El Desperado (wrestler)

El Desperado
Mikami as El Desperado in May 2017
Birth nameKyosuke Mikami
Born (1983-12-29) December 29, 1983 (age 40)[1]
Nagaoka, Niigata, Japan[1]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)El Desperado
Kyosuke Mikami
Namajague
Billed height1.77 m (5 ft 9+12 in)[1]
Billed weight90 kg (198 lb)[1]
Trained byNJPW Dojo[1]
Koji Kanemoto
Jado[2]
DebutMarch 7, 2010[1]

Kyosuke Mikami (三上 恭佑, Mikami Kyōsuke, born December 29, 1983),[1] better known by his ring name El Desperado (エル・デスペラード, Eru Desuperādo), is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW),[3][4] where he is a former four-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion. He was a member of the Suzuki-gun stable from 2014 until its disbandment in 2022.

Mikami was trained by the NJPW dojo and worked for NJPW for two years as a Young Lion. In 2012, he traveled to Mexico for a learning excursion, working for NJPW's Mexican affiliate Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) as the masked character Namajague, a Spanish translation of Namahage, a Japanese folk demon. While in CMLL, he won his first professional wrestling title alongside Okumura, the CMLL Arena Coliseo Tag Team Championship, in March 2013. After being unmasked due to losing a match and briefly working without one, Mikami returned to NJPW in January 2014 and was repackaged under another mask as El Desperado. During his time with Suzuki-gun, he is a former two-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion and a four-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion (alongside Yoshinobu Kanemaru).

  1. ^ a b c d e f g 三上 恭佑. New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2013.
  2. ^ "Tama's Island: Tama's Time As A Young Boy At The NJPW Dojo on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
  3. ^ Meltzer, Dave (January 5, 2014). "Sun. update: Looking ahead at NJPW title scene, Jim Ross broadcasting NBA, Roderick Strong update, world title change this afternoon, Flair at 49ers game, NXT talent on road, Ricky Morton wins a title". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved January 29, 2014. El Desperado (Kyosuke Mikami)
  4. ^ Zellner, Kris (January 6, 2014). "The Lucha Report". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved January 29, 2014. El Desperado (Namajague)