Pro-wrestling has a long tradition with stereotypical Asian heels. Pro-wrestling is an inherently American entertainment vehicle (translated by so many other cultures worldwide), so the US' dislike for Japan hearkening back to the December 7, 1941 attack on the US Navy's base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii has been obvious. However, by 2005, with American children loving Nintendo video games while eating sushi rolls, any of the stereotypical hate of Japan had been replaced with stereotypical love of the country, thereby making Suzuki a less than effective heel. Surely he was booed, but his heat had more to do with being a generic bad guy than being an evil Japanese invader. Unique to Suzuki's presentation was the involvement of his wife, Hiroko. Presented as a traditional geisha, this didn't help much, either. The last Japanese heel that ever got over to any degree was Yokozuna, who aside from being presented as being Japanese (though he was Samoan), was more importantly super-athletic for his gargantuan size that topped off at 600-plus pounds. In having greater dimensions to his heat, where Yokozuna worked is where Kenzo Suzuki ultimately failed.
Besides having been an independent professional wrestling manager for a decade, Marcus Dowling is a Washington, DC-based writer who has contributed to a plethora of online and print magazines and newspapers writing about music and popular culture over the past 15 years.
