2. Minoru Suzuki
He may currently be bringing hell to Pro Wrestling NOAH, but Minoru Suzuki would be my personal choice for the next IWGP Intercontinental Champion. As with all contenders there are a lot of pros and cons to this decision, but for the foreseeable future I think a manic Suzuki-gun defended reign might be what the belt needs. One issue is that Suzuki is 48-years-old this year. As the years have gone on, his performances in the ring have ranged from legitimate Match of the Year quality to the antithesis of what professional wrestling should be. Still, a man with his career is allowed the odd night off, especially when the good matches are so wonderful. Along with history and in-ring ability, Minoru Suzuki also brings name value and drawing power to the title. Make no mistake about it, Suzuki is a big name in Japanese wrestling and can main event with success all over the country. He is also in the great position (from a booking perspective) of being a top level performer who isn't invincible. He can win the title, run with it for nine months and lose it to someone like Yohei Komatsu and not lose any legitimacy in the process. New Japan should seriously consider this as an option.
John Bills
Contributor
Born in the middle of Wales in the middle of the 1980's, John can't quite remember when he started watching wrestling but he has a terrible feeling that Dino Bravo was involved. Now living in Prague, John spends most of his time trying to work out how Tomohiro Ishii still stands upright. His favourite wrestler of all time is Dean Malenko, but really it is Repo Man. He is the author of 'An Illustrated History of Slavic Misery', the best book about the Slavic people that you haven't yet read. You can get that and others from www.poshlostbooks.com.
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