[2018-05-23-NJPW-Best of the Super Juniors] Hiromu Takahashi vs El Desperado

[Boss Rock]

An awesomely violent and hate-filled match that drove home how much these two hate each other since the Junior tag feud. Hiromu jumps Desperado at the start and brawls with him all the way up to the higher-level seats where he nails a fantastic shotgun dropkick. Back in the ring we get some wonderful mask-tearing before Desperado mounts his comeback. From there, it's an absolute bombfest with both guys going for broke in trying to kill the other. Desperado eventually reaches the point where he realizes he can't beat Hiromu in a fair fight and tries every dirty trick in the book to put him away. And yet Hiromu still kicks out of nearly everything and looks like he might be able to pull it off. In the end, Desperado has one final trick up his sleeve to steal the win, but Hiromu still makes him earn it.

 

I loved the aggression and desperation in this match and there were so many cool touches like Hiromu literally dragging Desperado down the steps and Desperado making a mouth hole in his mask to help him breathe easier when fatigue was setting in. My only issue was that with how many tricks Desperado needed to put Hiromu away with, I feel like Hiromu still finding a way to overcome would have been a more satisfying conclusion. Still, this was awesome.

 

Best match of the tournament thus far. ****1/4