse to join the main army (sharing any role with Takano) and created his own unit of primarily fighters with shoot backgrounds (ANTIHERO). The true turning point in Matsuda's year and early career may however be his invitation to the BURNING PARADISE King of Paradise tournament in which he exploded forward unexpectedly, even taking a victory over BURNING PARADISE's "ace" Wataru Kobe on his way to the finals (he would lose to Hisakatsu Okada in the final). Matsuda used this leap forward to return to FREEDOM and dominate the first FREEDOM ROAD tournament going "perfecto" and defeating ANTIHERO teammate Dusty Griffith in the semi-final and then Jun Kobayashi in one FREEDOM's top matches of the year in the grand finale of the tournament. Matsuda would cap this impressive run by gaining the first victory in singles competition between he and his main rival, Hiroyuki Takano, to become the Third Generation IFS Openweight Champion. Matsuda also continues to be a recurring cast member of BURNING PARADISE and has been battling DNA FIGHTING's Niwatori Ogawa and his army in FREEDOM and BURNING PARADISE.