Minamino established himself as a major heel and went to feud with top face Taiji Ishimori and his Sailor Boys (Kei and Shu Sato).

On August 29, 2004 Minamino got a rematch in Mexico and won the title, retaining it against Taiji on October, 10 with aid from Fukuda and Hanai.

Upon his arrival to Michinoku Pro, Minamino dissociated himself from Los Salseros Japoneses and formed a tag team with Como Leoapard, using a mask and the name Esthetic Jaguar.

In June, Los Salseros Japoneses lost the UWA World Trios title against STONED (Maguro Ooma, Kei Sato and Shu Sato) by a misaimed attack from Minamino to Hanai, after which Los Salseros Japoneses broke up when Hanai turned on him.

He also played Happy Man, an alien character dressed in Superman-like pink attire, and had a title shot against the Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Champion Yoshitsune, but he failed.