New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) continued the Best of the Super Juniors series (BOSJ 27) on November 23, 2020, at the G Messe Gunma in Gunma, Japan. The COVID-19 (Coronavirus, 2019) reduced crowd of 820 showed up to see a night of Junior Heavyweight action.
The marquee series match of the event saw Suzuki-Gun member El Desperado take on “Way of the Grand Master” Master Wato, who was accompanied by his mentor former four-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroyoshi Tenzan. Desperado came into the match after defeating NJPW Noge Dojo Young Lion Yuya Uemura on November 20th, while Wato dropped the fall to “Funky Weapon” Ryusuke Taguchi on the same night.
With both competitors coming into the match with only one defeat, the top of the BOSJ 27 table was up for grabs. Both had the opportunity to begin their campaign at a far better pace than most would have expected.
The match itself rotated between technical, physical, and high flying as Wato countered the physical brawling and groundwork of El Desperado with his kicking techniques developed during his martial arts training as a youth and high flying Lucha Libre ability picked up during his two-year excursion to Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL).
Wato would catch the sudden victory with a Jackknife Clutch Hold at the 14 minutes and 33 seconds mark. The victory moved Wato to (3-1) [6 points] while El Desperado fell to (2-2) [4 points]. Wato placed himself in a strong position to make a BOSJ 27 Finals run, while Desperado would need to nearly win out in order to give himself a chance to compete for the trophy.
Wato would go on to face Suzuki-Gun member Douki on November 25th, while El Desperado faced CHAOS member Sho on the same night. Desperado’s match with BOSJ 27 frontrunner Sho was a must-win if the Suzuki-Gun member wanted to keep his tournament chances alive.
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