Go Shiozaki Wants To See Suwama Compete More Consistently in AJPW, Calls Suwama a “Lackluster Veteran”

By: Lewis Carlan

On Sept. 15, All Japan Pro-Wrestling legend and Pro Wrestling Evolution President Suwama was speaking with reporters following an event and hinted on possibly teaming up with long time rival Go Shiozaki.

Suwama called the younger generation of AJPW wrestlers such as Yuma Anzai, Ren Ayabe and Yuma Aoyagi interesting and really coming into their own. He indicated it would be fun if he and Shiozaki jumped into that mix especially with the AJPW Real World Tag League scheduled to begin on Nov. 15th.

Go Shiozaki gave his response to Suwama’s comments while speaking to reporters on Sept. 17th after the AJPW event at Shin-Kiba 1st RING as per Tokyo Sports.

Shiozaki stated he was happy that Suwama wants to team up with him but that Suwama needs to appear inside an AJPW more consistently than he currently has been.

From Go Shiozaki:

“We used to fight each other all the time back in the day, so I’m happy he wants to team up with me. He’s free to say whatever he wants, right? But first, he needs to actually step into the All Japan ring. If he feels there are interesting young wrestlers out there and wants to stand as a challenge for them, he needs to be there consistently—and he needs to show himself to the fans. If he thinks the current All Japan is ‘interesting,’ I want him to stop just watching and actually get in the ring,”

Shiozaki offered some harsh criticism aimed at Suwama by calling him a “lackluster veteran” who is no longer intimidating.

From Go Shiozaki:

“The current Suwama has turned into a completely lackluster veteran, hasn’t he? He had an intimidating presence that could rival even foreign wrestlers, and he was a maverick both inside and outside the ring. That’s what made him so captivating—it gave me chills”

Photo Credit: All Japan Pro-Wrestling

A Go Shiozaki/Suwama team would create lots of buzz for AJPW especially if they do so for the upcoming AJPW Real World Tag League. Will they come together as a tag team? Only Suwama and Go Shiozaki know for sure which means the fans have no choice but to play the waiting game.

(English quote translations via Deepl.com)