7 Ups & 5 Downs From NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 (Review)
3. Taiji Ishimori (c) vs. El Desperado vs. Hiromu Takahashi vs. Master Wato
A glorious closing run of nearly-but-not-quite deathblows summed up the success of this four-way's tremendous structure.
Master Wato was the unfancied underdog here, but the layout put him over as somebody that may one day be a contender amongst his more experienced peers, even in heartbreaking defeat.
There was an unusually disciplined feel to proceedings for much of the early stages, but when Desperado, Takahashi and Ishimori fell like dominoes to a Wato dropkick on the ramp, everything gradually became a little more unhinged.
From there, the title could have gone anywhere but fans wanted it for Wato, and that was the point. Takahashi's latest stint with the belt should be his last - he's been in the Junior Heavyweight division for far too long - but this was extremely effective in