Leyton Buzzard discusses getting to work with Minoru Suzuki.
In the back half of 2023, Leyton Buzzard found himself on excursion to Japan, where he would compete in several matches for BJW and other promotions. However, his biggest match with a Japanese talent may have came following the excursion, as on February 4th's RevPro show, Buzzard would main event against Minoru Suzuki. After a twenty minute bout, Suzuki would defeat Buzzard.
While speaking to Fightful's Corey Brennan in a recent interview, Leyton would discuss his match with Suzuki, desrcibing it as "incredible" and citing it as something that made his excursion to Japan worth it.
"Yeah, it was incredible. When I went over to Japan, lots of my thought process was that I wanted to come back a more complete wrestler, but also to come back a bigger deal as well. I wanted to be booked in bigger matches, booked on bigger shows. I wanted to show people that this is the type of performer I am. I'm not here to mess around. So when I came back and I found out that this is a match I'm going to be getting straight away, it was amazing for me because it was like everything that I'd done in Japan, it worked. I'd gone away. I'd worked on myself. I'd done everything I could to become a better wrestler. Now I come back and now I'm reaping the rewards. I'm getting these bigger matches. Just this last weekend, I was in Germany wrestling for a championship at wXw. The week before, I'm wrestling Minoru Suzuki. So less than a month after coming back, I've already wrestled for OTT, wXw and RevPro, you know, arguably the three biggest companies in Europe and been booked in huge matches. So, you know, this is how I'm starting off my year, and this is what I'm trying to show everyone, the fans, the companies, that this is the type of person I am now. These matches, for me, it was amazing, especially because I got to meet Suzuki in Japan. You know, we crossed paths a couple of times. um when i was with BJW, we did like a joint show with DDT and Suzuki was on that so i'd met him a couple of times. Then to come back and find out that like less than a month after being back, I'm stepping into the ring with not just one of the best like wrestlers of all time, like one of the greatest fighters, one of the greatest like combat martial artists of all time. You know, this guy is a legitimate killer. You know, go up and watch him bust the Shamrock brothers, Bas Rutten. This guy's one of the most dangerous people that's ever stepped foot on the planet and a definite japanese legend. So to find out that I was going to be stepping in the ring with him, like such a short time after I get back from Japan, it just made me feel like it was all paying off. To go 20 minutes with Minoru Suzuki in the main event of RevPro, like you can't go any better than that. Like, listen, maybe I didn't win the match, but I'll tell you what, I sure as hell felt like a winner that night. I was everything I hoped it could be, you know. I wanted to go in there and I wanted to show Suzuki that I wasn't a pushover. I wanted to show him that he's not going to push me around."
Leyton continued, noting that he believes he earned Suzuki's respect, citing a kick in the face her received from the Japanese legend after the match.
"I think I earned his respect, you know. He still kicked me in the face at the end. But I feel like that's as much respect you're going to get out of him. So for me, I got everything I wanted out of the match. To be able to step in there with a legend like that, you know, especially at the age he is now, right? I believe he's 55. He's not going to be around forever. So to get a match like that now means even more because you don't know how many opportunities people are going to have to get these matches. So to be able to say that I got to wrestle Minoru Suzuki is something I'll remember forever. It's not a match that I'm going to forget. I had the time of my life in there and I hope the fans did too."
Buzzard returned to OTT Wrestling back in January, competing in the OTT Loco Rumble. He is scheduled to face off with Alex Grayson at Showdown on Sherriff Street on Saturday.
To listen to the rest of Buzzard's interview with Fightful, you can find the link above.
