Cody Rhodes has been defending his ROH World Championship all around the world at independent wrestling events since winning the belt back in June, but this September the “American Nightmare” will look into the eyes of his most deadly challenger yet. We reported earlier this week that New Japan Pro Wrestling star Minoru Suzuki was scheduled to wrestle his first match in the United States in more than 25 years, and now we can officially confirm that it will be Cody vs. Suzuki for the title at ROH Death Before Dishonor on September 22nd.
The masochistic incarnation of evil that is Minoru Suzuki has been wrestling now for a little over 30 years, making his pro debut in 1988. He is a former AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion and GHC Heavyweight Champion for the Pro Wrestling NOAH promotion, as well as the leader of the infamous Suzuki-Gun faction that has been plaguing NJPW and NOAH for the last six years. Besides being one of the most terrifying individuals to ever set foot in a wrestling ring, he is also an accomplished mixed martial artist, founding Pancrase as one of the first MMA promotions in Japan.
Although storyline plans had Dalton Castle in line for an ROH title shot at the upcoming pay-per-view, but he was taken out of action with an injury at the hands of Bullet Club, who defeated Castle and The Boys to become the new ROH 6-Man Tag Team Champions during the company’s recent UK tour. We can confirm that the injury is not legitimate, and there have been plans in place for Cody to face Suzuki at Death Before Dishonor since July.
The announcement should be made during next week’s episode of ROH TV.
The open challenge has been accepted, and @CodyRhodes is not happy with who answered the call. This week on #ROHTV #WatchROH pic.twitter.com/v9yVqXoTFB
— ROH Wrestling (@ringofhonor) August 25, 2017
