00:00...nuy man to defend the Junior Heavyweight title in the last decade
00:04...and that against his eternal foe Hiromu Takahashi
00:07...60分 imponchévou goonaimasu
00:11...
00:14...
00:15Despey has walked an unconventional path
00:20...
00:22...
00:23...started wrestling
00:24...
00:26...
00:26...well I guess this iteration of the man started wrestling on dirt floors in Mexico
00:33...
00:34...before making his first appearance to a New Japan Pro Wrestling audience one decade ago
00:45In 2023 alone he's walked an unconventional path
00:50...doing everything from Best of the Super Junior to the Tournament of Survival
00:56Everything from Matt Vassix to Final Death against Jon Moxler
01:01...
01:02...and for him when it comes to Hiromu Takahashi
01:05...the Tokyo Dome could be anywhere
01:07...it could be Shinkiba First Ring
01:09...it could be a car park in Akihabara
01:11...because he started as one man
01:16...and he became another
01:19...
01:19...whether he's the man that perhaps on one day wore black tights
01:24...and angered was the enemy of Hiromu Takahashi
01:28...perhaps the Namahage in Mexico
01:32...he wanted to be reborn stronger
01:34...he wanted to be
01:36...to live stronger
01:38...maybe not cleaner
01:39...maybe a lot bloodier
01:40...and maybe not as the face of this division
01:44...but perhaps tonight
01:45...over Hiromu Takahashi
01:47...he might not be the face of the division
01:50...but he might be the best within it
01:52...
01:52...
01:53...
01:54...
02:05...14 and 6 singles in 2023
02:07...
02:09...across all promotions
02:100.7 a career fest
02:12...
02:17...
02:17...
02:17...
02:21...1 and 1 singles in the Tokyo Dome
02:23...1 loss to Robbie Eagles two years ago
02:26...1 win
02:27...yes
02:28...against Hiromu Takahashi
02:31...
02:34...
02:35...
02:35...
02:35...
02:37...sounds like there's a lot of Despy fans in the building
02:41...
02:42...
02:44...
02:55...
02:56...
02:57...
02:57...
03:07...
03:09...
03:10...
03:10...
03:11...
03:11...
03:15...
03:15...
03:16...
03:16...
03:16...
03:16...
03:16...
03:17...
03:18...
03:18...
03:18...
03:19...
03:20...
03:20qui, une année à l'heure,
03:22a Wrestle Kingdom 17
03:24déthrowne Taiji Ishimori
03:26pour la Junior Heavyweight Championship.
03:28Mais, keep in mind, Chris Charlton,
03:29c'était une four-way match-up
03:31aussi involving Master Watto
03:33et le man qu'il face au contraire tonight,
03:35El Desperado.
03:37Et au cours de l'année dernière,
03:40il a été Noromo Takahashi
03:43qui a walké through Master Watto,
03:46qui a walké through Taiji Ishimori
03:48à Power Struggle.
03:49Mais, on a collision course
03:52qui a brought us all the way
03:54à la Tokyo Dome
03:56pour Wrestle Kingdom 18
03:57un année d'année dernière.
03:59Vous parlez de leurs dernières rencontres,
04:01ce qui se passe aujourd'hui.
04:03C'est El Desperado et Hiromu Takahashi.
04:06Hiromu Takahashi n'est pas wrestling
04:08ce match juste pour faire
04:09Desperado off a list
04:11et accomplir ce qu'il a fait l'année dernière.
04:13Il est wrestling ce match
04:14parce qu'il a une fois,
04:16il a hâte, hâte,
04:18le man que Desperado
04:19s'est battu.
04:21Et il a appris,
04:22il a appris,
04:23qu'il a appris,
04:24qu'il a appris,
04:24qu'il a appris,
04:26qu'il a appris,
04:26qu'il a appris,
04:27qu'il a appris.
04:27Mais ça a dépassé
04:29l'arrivée entre ces deux hommes.
04:31Desperado broadens ses horizons
04:33avant que Hiromu n'a appris,
04:35qu'il a appris.
04:35Desperado est le seul homme
04:37à battre Hiromu
04:40sur cette scène.
04:42Desper est la plus grande
04:43à Hiromu's status
04:45à la Junior Ace,
04:46même si Desperado n'a jamais
04:48voulait cette position.
04:50pour Desper,
04:51ça pourrait être quelque chose.
04:53Mais pour Hiromu,
04:55ça doit être ici.
04:57Ça doit être un gagnant
04:58dans le Tokyo-Dôme.
05:00Et Hiromu dit à Walker,
05:01c'est la dernière fois,
05:03qu'il a appris à des Desperado
05:06à quelque chose d'autre
05:07que le Main Event.
05:11Le Carreau !
05:19Et c'est pourquoi, Chris,
05:23c'est le plus grand
05:24à Hiromu Takahashi.
05:28Et c'est une throne
05:32que le Desperado n'a jamais voulu.
05:35Et c'est une throne
05:35Mais il a récente
05:36a l'envie,
05:38a l'envie,
05:38a l'envie de la starlight,
05:40la spotlight,
05:41le rôle que Hiromu Takahashi
05:43a played in the junior
05:43heavyweight division
05:44over the course of the past
05:45years,
05:46et cover here,
05:47c'est-à-dire qu'il
05:48a l'envie de l'envie.
05:49El Desperado,
05:50hot start to this match-up,
05:51gentlemen.
05:52Now, both of these men
05:53have broadened
05:54the spectre
05:55of the junior heavyweight division.
05:56Hiromu Takahashi,
05:58both in Corico in Hall
05:59and Rock in Philadelphia,
06:00the All-Star Junior Festival.
06:02El Desperado,
06:03not just in the Cerulean Blue,
06:05but in death matches
06:06all the way around the world.
06:08They wanna further
06:09this junior heavyweight division.
06:12There's three guys, to me,
06:13in the history of New Japan
06:15Pro Wrestling
06:15that represent
06:16the junior division.
06:18There's Satoru Sayama,
06:20the original Tiger Mask,
06:21there's Jushin Thunder Liger,
06:22and there's Hiromu Takahashi.
06:25Humble as ever,
06:27good on you.
06:28Once in a while.
06:29It's gonna be El Desperado,
06:31who comes in with the Lariat
06:32into the corner.
06:34And Fireman's Carry,
06:35good positioning,
06:36bad spot for Hiromu.
06:37And Walker, we cannot,
06:40well, look out,
06:42as we'll see whether El Desperado
06:44can find his target here,
06:45during a sigh-like splash incoming.
06:49Whoa, whoa.
06:50And this is...
06:52This one already off the races
06:53from the get-go,
06:54before the opening bell,
06:56but the bell is now sounded
06:57with the 60-minute time limit.
06:58Into place, the drop kick,
07:00directly to the jaw.
07:01No, I think it was higher up, Walker.
07:03I think it was right around
07:05that right eye.
07:06And it was two years ago,
07:08in that Junior Heavyweight Championship match,
07:10El Desperado walked away
07:12with a swollen black eye.
07:14Man.
07:16Wow.
07:16And the consequences,
07:18perhaps, of that,
07:19was at the end of this year,
07:21El Desperado missing time
07:22to have eye surgery,
07:25was asked by Hiromu
07:26whether he was 100%.
07:28El Desperado laughed it off,
07:30said, well, he had a little eyelid
07:32nip and tuck as well.
07:34But it has to be a concern for Despair,
07:37and it has to be a target for Hiromu.
07:39Yeah, we're gonna be talking about
07:40eyes and orbital bones
07:41throughout the rest of the evening.
07:43You can bet that,
07:44that landing tied up.
07:46Oh, man.
07:55Yeah, you also have to think
07:57about the brutal wars that Despi
08:00has put himself through in the last year.
08:02With Jon Moxley,
08:05in the other tag matches with Jun Kasai.
08:10What kind of damage has that done?
08:18Sorry to interrupt,
08:19but the calluses that puts in you,
08:22and the tolerance to pain,
08:24nobody can withstand more pain than El Desperado Walker.
08:27That's true.
08:28Right about that one,
08:29Hiromu Takahashi is going to be testing that,
08:31and taking it to its limit here tonight,
08:33in this IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship matchup.
08:43Desperado popped up.
08:45Could have been thinking Spinebuster,
08:46not going to be able to connect with it.
08:47Both of these men know each other like the backs of their own hands.
08:50It's due to the amount of times they faced off before.
08:53And the Spinebuster connects folded in on the cover.
08:56Man, no.
08:58So- There it is,
08:59signature of El Desperado.
09:02Always, always, always, he'll never go just for a cover.
09:06He'll always look for the kick out to transition into that stretch muffler.
09:11Try for numero dos, can he get your arms?
09:14Yeah.
09:15And immediately to that bottom rope, Hiromu finds a way to break it up.
09:19How interesting would it be if he tapped Hiromu right there?
09:25Change the complexion of the Junior Heavyweight division, that's for sure, Rock.
09:34I feel like Hiromu was, in a sense when he came back as the time bomb back from Excursion,
09:42after that success he had in Mexico.
09:45He was in high spirits because it almost felt like he was free from El Desperado.
09:50When they came around, circled around in Best of the Super Juniors in 2018,
09:54saw that ominous note that he had written,
09:56I know who you are and I hate you.
10:01And that relationship, it went through twists and turns.
10:07And it wasn't until I think that El Desperado unmasked himself,
10:12showed his true face to Hiromu Takahashi,
10:14that Hiromu understood that he didn't know who Despe was.
10:19El Desperado is El Desperado.
10:23Oh, and Hiromu is a Hiromu with a bad wheel run.
10:27Yeah, right off the bat, that stretch muffler, paying dividends already.
10:33It's gonna continue to be the target as Desperado plants,
10:37Hiromu in the kick out.
10:47That are well familiar with each other's past,
10:49their previous injuries that they face in their careers.
10:53Those are gonna be things that are taken advantage of,
10:56because it is all about the Junior Heavyweight Championship,
10:59the top prize in Junior Heavyweight Wrestling in the world.
11:09He could be setting up for Pinchai Loco.
11:12Could we see it?
11:13No.
11:14Yeah.
11:16Trying to bring those arms down, now he does.
11:21Hiromu, backdrop counter.
11:23But Despi not waiting.
11:25Yeah, smart move from Desperado,
11:27have to stay on top of Hiromu Takahashi.
11:30Oh, it's taking time bomb for Risa on a bad wheel though.
11:34Oh, nearly a shot block, and here it is.
11:37Oh, one for that wheelbarrow.
11:44Oh!
11:45Wheelbarrow Flatliner gets the job done.
11:48Sealing the deal.
11:49And look at this, grasping at that eye is El Desperado.
11:52Yeah, I mean, we said it, said it earlier on with Tsuji Nurimura,
11:56you can't train your face no matter what you do.
11:58No matter how many hours you spend in the gym.
12:03I believe that's the left eye, Chris, of El Desperado.
12:06You're right, you're right, the left eye, yeah.
12:08Okay, go, go, go, go.
12:09Talking about the left eye of El Desperado, the left leg of Hiromu Takahashi.
12:13So we have two injured body parts that both men are capable and
12:18completely willing to focus on in this matchup, as we've seen throughout its duration so far.
12:27Yeah.
12:28And risk control there, Hiromu trying to hoist it.
12:30And after that DVD in the corner, he'll use that to set up for his signature offense.
12:34Desperado.
12:35Ooh.
12:36Yeah, super kick.
12:38Connects the thrust, the force from Hiromu Takahashi.
12:42Continuing to beam felt, rebound German.
12:46Faded him in perfectly, used his momentum against him, delivered a beautiful German suplex.
12:53There's a reason, as you said, Rocky, that Hiromu Takahashi is synonymous with the term junior heavyweight.
12:59Oh, great counter.
13:00Look out, look out, look out, he's got it, he's got it.
13:03He's got it.
13:03Right back into the leg lock.
13:06Man, that stretch muffler.
13:09Gosh.
13:09My gosh.
13:10Look at the crank.
13:13And that forced Hiromu to reach up, and now he's got the arms, and
13:17he's got him in numero dos if he gets the second.
13:19Get out, get out, get out.
13:21Come on.
13:22Get out.
13:23All of the agony being placed on the spine, on the arm, the ligaments of Hiromu Takahashi.
13:29Scream out in pain.
13:30Not just that rock as he tries to sit up.
13:33Yeah, he's trying to sit up.
13:34Yeah, he's trying to sit up.
13:34The left pec as well, being wrenched by that hold.
13:37Oh!
13:39Destroyer!
13:41What a counter!
13:43That's the, oh!
13:45Hiromu-chan bomber.
13:50That left knee tortured by numero dos, so too was the left pec that was torn off the bone in
13:572021.
13:58While Hiromu was IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion.
14:02He had to vacate that title.
14:04That's how El Desperado won his first IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.
14:09And never lived down the fact that he didn't beat Hiromu Queen to do it.
14:15Yeah!
14:15And up on the shoulders once again, could be thinking it.
14:20Time bomb.
14:23Connects center of the ring, cover here, hook of the leg, and the kick out once more from Desperado.
14:29Yeah, Hiromu just can't get that rotation like he usually does for the time bomb because of that knee.
14:39You take away the base, you take away the power.
14:44Rocky, I gotta ask you, if you're Hiromu Takahashi, you got an injured will, as Chris said earlier.
14:49What's your strategy gonna be?
14:50I'm buying time.
14:51I'm buying time.
14:52No rush here.
14:54You know you've got 60 minutes on the clock.
14:57Buy time.
14:58Take the match outside.
15:03Punish him a little bit.
15:05Well, I mean, it might not be much longer if he can have the base for Time Bomb 2.
15:12Can he?
15:14Will he?
15:15Uh-oh.
15:15Good.
15:16No, no, no, no.
15:17Cradled.
15:18Yeah, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
15:21Slipping out underneath, it's Hiromu Takahashi.
15:24El Desperado planted up on that top rope though.
15:27Yet again, that knee being messed up.
15:32Didn't have the base for that final lift.
15:40Well, Mario Sami telling Hiromu, get him down.
15:44Hiromu might say, yeah, sure, how about this?
15:49Oh.
15:52Caught by Desperado.
15:55Again, Rocky.
15:57Not enough spring.
15:59And he'll bounce off the mat.
16:01Here we go.
16:03Do it.
16:07I think I saw the back of Hiromu's head bounce off the canvas.
16:14Le man avec des histoires d'injuris que Hiromu Takahashi a ce qui n'est pas un bon
16:19quand il y a des IWGP junior heavyweight championship reigns et gold
16:24qui est dans le balance tonight.
16:30Nous avons parlé de créer un petit peu de séparation, Rocky.
16:34C'est un petit peu de space.
16:35El Desperado, c'est pas exactement de l'aide à l'injurie.
16:39C'est un plus long de recovery process de l'unité de l'unité de l'unité.
16:42Pour sure, I mean, the eye is such a sensitive area,
16:48and there's really not much you can do about it.
16:56But that back suplex from the top rope there really took a toll on both these men.
17:01Game-changing moment for El Desperado and Hiromu Takahashi.
17:05The Junior Heavyweight Championship lies in the balance once more between these two men.
17:13See the pain reverberating?
17:16You can see it in the face of Hiromu.
17:19You can see it in the roadmap of Skars.
17:23Oh, and another one.
17:24And these will be knockout shots to any lesser men.
17:27Oh, jeez.
17:28It might be knockout shots to Hiromu.
17:30He's out.
17:31He's out.
17:31He's toast.
17:32He's toast, Walker.
17:33I think he's still got life.
17:35He's still got life.
17:36It's still there.
17:39He's just a little concussed.
17:40He's still good.
17:42Oh, but this clenched to the fist.
17:45Monoloco will end it.
17:47Yeah!
17:48Oh!
17:48Thrust kick lands.
17:50That switch is flipping with Hiromu Takahashi thrust kick.
17:55Off the ropes, popping bomber lariat.
17:59The Hiromu-chan bomber.
18:03And now it's Despe who's on Stream Street.
18:08But it's Hiromu who can barely stand.
18:11He's gonna have to use every ounce he has left.
18:14No!
18:16Whoa!
18:19Drops him down.
18:26And we could see a pinch out.
18:29Here we go!
18:30Oh!
18:31New champ!
18:32New champ!
18:33Pince Loco, this is crazy!
18:36No!
18:37No!
18:41Look into the eyes.
18:42As damaged as they may be of El Desperado.
18:50Two years ago in the Tokyo Dome.
18:55Despe rolled one Pince Loco into a second.
18:58This time perhaps Despe knows he doesn't have as much in the tank.
19:02Went with just one and only got two from the ref.
19:06But here's the second version Walker.
19:08There it is Pince Loco once again.
19:10The vertical does not connect though.
19:11Here we go.
19:13Here we go.
19:13The wall, the wall, the wall!
19:16That's how he beat Ishimori.
19:18Holds on.
19:21And double underhook Pince Loco!
19:26Oh!
19:26Oh God!
19:27Pince Loco crying in a second this time!
19:32Pince Loco!
19:38The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion is named El Desperado.
19:53And oh, Yoromo's quest for the record defenses of the Junior Heavyweight Championship.
20:03Faye in status as El Desperado once again.
20:12Not the face but the head of the Junior Heavyweight Division.
20:18Well, perhaps, in the minds and the hearts and the ears and eyes of this Tokyo Dome crowd walker,
20:26El Desperado is the face of the Junior Heavyweight Division.
20:30There's potential for anything but one thing is for certain for El Desperado.
20:37If you want to become synonymous with the term Junior Heavyweight,
20:45you have to beat the synonym himself and that is Hiromu Takahashi.
20:50The victory is awarded to El Desperado and you can't say it is not deserved, Rocky.
20:58It could be in a car park, right?
21:00It could be at Shinkiba.
21:03But no, that was right here in the biggest stage of them all,
21:07Wrestle Kingdom 18 in the Tokyo Dome.
21:11Congratulations to El Desperado.
21:16Hey, Chris Brooks.
21:18You might have a championship match when you think this.
21:22I think you'll have to go some to convince the IWGP committee to wrestle Death Worm.
21:27But all the same, who knows what El Desperado is going to do with that Junior Heavyweight Championship.
21:35Sorry, did you say Death Worm?
21:37Yeah.
21:37All right, we're going to have to talk about that one later.
21:53Certainly, it would have been the same level of fight, the same level of heart in any building in the
21:59world.
22:00What the hell is this, this is so crazy to say, is the community and what are you doing about
22:00it,
22:00Everything is common, you're kunging.
