8 Reasons New Japan's Wrestle Kingdom 9 Is Must-Watch

7. Kazushi Sakuraba VS Minoru Suzuki In An MMA-Style Brawl

When these two men are referred to as "Mixed Martial Arts legends", it's not hyperbole. Suzuki is the co-founder of Pancrase, which is one of the world's very first MMA organizations, and became famous as a fighter for making Ken Shamrock submit twice in the mid-90's. Sakuraba is, perhaps, the most well-known Japanese MMA fighter of all-time, best known for being the "Gracie Hunter", named after he defeated four different members of the legendary Gracie family. Both Suzuki and Sakuraba were students under Billy Robinson, being introduced to the world of catch wrestling. Everyone knew there wouldn't be a lot of flashy high spots in this match, especially with the stipulation that it could only end with a knockout or submission. What ended up happening was as close to an MMA fight as you're ever going to see in wrestling without actually transitioning into a shoot fight where two people try to snap every limb they can get their hands on. Suzuki is 46 years old, while Sakuraba is 45, but this wasn't two old, past-their-prime has-beens trying to live off of their past accomplishments. Both men look like they could still participate successfully in MMA fights, and in the world of pro wrestling, they're as dangerous as ever. Suzuki, especially, looks like he could kill a man with his bare hands, and would probably take great pride in doing so. On a card like this, a pseudo-shoot fight can really stand out and add a bit of flavor, and that's exactly what this one did.