Minoru Suzuki’s Dominance is Turning Into Dynasty
Minoru Suzuki’s Dominance is Turning Into Dynasty
The King continues to defy Father Time while moulding young stars in his image
By: Mitch Wilks
New Japan’s nucleus of lethal, five-tool bad boys like Jay White and “The Holy Emperor” Taichi owe a debt to numerous vets in the locker room, but perhaps none more than new NEVER Openweight Champion Minoru Suzuki. Throughout Summer his stable, Suzuki-gun, has continued to command respect in both the singles and tag-team divisions.
Case in point: In addition to his stellar performance to defeat Shingo Takagi at Jingu Stadium for the title in a strong style display of strikes, power moves and endurance that lasted over 15 minutes and resulted in victory; it left no doubt over his conditioning and continued ability to maintain top drawing power. Meanwhile, Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. beat Kota Ibushi and Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP tag team titles at Dominion before defending them successfully at Jingu. Suzuki also intoxicated Korakuen Hall with a critically acclaimed match against fellow 52-year-old Yuji Nagata in a main event spectacle on tour in late July.
Photo c/o: Twitter/taigaPhoto_PW
The match was a full five months after his last major singles bout, against PWI #1 wrestler Jon Moxley, who said it was “a dream come true” to wrestle the intense Suzuki. It underscores how clutch it’s been for Suzuki-gun to step up and deliver at this strange, crucial point in New Japan’s history. A series of pandemic-related event cancelations sapped NJPW of ticket revenue, just as their broadcast deal with AXS TV in the U.S. had elapsed. A number of top stars stranded across the globe were paid by the company, despite being unable to perform. Since their return to live events, the absence of international talent has been glaring.
Will Ospreay has been sidelined nearly all of 2020, and Moxley still holds the IWGP U.S. Heavyweight Title — despite refusing to defend it on American soil. Jay White has been totally absent besides a curious loss in a tag-team match on NJPW Strong at a recent U.S. taping. All said there’s been a vacuum for top talent, one that Suzuki has been clearly excited to exploit as ladder climbers abroad continue to wait for the green light in a global pandemic.
Suzuki-gun is Dripping in Gold
One of just two westerners competing in Japan during the pandemic, Sabre’s sordid style has given Suzuki-gun an undeniable X-factor. ZSJ has found an extra gear since capturing the IWGP Heavyweight tag-team titles with Taichi, showing new sides of his personality, revamped technique and extra-bright ring awareness. It wasn’t long ago that the English submission specialist was stuck in the singles division defending the RevPro British Heavyweight Champion versus lesser competitors.
Sabre enjoyed an incredible run with the title from September 2019 to February 2020, when he finally lost it to Will Ospreay in a dramatic 5-star match, cementing Sabre in the main event picture moving forward. With Suzuki not getting any younger and ZSJ ripening into his prime as a major heavyweight player, could a changing of the guard be imminent?
ZSJ previously held the RevPro Undisputed British Tag Team titles alongside Suzuki, clearly gleaning some of the vet’s grittiness while learning to perfect his incredibly unique style. Meanwhile, Taichi has attained legit star status as one of the top heels in the business while the “Dangerous Tekkers” duo reigns as tag champs
Now is the time to shake things up and innovate within the ranks of New Japan. It’s not a bad direction for the promotion to spotlight the Englishman while Suzuki continues composing his wrestling swan song.
The tag gold in Suzuki-gun lets its leader continue on a warpath to an ever-elusive singles championship.
For the time being, it looks like Suzuki will continue grooming Sabre. The menacing former MMA star has made no secret about who the true alpha is. If Suzuki can contribute by adding a singles title to their ranks, the stable will once again look stronger than ever.
It’s easy to take his presence in the business for granted these days with such an incredible crop of young talent constantly emerging in Japan, but Minoru Suzuki is still one of the biggest names and strongest performers in the business. He not only brings tenacity to the ring, but competes with ripe work rate and maintains top condition. Be it another rampage of former foes, a potential run in the G1 Climax 30, or schooling newcomers to Japan, now is the time for Suzuki to let onlookers and doubters know that he’s still the man to beat.
This article first appeared in Monthly Puroresu Issue #1
