NJPW: 3 reasons why El Desperado is an ideal wrestler for new fans

THE PERFORMANCE 

The arc of El Desperado can be described as a passionate, years-long ritual resulting from a series of failed and outright rejected romantic overtures towards his peers, the pain and humiliation of which can only be soothed through violence. Because of this, each of the rivalries that stack up in the wake of his many sentimental missteps are unique and distinct, and those nuanced relationships are thoughtfully reflected through his wrestling.

One way that he expresses the complexity of these relationships is through his situational application of various submission holds. He uses the stretch muffler and a modified figure four leg lock mostly indiscriminately, both of which are typically executed with a viciousness that’s conveyed through embellished body language and enthusiastically applied pressure.

For a few opponents who have invited his attention, he has used a move – which after an hour of deliberation can best be described as a weird reverse modified sharpshooter – that locks the legs of his opponent around his knee as he pushes down on their thighs, a move that can look as violent and rough as it needs to be. Sometimes, he throws his head back and laughs over the murmuring of the crowd.

A great example of this is through his rivalry with fellow junior Hiromu Takahashi, with whom he attended the New Japan dojo and endlessly pines for. His use of the boston crab move specifically on Hiromu is almost a promise within every match, and just like his other submission moves, this one is done with such overly-acted villainous enthusiasm that it can’t be mistaken for anything other than a cruel echo of their shared history as young lions. These sentiments routinely carries over into their promo, as well.

With other wrestlers, El Desperado appears to go to great lengths to make them look good, a quality possessive of skill and confidence. He’s quick to sell, cradle his injuries, and beg his opponents not to hurt him when he can gain some leverage through pity. He’s also quick to physically antagonize his opponent, disrespect their relationships to other people, and generally get a rise out of them if it’ll change the course of the fight for the better.

For example, with Dragon Lee – the spitfire young luchador who tends toward rowdy tecnico antics – during last year’s Best of the Super Juniors, El Desperado took every opportunity to appeal to and manipulate his mercy through hesitation and fear, only to attack when his guard was down. After so many offenses to his good nature, Dragon Lee was driven to act outside of expectation and the momentum of their fight turned into something of a grudge match – something emotional and interesting, creating loads of potential for their shared future all in one match.

This introduces a new fan to the collaborative nature of professional wrestling, and the kind of cohesive and transformative narrative that can come from it. One of the most quickly-learned takeaways from the experience is that it takes all kinds to perform something that resonates.

Sometimes, that destructive cocktail of good and bad sportsmanship demands attention from everyone in the room, and that kind of hook is illuminating for a new fan. There are many deep, long-running, and spirited relationships and stories between wrestlers to dive into, once the fascination takes root.

Of course, these qualities aren’t exclusive to El Desperado – there are many wrestlers whose unconventional personalities and in-ring work are a huge draw, but the way they become manifest in him is unique and compelling. And while he’s entertaining at a technical level, there’s also a glimmer of representation for love expressed in ways that are notoriously underrepresented in a lot of media – that’s also a draw, for a lot of new fans.

Sometimes, a new fan will see something athletic and impressive and visually stylish, and it draws them in. Then, they watch a man refuse to be vulnerable in the face of failure and heartbreak in the most visceral and deliberate manner possible, and they stay.