Wrestler Profile

El Desperado

El Desperado is New Japan's masked outlaw poet — the junior heavyweight ace whose ragged charisma and brawling-flavored technical style made Suzuki-gun's quietest member its most beloved export. Behind the tattered mask lies one of Japan's most thoughtful wrestlers and, on the microphone, its most quotable.

A multi-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion and Best of the Super Juniors winner, his rivalry with Hiromu Takahashi defined the division for half a decade, while his deathmatch excursions — including a dream collaboration with Jun Kasai — revealed range far beyond New Japan's usual borders.

Desperado's crossover appeal now extends to leading roles and outside projects that New Japan builds programming around. WrestleRanks voters rank him as the junior division's cornerstone: the masked man everyone eventually must go through.

Promotions

El Desperado is associated with NJPW (2024–2026).

Championship history

PWI rankings history

El Desperado has been ranked in the PWI 500 6 times, first at No. 146 in 2018 and most recently at No. 39 in 2025. The highest placement is No. 39, reached in 2022 and 2025.

Placements by year: 2018 (No. 146), 2021 (No. 102), 2022 (No. 39), 2023 (No. 115), 2024 (No. 60), 2025 (No. 39).

Compiled from the annual rankings published by Pro Wrestling Illustrated. See the 2025 edition.

Teams and factions

Past faction affiliations include Suzuki-gun.

El Desperado in the WrestleRanks rankings

El Desperado is tracked as a powerhouse on WrestleRanks. WrestleRanks standings are decided one week at a time, from fan voting and editor input. Read more about how our rankings work, or see the live, interactive profile with weekly rank history and voting on the El Desperado ranking page.

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