Minoru Suzuki

Minoru Suzuki
Suzuki in March 2017
Born	(1968-06-17) June 17, 1968 Yokohama, Kanagawa
Nationality	Japanese
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	102 kg (225 lb)
Style	Catch wrestling Freestyle wrestling Shoot wrestling
Team	Pancrase Mission
Teacher(s)	Billy Robinson Karl Gotch Kotetsu Yamamoto NJPW Dojo Yoshiaki Fujiwara
Rank	Olympian Alternate Freestyle Wrestler
Years active	1988–1993, 2003–present (professional wrestling) 1993–2003 (MMA)
Mixed martial arts record
Total	49
Wins	29
By knockout	3
By submission	21
By decision	4
By disqualification	1
Losses	20
By knockout	8
By submission	7
By decision	5
Website	Official blog
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
Last updated on: December 23, 2012 (2012-12-23)

Minoru Suzuki (鈴木 実, Suzuki Minoru, ring name: 鈴木 みのる) is a Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist who is currently working for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) as a freelancer. He is the current NEVER Openweight Champion in his first reign.

Suzuki was the co-founder of Pancrase, one of the first mixed martial arts organizations in the world. During the 1990s, he was known as one of the best fighters in the Pancrase promotion and was the second King of Pancrase world champion. Suzuki returned to regular puroresu in 2003, when he has become a perennial top contender for all major Japanese heavyweight championships. He is also known for his time in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he is two-time Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, and Pro Wrestling Noah, where he is a one-time GHC Heavyweight Champion.

A mixed martial arts pioneer, Suzuki is well noted for his excellence in freestyle wrestling and catch wrestling, and has been praised many times by elite fighters such as Josh Barnett, Bas Rutten, and Ken Shamrock for his outstanding grappling and submission skills.

Early life

Suzuki trained in amateur wrestling since high school, in part inspired by Antonio Inoki and other professional wrestlers, in part to paliate his own physical condition. He won a stateside freestyle wrestling championship in Kanagawa Prefecture, and also finished second nationwide as an Olympic alternate. He had a background in kendo as well.

Career

New Japan Pro Wrestling and other promotions (1988–1993)

Suzuki trained at the NJPW Dojo and made his pro wrestling debut on June 23, 1988, against Takayuki Iizuka, but soon after left with catch wrestling mentor Yoshiaki Fujiwara for the newborn Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF). He joined Fujiwara's Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi but then left the organization to form Pancrase, one of the first mixed martial arts organizations in the world, in 1993 with Masakatsu Funaki.

Pancrase (1993–2003)

Suzuki's career in MMA originated after his departure from the Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi promotion along with Masakatsu Funaki and other wrestlers to found the Pancrase promotion. He had his debut in professional fighting on the very first card of the company, facing Katsuomi Inagaki in a bout which showed Suzuki's top grappling prowess, with Minoru winning by rear naked choke in 3:25. He continued his beginnings with a victory over Lion's Den trainee Vernon White, in which Suzuki made him submit to a catch wrestling-inspired crooked headscissors.

At the third Pancrase event in November 1993, Suzuki had his debut in kickboxing rules against American champion Maurice Smith, in a rematch of a "different style fight" celebrated back in UWF where Smith defeated Suzuki. Naturally outclassed, Minoru was knocked down several times and finished shortly after. He would had a third match with Smith in May 1994, this time under a special ruleset: the first and the third round would be fought wearing kickboxing gloves, the second and fourth without them and the fifth under a combination of the two. Suzuki finally got his revenge, submitting Smith at the third round with an armbar despite the disadvantage of the gloves.

Despite his significant size disadvantage against most competitors, Suzuki became one of the most successful fighters in Pancrase. He ammased a 7-0 winning streak, including a huge upset win over Pancrase's top fighter Ken Shamrock, who had already defeated Masakatsu Funaki in the first main event of the company. During the match, celebrated in January 1994, the two fighters traded positions, with Suzuki getting overpowered by the stronger Shamrock, but he was able to turn Ken over and initiate a leglock attack. The Japanese fighter locked a heel hook, which Ken looked to reverse, but at that moment Suzuki transitioned it into a kneebar and extended his leg further. Shamrock reached for a rope escape as the Pancrase ruleset stipulated, but he was gravely injured by the hold and couldn't continue, thus losing the match. However, the bout was not without controversy. Ken Shamrock would claim years after that he had been asked not to injury Suzuki during the match, as he was already affected by a back injury, and that he had accepted only to be then deliberately injured himself by Suzuki in return.

Suzuki did not lose a match until he lost to Bas Rutten via Liver shot KO due to a knee to the body. In 1995, he won the King of Pancrase (now KOP Open-Weight) title to become the second ever King of Pancrase. Suzuki twice defeated Ken Shamrock and is the only man to hold two wins over Shamrock in the Pancrase era.

Over time, Suzuki's body became damaged and worn down from various injuries and resulted in his skills diminishing. He then decided to focus on the business and training side of Pancrase. He collaborated with the Tekken series of fighting video games as a motion actor for the character King. His last non-worked fight for Pancrase was against a professional wrestler, Jushin Thunder Liger, whom Suzuki had known under his real name Keiichi Yamada in his first NJPW stint. At the time he competed in grappling matches almost exclusively. Suzuki witnessed the transition Pancrase made from the so-called "hybrid wrestling" style to that of regular MMA and was instrumental in paving the way for mixed martial arts in Japan.

New Japan Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Noah (2003–2006)

Suzuki (right) against RG (left) at a Hustle show

In 2003, Suzuki and Yusuke Fuke announced their plan to return to puroresu and invade promotions under the stable name Pancrase MISSION. Suzuki began competing for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) as a freelancer, where he aligned himself with Yoshihiro Takayama and won the IWGP Tag Team Championship from Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Osamu Nishimura on February 1, 2004. They were stripped of the title later in the year, following Takayama's mounting injuries. In 2005, Suzuki began competing in Pro Wrestling Noah, and would receive a GHC Heavyweight Championship shot against then Champion Kenta Kobashi, but he was defeated. After this, he found an unlikely ally in Naomichi Marufuji, whose style was Lucha Libre (rather than shoot-style). Nonetheless, Suzuki taught Marufuji some of what he knew and they clicked, winning the GHC Tag Team Championship from 2 Cold Scorpio and Doug Williams on June 18, 2005. After losing the belts to Muhammad Yone and Takeshi Morishima in October, Suzuki challenged for the GHC Heavyweight Championship shot against champion Jun Akiyama on March 5, 2006, but he was once again unsuccessful.

All Japan Pro Wrestling (2006–2010)

On March 10, 2006, Suzuki made a surprise appearance in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), attacking then Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion Satoshi Kojima after he had just defended his title against The Great Muta. Pundits at once considered Suzuki to have issued a challenge for the Triple Crown. Suzuki participated in the 2006 Champion Carnival, and made it to the semifinals before being defeated by Taiyō Kea. On September 3, Suzuki challenged Kea, who had won the Triple Crown from Kojima in July. He was successful in his bid to become the new Triple Crown Champion, and will end up having successful defenses against RO'Z, Yuji Nagata, Kojima, Tajiri and Keiji Mutoh. Suzuki has formed a grouping called "Minoru Gundan" consisting of himself, Nosawa Rongai, and Mazada. In May 2007 he went on a tour of Mexico's CMLL with Takayama and experienced Lucha Libre battles. He lost the Triple Crown Championship to Kensuke Sasaki on August 26, 2007 at AJPW's PRO WRESTLING LOVE in RYOGOKU pay-per-view event.

At the All Japan FAN APPRECIATION DAY event on December 16, 2007, the Mexico Amigos teamed with "Ray Suzuki" and defeated Ryuji Hijikata, Kikutaro, T28 & Ryuji Yamaguchi. After the match, Ray Suzuki revealed himself as Minoru Suzuki and vowed that El NOSAWA Mendoza would throw his Amigos tights away and return as NOSAWA Rongai, and then kidnapped him to start early training.

Suzuki in April 2008

On March 1, 2008, Minoru Suzuki made an appearance at the Dory Funk, Jr. retirement show, providing commentary for the Triple Crown Championship main event (between Kensuke Sasaki and Satoshi Kojima), as well as pledging to participate in the upcoming Champion Carnival. From April 5 to 9, Suzuki competed in Block B of All Japan's annual Champion Carnival, finishing the league with 2 wins (over Kensuke Sasaki and Suwama) and 2 losses (to Osamu Nishimura and Joe Doering), as well as teaming with TAKEMURA to defeat Toshiaki Kawada and Nobutaka Araya on Day 2 (April 6) of the Carnival. During the Hold Out tour, Suzuki confronted a losing-streak Taiyō Kea about joining the stable GURENTAI (alongside NOSAWA, MAZADA and TAKEMURA), which resulted in Kea joining and focusing on winning the tag titles with Suzuki. On June 28, 2008, Suzuki and Kea won the World Tag Team Championship from Joe Doering and Keiji Mutoh. On September 28, 2008 he attacked The Great Muta after Muta had successfully defeated Suwama for the Triple Crown Championship, setting up a match between the two in which he lost on November 3, 2008.

On January 3, 2009, Suzuki and stablemate NOSAWA Rongai won the restored All Asia Tag Team Championship, over the course of a 2-day tournament. Later in the year, Suzuki won the 2009 Champion Carnival beating Kaz Hayashi in the finals. He would end up challenging the then Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, Yoshihiro Takayama, on May 30, 2009, albeit in a losing effort. On September 23, 2009, Suzuki and NOSAWA lost the All Asia Tag Team Championship at the hands of Akebono and Ryota Hama. On January 3, 2010, Suzuki and Kea lost the World Tag Team Championship at the hands of Masakatsu Funaki and Keiji Mutoh.

On March 21, 2010, Suzuki lost to long-time rival Masakatsu Funaki in All Japan's first cage match. Suzuki then entered the Champion Carnival and won it for the second straight year, being the third man to do so by beating Funaki in the final - weeks removed from their cage match. After the final, Suzuki buried the hatchet with Funaki by shaking his hand, thus ending the decade-long rivalry. Suzuki then declared his GURENTAI stable on hiatus. As a result of his Champion Carnival victory, Suzuki earned a Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship match versus Ryota Hama on May 2. In the match, Suzuki defeated Hama to claim his second Triple Crown championship. He would go on to lose the title to Suwama on August 29, 2010.

Return to NJPW (2010–2015)

Suzuki with Suzuki-gun in February 2012

On December 12, 2010, Suzuki returned to NJPW, attacking old rival Yuji Nagata. On January 4, 2011, at Wrestle Kingdom V in Tokyo Dome, Suzuki faced Nagata in a losing effort. Suzuki made another return to New Japan on May 3, 2011, when he took over the Kojima-gun, after its members Taichi and Taka Michinoku had turned on their leader Satoshi Kojima. Later that same month, during New Japan's tour of the United States, the newly renamed Suzuki-gun was joined by Lance Archer. On July 18, Suzuki defeated Kojima in a singles match. The two had a rematch on August 1 during the first day of the 2011 G1 Climax, where Kojima managed to pick up the win. Suzuki then went on a six match win streak, but losses to Strong Man and Shinsuke Nakamura on the last two days of the tournament, caused him to narrowly miss advancing to the finals. On October 10 at Destruction '11, Suzuki defeated Kojima's number one ally, Togi Makabe, in a grudge match. In the 2011 G1 Tag League, Suzuki teamed with Lance Archer and, after four wins and one loss, the team finished second in their block, advancing to the semifinals of the tournament. On November 6, Suzuki and Archer first defeated the Chaos Top Team (Shinsuke Nakamura and Toru Yano) in the semifinals and then IWGP Tag Team Champions Bad Intentions (Giant Bernard and Karl Anderson) in the finals to win the 2011 G1 Tag League. On November 12 at Power Struggle, Suzuki and Archer failed in their attempt to capture the IWGP Tag Team Championship from Bad Intentions. After defeating Giant Bernard in a singles match on December 4, Suzuki challenged IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi to a title match at Wrestle Kingdom VI in Tokyo Dome. At the event on January 4, 2012, Suzuki was unsuccessful in his title challenge.

On February 12 at The New Beginning, Suzuki led Lance Archer, Taichi, Taka Michinoku and Yoshihiro Takayama of the Suzuki-gun to a dominant 5–1 win over Kushida, Tiger Mask, Togi Makabe, Wataru Inoue and Yuji Nagata in a ten-man elimination tag team match. On May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku 2012, Suzuki pinned Makabe in a tag team match, where he and Takayama faced Makabe and Yuji Nagata. The feud between Suzuki and Makabe ended on June 16 at Dominion 6.16, where Suzuki was defeated in a singles match. In August, Suzuki took part in the 2012 G1 Climax tournament, where he picked up big wins over IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi and former tag team partner Naomichi Marufuji, but was eliminated after losing to Yuji Nagata in his final round-robin match on August 12. On October 8 at King of Pro-Wrestling, Suzuki received a shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, but was defeated by Tanahashi. The match received rave reviews, including a five star rating from Wrestling Observer Newsletter's Dave Meltzer. From November 20 to December 1, Suzuki took part in the round-robin portion of the 2012 World Tag League, alongside Suzuki-gun's newest member Kengo Mashimo. The team finished with a record of three wins and three losses, failing to advance from their block. On January 4, 2013, at Wrestle Kingdom 7 in Tokyo Dome, Suzuki and Yuji Nagata once again reignited their old rivalry in a singles match, where Nagata was victorious. Afterwards, Suzuki led Suzuki-gun to a war with New Japan's other villainous stable, Chaos, which built to a singles match on February 10 at The New Beginning, where he defeated Kazuchika Okada. On March 11, Suzuki entered the 2013 New Japan Cup, defeating Yuji Nagata in yet another match between the old rivals. Six days later, Suzuki was eliminated from the tournament in the second round by Chaos member Toru Yano. Suzuki avenged his loss to Yano by defeating him in a rematch on April 7 at Invasion Attack and, later that same event, confronted new IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada, accepting a title shot offered to him by Okada's mouthpiece, Gedo. On May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku 2013, Suzuki unsuccessfully challenged Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Suzuki then got involved in a heated rivalry with Chaos member Tomohiro Ishii, which built to a singles match between the two on July 20 at the Kizuna Road 2013 pay-per-view, where Suzuki was victorious.

From August 1 to 11, Suzuki took part in the 2013 G1 Climax. After five wins and three losses, Suzuki went into the final day leading his block, but a loss to Toru Yano cost him a spot in the finals of the tournament. This led to a feud between Suzuki and Yano, however, Suzuki's attempt to avenge the loss led to another defeat on September 29, when he was counted out after being handcuffed to a ringside guard rail by Yano. Suzuki finally gained his revenge on Yano by defeating him on October 14 at King of Pro-Wrestling. Afterwards, Suzuki set his sights on the IWGP Intercontinental Championship, while also trying to convince champion Shinsuke Nakamura to leave Chaos and join Suzuki-gun. The match between Suzuki and Nakamura took place on November 9 at Power Struggle and saw Nakamura retain his title. From November 24 to December 7, Suzuki teamed with Suzuki-gun's newest member, Shelton X Benjamin, in the 2013 World Tag League, where they finished with a record of three wins and three losses, with a loss against Takashi Iizuka and Toru Yano on the final day costing them a spot in the semifinals. The rivalry between Suzuki and Yano led to a match on January 4, 2014, at Wrestle Kingdom 8 in Tokyo Dome, where Suzuki and Benjamin were defeated by Yano and The Great Muta, with Yano pinning Suzuki, after he was blinded by a green mist from Muta. Suzuki finally got his win over Yano on March 15 in the first round of the 2014 New Japan Cup. Suzuki eventually made it to the semifinals of the tournament, before losing to Shinsuke Nakamura. On May 25 at Back to the Yokohama Arena, Suzuki got another win over Yano, when Takashi Iizuka turned on him during a tag team match and joined Suzuki-gun. From July 21 to August 8, Suzuki took part in the 2014 G1 Climax, where he finished fourth in his block with a record of five wins and five losses. Following the tournament, Suzuki transitioned into a new rivalry with Kazushi Sakuraba, who had come to Yano's aid after Iizuka had turned on him. The rivalry culminated in a match on January 4, 2015, at Wrestle Kingdom 9 in Tokyo Dome, where Suzuki defeated Sakuraba.

Return to Noah (2015–2016)

On January 10, 2015, Suzuki made a surprise return to Noah, leading his Suzuki-gun stable to attack GHC Heavyweight Champion Naomichi Marufuji and GHC Tag Team Champions TMDK (Mikey Nicholls and Shane Haste). On March 15, Suzuki defeated Marufuji to become the new GHC Heavyweight Champion. Over the next months, Suzuki successfully defended the title against Marufuji, Maybach Taniguchi, Yoshihiro Takayama, and Takashi Sugiura. On December 23, Suzuki lost the title back to Marufuji. On November 23, 2016, Suzuki defeated Masa Kitamiya in the finals to win the 2016 Global League Tournament. On December 2, Suzuki unsuccessfully challenged Katsuhiko Nakajima for the GHC Heavyweight Championship. Three days later, it was announced that Suzuki-gun was out of Noah, concluding the invasion storyline.

Second return to NJPW (2017–present)

The entire Suzuki-gun returned to NJPW on January 5, 2017, attacking the Chaos stable with Suzuki laying out IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada. In his return match on January 27, Suzuki, Michinoku and Taichi defeated Okada, Rocky Romero and Beretta. On February 5 at The New Beginning in Sapporo, Suzuki unsuccessfully challenged Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. On April 27, Suzuki defeated Hirooki Goto to win the NEVER Openweight Championship for the first time, winning his first ever singles title in NJPW.

Fighting style

Endowed with excellent wrestling ability, Suzuki was primarily a grappler on the MMA game. He compensated his average size with a highly mobile, position-switching style of freestyle wrestling, specialized in capturing top position and flowing unceasantly around his opponent in the search of an opening. Suzuki used catch moves like headscissors, neck cranks and nelson hold variations to force openings, which he capitalized on with sharp submissions. The only lack in his game was striking, which, as noted by Ken Shamrock, he never quite developed.

In wrestling

Suzuki performing a Gotch-Style Piledriver on RG

• Finishing moves
  • Gotch-Style Piledriver (Cradle piledriver)
  • Sleeper hold
• Signature moves
  • Cross armbreaker
  • Dropkick
  • Heel hook
  • Manji-gatame (Octopus hold)
  • Multiple slaps
  • Saka Otoshi (Inverted headlock takeover, often transitioned into a sleeper hold)
• Nicknames
  • "Sekaiichi Seikaku no Warui Otoko"/"The Man with the Worst Personality in the World"
• Entrance themes
  • "Kaze ni Nare" by Ayumi Nakamura

Championships and accomplishments

Professional wrestling

• All Japan Pro Wrestling
  • All Asia Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Nosawa Rongai
  • Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
  • World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Taiyō Kea
  • Champion Carnival (2009, 2010)
  • Kokomi Sakura Cup (2010)
• New Japan Pro Wrestling
  • IWGP Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Yoshihiro Takayama
  • NEVER Openweight Championship (1 time, current)
  • G1 Tag League (2011) – with Lance Archer
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • Ranked No. 14 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2007
• Pro Wrestling Noah
  • GHC Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • GHC Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Naomichi Marufuji
  • Global League Tournament (2016)
• Tokyo Sports
  • Best Tag Team (2004) with Yoshihiro Takayama
  • Best Tag Team (2008) with Taiyō Kea
  • Most Valuable Player (2006)
  • Outstanding Performance Award (2015)
  • Technique Award (2004)
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter
  • 5 Star Match (2012) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi on October 8
  • Match of the Year (2012) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi on October 8
  • Match of the Year (2014) vs. A.J. Styles on August 1

Mixed martial arts

• Pancrase
  • King of Pancrase Openweight Championship (1 time)

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown

48 matches	29 wins	19 losses
By knockout	3	6
By submission	21	8
By decision	4	5
By disqualification	1	0

Res.	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Win	30-19	Hans Nijman	Submission (kneebar)	U-Spirits Again	March 9, 2013	1	1:52	Tokyo, Japan
Win	29–19	Jushin Thunder Liger	Submission (rear naked choke)	Pancrase: Spirit 8	November 30, 2002	1	1:48	Yokohama, Japan
Win	28–19	El Solar	DQ (groin strikes)	Deep: 4th Impact	March 30, 2002	1	2:26	Nagoya, Japan
Win	27–19	Takaku Fuke	Submission (kneebar)	Pancrase: 2001 Anniversary Show	September 30, 2001	1	5:09	Yokohama, Japan
Loss	26–19	Denis Kang	Submission (back injury)	Pancrase: 2000 Anniversary Show	September 24, 2000	1	3:43	Yokohama, Japan
Win	26–18	Sean Daugherty	Submission (kimura)	Pancrase: Trans 3	April 30, 2000	1	1:01	Yokohama, Japan
Loss	25–18	Sanae Kikuta	Technical Submission (arm triangle choke)	Pancrase: Breakthrough 11	December 18, 1999	1	2:39	Yokohama, Japan
Loss	25–17	Osami Shibuya	TKO (hip injury)	Pancrase: Advance 12	December 19, 1998	1	2:31	Urayasu, Japan
Loss	25–16	Omar Bouiche	Submission (rear naked choke)	Pancrase: Advance 10	October 26, 1998	1	0:45	Tokyo, Japan
Loss	25–15	Kazuo Takahashi	TKO (palm strikes)	Pancrase: 1998 Anniversary Show	September 14, 1998	1	8:06	Tokyo, Japan
Loss	25–14	Takaku Fuke	Decision (lost points)	Pancrase: Advance 8	June 21, 1998	1	10:00	Kobe, Japan
Win	25–13	John Lober	Decision (lost points)	Pancrase: Advance 7	June 2, 1998	1	15:00	Tokyo, Japan
Win	24–13	Tony Rojo	Decision (unanimous)	Pancrase: Advance 5	April 26, 1998	2	3:00	Yokohama, Japan
Win	23–13	Kosei Kubota	Submission (rear naked choke)	Pancrase: Advance 4	March 18, 1998	1	3:38	Tokyo, Japan
Loss	22–13	Keiichiro Yamamiya	Decision (majority)	Pancrase: Advance 3	March 1, 1998	1	20:00	Kobe, Japan
Loss	22–12	Semmy Schilt	KO (knee)	Pancrase: Advance 1	January 16, 1998	1	9:52	Tokyo, Japan
Loss	22–11	Keiichiro Yamamiya	Decision (lost points)	Pancrase: 1997 Anniversary Show	September 6, 1997	1	20:00	Urayasu, Japan
Win	22–10	Jagjit Singh	KO (palm strike)	Pancrase: Alive 6	June 18, 1997	1	0:21	Tokyo, Japan
Win	21–10	Joel Sutton	Submission (keylock)	Pancrase: Alive 5	May 24, 1997	1	0:48	Kobe, Japan
Win	20–10	Takafumi Ito	Decision (majority)	Pancrase: Truth 7	October 8, 1996	1	10:00	Nagoya, Japan
Loss	19–10	Jason DeLucia	KO (palm strike)	Pancrase: 1996 Anniversary Show	September 7, 1996	1	4:58	Urayasu, Japan
Loss	19–9	Vernon White	Decision (majority)	Pancrase: 1996 Neo-Blood Tournament, Round 2	July 23, 1996	1	15:00	Tokyo, Japan
Loss	19–8	Yuki Kondo	Decision (lost points)	Pancrase: Truth 6	June 25, 1996	1	15:00	Fukuoka, Japan
Loss	19–7	Guy Mezger	TKO (palm strikes)	Pancrase: Truth 5	May 16, 1996	1	7:59	Tokyo, Japan
Win	19–6	Takuku Fuke	Submission (armbar)	Pancrase: Truth 2	March 2, 1996	1	4:15	Kobe, Japan
Loss	18–6	Frank Shamrock	Submission (kneebar)	Pancrase: Truth 1	January 28, 1996	1	22:53	Yokohama, Japan	For Interim King of Pancrase title
Win	18–5	Guy Mezger	TKO (doctor stoppage)	Pancrase: Eyes of Beast 7	December 14, 1995	1	7:15	Sapporo, Japan
Win	17–5	Todd Medina	Submission (armbar)	Pancrase: Eyes of Beast 6	November 4, 1995	1	1:39	Yokohama, Japan
Loss	16–5	Bas Rutten	Submission (guillotine choke)	Pancrase: 1995 Anniversary Show	September 1, 1995	1	15:35	Tokyo, Japan	Lost King of Pancrase title
Win	16–4	Jason Delucia	Submission (guillotine choke)	Pancrase: 1995 Neo-Blood Tournament Opening Round	July 22, 1995	1	9:23	Tokyo, Japan
Win	15–4	Larry Papadopoulos	Submission	Pancrase: Eyes of Beast 5	June 13, 1995	1	8:34	Sapporo, Japan
Win	14–4	Ken Shamrock	Submission (kneebar)	Pancrase: Eyes of Beast 4	May 13, 1995	1	2:14	Urayasu, Japan	Won King of Pancrase title
Loss	13–4	Frank Shamrock	KO (punches)	Pancrase: Eyes of Beast 3	April 8, 1995	1	3:23	Nagoya, Japan
Win	13–3	Christopher DeWeaver	Submission (heel hook)	BMSWP: Dome Spring Full Bloom	April 2, 1995	1	1:50	Tokyo, Japan
Win	12–3	Gregory Smit	Submission (rear naked choke)	Pancrase: Eyes of Beast 2	March 10, 1995	1	9:10	Yokohama, Japan
Loss	11–3	Manabu Yamada	Submission (armbar)	Pancrase: King of Pancrase Tournament Second Round	December 17, 1994	1	14:46	Tokyo, Japan
Win	11–2	Jason DeLucia	Submission (heel hook)	Pancrase: King of Pancrase Tournament Opening Round	December 16, 1994	1	2:04	Tokyo, Japan
Win	10–2	Matt Hume	Decision (lost points)	Pancrase: King of Pancrase Tournament Opening Round	December 16, 1994	1	10:00	Tokyo, Japan
Loss	9–2	Masakatsu Funaki	Technical submission (rear naked choke)	Pancrase: Road to the Championship 5	October 15, 1994	1	1:51	Tokyo, Japan
Win	9–1	Todd Bjornethun	Submission (armbar)	Pancrase: Road to the Championship 4	September 1, 1994	1	3:11	Osaka, Japan
Win	8–1	Remco Pardoel	KO (knee)	Pancrase: Road to the Championship 3	July 26, 1994	1	7:16	Tokyo, Japan
Loss	7–1	Bas Rutten	KO (knee to the body)	Pancrase: Road to the Championship 2	July 6, 1994	1	3:43	Amagasaki, Japan
Win	7–0	Maurice Smith	Submission (armbar)	Pancrase: Road to the Championship 1	May 31, 1994	3	0:36	Tokyo, Japan
Win	6–0	Thomas Puckett	Submission (armbar)	Pancrase: Pancrash! 3	April 21, 1994	1	1:43	Osaka, Japan
Win	5–0	Takaku Fuke	Submission	Pancrase: Pancrash! 2	March 12, 1994	1	6:31	Nagoya, Japan
Win	4–0	Ken Shamrock	Submission (heelhook/kneebar)	Pancrase: Pancrash! 1	January 19, 1994	1	7:37	Yokohama, Japan
Win	3–0	James Mathews	Submission (keylock)	Pancrase: Yes, We Are Hybrid Wrestlers 4	December 8, 1993	1	0:58	Hakata, Japan
Win	2–0	Vernon White	Submission (leg scissors)	Pancrase: Yes, We Are Hybrid Wrestlers 2	October 14, 1993	1	2:36	Nagoya, Japan
Win	1–0	Katsuomi Inagaki	Submission (rear naked choke)	Pancrase: Yes, We Are Hybrid Wrestlers 1	September 21, 1993	1	3:25	Urayasu, Japan

Mixed rules

Professional record breakdown

2 matches	1 win	1 loss
By knockout	0	1
By submission	1	0
By decision	0	0

Res.	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Win	1–1	Lawi Nabataya	Submission (armbar)	PWFG Hataage Dai-yonsen	August 23, 1991	1	N/A	Tokyo, Japan
Loss	0–1	Maurice Smith	KO (punch)	UWF U-Cosmos	November 29, 1989	4	1:05	Tokyo, Japan

Mixed martial arts exhibition

Exhibition record breakdown
0 matches	0 wins	0 losses
By knockout	0	0
By submission	0	0
By decision	0	0

Res.	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Draw	0-0-1	Yuki Kondo	Technical Draw	Pancrase 2000 Trans Tour	April 12, 2001	1	3:00	Tokyo, Japan

Kickboxing record

Kickboxing record
0 wins (0 KOs), 1 loss Result Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes Loss 0-1 Maurice Smith KO (right punch) Pancrase: Yes, We Are Hybrid Wrestlers 3 November 8, 1993 1 2:36 Kobe, Hyogo, Japan Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw/No contest

External links

• Official blog Template:Ja icon
• Minoru Suzuki's New Japan Pro-Wrestling profile
• Suzuki-gun profile Template:Ja icon
• Profile at Pancrase Template:Ja icon
• Professional MMA record for Minoru Suzuki from Sherdog
• Minoru Suzuki on Twitter Template:Ja icon
• Official blog Template:Ja icon