Desperado moves to V1 with junior title
The main event January 23 in Korakuen Hall on the road to New Beginning pit El Desperado in his first defence as IWGP Junior heavyweight Champion against Yoshinobu Kanemaru.
The entirety of HOUSE OF TORTURE was in the corner of Kanemaru before the match started, with champion El Desperado having to go it alone after Master Wato was out of commission with a torn ACL. Kanemaru would send his allies to the back, a decision that brought more suspicion than security as the two tied up. Kanemaru was a step ahead of the champion in the early going, baiting Desperado in and maintaining a snug headlock; as Desperado created motion, Kanemaru cut it off with a dropkick to the knee, and on the outside, a guillotine legdrop over the guardrail gave the Heel Master full control.
Splitting the legs of Desperado and following with a blockbuster, Kanemaru remained in charge. It was a side suplex, and then a second center ring that saw the tide turn, and Desperado followed with a pair of Dragon Screws in the corner; now able to exploit a weakness on the challenger, Desperado started to build momentum, and as Desperado went for Guitarra Del Angel an escape for Kanemaru saw him jam his knee again. Still the Heel Master had more in the knee than he was letting on, and after baiting the champion in, landed a satellite DDT; his Deep Impact attempt would be caught into a spinebuster though, and Desperado found Numero Dos.
As Kanemaru screamed in pain, SHO made his way to ringside, and Ren narita followed behind. With Desperado in danger, Shota Umino hit the ring to tear into Narita, while Hiroshi Tanahashi and Ryusuke Taguchi saw to it that H.O.T was out of the picture. Still, Kanemaru had the presence to realise the corner had been exposed and drove the champion into the steel before a British Fall set up a moonsault to the back for a near two and damage exacerbated by a hard Boston Crab. Deep Impact followed for Kanemaru, but Desperado kicked out at a long two.
With Touch Out the last key to victory left, Kanemaru hooked the champion but was denied with a suplex from Desperado. Guitarra Del Angel followed up for two, and though Kanemaru put the brakes on Pinche Loco, Desperado went back to the knees. A desperate challenger tried for flash pins and then an enzuigiri, but was caught into Numero Dos, prompting EVIL and Dick Togo to hit the ring, but Tama Tonga would make the save. Kanemaru caught Desperado in the exposed buckle but the champion escaped Touch Out and an extra twist on Numero Dos brought a submission victory.
El Desperado thanked his Hontai allies on the mic and backstage, but was jumped by SHO who asserted that he would challenge next. El Desperado’s battles with HOUSE OF TORTURE in 2024 are far from over.
