Suzuki-gun | |
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![]() The logo of Suzuki-gun | |
Stable | |
Members | See below |
Name(s) | Kojima-gun Suzuki-gun |
Debut | January 28, 2011[1] (as Kojima-gun) May 3, 2011[2] (as Suzuki-gun) |
Disbanded | December 23, 2022 |
Years active | 2011–2022 |
Suzuki-gun (鈴木軍, Suzukigun, literally translated to "Suzuki Army") was a villainous professional wrestling stable primarily appearing in the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion, and making occasional appearances in All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The group was founded in December 2010 by IWGP Heavyweight Champion Satoshi Kojima as Kojima-gun (小島軍, Kojimagun, "Kojima Army"), but the members of the stable turned on Kojima and appointed Minoru Suzuki as their new leader in May 2011. Suzuki-gun added several new members, such as Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Lance Archer, known collectively as the Killer Elite Squad (K.E.S.), who are three-time IWGP Tag Team Champions and two-time NWA World Tag Team Champions as part of the stable. Other accomplishments attained by the stable include Suzuki and Archer winning the 2011 G1 Tag League and founding members Taichi and Taka Michinoku becoming one-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions. As the leader of Suzuki-gun, Suzuki became one of NJPW's top wrestlers and has challenged for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship on multiple occasions.
In January 2015, Suzuki-gun, through a partnership between NJPW and Pro Wrestling Noah, took part in a storyline, where the stable invaded Noah, making it their primary promotion. Within two months, Suzuki-gun had captured all four of Noah's championships with Suzuki becoming the GHC Heavyweight Champion, K.E.S. the GHC Tag Team Champions, Taichi the GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion and El Desperado and Michinoku the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions. Suzuki-gun dominated Noah for the rest of 2015 until losing all but the GHC Tag Team Championship at the end of the year. The invasion storyline continued in 2016 with Suzuki-gun adding two new members; Noah originals Takashi Sugiura and Yoshinobu Kanemaru, who quickly brought the GHC Heavyweight and Junior Heavyweight Championships back to the stable. The invasion storyline concluded in December 2016, resulting in the stable's return to NJPW in January 2017.
Since their return to New Japan, the stable saw much success, adding Zack Sabre Jr., who brought the British Heavyweight Championship to the group and won the New Japan Cup tournament twice in 2018 and 2022. Sabre Jr and now heavyweight Taichi teamed as Dangerous Tekkers, winning the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships on three occasions. Lance Archer captured the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship twice. El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru also saw much success in the junior heavyweight division, winning the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships four times and Desperado winning the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship two times, including holding both junior titles simultaneously. In September 2021, Suzuki debuted for NJPW's American partner promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW), and realigned himself with Lance Archer, bringing him back into the stable after he previously departed both it and NJPW in 2020. In AEW's sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH), Suzuki won his first American Championship, the ROH Television Championship. In 2022 at the World Tag League finals, Suzuki announced that Suzuki-Gun would disband at the end of 2022. The stable's final match, an eight-man tag-team match, between the members took place on December 23, 2022.