How Did They Get Here: Minoru Suzuki
How do I even begin to describe the 31 year career of Minoru Suzuki? He is a man that has done so much in his career, but yet he is still going. As the leader of the very talented Suzuki-Gun stable, he has continued to improve in the ring. He has surrounded himself with submission wrestlers like Zack Sabre Jr and TAKA Michinoku, as well as brutal wrestlers like El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, and Lance Archer, while he is a blend of both styles. At 51, we are more than likely in the latter half of Suzuki’s career, but we don’t know how long he can go in the squared circle. He could easily go while in his 60’s or even later. His style of wrestling allows that, but this isn’t about the future. This is about the past and how Suzuki got to this point in his career, and oh boy, is it a long one.
Minoru Suzuki started his career in 1988 at the New Japan Dojo, and wrestled his first match was at New Japan Fan Appreciation in a battle royal that was won by Tatsutoshi Goto. His first win was on October 22nd where he would defeat a future friend and stablemate, Takayuki Iizuka during the Fighting Spirit series. But it seemed clear from that during his early career that he wanted to do something else first. He had matches in UWF (Universal Wrestling Federation) and at SWS (Super World Sports). He only lost two matches in 1991, which was Wayne Shamrock on March 4th and September 28th. He was able to avenge that loss on April 19th, 1992 at PWFG Legend of the Lion. He also had a match against Ken Shamrock at PWFG Shootfighting, which Suzuki lost. After 1992, Suzuki left the wrestling world and went into the world of Mixed Martial Arts.
Minoru Suzuki, Masakatsu Funaki and others founded the Panacrase promotion, where he fought on the very first show where he beat Katsuomi Ingaki via rear naked choke. He continued his winning ways by defeating Vernon White on the second show. Suzuki started his career on a 7-0 streak, which included a win over Ken Shamrock that was surprising to everyone. There was some controversy, but it didn’t come out until later. Shamrock claims that he was told by the promotion that they didn’t want him to hurt Suzuki in the match, as Suzuki already had a back injury going in. But then he thinks that Suzuki deliberately injured him in the match. After the match, Suzuki didn’t lose a match until July 6th, 1994, when he lost to Bas Rutten. In 1995, Suzuki won the King of Pancrase championship on May 13th, 1995 at Pancrase: Eyes of Beast 4 when he won the title from Ken Shamrock in a second win over him. He held the title until September 1st, when he lost it to Dutch fighter Bas Rutten at the Anniversary Show. After that fight, Suzuki’s fights became more and more few and far between. This was due to the wear and tear on his body along with various injuries. As these things happened, Suzuki started to look elsewhere and was included in the Tekken video game series where he did the motion capture for the character King. Suzkui had his last fight in 2013 after an 11 year layoff when he beat Hans Nijman at U-Spirits Again to finish his MMA Career at 30-19.
In 2003, we saw Minoru Suzuki return to the world of pro wrestling. Himself, along with Yusuke Fuke announced that they would be invading wrestling promotions under the team name of Pancrase Mission. Suzuki made his return to New Japan on June 13th, where he beat Masayuki Naruse at NJPW Crush. He then challenged for the National Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Championship during the Road to Ultimate Crush, but Suzuki was unable to win the title from Yoshihiro Takatama. There was a very good run for Minoru Suzuki in 2004. He and Takayama were able to win the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships from Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Osamu Nishimura at Fighting Spirit 2004. He also earned a shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Hyper Battle, but was unable to win the championship from Hiroyoshi Tenzan. On March 27th, Minoru Suzuki ran a gauntlet against Young Lions, two of which are very prominent in the wrestling world. He beat Akiya Anzawa in 15 seconds, Hirooki Goto in just over one minute, and went to a time limit draw against Shinsuke Nakamura. Suzuki then competed in his first G1 Climax, finishing tied for first at 8 points, but was unable to advance past the block portion of the tournament due to tiebreakers. Suzuki then got another title shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Toukon Festival, but was unable yet again to win the championship, this time from Kensuke Sasaki. Suzuki and Takayama had to forfeit the Tag Team Championships due to Takayama suffering from multiple injuries. Suzuki did get chance to regain the championships, but he and new partner Sasaki were unable to beat Hiroshi Tanahashi and Shinsuke Nakamura at Battle Final.
In 2005, Suzuki’s championship focus shifted somewhere else, the Global Honored Crown (GHC) championship of Pro Wrestling NOAH. He challenged the GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi to a championship match at Great Voyage, but came up short. Suzuki would then return to New Japan, while also wrestling on the odd NOAH show here and there. It was during the NOAH Encouraging Navigations tour that Suzuki aligned with a rather interesting ally, Naomichi Marufuji. It was an interesting alliance as Suzuki is known for his shoot style of wrestling, while Marufuji has a lucha libre style in the ring. The two seemed to quickly mesh as they won five straight matches, earning them a GHC Tag Team Championship match. They would defeat the champions, Doug Williams and 2 Cold Scorpio, on June 18th at the Frontier Wrestling Alliance Live in Morecambe: NOAH Limits show to win the tag team titles. After a successful defence of the GHC Tag Team Championships over Jun Akiyama and Makoto Hashi, Suzuki entered the G1 Climax for the second time in his career, but was unable to equal the success that he had in the tournament the year before. Suzuki finished with six points and third in the block. After the tournament, Suzuki returned to NOAH and had a match at Shiny Navigation against a young wrestler who would become a future star for Pro Wrestling NOAH. Who was that wrestler? None other than KENTA, or as some would still know him, Hideo Itami. Suzuki and Marufuji would retain the GHC Tag Team Championships on that Shiny Navigation tour, over Akitoshi Saito and takashi Sugiura, but would lose the championships to Mohammed Yone and Takeshi Morishima at Autumn Navigation on October 28th.
After finding success in Pro Wrestling NOAH and not finding as much of it in New Japan, Suzuki looked to continue his success outside of the biggest wrestling promotion in Japan. Suzuki got another GHC Heavyweight Championship match, but was once again unsuccessful in winning the championship from champion Jun Akiyama on March 5th, 2006. Just five days later, Suzuki showed up in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) and attacked the Triple Crown Champion Satoshi Kojima after he had successfully defended his championship against The Great Muta. Suzuki entered the Champion Carnival, which is the AJPW equivalent of the G1 Climax in NJPW. Suzuki would finish the block undefeated, which included a time limit draw with Kojima, to reach the semifinals of the tournament. He would be unable to reach the finals as he lost to Taiyo Kea, remember that name for later. Suzuki would challenge for the Triple Crown Championship on September 3rd at Summer Impact. He would defeat Taiyo Kea, who had only won the title from Kojima a few months earlier. Suzuki would successfully defend the title during the Shining Series against RO’Z. Suzuki then entered the Real World Tag League with NOSAWA Rongai, but they found little success in the tournament only winning one match.
After finding success in Pro Wrestling NOAH and not finding as much of it in New Japan, Suzuki looked to continue his success outside of the biggest wrestling promotion in Japan. Suzuki got another GHC Heavyweight Championship match, but was once again unsuccessful in winning the championship from champion Jun Akiyama on March 5th, 2006. Just five days later, Suzuki showed up in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) and attacked the Triple Crown Champion Satoshi Kojima after he had successfully defended his championship against The Great Muta. Suzuki entered the Champion Carnival, which is the AJPW equivalent of the G1 Climax in NJPW. Suzuki would finish the block undefeated, which included a time limit draw with Kojima, to reach the semifinals of the tournament. He would be unable to reach the finals as he lost to Taiyo Kea, remember that name for later. Suzuki would challenge for the Triple Crown Championship on September 3rd at Summer Impact. He would defeat Taiyo Kea, who had only won the title from Kojima a few months earlier. Suzuki would successfully defend the title during the Shining Series against RO’Z. Suzuki then entered the Real World Tag League with NOSAWA Rongai, but they found little success in the tournament only winning one match.
Minoru Suzuki made a return to New Japan as he defended the Triple Crown Championship at the first ever Wrestle Kingdom event, where he defeated Yuji Nagata. Suzuki also defended the Triple Crown Championship successfully against Satoshi Kojima during the Excite Series and went into the Champion Carnival as champion. He did not reach the finals that year and only scored three points. He would successfully defend his Triple Crown Championship against Tajiri and Keiji Muto on back to back nights, before losing the championship just short of the one year mark at Pro Wrestling Love in Ryogoku to Kensuke Sasaki. Suzuki would then enter Real World Tag League again, but this time with a much more well known ally, Abdullah the Butcher. The team would finish with eight points and finish third in the tournament. There was then a weird story that unfolded at the All Japan Fan Appreciation Day on December 16th. A team called the Mexico Amigos teamed with a wrestler named Ray Suzuki (I'll give you one guess as to who that is) to defeat Ryuji Hijikata, Kikutaro, T28 (the future BUSHI) and Ryuji Yamaguchi. After the match Ray Suzuki revealed himself to be Minoru Suzuki and vowed that El Nsawa Mendoza would remove his Amigos gear and return to being Nosawa Rongai, and then kidnapped him and start to train him earlier than expected. Wrestling storylines are weird.
Early in 2008, Suzuki got another championship match where he and someone going by the name of Small Antonio Inoki challenged for the F-1 Tag Team Championships, but were unable to win the titles from Kannazuki and Keiji Muto. Suzuki then entered the Champion Carnival for a third time, but was once again unable to win the tournament. While on the Hold Out tour, Suzuki reached out to Taiyo Kea, remember when I said to remember him earlier, about joining Gurentai, Suzuki’s stable. Kea did join the stable and joined the likes of Nosawa Rongia, Mazada and Takemura, with Kea and Suzuki focusing on the tag team championships. The duo beat Kensuke Office, Katsuhiko Nakajuma and Kensuke Sasaki on the Rise Up Tour, to earn the number one contendership for the AJPW World Tag Team Championships. They would win the Tag Team Championships from Joe Doering and Keiji Muto at Crossover. Suzuki would continue to wrestle in the singles division too. He earned a shot at the NWA North American Heavyweight Championship at Team Vader Big Van Crush, but was unable to win the title from Mike DiBiase in a triple threat that included Hiroki Takase. He also got another shot at the Triple Crown Championship, but was unable to win the title from Great Muta at Pro Wrestling Love in Ryogoku. The duo of Suzuki and Kea then entered Real World Tag League. After losing their opening match to Joe Doering and Zodiac, Suzuki and Kea ran off a six match undefeated streak, but three of the were time limit draws or double count outs, so they finished tied for second in the tournament.
Early in 2008, Suzuki got another championship match where he and someone going by the name of Small Antonio Inoki challenged for the F-1 Tag Team Championships, but were unable to win the titles from Kannazuki and Keiji Muto. Suzuki then entered the Champion Carnival for a third time, but was once again unable to win the tournament. While on the Hold Out tour, Suzuki reached out to Taiyo Kea, remember when I said to remember him earlier, about joining Gurentai, Suzuki’s stable. Kea did join the stable and joined the likes of Nosawa Rongia, Mazada and Takemura, with Kea and Suzuki focusing on the tag team championships. The duo beat Kensuke Office, Katsuhiko Nakajuma and Kensuke Sasaki on the Rise Up Tour, to earn the number one contendership for the AJPW World Tag Team Championships. They would win the Tag Team Championships from Joe Doering and Keiji Muto at Crossover. Suzuki would continue to wrestle in the singles division too. He earned a shot at the NWA North American Heavyweight Championship at Team Vader Big Van Crush, but was unable to win the title from Mike DiBiase in a triple threat that included Hiroki Takase. He also got another shot at the Triple Crown Championship, but was unable to win the title from Great Muta at Pro Wrestling Love in Ryogoku. The duo of Suzuki and Kea then entered Real World Tag League. After losing their opening match to Joe Doering and Zodiac, Suzuki and Kea ran off a six match undefeated streak, but three of the were time limit draws or double count outs, so they finished tied for second in the tournament.
It was in 2009 that Suzuki found a lot of championship success. He and NOSAWA Rongai entered the All Asia Tag Team Championship Tournament and reached the finals of the tournament where they beat Masanobu Fuchi and Osamu Nishimura to win the titles. Suzuki then entered the Champions Carnival for a fourth time and won the tournament, beating Kaz Hayashi in the final to win the tournament. He failed to win the Triple Crown Championship during the Rise Up Tour from Yoshihiro Takayama. He and NOSAWA were able to hold the All Asia Tag Team Championships until September 23rd when they dropped the championships to Akebono and Ryota Hama. Suzuki and Kea once again entered Real World Tag League, but once again tied for second. Suzuki and Kea also lost the AJPW Tag Team Championships to Keiji Muto and Masakatsu Funaki at New Year Shining Series, but Suzuki was able to find success in the singles division. He won the Kokomi Sakura Cup, beating NOSAWA and Osamu Nishimura in the finals. Suzuki also won the Champion Carnival for a second time, this time beating long time rival Masakatsu Fuaki in the final. The two shook hands after the match, and buried their long-running feud. Suzuki would defeat Ryoto Hama at Growin’ Up to win the Triple Crown Championship for the second time. It would be a relatively short reign as Suzuki, who won the title on May 2nd, 2010, would drop the title on August 29th to Suwama at Pro Wrestling Love in Ryogoku. Suzuki and Finaki would then join forces to enter Real World Tag League, tying for second again, but this time going to the semifinals, but losing to Hama and Suwama in the finalist decision match.
On December 10th, 2010, Suzuki returned once again to New Japan Pro Wrestling, by attacking old foe Yuji Nagata. This set up a match at Wrestle Kingdom V where Nagata was victorious. After the loss, Suzuki once again entered the Champions Carnival, but was unable to win the tournament for the third time in a row. He also challenged for the GHC Heavyweight Championship at NOAH Great Voyage, but lost to Takashi Sugiura. On May 3rd, 2011, one of the biggest heel stables in New Japan was born. TAKA Michinoku and Taichi turned on Kojima-Gun leader Satoshi Kojima and Minoru Suzuki took over the stable. A little later, Lance Archer joined the stable. Suzuki then entered the G1 Climax for the first time since 2005. Suzuki would lose his first match of the tournament to Kojuma, but then rattled off six straight wins against MVP, Karl Anderson, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, La Sombra (now known as Andrade) and Watar Inoue. His last two matches were against Strong Man and Shinsuke Nakamura. Suzuki lost both of the matches, but if he had won one of them, specifically the Nakamura one, Suzuki would have reached the finals. Later in the year, Suzuki and Lance Archer entered the G1 Tag League. They dropped their first match to Bad Intentions (Giant Bernard (Matt Bloom that runs the WWE Performance Center) & Karl Anderson), but would then run the table in the A Block, to reach the semifinals. They would beat Nakamura and Toru Yano to reach the finals, and would avenge the earlier loss to Bad Intentions by beating them in the finals, and earning an IWGP Tag Team Championship match, but would lose the match at Power Struggle.
At Wrestle Kingdom VI, Suzuki main evented the show when he challenged Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, but was unable to win the title. Many multiman tag matches were in place to help establish Suzuki-Gun as a brutal and dominant stable. Suzuki entered the New Japan Cup, won his first round match over Yuji Nagata, but fell to Togi Makabe in the second round. Suzuki would get revenge as he beat Togi Makabe at Dominion. Suzuki once again entered the G1 Climax. He earned big wins against IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi, as well as old tag partner Naomichi Marafuju. He also won against Yujiro Takahashi and Shelton Benjamin, but was eliminated after losing to Yuji Nagata on the final day of block action. Suzuki got another IWGP Heavyweight Championship match at King of Pro Wrestling, but was unable to win the championship. However the match received a lot of praise and was one of the best received matches of the year. Suzuki entered the World Tag League once again, this time with Kengo Mashimo, but was unable to equal the success from last year, as the two failed to reach the finals.
At Wrestle Kingdom VI, Suzuki main evented the show when he challenged Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, but was unable to win the title. Many multiman tag matches were in place to help establish Suzuki-Gun as a brutal and dominant stable. Suzuki entered the New Japan Cup, won his first round match over Yuji Nagata, but fell to Togi Makabe in the second round. Suzuki would get revenge as he beat Togi Makabe at Dominion. Suzuki once again entered the G1 Climax. He earned big wins against IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi, as well as old tag partner Naomichi Marafuju. He also won against Yujiro Takahashi and Shelton Benjamin, but was eliminated after losing to Yuji Nagata on the final day of block action. Suzuki got another IWGP Heavyweight Championship match at King of Pro Wrestling, but was unable to win the championship. However the match received a lot of praise and was one of the best received matches of the year. Suzuki entered the World Tag League once again, this time with Kengo Mashimo, but was unable to equal the success from last year, as the two failed to reach the finals.
Suzuki got his 2013 started on the wrong foot as he lost to Yuji Nagata at Wrestle Kingdom 7. Suzuki-Gun then went to war with another big stable, CHAOS. Suzuki would beat the second in command, Kazuchika Okada at New Beginning, which would be important a little later in the year. Suzuki once again entered the New Japan Cup and once again beat Nagata the first round, but once again fell in the second round, this time to Toru Yano. Suzuki would defeat Yano at Invasion Attack, and then would challenge new IWGP Heavyweight Championship Okada to a match, and had a fair claim to the title since he was the last person to beat Okada. He would get that title match at Wrestling Dontaku, but would once again come up short. Suzuki entered the G1 Climax, and had an amazing tournament. He beat Shinsuke Nakamura, Karl Anderson, Yujiro Takahashi, Shelton Benjamin, and Kota Ibushi. He went into the final day of the tournament as the block. All he had to do was beat Toru Yano on the final day to reach the finals. That was not what happened, as Yano pulled the upset to knock Suzuki out of the running to reach the finals. After the loss, Suzuki went after Yano due him knocking him out of the tournament. He lost to Yano on September 29th via count out after being handcuffed to the guard rail. Suzuki finally got a win over Yano at King of Pro Wrestling. After avenging that G1 Climax loss, Suzuki shifted his focus to the IWGP Intercontinental Championship and CHAOS leader Shinsuke Nakamura. Suzuki wasn’t only going after Nakamura’s championship, but he wanted Nakamura to join the ranks of Suzuki-Gun. Nakamura defeated Suzuki at Power Struggle, and Nakamura stayed in CHAOS. Suzuki went into the World Tag League, and with a new partner for the third time in three years. This time, it was a famous tag team wrestler in Shelton Benjamin. Once again, Suzuki went into the final day of block action with a chance to advance to the semifinals. They would lose on the final day when Takashi Iizuka and Yano defeated them. Also, on December 30th, 2013, Minoru Suzuki competed in a 77 man battle royal, which is the biggest battle royal ever, not the one WWE put on this year.
Even though the calendar turned to 2015, the feud between Suzuki and Yano, as well as the feud between Suzuki-Gun and CHAOS continued. Suzuki and Shelton Benjamin lost at Wrestle Kingdom 8 to Yano and Great Muta. Suzuki got revenge on Yano when he beat him in the first round of the New Japan Cup. He also won in the second round over Hirooki Goto, but fell in the semifinals to Shinsuke Nakamura in the longest run Suzuki has had in the tournament. Suzuki was then able to convince one of the members of CHAOS to jump ship, as Yano’s long time tag team partner Takashi Iizuka turned on him and joined Suzuki-Gun. Suzuki again entered the G1 Climax, but was in the same block as AJ Styles and Kazuchika Okada, who just ran away with the block. Suzuki would enter a feud with Kazushi Sakuraba, who was the newest member of the CHAOS stable, and Yano’s new partner. Suzuki entered the World Tag League, where he had yet another different partner in Takashi Iizuka. They would finish tied for second behind Goto & Shibata and Nakamura & Ishii. After a match at Wrestle Kingdom 9, where Suzuki beat Sakuraba, there was something new for not just Minoru Suzuki, but all of Suzuki-Gun.
Even though the calendar turned to 2015, the feud between Suzuki and Yano, as well as the feud between Suzuki-Gun and CHAOS continued. Suzuki and Shelton Benjamin lost at Wrestle Kingdom 8 to Yano and Great Muta. Suzuki got revenge on Yano when he beat him in the first round of the New Japan Cup. He also won in the second round over Hirooki Goto, but fell in the semifinals to Shinsuke Nakamura in the longest run Suzuki has had in the tournament. Suzuki was then able to convince one of the members of CHAOS to jump ship, as Yano’s long time tag team partner Takashi Iizuka turned on him and joined Suzuki-Gun. Suzuki again entered the G1 Climax, but was in the same block as AJ Styles and Kazuchika Okada, who just ran away with the block. Suzuki would enter a feud with Kazushi Sakuraba, who was the newest member of the CHAOS stable, and Yano’s new partner. Suzuki entered the World Tag League, where he had yet another different partner in Takashi Iizuka. They would finish tied for second behind Goto & Shibata and Nakamura & Ishii. After a match at Wrestle Kingdom 9, where Suzuki beat Sakuraba, there was something new for not just Minoru Suzuki, but all of Suzuki-Gun.
After a partnership between NJPW and NOAH, Suzuki-Gun invaded Pro Wrestling NOAH on January 12th, and were dominant on their arrival. After two months, Suzuki-Gun had won all the titles in NOAH. Killer Elite Squad (Lance Archer and Davey Boy Smith) were the Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, Taichi had won the Junior Heavyweight Championship, TAKA Michinoku and El Desperado were Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, and Minoru Suzuki had won the GHC Heavyweight Championship from Naomichi Marufuji at Great Voyage. Suzuki would then join forces with Iizuka to enter Global Tag League, where they finished tied for second. Suzuki also entered the Global League, which is just like the G1 Climax and the Champions Carnival. Suzuki went undefeated, but a time limit draw and a double count out against Shelton Benjamin and Takashi Iizuka respectively to finish in second. Suzuki was still able to defend the GHC Heavyweight Championship against Naomichi Marufuji, Maybach Taniguchi and Yoshihiro Takayama. After nearly a year of dominance, Suzuki would drop the GHC Heavyweight Championship to Marufuji at Destiny. 2016 would bring some mixed results for Suzuki, with wins scattered in and out. Suzuki and Iizuka once again entered the Global Tag League, and once again tied for second. Suzuki then entered the Global League and had a really good tournament. After losing his opening match to Toru Yano, who he can’t seem to escape through his whole career, He ran off six straight wins to reach the finals, and won the final against Masa Kitamiya to earn a GHC Heavyweight Championship match, but was unable to win the title from Katsuhiko Nakajima. This would also signal the end of Suzuki-Gun in Pro Wrestling NOAH.
Suzuki-Gun returned to New Japan on January 5th, 2017, at New Years Dash and attacked CHAOS, returning to the feud that they were in before they left. Who was Minoru Suzuki’s target? The IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada. Suzuki was unsuccessful in winning the championship at New Beginnings in Sapporo. Suzuki also failed to advance out of the first round of the New Japan Cup, as he fell to Katsuyori Shibata (how did we not get a feud between these two!). Despite the rocky return, Suzuki then challenged Hirooki Goto for the NEVER Openweight Championship on the Road to Wrestling Dontaku, and was able to win the championship, his first singles title in New Japan. Suzuki then entered the G1 Climax and met mixed results, and was able to go to a time limit draw with Okada. Suzuki then focused on his Openweight Championship, as he was able to defeat YOSHI-HASHI, Mihael Elgin and Toru Yano. Suzuki also unsuccessfully challenged Cody for the Ring of Honor Championship at Death Before Dishonor and was unable to win the ROH Six Man Tag Team Championships from Hangman Page and the Young Bucks when he joined forces with Silas Young and Beer City Bruiser. Suzuki and Iizuka entered World Tag League, but only put up six points.
Suzuki then had a match at Wrestle Kingdom 12, where not only the NEVER Openweight Championship, but it also was a hair vs hair match. Suzuki lost the match, and instead of being carried to the back, Suzuki went back to the ring and shaved his own head. It was a good move for Suzuki as he looked more like the pro wrestling version of Satan with less hair. Suzuki would go to team with Zack Sabre Jr., and would defeat Moustache Mountain to win the RevPro British Tag Team championship at High Stakes. Suzuki would also win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship from Hiroshi Tanahashi at New Beginnings in Sapporo just one week later. He would successfully defend the championship against Togi Makabe at the NJPW Anniversary Show before losing it to Tetsua Naito at Wrestling Hinokuni. Suzuki also made his Wrestlemania weekend show debut when he teamed with Brian Cage and David Star to beat Tanahashi, Juice Robinson and Sami Callihan at the WrestleCon SuperShow, and beat Matt Riddle at GCW Matt Riddle’s Blood sport the same day. He also beat Jeff Cobb at the RevPro WrestleCon duo show. Suzuki als would win the RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship from Tomohiro Ishii on the second night at Strong Style Evolved UK. Suzuki then entered the G1 Climax yet again, and had a scenario in place where he could have won the block, but a loss to Hangman Page eliminated him on the final night. Suzuki would also lose the RevPro British Heavyweight Championship back to Ishii at Global Wars. Suzuki would then enter the World Tag League with Iizuka one last time before Iizuka retired in early 2019. The team would finish at 10 points, well out of the running for the tournament win as G.O.D. and SANADA and EVIL doubled that points output.
It is a mystery as to where Suzuki’s career will go from this point. If he is able to win the G1 Climax next year, since he was snubbed this year, he would join Yuji Nagata as the only wrestler to win the G1 Climax, the Global League and the Champions Carnival in their career, and if he would win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, he would join Kensuke Sasaki as the only wrestlers to win the Triple Crown Championship, the GHC Heavyweight Championship and the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in their career. But what could we see in Suzuki’s near future? There is always the NEVER Openweight Championship and him reigniting his brutal feud with Tomohiro Ishii. Do we see him try to get revenge on Tetsuya Naito for taking the Intercontinental Championship? Or could we see a match that a lot of fans have been anticipating since this other wrestler showed up in New Japan, Suzuki vs Moxley for the IWGP United States Championship. There is still so much that can happen in the career of the man named Suzuki Minoru, and I can’t wait to see just how much more the man can do in the ring.
