NJPW King of Pro Wrestling 2019: Results, Highlights and Analysis

SHO & YOH (R3K) vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado (SZG) – El Desperado’s Comeback

The biggest highlight of this match was El Desperado’s return after about a five-month break from injury. He’s given the fanfare of being first to the ring with Kanemaru as his entrance plays, and this time he’s wearing the same clothing he wore to the deathmatch in which he was injured – ‘blood stains’ and all.

This match begins about as you’d expect, with Kanemaru and Desperado on the offensive before R3K have finished their entrance, knocking them off of the ring posts. The Suzuki-gun tag team have reasonable incentive for such a strong opening, with the Super Jr Tag League starting soon. R3K won the last two years in the row and challenged for both tag team titles over the past few months, so they’re a team to watch closely.

SZG begins strong, with Desperado physically stonewalling a series of chops from YOH, before getting pulled into a combination attack. Kanemaru comes into the ring to intervene and gets drop kicked back out by YOH, and the fight turns in R3K’s favor.

A notable spot in this match is after SHO attacks Desperado with kicks to the chest and strikes to the face, at which point Desperado collapses back towards the ropes and cradles his jaw. Using his known and very recent injury to play upon the emotions of R3K works — SHO backs off and everyone in the ring is distracted long enough for Kanemaru to rush in and for SZG to once again gain the upper hand. It’s typical of Desperado to engage the sympathy of his opponents to get the drop on them and will certainly try to use this new angle to his advantage every single chance he gets.

The match resumes with some quick tags between Kanemaru and Desperado, usually only one snap attack on SHO before switching, until Kanemaru catches him in a Boston Crab while Desperado aggressively blocks YOH from interfering. They maintain control of the match until YOH takes the tag and traps Desperado in a few R3K combination attacks.

The match concludes with Desperado countering SHO’s Shock Arrow into the ref, throwing him into the path of Kanemaru’s Whiskey Mist, and hitting him with a new move: the Loco Mono — a vicious closed fist strike to the face. He pins SHO after a swift Pinche Loco and wins his comeback match, something atypical with wrestlers returning from injury.

What this means for the future of SZG and El Desperado in particular remains speculation at this point, but what’s clear is he’s returned with some newfound spirit and attitude, strong tag efficiency with Kanemaru, and less of an inclination to show weakness. He and Kanemaru remain a strong team with efficient tags, fully prepared to enter the tournament. We’ll see if Desperado continues to wear the disheveled remnants of the match that took him out of the scene — perhaps evidence that he carries more from that fight than the fear of getting injured again.