Minoru Suzuki: Titles Should Be Distinguished, NJPW Put Itself In A Corner With Double Gold Dash

Minoru Suzuki gives his thoughts on NJPW’s multiple titles and how they’re being treated in the wake Tetsuya Naito holding the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental titles at the same time.

While Naito, Kazuchika Okada, Jay White and Kota Ibushi have been competing for the right to call themselves the first dual IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental titles, Suzuki was nowhere to be seen in regards to the company’s top two titles. 

Now that Naito currently holds both belts, Suzuki feels like the titles have not only lost value, but the idea of unifying championships is absurd. Suzuki believes that the company put itself in a corner with the Double Gold Dash at Wrestle Kingdom 14 that ended with Naito holding both belts. 

“Well, the company put themselves in this corner, right? They made all these belts. And their value depleted, so they’ve brought them together. If you unify titles, you can’t split them again. So we should put a stop to all this three belt, four belt, more belts talk before it gets out of hand. I’ve seen a lot of companies fall by the wayside these 30 some odd years, and it all starts with marks being in charge and being allowed to run wild,” Suzuki told NJPW.

In regards to the different singles titles the company has (Heavyweight, Intercontinental, United States, NEVER Openweight, etc…), Suzuki believes that each other should be treated as a unique thing with different types of match to distinguish each title from the others and not simply be put in a pecking order in terms of importance and value.

“So what should we do with these titles? Why is the US title called that? Why Intercontinental? They’re distinctions, right? So distinguish. Let’s all understand where we’re at. The IWGP Heavyweight Championship is the number one belt for everyone. Intercontinental, that should only be between wrestlers from different continents. Japanese guy versus a European guy. America vs. Australia. Whatever. US, only defend it in America. NEVER, just heavyweights versus juniors. That gives us some clear distinctions,” Suzuki said.

Suzuki is currently scheduled to compete on NJPW’s upcoming New Japan Road shows as well as the Tiger Hattori and Manabu Nakanishi retirement shows in February.