Japanese Promotion Issues Statement On Minoru Suzuki’s Condition After He Collapsed During Match

In what must have been a terrifying situation for fans in attendance, Minoru Suzuki collapsed during his match at Saturday’s Tenryu Project event. The Japanese freelancer who has worked for New Japan, AEW, ROH, MLW, and GCW over the past year passed out during the bout, and after failing to respond to the referee, the match was stopped.

Thankfully, the 56-year-old quickly regained consciousness, and now, following a visit to the hospital, the promotion has confirmed via their official website he was diagnosed with a concussion, with there being no bleeding on the brain.

“During today’s main event, an accident occurred with Minoru Suzuki, so the match was canceled at the discretion of the referee and Tenryu Project. Fortunately, Minoru Suzuki was examined at an emergency hospital and diagnosed with a concussion, with no bleeding in the head or other areas. He has been given permission by the doctor and is on his way home. He has not shown any significant symptoms, and is able to walk and talk properly. As instructed by the doctor, we will monitor his progress for 2-3 days, and if necessary, we will conduct further examinations.”

Suzuki initially trained at the New Japan dojo in the 80s, and while he made his debut for the promotion, he departed the company to follow his mentor, Yoshiaki Fujiwara, to the Universal Wrestling Federation and then to Fujiwara’s Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi. However, he decided to pursue a new career path in the ’90s and, along with Masakatsu Funaki, launched Pancrase, one of the world’s first mixed martial arts promotions.

From there, he would face notable names like Ken Shamrock, Bas Rutten, and Franck Shamrock, establishing himself as one of the toughest men in the world. Yet after years of beating up his body for real, he would return to pro wrestling full-time in 2003, with his career highlights coming via two Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship reigns while working for All Japan.