Minoru Suzuki Set To Work Major Non-NJPW Japan Tour

Last Friday, after almost 12 years as a consistent force in NJPW, Minoru Suzuki formally disbanded his Suzuki-gun stable, something that he had pledged to do nine days earlier during the final night of the World Tag League tour. With Suzuki-gun's last match ending with Suzuki himself putting over Zack Sabre Jr., who's long been positioned as his heir apparent, there was a sense of finality, and now it's looking like there's more to it than just the end of a storyline stable.

In the newest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, cover date January 2, Dave Meltzer reports that Suzuki will be working All Japan Pro Wrestling's January tour. With Suzuki losing cleanly throughout the World Tag League and with no explanation given for the disbanding of Suzuki-gun, Meltzer suggests that this could be the end of Suzuki in NJPW for now. Relations between the two companies aren't necessarily bad, as they ran a joint show this past April to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the opening of Korakuen Hall, but that doesn't preclude Suzuki needing to finish up in NJPW if he was making the switch to working full-time for AJPW.

As Meltzer alludes to in his write-up, Suzuki has always technically been a freelancer, apparently never having signed a full-time NJPW contract. Though the 54-year-old has been phased down in NJPW as of late, he's worked extensively in the United States the last 16 months or so, working for not just for NJPW and affiliates like AEW and Impact Wrestling, but also numerous independent promotions. On his U.S. run, he's wrestled for a who's who of indie standouts, particularly in Game Changer Wrestling, which booked him 10 times.