Invitation to glory: El Desperado Interviewed
Masked man talks BOSJ plans, Despe Invitacional and more
El Desperado has twice been the Best of the Super Jr. bridesmaid, and never the bride. Both his runner-up appearances in the BOSJ tournament have seen Hiromu Takahashi as his final opponent, and both ended in defeat. Having started 2024 with a win over his rival, Desperado wants to make this the third time, and the third time the charm. June 9’s BOSJ final is also directly followed by his own self produced mystery card, and we asked about it all in a special sit down.
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If Sho Tanaka’s happy the way it went down, then fine
— You’re heading into your eighth Best of the Super Jr, fifth in a row, how are you feeling?
Desperado: Mentally, the same as I feel going in every year. It doesn’t really sit well with me to have guys say ‘this year more than any other.’ But I will say I think the highest my motivation ever was would have been in 2022 when Hiromu’s threepeat was on the line.
— You’ve had the agony of defeat in that final spot and to Hiromu a pair of times, do you feel the pressure is any greater now?
Desperado: Pressure, not so much. I’m kind of weird in how I take in the talk from outside. If people say nice things, I appreciate it and I’m grateful, but if people say anything negative, usually I’m just like ‘who cares?’ So I take the postitives and I just ignore the negatives.
— A lot say you should by rights be holding the IWGP Junior title going into this.
Desperado: Winning a title on January 4 is a beautiful thing. I’m not saying this because I won either, but I think I can be satisfied with that match. Obviously there are little things I can pick at here or there but I was happy with that.
— And then February 23 in Sapporo, you lost the belt to SHO.
Desperado: Hmm. Before that I had the defence against Kanemaru in Korakuen. I don’t think I quite put it all out there in that match, and to then lose the title the way I did… if I was going to lose that belt, I wish I could have put it all out there in the ring on the way to losing.
— Part of that is the way SHO operates.
Desperado: Well, that’s all on Sho Tanaka. Sho Tanaka did what he did and won his first title. Now if he’s happy with that then fine. I mean, I did similar stuff back in the day, and I don’t regret it now or anything.
— You just want revenge your way after you win this tournament?
Desperado: Well, I don’t look at this as just a way to determine the number one contender. In my mind, this is just like the G1 is to the heavyweights. We don’t have a New Japan Cup, all we have is BOSJ every year. So in my opinion, I think of BOSJ as an achievement that’s at least equal to the IWGP title itself.
The champion should be the best, should have the best matches. So the belt is looking bad right now.
— This year, the tournament final will be June 9 in Osaka Jo Hall. With the match order not official, do you feel it’s important to be in the main event?
Desperado: Like I said, this is the tournament for junior heavyweights, so then to have the final be the semi? The juniors are carrying the entire month long series and then to have the final be different all of a sudden seemed weird to me at first. At the end of the day though, I’m not all that bothered.
— Nothing’s been announced yet.
Desperado: But it isn’t something I’m hung up on. I’m not one to talk about wanting the big spots. I don’t get at all cut up about the Tokyo Dome, especially.
— How so?
Desperado: The place is huge, the front row is far from the ring, and the people in the cheap seats are watching the screen. It’s not for me. I definitely understand the appeal of being in that atmosphere, but in my opinion the best places to actually enjoy wrestling are 1st Ring, Shinjuku FACE, Korakuen Hall.
I don’t really feel like big venues equals better wrestling. If you told me the event before, that June 3 Korakuen, was the finals, I’d be just fine with it.
— So how would you feel if there was an IWGP World Heavyweight title main event at Dominion?
Desperado: So for the company it’s a matter of weighing up the belt’s significance, and the tournament final’s significance. They’ll both be big singles matches, so which is the semifinal and which is the main will depend on what people think will be the better match I guess.
— I see.
Desperado: That’s how I feel about things. The champion should be the guy having the best matches. That should be the case in the junior division, but it isn’t right now. We don’t have a champion to be proud of and it raises a lot of questions about the belt.
— So you have a lot of unfinished business with SHO.
Desperado: I feel that the value of the belt is in the person holding it being the face of the division. It’s in whoever the opponent is having the best match of the night, and that’s why I want it. The tournament will be won by the best guy over a one month period. But if you have the belt, you have to face these challenges over time, and you have to keep performing to that high level. Of course there’s a certain value that comes to the title that’s assigned by the company at large, but I think there’s a theme this year about the prestige to the titles changing.
Titan might be the best of the best in Mexico
— So let’s get into the BOSJ schedule. We won’t know the matcgh order of the final block night until later, but you’re currently down for five main events.
Desperado: Like I said, I really don’t care about match order. But I am conscious of the spot I’m put in. If you’re positioned as a main eventer, if you’re going last, you aren’t dessert. You’re the entrée, and you have to wrestle accordingly.
— Five main events is the most of anyone in this tournament.
Desperado: I mean, it’s a humble brag, but it says that the promotion knows that my matches won’t miss. Then again, there could well be other people that can rise to that task, and it wouldn’t be a bad idea to give them more shots.
— I see.
Desperado: Then you can look at this one night I have Clark Connors on seventh (May 22, Osaka). Anyone can tell you that’s going to be a wild match, and things will get crazy and they’ll have to take time and tidy up afterward. So that should be the main and I assumed it would be. So I’m ticked about that.
— We’ll get into Clark later, but first on May 11 you have Titan (interview conducted before tournament start).
Desperado: He’s always in phenomenal shape. I think he may be one of the best of the best even in the environment Mexico creates. Obviously he beat me last year, and he’s Dragon Screw just about destroyed my ankle. So win or lose, I have to be careful about the Dragon Screw most of all if I’m going to keep in the hunt for the tournament.
— May 13 in Korakuen is Kosei Fujita.
Desperado: He really is a punk… but that’s what makes him interesting. I think where it comes down to business he’s actually pretty orthodox, and then it’s the dressing around that where he’s this brash kid. I think he has the balance down.
— He recently wrestled DOUKI in Taiwan.
Desperado: He’s so young. He’s really someone who only comes along once in a blue moon who can do so much so early. Like, it’s not potential with him. What he has right now is incredible.
— May 15 in Niigata, BUSHI.
Desperado: The BUSHI streak continues for me (laughs). It’s never BUSHI and Hiromu in the same block, is it?
— This is a match that’s happened a lot in BOSJ. Any memories that stand out from those?
Desperado: I remember one year taking an enzuigiri from him and just crumpling. In the last league match too. When was that…
Blake Christian’s like a young Will Ospreay
— In Hachioji you’ll have Kevin Knight, a first time singles match for you.
Desperado: First singles, but he’s flown at me in junior tag league.
— He certainly has hops.
Desperado: He has that physical ability, and his build too, really, what’s the word? Lithe. And a really serious guy.
— Serious?
Desperado: Like very earnest I guess. I think when you see him and KUSHIDA together, it’s a lot of KUSHIDA’s ideas that you’re seeing, him bringing his experience to that pair.
— That’s certainly a strength for that team.
Desperado: And KUSHIDA has that experience, brings those ideas to Kevin, and he has the ability and the discipline to make it happen. So I’m interested in seeing in a singles environment, him bringing that sane ability. He’s got a phenomenal look too- I’m not sure about that old orange tracksuit he had though (laughs)
— How do you think this one will play out?
Desperado: I really don’t want his skills et to go to waste. I want to make sure everyone gets to see the amazing athlete he is before I beat him. That’s always the way I want to wrestle. I want to bring the best out of the best and then beat the best. Nobody wants squash matches.
— May 19 in Nagoya, Blake Christian.
Desperado: I had the three way match with him and Hiromu in 2022. That moustache makes him look middle aged, but he’s actually super young. Their builds are very different, but in terms of what he can do, he reminds me of a young Will Ospreay.
— This is a main event, so certainly there’ll be eyes on him trying to show his best.
Desperado: Oh, he’ll show his best if he’s in there with me, no problem.
— May 21 in Himeji, the main event has you and Yoshinobu Kanemaru.
Desperado: This is like the eye of the storm in A Block.
— How do you feel he’s changed since joining HOUSE OF TORTURE?
Desperado: He hasn’t (laughs). He’s doing the same things we did teaming together. I think I’m the one that’s changed. It’s wild how much of a reassurance he is to have on your side, and how tough he can be as an opponent.
— One assumes you have to be ready for anything with H.O.T.
Desperado: Well, you just have to factor it in, but then, maybe I can’t remember, but I don’t think you see that much in the way of runins with his matches. I mean there was in our title match… Taguchi, Umino and Tanahashi came to make the save, and Tanahashi was super late, heheh. Maybe things will be different in a league match.
TJP is either just a genius or some kind of cyborg
— Your seventh match in Osaka is against Clark Connors.
Desperado’ I wasn’t expecting it at the time, but when we wrestled last year he came out swinging with chairs and stuff, so I figure that’s where we’re going.
— It could get hardcore.
Desperado: Right. I don’t really feel like we need hardcore in NJPW, but it’s a case by case deal, and to them, chairs and tables don’t really fall in that bracket. I wouldn’t bring that stuff in myself, but if they come to me with it, I’m game.
— To change the subject a little, it was certainly a hardcore match in that Dog Pound Cage in Osaka between the War Dogs and United Empire. What did you think of that match?
Desperado: I was on commentary for that. It was pretty exhausting. A whole hour of violence. But what I think isn’t as important as what the people thought. People either seemed to love it or hate it, there wasn’t any middle ground.
— You’re right there.
Desperado: I think that’s a good thing. Something that drives an opinion one way or the other. You can’t stay neutral on it. Whether it draws people or turns them off, well, I’m not sure.
— Then you have TJP in Yoyogi.
Desperado: Yoyogi was where I had that match with (Jun) Kasai (in September 2022), and where I lost to Titan last year. I’m not sure whether it’s a good or bad omen.
— TJP has brought that Aswang persona at times.
Desperado: It’s kind of like Keiji Muto bringing the Great Muta out. I don’t know whether it’s something within him he can call on, or whether it comes naturally, but I really like that sort of mysterious character. If you can change at the right points, it’s almost like one wrestler becomes two different people.
— TJP brings 25 years of experience with him.
Desperado: He has this kind of genius that’s only unlocked through work ethic. He isn’t someone who thinks of something and can just do it, he’s someone that’s worked and worked and worked at it until he’s incredible. When I wrestled him in a league match begfore, he just seemed like a cyborg to me.
— A cyborg?
Desperado: Like, every single thing perfectly precise. 100% dealt to maximise the impact and damage done, like he’s got a super computer in his head.
— TJP has become the captain of sorts for United Empire in Will Ospreay’s departure.
Desperado: It’s interesting for a junior heavyweight to be positioned, or position himself at the head of a faction. I think the last time has to be Prince Devitt at the very start of BULLET CLUB. It’s interesting for sure.
— Your last block match on May 30 will be against HAYATA.
Desperado: For some reason we were put on the same side at All Together. I hadn’t seen anything he’ d done for a while so I went back and watched some video. He’s someone who you can tell has the tools, not by his words, but by the aura he creates. He’s a character for sure.
— He’s the current GHC National Champion in NOAH.
Desperado: A little like how Lin-chan (El Lindaman) was a champion when he came into the tournament. It certainly gives that match a little extra spice, potentially.
I want Drilla Moloney to make it through. DOUKI has to make it through.
— June 3 in Korakuen, we’ll have the semi final matches. Who from B Block would you like to see advance?
Desperado: Not SHO. Just the style of match that would be, it isn’t right for a BOSJ situation.
— I see. And who would you like it to be?
Desperado: I’d really like to wrestle Drilla Moloney. I think this year DOUKI needs to make it through. I’m sure Taiji Ishimori will at least make the top two, but if it was a question of wanting to wrestle him or not, I’d say I don’t. I have my hands full with Kanemaru and TJP when it comes to that type of guy.
— Anyone else?
Desperado: Well, when it comes to the connections I have with them, DOUKI… and Akira. Last year in our match, with TJP getting involved, it really was pro-wrestling at its peak in my mind.
— That battle of you trying to submit Akira when he had no quit in him.
Desperado: I saw a bit of Robbie Eagles in Akira right there. Like Robbie’s got a cute babyface, but he can be mean, and he can have a mouth on him. Akira, I didn’t want to injure him, but he just wouldn’t give up until I really made him.
— Thoughts on former winners like KUSHIDA and Hiromu?
Desperado: They’ve both just crushed tournaments in the past, so if they should just crush the B Block if they’re able.
— We have a lot of participants from outside promotions this year. Any thoughts on that?
Desperado: I still think MAO should be in there, or Lindaman again. But you know, it all comes down to schedules and whatnot.
— You’d like to see even more outsiders.
Desperado: I’ve got nothing but gratitude for the guys coming in. Especially Dragon Dia, on short notice with Taguchi’s injury. You have to appreciate that.
I’d say, anyone but Hiromu in the final
— So to finish up, who would you like in Osaka Jo Hall June 9?
Desperado: This is going to sound weird because if I had to say I wouldn’t want to face them. But KUSHIDA or Ishimori.
— Really?
Desperado: I hate talking about standings and rankings in this business, but I read an interesting article that Danshoku Dieno (DDT) wrote recently that reframed it in my mind. Put it this way; say it was me and Francesco Akira in the main event. Whoever wins, you have a very emotional story there, right?
— I would say so, after what happened last year.
Desperado: And that emotional connection, emotional resonance is really important to pro-wrestling. But when you get to a tournament final, it isn’t really about that emotion in my mind. It’s about the two best having a hell of a match and leaving the fans saying with no complaints ‘that’s the guy’. Someone to where there’s no doubt in anyone’s mind. So to me that means out of the lineup, Hiromu, Ishimori or KUSHIDA.
— Those three meet the qualifications so to speak.
Desperado: I think those are the three everyone has to beat in B Block. Then you add in a former champion like Robbie Eagles. And SHO… well SHO might be fine in a title match. I wouldn’t want him ruining the festival mood.
— There might be people expecting you to complete a trilogy of finals with Hiromu Takahashi…
Desperado: I get that, I do, but when people talk about wanting me to wrestle him, I want to clap back that we’ve done it already. We could leave it and not touch for another five years, and people will still say ‘oh, those guys again?’
— I see your point.
Desperado: I tihknk the time for me to beat Hiromu and win BOSJ was when he was looking to go three in a row. That’s where the timing was right. If we had me and him in the finals spot again then 100 percent of that crowd would be convinced I was winning and that would be no fun.
— I see.
Desperado: Like I can imagine going through everything in B Block, making it through the semifinal and then hearing ‘Despe, Desperado!’ coming out of him and all of the fans just knowing he wasn’t going to win. That would be a really tough situation. Hiromu kind of has a curse around Osaka Jo Hall anyway, y’know. So really, in the final, it’s an ‘anyone but Hiromu’ situation.
If I don’t win, people will blame me focusing on the Invitacional. I don’t want to jinx it.
— So what would you say is the big theme for you in this tournament?
Desperado: I mean, it kind of has to be the same. I’ve never won this, and if I haven’t won it I can’t tell what it’s like to win it. So my theme, same as ever, is I want to win it. That simple.
— The day after the final, you’ll be in charge of the Despe Invitacional in Korakuen Hall.
Desperado: I never knew it would be the next day. It’s a real tight spot. If I don’t make the final, everyone will say it’s because I was focusing on this, so that will just jinx the whole thing.
— You feel you have to go in having won it.
Desperado: It’s lit a fire under my ass for sure, but then again, I never figured that they’d stretch the BOSJ out to June 9; it wasn’t my fault.
— Still the potential of bringing the trophy with you to your self produced show, that’s really something.
Desperado: I’ve been looking forward to this, and lined up a bunch of people I’d want to wrestle. There’s only one of me, so I can only have one match, but I still think there’ll be this sense of anything can happen at any time. I’m honestly excited to just enjoy it.
— But you don’t want it to be a commiseration prize for you.
Desperado: Right, it’d be a real bummer to come in on a loss. So I’ll definitely win BOSJ….it’s just that I really got screwed on the date. Make sure everyone knows I didn’t get smartened up about the final being the day before.
— Of course. Your final thoughts on BOSJ?
Desperado: I think we covered it all… Oh wait, one last thing- stop selling scalp tickets, asshats!
