In a shocking moment at last night’s New Year Dash event at Korakuen Hall, the infamous Suzuki-Gun stable that has been terrorizing Pro Wrestling Noah for two years made their return to New Japan Pro Wrestling. The group, led by their legendary leader Minoru Suzuki, laid waste to IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada and every member of his Chaos faction.
Minoru Suzuki trained in pro wrestling at the New Japan dojo back in 1988, before founding one of the first MMA promotions ever, Pancrase, in 1993. He was at one point considered one of the best catch and freestyle wrestlers in the entire world, before returning to pro wrestling in 2003. He is a two-time Triple Crown Champion for All Japan, a two-time winner of the Champion Carnival, a former IWGP Tag Team Champion for New Japan, and GHC Heavyweight Champion during his latest run with Pro Wrestling Noah. Despite approaching 50-years-old, Suzuki has had stellar matches in New Japan over the last few years, including bouts with AJ Styles, Togi Makabe, Kota Ibushi, Tomohiro Ishii, Tetsuya Naito, Kazuchika Okada, and a championship match with Hiroshi Tanahashi in 2012 rated five stars by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
His faction, Suzuki-Gun (literally translated “Suzuki Army”) includes Davey Boy Smith, Jr. and Lance Archer as the Killer Elite Squad, juniors stars El Desperado and former IWGP Jr. Tag Team Champion Taichi Ishikari, former WWE and ECW star Taka Michinoku, three-time IWGP Tag Team Champion Takashi Iizuka, and seven-time GHC Jr. Heavyweight Champion Yoshinobu Kanemaru. The group has its roots in New Japan, but in 2015 were sent as a unit to Pro Wrestling Noah to help beef up the fading promotion. They essentially took over the entire show, becoming so dominant, winning all four of the GHC championships, that every team and faction on the Noah roster – babyfaces and heels alike – were forced to come together to fight them off.
Their return and complete slaughter of Chaos at New Year Dash sets up a huge match for New Japan Pro Wrestling, between Minoru Suzuki and IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada. It also sets up the Killer Elite Squad challenging Toru Yano and Tomohiro Ishii for the IWGP Tag Team Championships, as well as a possible IWGP Jr. Tag Team Championshp match between Roppongi Vice and some variation of Michinoku, Taichi or Desperado. It’s likely these will be taking place at one or both of the upcoming New Beginning shows on 2/5 and 2/11.
