After a commemorative photo was taken with participants in the ring, another surprise awaited. Takayama stood in the corner and Suzuki in the red corner, facing each other.
An announcement was made inside Korakuen Hall: "We will now have a singles match with no time limit."
Then the gong sounded.
"Stand up!" "You can stand up!" Suzuki cried out loudly, tears streaming down his face in an overflow of emotion.
Korakuen Hall was packed with 1,701 people who also shouted in support, chanting "TA-KA-YA-MA! TA-KA-YA-MA!"
Takayama desperately tried to move in his wheelchair. It was clear to see that the two men were stretched thin in the ring.
Suzuki grabbed the microphone and echoed, "If you can't stand up, I'll put this match on hold. But in return, I'll wait for you on this throne as the King of Wrestling until you come back! How about it, Emperor?"
"The current king of wrestling is ME, Minoru Suzuki! If you're upset, stand up and try throwing a punch in my face, you bastard!"
An endless flow of tears ran from Takayama's eyes.
The match was officially declared a no contest. Suzuki then made a promise to himself, saying, "We'll do it someday, let's fight. I'll be waiting. Don't give up on the match, got it?"
"It's between me and him. After this show, he said, "It's up to him to decide."
This was pro wrestling at its zenith.
Minoru Suzuki and Katsuyori Shibata, a long-awaited dream match for the Japanese audience, fought for nearly 30 minutes in a battle that emotional fans in attendance deemed "perfect wrestling."
The rest of TAKAYAMANIA EMPIRE 3 was a cornucopia of Japanese stars & styles. The festivities kicked off with a unique tag team clash between Hideki Suzuki & Jun Kasai vs. Hikaru Sato & Takayuki Ueki, highlighting both hardcore and shoot-style wrestling in a mixed styles bout.
In what may have been the dark horse match of the event, the legend Meiko Satomura took on "Shin-Yoshihiro Takayama," a super-sized version of Takayama played by brilliant pro wrestling parodist, Hirota Sakura. It was a hilarious, heart-felt tribute to Takayama that only Sakura could have delivered.
Hiroyo Matsumoto, Jun Akiyama & Shuji Ishikawa defeated Team 200kg (Chihiro Hashimoto & Yuu) & Masao Inoue in a mixed trios match that was as fun as it was violent, with fans enjoying the hell out of the pretty-much retired Masao Inoue, who did his best.
Keiji Muto and NOSAWA Rongai joined the ring at intermission and talked about their memories of "The Emperor," Yoshihiro Takayama.
Danshoku Dino & Naomichi Marufuji teamed up to defeat Kikutaro & Ryota Hama (dressed as Japanese celebrity Matsuko Deluxe). This was zany, it was esoteric, and it was hilarious. It won't be everyone's cup of tea, but clearly a great time was had by the audience.
TAKAYAMANIA EMPIRE 3 is available on exclusively on Wrestle Universe until September 16th.
