Voices of Wrestling 2022 Match of the Year: #8 (Jun Kasai vs. El Desperado)

El Desperado and Jun Kasai create pure pro wrestling magic in this emotional and violent deathmatch.

Voices of Wrestling 2022 Match of the Year Archives

• Introduction & Honorable Mentions
• Matches #100-76
• Matches #75-51
• Matches #50-26
• Matches #25-11
• Early-Access Top 10 Reveal
• #10: FTR vs. The Briscoes – July
• #9: CM Punk vs. MJF
• #8: Jun Kasai vs. El Desperado

#8
Jun Kasai vs. El Desperado
09/12
JTO

Overall Points: 401
Total Votes: 58
% of Ballots: 27.75%
9 First Place Votes

“In 2021 and early 2022, El Desperado cemented himself as the ace of NJPW’s Jr Heavyweight division, but one thing he was yet to do was defeat deathmatch legend Jun Kasai one-on-one. Despy pulled out all the stops in his big match white gear, a contrast to the sponsored black ring canvas that was rolled out for this big money match. Afterwards, a heartfelt promo between the 2 about what it really meant to be a pro-wrestler told us that, it’s to live.” -Joel Hancock

“incredible escalation of violence, a crowd bursting to scream, the sheer emotion from El Desperado this could be match of the year based on the bell to bell alone, but the post match promos put it over the top. El Desperado giving Kasai back a rose that was given to him earlier in the year. Kasai talking about deathmatches only ending when you survive at the end. Leaving a bloody mess with his small daughter in a white dress. A masterpiece from start to finish, truly showing the art and majesty of deathmatch wrestling.” -Nikki Derella

“Two and half years of silent crowds. Two and half years of pandemic and then almost a year of war very close to home for me. They had a bloody deathmatch, El Desperado refused to wrestle “his match”, he wanted to have Kasai’s match. And they had it. The match aside, which would have been trying to get into my top10 of the year even without the postmatch. But the postmatch… the postmatch promo… made it into something more than special. Jun Kasai, a deathmatch wrestler scarred after so many bloody affairs has something more profound to say than too many others.
“Before we fought, you said you didn’t care if you lived or died in this ring. Dont’t be a fool! Death should be welcomed by no man. There are countless who yearn to live but are doomed to an early death.” His words are hitting a cord deep in me and others, simple but effective. “Here you are, surrounded by friends, cheered on by this massive audience. You’ve fulfilled your dream of joining New Japan, rose to the highest ranks of junior division. You are living the best life possible! So do not tell me you’d gladly risk it all, you fool!” Kasai’s voice cracks, full of emotions. “We, pro-wrestlers, may not fear death or pain. We accept that every time we step into this ring. But we should be fighting so that we can walk out of the ring with our lives!” Now it is not only Kasai and El Desperado, who have eyes full of tears, there are audience members drying their eyes in the background. “There is no need to put your life on the line. There is no need to accept death. Once you understand that, you’ll be even stronger.” Kasai and El Desperado exchange more words. After that Jun Kasai leaves the ring, picks his pre-school daughter in white dress up and walks out. Audience chants his name on his way out and commentator gives us these beautiful words that made this wonderful match into the best match of the year. “Jun Kasai believes a death match doesn’t end until you come home alive.” What a motto to live by.” -Velkej Bracha

“I mean I’m not a deathmatch guy, but this match was amazing. I mean when I think of this match the image of a bleeding El Desperado with his torn mask. This match was brutal but it was great and didn’t even feel like a 28 minute match.” -Filip Pejic

“El Desperado enters Jun Kasai’s house and gets beaten, bloodied and battered. And it just rules. One of the first shows in Japan since the pandemic with loud and vocal audience and it truly enhances this deathmatch to something greater. Sure, it’s bloody and violent, but the emotional core makes the match stand above many of it’s contemporaries. Desperado is facing his hero and has to learn to fight under Kasai’s rules to even have a chance of victory and more importantly, respect. Don’t dare to sleep on the post-match promo either, where the emotion is overflowing even through the English translation. “We, pro wrestlers, may not fear death or pain. We accept that every time we step into this ring. But we should be fighting so that we can walk out of the ring with our lives! There is no need to put your life on the line. There is no need to welcome death!”” -Semi Salmikannas

“Just a hilarious fun time. Brutal. Sickos only lol. “It compels me”. Jun’s daughter after in the white dress? Hah. I was simultaneously cringing, pacing and laughing.” -Arturo Galletti

“I really like Jun Kasai and I really like deathmatch Despy, so what could possibly go wrong? These two gentleman had a little feud over several months and I still want to see the mid-level junior in FREEDOMS. To be honest it’s art when you can go nearly thirty minutes without being boring to the crowd and to the viewer at home. A match that was brutal and had some drama with Desperado losing his mask after just five minutes, blood everywhere and had an insanely good finish. Fewer nearfalls than the previous match made this one more compact and tighter, the Buckshow Lariat and that’s a wrap.” -Christian Gascoigne

“Who knew a Deathmatch could illicit such strong emotions from the competitors, the audience at the arena and watching from home? Simply outstanding storytelling in a match not many will forget for a long time.” -SamTheVAMod

“I am not a Jun Kasai fan by any means nor a deathmatch fan for that matter so for this match to come in at number 2 and for me to give it 5 stars goes to show just how great it really was. They made a fan out of me of the style with this match. It encouraged me to give deathmatch wrestling a chance. Also the lively crowd didn’t hurt given what we have gotten from Japanese wrestling for the past couple of years. I could not tear myself from my screen watching this match. There were creative spots (creative for me since I’m not deeply familiar) and the drama was off the charts.” -Rene Martinez

“A match of unrivalled emotion. It was a violent and bloody affair, fitting the deathmatch expectations, but it went beyond that in a display of emotion and narrative that only the best pro wrestling can produce. The match was steeped in impressive visuals, whether it be a bloodsoaked El Desperado, his torn mask or the symbolism of the rose. Jun Kasai put it best after the match, “we, pro wrestlers, may not fear death or pain. We accept that every time we step into this ring.” No match has encapsulated that sentiment quite like Jun Kasai vs. El Desperado.” -Jamie Johnson

“BLOOD + PASSION” -Liam Jones

“I went straight into this match due to the hype and what a violent delight. I’m not a deathmatch guy, but this was just beautiful in its own way. I was surprised at how much Desperado took, and this is the kind of match where he can take off the mask since it warrants it. Just violence from beginning to end, a memorable match where you’ll see Desperado go to places where you did not know he would go. The after match is really great too. After this match I watched Desperado vs Moxley, and I could not get into it because Kasai and Desperado just killed it for me. You can’t top this match. Watch it, and don’t watch another deathmatch or hardcore match after unless you want to ruin that second match.” -Abraham Delgado

“Just a beautiful mix of deathmatch & storytelling.” -Riku Mikkonen

“Best deathmatch of the year. The story of Despy willing to do anything to beat his idol in Jun was great, but the post match promo from Kasai teaching Despy to value life more than wrestling was awesome. Also the reverse tiger destroyer into the forks was probably the bump of the year” -Adam Darwin

“I usually don’t watch deathmatch wrestling but I loved this match as everyone, this was tremendous violence, crazy moments and a great crowd.” -Diego Garcia

“I think I’ve seen two Jun Kasai matches in my lifetime, and even with that limited exposure to the “crazy monkey”, I got what this meant to Despy. I got sucked into the emotion and the drama. Easily the most absorbing and fascinating journey from bell to bell to be a part of in 2022.

Oh yeah, it’s also violent as all hell. It’s Jun Kasai, after all.” -Mark Robinson

“I almost knew nothing about these 2 Wrestlers before I watched this match. At the end, I loved both of them.” -UpcomingWrestling

“Kasai and Despy created a macabre carnival with some of the most unsettling lasting images we’ve ever seen. Blades and blood, tension and inhuman toughness power this war of attrition. The invested and vocal crowd adds another layer to this match, rumbling with passion in the background as two gladiators put themselves through hell.” -Ryan Dilbert

“Despi is a mad man. I love him so much. No reason he should be wrestling a death match with Jun Kasai. The crowd was absolutely electric. I’m not a huge deathmatch guy. I’m very much along the lines that death matches need a purpose of following up a heated story. I’ll be honest, i don’t know what the story was going into it. But these two delivered something absolutely special in my eyes. Although that could be my bias for El Desperado, who since the pandemic has become one of my favorite wrestlers in the world. He’s just not afraid to put it all out there and he did that with Jun Kasai. Despy rules.” –Christopher Duarte

“This rocked my socks off. El Desperado brought the same brutality as Kasai and everything just formed into shape. Best deathmatch that happened to be a wrestling match this year.” -Daniel Kuchler

“My obligatory, “I don’t like deathmatches, but…” entry. A wild, ultraviolent affair that was supercharged with an a virtually infinite source of energy. Every time you thought this was over, they just kept going. And then some.” -Ewan Cameron

“Rarely, are we witness to an individuals clear and definitive character growth as experienced through the body of a single match. Where one competitor comes in as one thing, but leaves, so evidently transformed. But with this Death Match, performed in a ring very much of his own making, El Desperado was afforded the opportunity to battle is idol come rival and experience a moment of self actualisation. Where he learnt to fully embrace his position as Ace of the NJPW junior division, and appreciate what that position affords him. Kasai battered him throughout the match, forcing El Desperado to move beyond simple survival and to become the aggressor; to bring the fight. To embrace his position, to convey his confidence and to fight for his life. But it was post match, as Kasai berated Despy for being so dismissive of death, that the entire match fully clicks. As the two sat in the ring, Kasai in tears, yelling, Despy takes his lesson, learning that he was now, indeed, the man, and the he needed to respect that. To not take his life, or his role, for granted. Through facing Death, Despy learnt that it was time for him to step out from the shadows of others, and to begin to wrestle to Live.” -Josh Creighton

“Jun Kasai is one of the best at his chosen form of art and was in the position to create some outstanding moments and with El Desperado he, in my opinion, was responsible for the best death match in 2022. This one stood out because of the incredible amount of punishment Desperadro took to the point where his mask was completely torn, which resulted in some great visuals. Kasai’s promo after the match, in which he talked about the will to survive, greatly put the match into perspective and created a context to provide a much deeper meaning to a death match like this.” -STRIGGA

“Didn’t expect to be on the brink of tears after watching a deathmatch, but here we are.” -Paco Silva

“This match was one of the most violent and vibrant deathmatches I’ve seen in a long, long time. Kasai is a true artist of the genre, creating emotion that goes beyond disbelief and shock. He brought Despe along for the ride, whose creativity and sense of in-ring storytelling meshed with ease in this specatcle of ultraviolent delights.” -Niagara Driver

“I had been tipped off at the end of the year that I cannot complete a match of the year list until I checked out Jun Kasai vs El Desperado. I am happy I took that advise. This was the best death match I’ve seen since the Masashi Takeda vs Isami Kodaka match June 20th 2018 that stole the ballots years ago. The way they built up every spot was perfect. The false finishes got me every time, and I swear I never in a million years expected Desperado to get the victory as well. Kasai then cuts a inspiring promo that broke Desperado. Not more needs to be said. Just go watch. This match made you feel every inch of the way on how much it meant for Despy to not just win this match, but to be able to do what he did with a legend like Kasai.” -Ryan Cooke

“An angel clad in white descends into the underworld to earn the respect of a devil. He must pay a heavy tribute in blood, but no cost is too great. From the underworld’s blood-soaked soil, a rose blooms.” -Jeff Martin

“A fever dream of a match that wildly exceeded everyone’s expectations and reminded us how beautiful pro-wrestling can be.” -Dean

“An unforgettable war between Jun Kasai and El Desperado. Buckets of blood, emotion, and passion. Poignant pro wrestling violence. Chef’s kiss.”-Franky DeJesus

“At one point in this match, Kasai hits an avalanche double-underhook Canadian Destroyer through a fork-covered board and I yelled, “OH FUCK OFF!!” with glee, earmarking the match as at least 4 stars there and then. Besides THAT though, what makes this match so good (and what sets it apart from the diluted American deathmatch scene) is the story. Despy LOVES Kasai. He’s a massive fan, a massive influence on him and Despy respects Kasai and his craft immensely. Oh, I don’t speak Japanese or really follow the puro scene these days, I just got all that information from the entrances alone. From the sheer body language of Despy and Kasai, before the bell even rang. That’s the level these two are on. The story from there is simple: Despy respects Kasai and wants to see if he can hang at his hero’s own game. Kasai sees Despy as a try-hard big-leaguer and is going to put him through hell to test his limits. I won’t spoil the rest, but this boils down to incredibly enriching and compelling storytelling with incredibly gross and painful highspots mixed in. Your move, America.” -Shane Silver

“A hardcore/death match with a message at the end. The first time he tried to have his dream match with Jun Kasai in 2019 his jaw was broken during the match and the match was called off. This year Desperado finally had that dream match he always wanted with his hero Jun Kasai. After two and years of clap crowds, Yoyogi exploded with “KASAI! KASAI! KASAI” chants and Desperado was headbanging in his corner to them. He was ready to have this bloodbath, and at the end when he pinned Jun Kasai with a broken mask and bloodied El Desperado was at the top of his wrestling career. And Jun Kasai said some words that Desperado needed to hear.

“Before we fought, you said you didn’t care if you lived or died in this ring. Don’t be a fool! Death should be welcomed by no man. There are countless who yearn to live but are doomed to an early death. Here you are, surrounded by friends, cheered on by this massive audience. You’ve fulfilled your dream of joining New Japan, rose to the highest ranks of the junior division. You are living the best life possible! So do not tell me you’d gladly risk it all, you fool! There is no need to put your life on the line. There is no need to accept death. Once you understand that, you’ll be even stronger. Jun Kasai believes a death match doesn’t end until you come home alive.”

Desperado needed to hear this. He needed to feel this pain. He needed to get the dream match with Jun Kasai done before he could move on with his career.” -Sondre Bjørn

Voices of Wrestling 2022 Match of the Year
(Full List)