The boss of Suzuki-gun, Minoru Suzuki has never been known to care about the rules. Debuting in 1988 for NJPW, he later competed in many MMA promotions including Newborn UWF, Fujiwara-gumi and Pancrase. After an extensive career as a top fighter he returned to professional wrestling with NJPW in 2003.

Proudly taking a mercenary position of defeating heroes and taking top treasures wherever he sees fit, Suzuki’s freelance stance saw him become Triple Crown Champion in All Japan, a reign that saw him face Yuji Nagata in a bloody brawl when AJPW and NJPW collided at the first Wrestle Kingdom event. 

Suzuki made a full time return to NJPW in 2011 and was an instant threat, staging a coup that violently booted Satoshi Kojima from his own faction and made Suzuki the leader of Suzuki Gun. As his group’s numbers grew to include Lance Archer, Davey Boy Smith Junior and Takashi Iizuka, Suzuki would challenge the likes of Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kazuchika Okada, coming close to the IWGP Heavyweight Championship but not quite seizing the top prize. 

In 2015, Suzuki Gun invaded Pro Wrestling NOAH where they had a dominant reign of terror. On returning to NJPW in 2017, Suzuki was more vicious than ever on his way to winning his first NJPW singles championships. Now former NEVER Openweight and IWGP Intercontinental Champion, Suzuki was just as dangerous 31 years into his career as in year one. 

This made it all the more galling for Suzuki when he wasn’t enetered into 2019’s G1 Climax 29. This prompted a furious Suzuki to gun for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship directly. While he lost to Kazuchika Okada in a London title match, Suzuki would then shift focus to Jyushin Thunder Liger.

Angered by Liger’s apparent reticence to fighting him again after they faced each other in Suzuki’s MMA retirement match, Suzuki brutally attacked Liger and even removed his mask. After Suzuki even drew out the feared Kishin Liger, a match was set between the two at King of Pro Wrestling.