Minoru Suzuki forms strange alliance in Impact debut

It is said that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Minoru Suzuki proved that to be true during his Impact debut.

Buckle up, because there are a lot of moving parts in this story. Impact Wrestling (Oct. 28) kicked off with Moose as new Impact world champ. He cashed in the Call Your Shot trophy while Josh Alexander was celebrating in the ring with his family after defeating Christian Cage to win the belt at Bound for Glory. The result was Moose taking home the gold in legal theft.

Before Moose could speak, he was rudely interrupted by Eddie Edwards with a kendo stick. Edwards came out to continue their feud, but Moose got the upper hand in the brawl before security broke it up.

Moose finally spoke about all the bad things he’s down leading him on the path to become the greatest champion in all of professional wrestling. He referenced being better than the Elite, the tribal chief, the boss, the man, the queen, and the New Day. After the vile way Moose won the belt, imagine what he will do to keep it.

Boom! Josh Alexander attacked from behind for a German suplex. Moose scurried into the crowd to recover.

Kaze ni nare! Minoru Suzuki’s music hit as he came to the ring. The Japanese legend shared a staredown with Alexander. The former champ had no time for games, so he turned his back on Suzuki to focus on Moose. Suzuki retaliated to the slight by pulling Alexander back and engaging in fisticuffs. Suzuki almost secured a sleeper, then Alexander escaped to hook an ankle lock. Suzuki rolled out of the hold as security ran in to break up the fight.

The story progressed throughout the evening in backstage segments. Matt Cardona approached Moose looking for a title shot. Punches were thrown and security intervened.

Next, Cardona and Edwards argued about who gets first shot at Moose. Scott D’Amore was riled up about Moose’s dastardly deeds, so he booked a trios match for next week. They all agreed Alexander deserves to be in on the action. The teams were booked as Alexander, Edwards, and Cardona against Moose and two partners. That was if Moose could find any partners. The scene also included Alexander choking the referee who okayed Moose’s cash-in and D’Amore’s pep talk to Alexander about not letting his emotions ruin the opportunity to win back the world title.

With Moose in need of a team, he approached W. Morrissey. The two had been associates until Moose turned on Morrissey to eliminate him in the Call Your Shot Gauntlet at Bound for Glory. Moose rightfully pointed out that he warned Morrissey it would happen. That makes Moose a man of his word. The champ threw in a sweetener of offering the first title shot to Morrissey if he helps destroy their opponents next week.

Moose still needed one more person. Since the rest of the locker room hates Moose, he went to a man with a common enemy. Moose asked Suzuki to be the third player. When Suzuki rose to his feet with a scowl, Moose uttered two words, “Josh Alexander.” Suzuki smiled and gave them a fist bump to imply he was in.

That was an excellent weaving of characters to produce a mega match for next week on Impact Wrestling. The babyfaces are being forced together even though they each have their own agenda, and the strange alliance of bad guys oddly makes sense with how the events unfolded. Intrigue is abound. Best of all is how Impact is treating Suzuki like a big deal. That adds a unique mystique to the match.

What’s your take in Impact’s story for Suzuki thus far?