In 2004, WWE decided that they wanted all of their top babyfaces to to hail from American cities -- Chris Jericho was billed from Manhasset, NY, while World Heavyweight Champion Chris Benoit was announced as "now residing in Atlanta, Georgia." The reason for this? A barely-aborted (and nearly very messy) U.S. versus Japan angle that would have taken over the top of the card in 2004. Kenzo Suzuki was a New Japan Pro Wrestling Dojo graduate who came to the U.S. in 2003 on a learning excursion. Though he did not have a reputation as a competent worker, WWE signed him in early 2004. In the spring, vignettes for his debut began to air on Raw, giving him the name Hirohito. Suzuki was supposed to be either a supporter or descendant of the same-named Japanese emperor, who authorized war crimes during World War II (such as toxic gas attacks on China). Within a couple of weeks, the vignettes began promoting him by his real name. He debuted in July and spent a year on the roster as a generic midcard anti-American heel. Why the change? It seems that cooler heads prevailed. Higher-ups in WWE listened to reason (according to some rumors, from Suzuki himself), and accepted that a wrestler named Hirohito would do them no favors in the public relations department, especially in Japan. With the momentum of his debut sapped -- and as WWE quickly realized he lacked the skill for a big push -- Suzuki didn't last long.
Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried.
*Best Crowd of the Year, 2013
