Daisuke Sasaki Shocks El Desperado at NJPW Best of the Super Jr. 33 Night 1

By: Ian McCord

New Japan Pro Wrestling’s 33rd annual Best of the Super Jr. kicked off on May 14th, with 1,445 fans in attendance to witness nine block matches at the legendary Korakuen Hall.

In the semi-main event of the evening, DDT Pro-Wrestling star and hardcore wrestling enthusiast Daisuke Sasaki took on NJPW’s resident hardcore aficionado, El Desperado, in an exciting matchup that saw both men pull out all the stops to start the tournament off on the right foot.

One of the big moments in the match saw Daisuke Sasaki hit a huge diving elbow drop to the outside onto El Desperado, who was propped up in a chair in the front row. DDT would post the clip to their social media, explaining that Sasaki only pulls out the elbow drop to the outside during big matches.

From DDT Pro-Wrestling via X:

“Sasaki unleashes a diving elbow drop to the outside—a move he only pulls off in the biggest matches!”

Sasaki would ultimately walk away with the victory after a sneaky low blow allowed the DDT star to trap El Desperado in his Cross Facelock finishing hold for the submission victory.

During his post-match comments, Sasaki, who’s competing in his first BOSJ since 2012, would state that momentum is on his side after defeating former IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion El Desperado and that he’s ready to keep the momentum going in his next match against KUSHIDA.

From Daisuke Sasaki:

 “At yesterday’s press conference, I said something like, ‘I’m just gonna go ahead and win the title,’ but even I was a bit skeptical myself. But now that I’ve beaten Desperado, I can actually see ‘winning the title’ becoming a reality, man! Let’s keep this momentum going. Who’s next? KUSHIDA! I’ve got some unfinished business with you, too, man.”

(English Translations via DeepL)

Daisuke Sasaki will take on KUSHIDA on night 2 of the Best of the Super Jr. on May 16th at Esforta Arena Hachioji.

Here are the full results from NJPW Best of the Super Jr. 33 Night 1 on May 14th courtesy of purolove.com:

• Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Taiji Ishimori [2] defeats Jakob Austin Young [0] (8:10) with a Bone Lock.
• Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: SHO [2] defeats Yoshinobu Kanemaru [0] (3:25) by DQ.
• Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Ryusuke Taguchi [2] defeats Daiki Nagai [0] (6:02) with the Dodon.
• Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Hyo [2] defeats YOH [0] (2:36) with a Samson Driver.
• Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Nick Wayne [2] defeats Robbie X [0] (7:30) with the Wayne’s World.
• Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: KUSHIDA [2] defeats Robbie Eagles [0] (9:11) with the Back to the Future.
• Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Titan defeats Master Wato [0] (8:43) with the Gideon 1:21.
• Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Daisuke Sasaki [2] defeats El Desperado [0] (16:10) with a Cross Facelock.
• Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Kosei Fujita [2] defeats Francesco Akira [0] (16:56) with the Thrill Ride.

Best of the Super Jr. Standings:

A Block:

• Kosei Fujita [2]
• Ryusuke Taguchi [2]
• Nick Wayne [2]
• Titan [2]
• Valiente Jr.
• Jun Kasai
• Daiki Nagai [0]
• Master Wato [0]
• Francesco Akira [0]
• Robbie X [0]

B Block:

• Daisuke Sasaki [2]
• KUSHIDA [2]
• Taiji Ishimori [2]
• Hyo [2]
• SHO [2]
• YOH [0]
• El Desperado [0]
• Robbie Eagles [0]
• Jakob Austin Young [0]
• Yoshinobu Kanemaru [0]