4 Best NJPW Castle Attack Matches

2. BUSHI vs. El Desperado vs. El Phantasmo – IWGP Jr Heavyweight Championship

In New Japan Pro Wrestling, triple threat matches are always met with caution and scepticism. Luckily, this IWGP Jr Heavyweight title proves that anything can work with the right people. Going into the match, it was a journey into the unknown. There were three men with different histories and things they had to prove!

From the minute the match started, it was full guns blazing. All three men sped across the ring and, rightly, tried to get the pin as quickly as possible. It was a battle of styles as El Phantasmo and BUSHI flew across the ring and El Desperado focused on his standard mat-based offence. However, with such high stakes, each wrestler went out of their comfort zone. El Desperado flew through the ropes whilst BUSHI and ELP varied their high-flying with strength and power.

What also stood out was the storytelling within the match. Very early in the match, El Phantasmo dealt with El Desperado by seriously injuring him on the rampway, taking his mask and then mocking him. Yet, when it seemed like it would be a singles match like expected, Despy came back with a new, more unhinged, mindset.

With three men willing to break the rules, the match was unpredictable, dynamic and nail-biting! Many times, Jr matches have been criticised for being flippy, but this proved that theory wrong and combined athleticism with storytelling. In the end, El Desperado worked as he hit ELP with a Pinche Loco to get his first IWGP Jr title reign in seven years.

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1. Jay White vs. Tomohiro Ishii – Special Singles Match

Unlike many of the special singles matches on night one, this bout had a lot more history. It dated back to Jay returning from excursion and joining CHAOS in 2018. There was also more on the line. Jay needed to get retribution against the man who ruined his chance at main-eventing Wrestle Kingdom 15.

Like many of his matches, Jay White started by playing mind games with Ishii avoiding getting in the ring at any cost. Very quickly, Jay found his target for Ishii after ramming him into the side of the ring and damaging the Stone Pitbull’s ribs. From here, it was a targeted attack. Jay threw punches, kicks and shoulder tackles into the injured area.

However, the Stone Pitbull has a lot of heart. Every time Jay seemed to beat him down, Ishii dug deep and found some way to keep fighting. There was even one moment where Jay punched Ishii and his face turned dark. It was like something clicked inside him that meant he felt no pain. Even with the dominance of the Switchblade during this bout, there were times were Ishii could have pulled out the win.

After a hard-hitting fight between two very different athletes, Jay White finally hit his Bladerunner for the win with the help of Gedo. Despite their differences, Jay and Ishii always manage to bring out the best and worst in each other. With the New Japan Cup coming up, they will no doubt meet again. Who knows what could happen depending on the state of Bullet Club in the future.

• Tomohiro Ishii
• Jay White
• Castle Attack
• NJPW

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