History Wrestling / MinoruSuzuki

* SadistTeacher: There are stories about suzuki brutalizing Pancrase students just because, and while this is not an uncommon thing in Japan, he is said to have done it throughly.

* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Perhaps inevitable given that Funaki was the official "ace" of Pancrase, but every time someone talks about the two, it's a matter of time they mention Funaki as the better fighter of the two. Actually, there are some controversy about who was the most skilled - the fact that the only fight between the two is universally recognized as a work doesn't help.

* ArchEnemy: Maurice Smith, who defeated him in a different style fight in UWF Newborn and later again in a kickboxing bout in Pancrase. It took a third match under mixed rules to get the revenge on him.

* HotBlooded

** JerkassWithAHeartOfGold: He organized charity events for the victims of the 2011 earthquake and other natural disasters in Japan.

* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Wrestling/MasakatsuFunaki. According to Suzuki, however, their friendship is somewhat distant nowadays.

* WorkedShoot: His fight against Funaki and his second win against Ken Shamrock are universally thought to be works, as well as his loss to Frank Shamrock.

* {{Homage}}: His post-return wrestling attire is composed of the classic strong-style black tights and wrestling shoes, a la Wrestling/AntonioInoki and friends. Also, his piledriver finisher is a nod to Karl Gotch.

* ArrogantKungFuGuy: Well duh.

* AchillesHeel: Although he was a tough guy endowed with awesome grappling and wrestling, his stand-up was somewhat rudimentary, and he often suffered from weight disadvantage.

* ArmorPiercingSlap: Literal example. His high-impact ''harite'' slaps make his opponents fall like hit by a 2x4.

* BoringButPractical: Suzuki thinks that using finishing moves as signature moves will be boring to the crowd, and thus he usually wrestles in a low pace with few heavy techniques. It's probably not a TakeThat to Wrestling/DragonGate, as he has wrestled for them.

* DentedIron: His body is really broken down after years of fighting. In fact, this is one of the reasons he takes his wrestling matches so easy.

** He ripped up a Yuji Nagada T shirt at the NJPW World Tag League finals of 2012.

* KickTheDog: From abusing the Young Lions and New Japan staff, to mercilessly beating his opponents to a pulp. One of the things he does on a regular basis is kicking a Young Lion (rookies in developmental) in the face as they hold open the ring ropes for him out of respect.

* {{Expy}}: His violence-loving shooter gimmick echoes his master Wrestling/YoshiakiFujiwara's old NJPW persona, though it mostly comes from Suzuki's own aloofness, which is not little.

* {{Expy}}: His violence-loving shooter gimmick echoes his master Yoshiaki Fujiwara's old NJPW persona, though it mostly comes from Suzuki's own aloofness, which is not little.

* AloofAlly: In the Pancrase gyms, Suzuki was known to be better at kicking people in the head than trying to help them. His pro wrestling career isn't very much better, but his partnership with NOSAWA Rongai and the Tokyo Gurentai seem to have given him a [[LoonyFriendsImproveYourPersonality more positive light]].

* ArchEnemy: Maurice Smith, who defeated him in a different style fight in UWF Newborn and later again in a kickboxing bout in Pancrase. Finally Suzuki got the revenge on him in a mixed martial arts bout also in Pancrase.

* GlassCannon: Was very prone to injuries, and the grueling Pancrase schedule didn't help it. In fact, this is one of the reasons he takes his wrestling matches so easy.

* [[IKnowKarate I Know Amateur Wrestling]]: An Olympian alternate.

* WorkedShoot: His fight against Funaki and his second fight against Ken Shamrock are universally thought to be works.

** Also Yuji Nagata, in pro wrestling.

* TraumaticHairCut: His intention in destroying Wrestling/MontelVontaviousPorter's cornrows, as MVP remained loyal to Satoshi Kojima and refused to make the jump to Suzukigun.

* OneOfUs: A big ''OnePiece'' fan. Moreover, he is friends with its author Creator/EiichiroOda, and voiced the character Kazeno Minoru (based on himself) in the episode 336.

* AchillesHeel: Although he was a tough guy endowed with awesome grappling and wrestling, his stand-up was somewhat rudimentary, and he always suffered from his opponent's strikes.

* BullyingADragon: In 1991, at the same event in which Koji Kitao famously shot on Wrestling/JohnTenta, Minoru had a brawl against Apollo Sugawara when the latter got infuriated by a stiff slap and started hitting him for real. Suzuki being Suzuki, it's not surprising that Sugawara ended running away from the ring to save his life.
** To be honest, Suzuki was very worried after the incident, as he feared it could get him punished by the pro wresling community like Kitao was.

** He sometimes delivered a kick in the face to the rookies who hold the ropes for him to entry the ring.
** He ripped up a Yuji Nagada T Shirt at the NJPW World Tag League finals of 2012.
* FinishingMove: Gotch-Style Piledriver, Heel Hook and Rear Naked Choke.

* {{Homage}}: His post-return wrestling attire is composed of the classic strong-style black tights and wrestling shoes, in a clear homage to Wrestling/AntonioInoki. Also, his piledriver finisher is a nod to Karl Gotch.

* {{Jerkass}}: His gimmick is that of an intransigent, AxCrazy wrestler who attacks everybody. In fact, this character is arguably a self-parody, as he was mainly famous during his MMA days for being very short-tempered and prone to violence.

* OddFriendship: His team with Naomichi Marufuji.
* OneOfUs: A big ''OnePiece'' fan. He even is friends with its author Creator/EiichiroOda, and voiced the character Kazeno Minoru in the episode 336.

* EvilIsPetty: He sometimes kick in the face to the rookies who hold the ropes for him to entry the ring.

* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Perhaps inevitable given that Funaki is the official "ace" of Pancrase, but every time someone talks about the two, it's a matter of time they mention Funaki as the better fighter of the two. Actually, there are some controversy about who was the most skilled - the fact that the only fight between the two is universally recognized as a work doesn't help.

* {{Determinator}}: He didn't give up easily. In fact, Karl Gotch said Suzuki was his toughest student, and that he had "real guts and killer instinct".

* {{Jerkass}}: His gimmick is that of an intransigent, AxCrazy wrestler who attacks everybody. In fact, this character can be considered a self-parody, as he was mainly famous during his MMA days for being very short-tempered and prone to violence.

* CripplingOverspecialization: Although he was an awesome grappler, his stand-up was rudimentary to say the least, and he always suffered from his opponent's striking.

* GlassCannon: Was very prone to injuries, and the grueling Pancrase schedule didn't help it. This is one of the reasons he takes his wrestling matches so easy.

* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Wrestling/MasakatsuFunaki. According to Suzuki, however, their friendship is somehow strained nowadays.

* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Perhaps inevitable given that Funaki is the official "ace" of Pancrase, but every time someone talks about Suzuki, it's a matter of time they mention Funaki as the better fighter of the two. Actually, there are some controversy about who was the most skilled - the fact that the only fight between the two is universally recognized as a work doesn't help.

* BreakupBreakout: Surprisingly, despite being always the second to Funaki, Suzuki has had a return to pro wrestling ''far'' more succesful than him. While Masakatsu has slowly faded during his AJPW and W-1 tenures, Minoru remains as a big draw for every promotion he works and is considered one of the most populars wrestlers in Japan.

* GlassCannon: Was very prone to injuries, and the grueling Pancrase schedule didn't help it.

* {{Homage}}: His post-return wrestling attire is composed of the classic strong-style black tights and wrestling shoes, in a clear homage to Wrestling/AntonioInoki. Also, his piledriver finisher is another nod to Karl Gotch.

* RedBaron: Many. "Sekaiichi Seikaku no Warui Otoko" ("The Man with the Worst Personality in the World"), "Hama no Keikaya" ("The Brawler from Hama"), "Kamisori Fighter" ("Razor Fighter"), "Seiaki Oja" ("The Ill-Natured Ruler") and "[[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Kaze]]" ("Wind").

* RedOniBlueOni: Suzuki may look like the red to Masakatsu Funaki's blue, but reality is that he was actually the most collected and levelheaded of the two.
** He is also the blue to NOSAWA's red.

* WorkedShoot: His title fight against Ken Shamrock is thought to be one.

'''Minoru Suzuki''' (b. 1968) is a UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}ese {{Professional Wrestl|ing}}er and UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts fighter, co-founder of the proto-MMA company Pancrase along Wrestling/MasakatsuFunaki. He debuted in 1988 for Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling, being a Wrestling/YoshiakiFujiwara trainee along with Funaki. When Fujiwara left for the shoot-style promotion UWF Newborn, Funaki and Suzuki got a permission to follow him, and they became part of the UWF roster. The promotion fell afterwards and his faction, led by Fujiwara, formed Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi, but it was short-lived as well. Funaki and Suzuki realized that Japanese crowds really would pay for see "real" matches with non-worked outcomes and launched Pancrase, the second MMA promotion in history. Using the catch wrestling roots they had learned from Fujiwara, which they called "hybrid wrestling", the two became the aces of Pancrase and had legendary fights with names like Wrestling/KenShamrock, Bas Rutten and Guy Mezger, with Minoru gaining the King of Pancrase title against Shamrock. While not as famous or succesful as his partner Funaki, Minoru made himself known for his brutality and aloofness in and out of the ring, an aura he would keep the rest of his career. Nonetheless considered a great wrestler, Suzuki retired due to injuries making him lose fights and returned to pro wrestling, becoming a main eventer for Wrestling/AllJapanProWrestling and later Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling.

* BullyingADragon: In 1991, at the same event in which Koji Kitao famously shot on Wrestling/JohnTenta, Minoru had a brawl against Apollo Sugawara when the latter got infuriated by a stiff slap and started hitting him for real. Suzuki being Suzuki, it's not surprising that Sugawara ended hospitalized.

* {{Homage}}: His post-return wrestling attire is the black tights and shoes which Wrestling/AntonioInoki used. Also, his piledriver finisher is another homage to Karl Gotch.

* RedBaron: Many. "Sekaiichi Seikaku no Warui Otoko" ("The Man with the Worst Personality in the World"), "Hama no Keikaya" ("The Hama Brawler"), "Kamisori Fighter" ("Razor Fighter"), "Seiaki Oja" ("The Evil Ruler") and "[[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Kaze]]" ("Wind").

* RedOniBlueOni: The red to Funaki's blue, but also the blue to NOSAWA's red.

!!! "Yes, We Are Hybrid Tropes":

** Also Yuji Nagata.

* * [[IKnowKarate I Know Amateur Wrestling]]: An Olympian alternate.

* OneOfUs: A big ''OnePiece'' fan. He even is friends with its author Eiichiro Oda, and voiced the character Kazeno Minoru in the episode 336.

* RedBaron: Many. "Sekaiichi Seikaku no Warui Otoko" ("The Man with the Worst Personality in the Planet"), "Hama no Keikaya" ("The Hama Brawler"), "Kamisori Fighter" ("Razor Fighter"), "Seiaki Oja" ("The Evil Ruler") and "[[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Kaze]]" ("Wind").

* SadistTeacher: There are stories about Funaki brutalizing Pancrase students just because, and while this is not an uncommon thing in Japan, he is said to have done it throughly.

* BreakoutBreakup: Surprisingly, despite being always the second to Funaki, Suzuki has had a return to pro wrestling ''far'' more succesful than him. While Masakatsu has slowly faded during his AJPW and W-1 tenures, Minoru remains as a big draw for every promotion he works and is considered one of the most populars wrestlers in Japan.
* BullyinADragon: In 1991, at the same event in which Koji Kitao famously shot on Wrestling/JohnTenta, Minoru had a brawl against Apollo Sugawara when the latter got infuriated by a stiff slap and started hitting him for real. Suzuki being Suzuki, it's not surprising that Sugawara ended hospitalized.

* RedOneBlueOni: The red to Funaki's blue, but also the blue to NOSAWA's red.

* SadistTeacher: There are stories about Funaki brutalizing Pancrase students just because, and while this is not an uncommon thing in Japan, he is said to have done it throughly.