Hello again! We’re back to another installment of The Characters of NJPW! Now, before we can get to our profile, a little reminder about what this is may is on order, so here it is:

This series will try to give newcomers to New Japan, as well as people curious towards its product, a feel as for how each of their wrestlers operate, what their motivations are, how their story drives them to be who they are, and how their actions inside and outside of the squared circle further their personas. Although this will contain historical data and a brief description of each wrestler’s past, its main goal is not meant to be a comprehensive guide to a performer’s history and achievements. Rather, we intend focus on two main topics: Character and in-ring work, to see how each wrestler on NJPW sets themselves apart from the rest of the roster, and what makes them truly unique and worth investing. If you want to check the previous six installments, which talked about Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kenny Omega, Tetsuya Naito, Katsuyori Shibata and Kota Ibushi, you can do so by clicking on their names. Now, let’s get this thing going.

Life is all about shades of grey. There’s nuance in all things, if you look at it. The same people that are capable of the most selfless acts some times also do wrong stuff just because that’s our faulty nature and we step out of line, from time to time. Most of us will toy with the idea of giving in to our most vile desires. Few of us actually give those thoughts any real consideration, thankfully. Yet, once in a while, you meet a person so unbelievably shitty that you can’t help but wonder how they go through life. They must have no friends or family, right? Who would tolerate that? Sometimes, these folks are in positions of power, even admired for their outstanding talent. How can such a thing be? Well, today we study the case of the man with the worst personality in the world, but also one of the most decorated fighters in history, Minoru Suzuki.

Minoru Suzuki

aged 49

178 cm 102 kg Current NEVER Openweight Champion, since April 27, 2017 (first reign)

Introduction: Minoru Suzuki loves to fight. Actually, scratch that. Minoru Suzuki loves to inflict pain. The damn problem with that is, he’s good at it. Like, historically good. Suzuki’s career speaks to his uncanny ability to inflict punishment upon other human beings. A New Japan dojo graduate in 1988, he left before truly making any mark on that promotion. His tastes took him in another direction, towards his vision of real combat. He would eventually form his own promotion, Pancrase, along with Masakatsu Funaki, which would be one of the pioneers of MMMA in the entire world. After ending a ten year career with a stellar record of 30–19 and wins against the likes of Ken Shamrock, Suzuki would return to the pro wrestling world a bigger star, and ready to take everything for himself.

He would freelance for Japan’s biggest promotions, eventually holding titles in each of them. Here’s a list, just so you know who you’re dealing with: the IWGP Tag Team Championships with fellow former MMA star Yoshihiro Takayama, Pro Wrestling Noah’s GHC Heavyweight Championship and Tag Team Championships with Naomichi Marufuji, along with their Global League, All Japan Pro Wrestling’s Triple Crown and World Tag Team Titles with Taiyo Kea and All Asia Tag Team Titles with NOSAWA Rongai, as well as its prestigious Champion Carnival. He had amazing matches along the way and drew thousands and thousands of fans with his combination of talent and charisma. And yet, every single time, he gave not a single fuck about anyone’s needs and wishes but his own.

Character: Minoru Suzuki is a selfish, sadistic and megalomaniac man. A former King of Pancrase and self-proclaimed King of Pro Wrestling, royalty is his thematic and objective. To prove that claim true, will use whatever means necessary. In his own words, no member of the crowd is actually important, no company serves any purpose beyond being a place where he can showcase his own dominance, and titles are merely the spoils the supreme royalty will eventually take, as it’s his right. Such is the extent of his arrogance that he will flat-out deny losses have any impact on him, or taunt interviewers and fans for being foolish enough to doubt or even try to understand his plans. But what are those plans? Are there any plans? Only Suzuki knows, and he damn sure won’t tell you.

Minoru’s cartoonish curmudgeonly disposition is rivaled only by a serious and studious approach to combat, with unrivaled technique and experience. In fact, his mean streak is a big benefactor of that talent, as he relishes in coming up with new ways to torture his opponents. His dominance is the very proof everyone else is beneath him, so why just be a tough but fair competitor? No, royals do what they want, and what he craves for is destruction. He started a pro wrestler, sought another sport, and then came back just to prove a point. To cause as much confusion and pain as he could ever want, and step on anybody that tries to stop it.

He wants companies to rot, fans to hate his existence and wrestlers to fear his very name. In the Suzuki-gun faction (which he took from Satoshi Kojima because why wouldn’t he do that), he put together a crew content to unite their talents with a disposition to break the rules and wreak havoc as much as they can, in order to win every possible accolade. His reign of terror over Japanese wrestling has lasted almost two decades now, and this machine of chaos shows no signs of stopping. By hook or crook, Suzuki will plant the sole of his foot firmly above the wrestling world, just so he can laugh at your face afterwards. Then, everyone will have to reckon with the fact that he is truly number 1.

In-ring work: There’s a reason this 49 year old bully is still at the top of the business. Minoru Suzuki’s technique is simply unrivaled. A student of catch wrestling, he had three of its biggest legends as trainers: Karl Gotch, Billy Robinson and Yoshiaki Fujiwara. As a result, Minoru Suzuki knows every takedown, hold and joint lock in the book. Also, his extensive MMA background gives him the knowledge of exactly how to strike an opponent in the best possible way. Such tools make the Lonely Warrior an extremely precise competitor, able to flow into advantageous positions seamlessly to cause sudden damage.

He uses that extensive knowledge, of course, to torment and taunt his opponents. To Suzuki it’s not enough that he wins a match. He has to assert dominance. Such is the nature of his Sleeper Hold, his main weapon, used to numb opponents just so that he can finish them with the Gotch-style Piledriver or make them pass out after a Saka Otoshi judo throw. He uses submissions in multiple incredible ways. His Armbars, Heel Hooks and even Octupus Stretches can come out of nowhere. In fact, he will even break the rules and apply them while an opponent is at the ring apron. At 49 years old, Suzuki is still highly flexible and capable of transitioning into those holds from any position, as well as dodging or taking strikes just so that he can deliver his numerous slaps.

Yet, as with all 50-somethings, his reflexes are slowly fading. But he is smart, and ruthless, so he will get advantage by the way of using weapons or interference if necessary, and also sometimes just because he can. He still has big stamina, as his style was always designed to maximize the effectiveness of his movements, which prolonged his career. But the best athletes can impose a rhythm he may not be able to withstand, unless he manages to do things at his own pace. So, it sucks to them that he has all the tools one would ever need to do just that, a connoisseur in the art of inflicting damage, with a penchant for enjoying it, and enough of a dirty streak to use nefarious means if needed. This warrior may not necessarily act alone anymore, but that doesn’t mean he’s any less dangerous. One way or another, you will feel the wrath of the king.

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