Eric Views and Hollas for Suzukawa

"Disgraced Sumo". I'm not really sure if there are two words, when coupled together, that would make me want to watch a wrestling match more than those two. Off the top of my head I can think of several coupled words that would certainly make me prioritize a match:

"Fat Guys"
"Necro Butcher"
"Unseen Berzerker"
"Lucha Blood"
"Upset Hansen"

If someone describes a match to me using those two words, I'm going to watch that match really damn quick. But I think Disgraced Sumo might be at the top of the list. You're going to get a guy who at minimum seems uncooperative, who has gone through psycho training and is showing how tough he still is, and immediately has an aura of being a bad guy. Suzukawa has cornrows and large kanji tattooed across his back (which seems weird, I thought we were the only ones dumb enough to do that?), a bored expression permanently etched across his face, and he fought Cro Cop in a dangerously revealing mawashi. But sadly, there doesn't appear to be a whole lot of Suzukawa wrestling matches available to watch. I loved him in his match against Josh Barnett, which sent me searching for more, only to find out that NEW - the offshoot of IGF that Inoki supposedly set up to make Suzukawa a star (which is weird in itself, as you'd think Shinya Aoki would be a bigger star) -  is no more, as Suzukawa opted to leave. So this is what we have for now. Let's dive in to the last of the Disgraced Sumo.

Shinichi Suzukawa vs. Super Tiger (IGF/NEW 5/12/17)

ER: This is disappointing, only because due to the file size (8 minutes) I assumed we were getting their 5/27 match, which was under 8 minutes. But it's merely the last 5 minutes of their 5/12 30 minute draw, and then we get clips of their other two matches, including 5/27 (which took place outdoors at an amusement park!!). We get some cool stuff, like Suzukawa hitting a nice rolling kick and slapping Tiger around, Tiger hitting a cool hook kick, but for this being the final 30 minutes of a draw it didn't feel like much of anything had been built. It felt like the first 5 minutes of a match, with a bell ringing suddenly to signify that it's over. I wish we had the amusement park match, I really liked the visual of Suzukawa hitting a bunch of nasty sumo slaps in the corner while a roller coaster goes by in the background.

Shinichi Suzukawa/Keisuke Okuda vs. Kazunari Murakami/Kohei Sato (IGF/NEW 6/2/17)

ER: This is not what I was hoping for (I wanted more of a Suzukawa showcase) but what we got was weird, unprofessional, and ended like a badass Seijun Suzuki movie. Sato and Okuda are out first, and stand opposite each other in the ring for a bit too long waiting for the other two. Murakami comes out in a weird shark skin suit (with fighting gloves) and just Murakami's all over the place. Everything just got all Murakami'd up. He sulks in the corner and makes his awesome disgusted bad guy faces, then he drags Okuda out of the ring and dishes a beating on the floor while nobody does much to stop him. He tries to break Okuda's arm by forcing it around a ring barrier, tosses him into the post, banks his face off the barrier (cutting him open big) and rubbing the seams of his gloves in Okuda's cut and choking him in front of some ladies in the crowd. Suzukawa steps in and gets beaten with a chair, Sato takes some shots at Okuda, it's all very one-sided. Suzukawa is mostly a non-factor, this was all about Murakami and Sato roughing up Okuda, and the match ends about 6 minutes in with minimal opposition.

BUT!

BUT!!

Suddenly, Murakami is confronted at ringside by FUJIWARA! Fujiwara is also wearing a suit, and looks appropriately, expectedly badass. Murakami is still, Fujiwara's fist is clenched. Fujiwara is shaking. Fujiwara's anger builds...and then, he extends an open hand to Murakami, who shakes his hand! Fujiwara reaches into his suit jacket and hands a folded note to Murakami, who eyeballs it and laughs before walking away.

WHAT IS HAPPENING AND WHY WILL WE NEVER SEE THE CONCLUSION TO THIS ANGLE!?

This was the coolest Lucha Underground angle ever filmed, Yakuza Boss Fujiwara paying off noted asskicking grump Murakami to destroy those who have done wrong. Phil and I talked earlier today and he said he watched a 2002 Z-1 show where Murakami and Ogawa get into it after a match and people have to hold Murakami back. Phil excitedly looked to skip ahead to see a Murakami/Ogawa blowoff that nobody has ever talked about...only to find Murakami didn't make it back to Z-1 for another 3 years! Murakami is officially the master of starting the greatest angles that had no kind of finish. Murakami was The Higher Power. Murakami was the Hummer Driver. Murakami was behind GTV. Murakami is the absentee father who convinces you that THIS TIME he's going to be there. Murakami is cruel.