Minoru Suzuki

Minoru Suzuki (鈴木 実, Suzuki Minoru; ring name: 鈴木 みのる) (born June 17, 1968) is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. Despite being a freelancer for most of his career, he has worked for the largest promotions in Japan: New Japan Pro-Wrestling, All Japan Pro Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Noah and DDT Pro-Wrestling. He also made appearances for promotions outside Japan, like Major League Wrestling (MLW), Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro), TNA Wrestling, Game Changer Wrestling (GCW), All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and Ring of Honor (ROH). Suzuki was the co-founder of Pancrase, one of the first mixed martial arts organizations in the world. During the 1990s, he was widely considered one of the best fighters in the world and was the second King of Pancrase world champion. Suzuki returned to 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 former GHC Heavyweight Champion and a former GHC Tag Team Champion along with Naomichi Marufuji. A mixed martial arts pioneer, Suzuki is well noted for his catch wrestling, and has been praised many times by elite fighters such as Josh Barnett, Bas Rutten, and Ken Shamrock for his grappling and submission skills.