6 Winners And 4 Losers From The New Japan Cup
4. Loser: Minoru Suzuki
Minoru Suzuki may be one of the most legendary figures in Japanese wrestling history for his groundbreaking work in MMA, while also winning top titles for All Japan Pro Wrestling, and Pro Wrestling NOAH. However, these days in NJPW have been far from kind to the hero of Yokohama.
Suzuki has been in the midst of a pretty rough losing streak and had an abysmal year through 2019, not being allowed in the G1 Climax, and the misery seems to keep going. Of all the people he could have lost to, like an eager Young Lion or a junior heavyweight, Suzuki lost to Yuji Nagata, who is so far over the hill he's built a house on the plains.
Suzuki is one of the most competent and respected veterans that NJPW can offer, yet they seem to be wasting his talent by having him lose without any real purpose. If NJPW keeps this trend up, people may not even take Suzuki as seriously as nearly all the members of the faction he leads. Kanemaru at least made it out of the first round while El Desperado can still throw out a challenge for the Junior heavyweight championship. Meanwhile, Taichi and ZSJ are on their way to a tag title feud.
Lately, what has Suzuki done but lose?