Unless you follow puroresu super closely, Kenzo Suzuki—now known as KENSO—might be someone who garners that tried and true ”Who?” response. Admittedly, his career took this weird, winding path that steered away from the potential he showed early in his career.
Then again, WWE will knock all the winds out of your sails eventually if you come over from the Land of the Rising Sun. One thing I always wondered was “Why sign Kenzo Suzuki?” He wasn’t even the best signing WWE could’ve picked up. After leaving New Japan in 2003, things started to go wrong with him.
Suzuki just didn’t get the polishing that his contemporaries Hiroshi Tanahashi, Shinsuke Nakamura, Togi Makabe, and Hirooki Goto received. If he had remained with the company, there’s no telling how he would’ve developed or where he would be now. There’s a major “What if” factor with Kenzo Suzuki.
Bouncing from New Japan so early and going everywhere else pretty much blacklisted him from the promotion. It’s not exactly too late to return but he’s not that high on New Japan’s list with its expansion plans.
So, what happened to Kenzo along the way?
Kenzo Suzuki’s Squandered Potential
This guy could’ve shaped up to be a good wrestler if he was kept in OVW longer. Before that, he was meh in-ring with some good moments depending on who he was facing. While he had a good look during his young lion period and after he got his personality, he was alright at best.
If he wasn’t going to stay in New Japan then OVW was somewhere he should’ve hung around.
What he needed was a stable promotion. Instead, he went through two promotions that ended up closing before the 2000s was out, got signed to WWE and did whatever there, then headed to Mexico. Suzuki was in Mexico for some time wrestling for CMLL and AAA before returning to Japan in late 2010 where All Japan was his home.
This was during Keiji Mutoh’s period in charge and by this time All Japan had stabilized its roster. Kenzo Suzuki could’ve joined and not throw everything out of whack. By the time he returned to Japan he still wasn’t as polished as his peers and had more moments where he came off as awkward in the ring.
Honestly, even if he was slightly more polished, Suzuki could’ve been a strong part of the roster. That was not to be. He did develop into a comedy wrestler and there’s a place for them in Japan. Actually, he had a solid run with the HUSTLE promotion.
Now, he’s a freelancer who dabbles in brawls and tags while keeping with the comedy thing. Compared to where his generation mates Tanahashi, Nakamura, Makabe, and Goto have achieved, he’s taken the weirdest path.
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