Tony Deppen faced a living legend in his debut for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and he recently looked back on the remarkable experience.
At the NJPW Collision in Philadelphia taping on May 15, the former ROH World Television Champion faced Minoru Suzuki, one of the most renowned competitors in the wrestling world today. Deppen has shared the ring with plenty of notable names, but the match with Suzuki was particularly meaningful.
In an interview with WrestleZone, Deppen reflected on how he found out about the bout and noted that he found out just like everyone else. Deppen stated that he assumed he’d be working in a multi-man match alongside his Violence Unlimited stablemates, so the singles clash with Suzuki was quite unexpected.
“So I knew I was supposed to do New Japan for a while because some people were talking about it like, ‘Hey, we want you to this and this,’ and I was like, okay, cool,” Tony Deppen said. “I was under the impression that it was going to be me, Dickinson, Homicide, and Brody versus some other person like a farewell to Violence Unlimited essentially. And I figured that’s what it’s gonna be. And then it was right after [Samoa] Joe and [Minoru] Suzuki had their match on AEW, and I got a tag called, ‘Congratulations, Tony.’ And I said, what?
“There’s a guy on Twitter, Tom’s Customs, he always makes fake match announcements, and I thought that’s what it was because they didn’t quote tweet New Japan. They just saved the picture and then tweeted themselves. So I was like, what the hell is this? So I go to New Japan’s page, and I just like, wow! When everybody else found out was when I found out. I remember sitting there looking at I was like, ‘What the f—? And my wife goes, ‘What?’ And I’m just staring, and she’s like, ‘What? What?’ So I was like, ‘Remember I thought what this was supposed to be?’ She’s like, ‘Yeah. I was like, ‘This is what it is’. And she’s like, ‘Oh, damn.'”
TOMORROW at 8/7c the #njpwSTRONG Championship is on the line as @realfredrosser takes on @FilthyTomLawlor!
Also in action:
? @suzuki_D_minoru ? @Tony_DeppenTune in @FiteTV and @njpwworld! Catch STRONG on demand @njpwworld.#njCollision pic.twitter.com/J2cKNjCrUw
— NJPW of America (@NJPWofAmerica) June 24, 2022
Deppen went on to describe how he’d like to work with NJPW again because he had a good time in this first outing. He also recalled how wrestling Suzuki showed him how talented the veteran really is, and he pointed out that the former IWGP Intercontinental Champion put him over after the match.
“So for my debut to be against New Japan’s one of their top guys, and I was like, okay, that that says something, and I’m hoping that things happen again with New Japan because I had a lot of fun work in there,” said Deppen. “And I love everybody there; they were super nice to me. Like, I didn’t feel like anybody was out slandering me like I’ve been in some lockers where I feel like somebody’s talking about me. Just like working with Suzuki like dude, he’s a legend for a reason, and after working with him, I understand why the guy’s a freakin’ legend. He is so good at everything he does. And then I talked to Rocky [Romero] after the show, and Rock’s like, ‘Tony, Suzuki puts you over huge, just so you know.’ I was like, well, that’s good to know.”
Deppen’s match with Suzuki will air on the June 25 episode of NJPW STRONG, which will be available on FITE and NJPW World.
