NJPW: 5 highlights from the first half of Best of the Super Juniors

There are certain wrestlers who you’ll always remember seeing for the first time. For me, El Phantasmo now fits into that category.

A name I’d heard a lot in the past year but had yet to actually see in action, ELP was a complete mystery to me. He had the benefit of having a vignette aired in the weeks leading up to his debut and all that was revealed about him was that he would wrestle under the banner of Bullet Club.

In his very first match in New Japan, ELP teamed with Taiji Ishimori to surprise Will Ospreay and Dragon Lee with an upset victory. More importantly, he pinned Ospreay to immediately establish himself as a threat to every wrestler up and down the New Japan roster.

Over the past several months, Ospreay has been built as one of the most dominant and dynamic wrestlers in the company. Able to shift seamlessly between the Junior and Heavyweight divisions, Ospreay is the type of hybrid wrestler who epitomizes professional wrestling in its current form.

With a win over Ospreay, ELP was instantly put on the map. As if that wasn’t enough, he has gone on – so far – to remain undefeated in the tournament.

It isn’t all about the in-ring ability of El Phantasmo that captivates fans, though. ELP has walked into New Japan with a swagger reminiscent of former Bullet Club leader Prince Devitt, and isn’t shy about dishing out insults and a little bit of destruction of personal property to the ringside fans.

We’re not talking about trading verbal barbs back and forth with adult fans shouting insults at the wrestler. No, ELP’s targets are of a very specific demographic – like the time at ringside he flipped off a literal infant. Or, one of the many times he took a child’s hat and threw it across the arena.

Even his most ardent supporters aren’t safe evidenced by this youngster who had his cardboard RevPro replica title bent over The Headbanger’s knee.

Without seeing him in the ring, it’d be easy to write El Phantasmo off as a goofy character who enjoys making children miserable. For years, Chuck Taylor rode a similar line by making it a point to make children in the audience cry and tremble with fear. What both of them have been able to do though, is couple over the top behavior with fantastic performances.

I’ve mentioned before that the Junior Heavyweight division has felt like a bit of an afterthought for a while in New Japan. While many of the stars shining bright in this tournament help boost it to another level, El Phantasmo is a wrestler who can truly turn an entire division around with his performances alone.

With jaw-dropping Best of the Super Juniors matches, and victories, against Bandido, Ospreay, and Robbie Eagles amongst others, ELP is making a case for himself being the next man whose shoulders can bear the weight of the entire Junior Heavyweight division.

Plus, with the similarities in look, attitude, and swagger to the aforementioned Prince Devitt, could we see another absolute breakout performer take Bullet Club to new heights? While Jay White is the appointed leader of the group, ELP may be the one who embodies the true rebel spirit of the faction more than anyone else currently wearing the black and white.