7 Very Important Facts About Minoru Suzuki

1. AS GOOD AS YOUR TRAINER 

There is a saying that you can only be as good as your trainer, Minoru Suzuki had quite the trainer in Yoshiaki Fujiwara.

Fujiwara was a catch wrestling (Submission) specialist and was regarded as one of the best of his time.

Minoru Suzuki would benefit from Fujiwara’s vast experience in the squared circle and would become as good a submission specialist as his trainer. 

2. IN THE BEGINNING NPJW

It all began for Minoru Suzuki on the canvas of the NJPW (New Japan Pro wrestling) where he would train first and then have his debut in the late 1980s.

Minoru Suzuki would be part of the NPJW for just five years and would move on with his trainer and mentor Yoshiaki Fujiwara to the UWF and later moved to Fujiwara’s Pro wrestling Gumi.

Minoru would go on to create Pancrase with a partner and fellow wrestler Masakatsu Funaki.

3. SUZUKI GUN

Years after creating Pancrase and making appearances on the AJPW promotion Minoru would have to shift his focus more on the training and business aspect of his promotion.

But the urge to return to the ring once again plagued Minoru Suzuki and he would return to the place where it all began NPJW.

 After returning in 2010 and competing in a few matches on the NPJW, he would take it upon himself to seize hold of the division by taking over one of the factions at the time Kojima Gun after defeating its leader and renamed it Suzuki Gun which translates to Suzuki Army.

Suzuki Gun would go on to become one of the most dangerous factions in professional wrestling history 

4. GOLD! GOLD!! GOLD!!!

The measure of a man is in his impact, and the measure of a wrestler is in his titles.

And Minoru Suzuki won his fair share of gold across several promotions like the All-Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), NPJW, UWF, and several other promotions.

Although he couldn’t capture the IWGP heavyweight title, he was a decorated champion in the NJPW holding the IWGP Intercontinental Championship once, IWGP Tag Team Championship with tag partner Yoshihiro Takayama, NEVER Open weight Championship to mention a few. 

5. BACK IN THE MIX 

September 5th 2021, at the All-Elite wrestling ALL or Nothing PPV, a legend returned to the professional wrestling scene, this legend was none other than Minoru Suzuki, who took on Satoshi Kojima in a match before going after Jon Moxley.

The moment was quite surreal for hardcore wrestling fans, Minoru might have aged a bit, but he looked right at home in his matches so far.

With such an illustrious career, some wrestlers would have thrown in the towel but Minoru Suzuki is not your everyday wrestler, he is an Icon still in the game. 

6. PANCRASE (THE MMA GENESIS)

Minoru Suzuki had made his debut on the NJPW dojo at the time under the tutelage of Yoshiaki Fujiwara who he defected with to UWF and then Fijiwara Gumi.

With years of experience and a heart filled with courage, Minoru would embark on a journey to create a whole new fighting style promotion more suited to his skills.

Pancrase was the brainchild of Minoru Suzuki and Masakatsu Funaki, it was a mixed martial arts promotion and the first of its kind in the world.

Minoru would compete in several matches in Pancrase and would eventually become the second king of Pancrase after defeating Ken Shamrock who was a colleague at the NJPW. 

7. THE DANGEROUS THIRTY  

A man with a repulsive personality, an ego the size of the empire state building and the self-proclaimed king of professional wrestling Minoru Suzuki has been one of the greatest entertainers and fighters of his era and in 2018 he celebrated the 30^th anniversary of his professional wrestling debut with an outdoor match at his home town.

Fans of the sport were treated to the catch wrestling and freestyle wrestling masterclass by Minoru Suzuki who seems to have a lot more years in him for the sport