# The Suzuki Incident > The Suzuki Incident is a 2021 wrestling meme spawned when AEW Dynamite cut Minoru Suzuki's entrance music short, generating fake documentary-style quotes treating the production blunder as wrestling's most infamous historical event. The Suzuki Incident is a professional wrestling meme from September 2021, born when AEW Dynamite cut short Japanese wrestling legend Minoru Suzuki's entrance music before fans could shout the iconic "Kaze Ni Nare" refrain. After a fan account dramatically dubbed the production blunder "The Suzuki Incident," wrestling Twitter ran with it, creating fake documentary-style quotes from wrestlers treating the minor slight as one of the most infamous events in wrestling history. ## Origin On September 8, 2021, New Japan Pro Wrestling veteran Minoru Suzuki faced Jon Moxley in the main event of AEW Dynamite[2]. Suzuki's entrance song, "Kaze Ni Nare" by Ayumi Nakamura, is famous in wrestling circles for a moment where the entire crowd shouts the title lyric in unison. It's a beloved tradition that fans consider a key part of any Suzuki match[4]. But AEW's production team cut the entrance short. Moxley's music hit before the song reached its climactic refrain, and the crowd never got their singalong moment[2]. The match itself was also shorter than expected, leaving fans feeling the whole segment had been shortchanged for time[1]. On September 9, AEW's official Twitter account posted a teaser suggesting Suzuki would address the "preferential treatment" given to Moxley on the next episode[4]. Two days later, on September 11, the Twitter account @NJPWFanClubNA praised AEW's willingness to work the botched entrance into a storyline, but their phrasing is what lit the fuse. They called Wednesday's disappointing main event "The Suzuki Incident"[3]. - **Platform:** Twitter - **Creator:** @NJPWFanClubNA (coined the term), @BotchGoblin (first parody) - **Date:** 2021 ## Overview The Suzuki Incident meme takes the format of a faux-documentary interview, where a professional wrestler or wrestling figure delivers a solemn quote about "The Suzuki Incident" as though it were a watershed moment in the sport's history. The format directly parodies the tone of Vice's *Dark Side of the Ring* documentary series, treating a minor production error on a weekly wrestling show with the same gravity reserved for actual tragedies and scandals like the Montreal Screwjob[2]. Each post typically features a photo of a wrestler alongside a fabricated quote written in first person, recalling where they were or how they felt when "The Suzuki Incident" occurred[3]. The humor comes entirely from the absurd contrast between the mundane reality (a shortened entrance) and the overwrought emotional testimony. ## How It Spread Most replies to @NJPWFanClubNA's tweet pointed out that calling a shortened entrance "The Suzuki Incident" was wildly overdramatic[4]. That dramatic tone became the joke itself. Within hours, parodies started rolling in. The first came from @BotchGoblin, who posted a silhouetted anonymous face with a fabricated quote: "When we saw the disappointment wash over the crowd and the entire nation of Japan, I turned to the rest of the production team and said 'my god, what have we done? May the lord have mercy on our souls'"[4]. The format clicked immediately. Other users began writing their own quotes in character as real wrestlers. @BroomMega posted one as Kenny Omega that pulled in over 120 retweets and 840 likes[4]. The joke spread fast across wrestling Twitter, with users inserting references to The Suzuki Incident into iconic wrestling moments. Photoshopped images showed a tearful Hulk Hogan, a pensive Triple H, a fed-up CM Punk, and a weary Bret Hart all apparently reflecting on the incident[3]. By September 13, 2021, "The Suzuki Incident" was trending on Twitter[4]. AEW leaned into it too. The promotion confirmed that Suzuki and Lance Archer would appear on the following week's Dynamite to issue a new challenge to Moxley, folding the real fan frustration into an ongoing storyline[1]. Archer had already forked Moxley back in July to win the IWGP United States championship, so the angle had built-in heat[1]. ## How to Use The Suzuki Incident format works like this: 1. Pick a photo of a wrestling personality (or any public figure, if you want to go off-template). 2. Write a solemn, first-person quote where they reflect on "The Suzuki Incident" as if recounting a traumatic historical event. 3. Use documentary-style framing. Think talking-head interview, confessional tone, long pauses implied through ellipses. 4. The quote often references specific details like "when I heard the music stop" or "I'll never forget where I was that night." ## Cultural Impact The Suzuki Incident is a textbook example of wrestling fans turning a minor production error into community comedy. ComicBook.com covered the trend, noting how fans had created "some hilarious tweets" by swapping the Suzuki Incident into quotes about actual infamous wrestling moments[2]. Distractify ran a feature calling the memes "incredible," framing the incident as evidence of AEW's ability to generate organic fan engagement even from mistakes[3]. AEW's decision to acknowledge the botch and write it into storyline showed a promotion willing to work with its audience rather than pretend the error didn't happen[1]. The real-world payoff came the following week when Suzuki appeared on Dynamite to properly address the situation, giving fans the cathartic moment they'd been denied[1]. ## Fun Facts - Suzuki's entrance tradition of the crowd chanting "Kaze Ni Nare" is so well-known that compilation videos of it exist on YouTube, showcasing crowds from around the world joining in[4]. - The meme trended on Twitter just two days after the original tweet that coined the term[4]. - AEW reportedly crammed so many different stories into the September 8 episode that Suzuki vs. Moxley was shortchanged for time, making the entrance cut a scheduling issue rather than a deliberate creative choice[1]. - The @BroomMega Kenny Omega parody quote picked up 120+ retweets and 840+ likes, making it one of the most popular individual entries in the trend[4]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is The Suzuki Incident? The Suzuki Incident is a wrestling meme where fans created fake documentary quotes treating the premature cut of Minoru Suzuki's entrance music on AEW Dynamite as a major historical event[2]. ### Where did The Suzuki Incident come from? It originated from a September 11, 2021 tweet by @NJPWFanClubNA that called the botched September 8 AEW Dynamite entrance "The Suzuki Incident," which fans found hilariously overdramatic[4]. ### What does The Suzuki Incident mean? It refers to AEW's production team cutting Minoru Suzuki's entrance song "Kaze Ni Nare" before the crowd could shout the title lyric, a beloved tradition at his matches[2]. ### How do you use The Suzuki Incident meme? Post a photo of a wrestling figure with a fabricated first-person quote where they solemnly reflect on The Suzuki Incident as though it were a devastating tragedy in wrestling history[4]. ### Is The Suzuki Incident still popular? The meme's peak was a brief window in September 2021 when it trended on Twitter. It's largely a piece of wrestling meme history now rather than an active format[4]. ### Why was Suzuki's entrance cut short? AEW packed too many storylines into the September 8, 2021 episode of Dynamite, and the main event between Suzuki and Moxley was shortchanged for time as a result[1]. ### What is "Kaze Ni Nare" and why do fans care about it? "Kaze Ni Nare" is Minoru Suzuki's entrance theme by Ayumi Nakamura. It features a section where stadium crowds traditionally shout the title lyric in unison, making it one of wrestling's most beloved entrance traditions[2]. ### Who posted the first Suzuki Incident parody? Twitter user @BotchGoblin posted the first parody, using an anonymous silhouetted face with a dramatic quote about the production team's reaction to cutting the entrance[4]. ### Did AEW acknowledge The Suzuki Incident? Yes. AEW worked the fan frustration into a storyline, with Suzuki and Lance Archer appearing the following week to address the "preferential treatment" given to Moxley[1]. ### What documentary does the meme format parody? The format parodies Vice's *Dark Side of the Ring*, a documentary series about infamous and tragic events in professional wrestling history[4]. ## References 1. [Minoru Suzuki isn’t finished with Jon Moxley | Cageside Seats]() 2. [AEW Fans Have Turned "The Suzuki Incident" Into a Meme - ComicBook.com]() 3. [The Suzuki Incident Memes Aew Fans Keep Making Are Incredible]() 4. [The Suzuki Incident - Know Your Meme]() 5. [Three... Extremes]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/the-suzuki-incident Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library