NJPW superstar Hiromu Takahashi recently spoke with the NJPW Press to hype up next week’s WrestleKingdom 16 pay per view, where the Timebomb challenges El Desperado for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight championship. Highlights from the interview are below.
On the junior division and how he never plans on shifting to heavyweight:
“The more everyone in the junior division grows, the more jealous I get and the more happy I am. The more rivals I have, the more pressured I feel, and the happier I am. But if I had to pick, I’d say I was more happy than anything negative. The more rivals there are, the more fun I have in the end. The more people that come up, the better. But that’s easier said than done. It isn’t even as simple as winning the championship. But one thing is for sure for me- I’ve never planned on being a heavyweight, and don’t plan to now. With him, I’m not sure what he’s thinking. So maybe our fates might change somewhere along the line.”
Says he wants a junior matchup to earn a main event WrestleKingdom spot:
“But that isn’t the way to do it. Even if we voted and they put us last, it wouldn’t be a true main event unless all the fans, and the office recognised it. Even if we had won a vote, the fans would have said their piece, but the company would have thought different. The only way to truly be the main event is if the company and the fans are in line with the same direction. Honestly, that vote idea was on the tip of my tongue during that press conference, after I won BOSJ. I was honestly about to put it out there, and then stopped myself, and decided to have fun with it instead. It sucked we couldn’t be in the main. But at the same time, better to enjoy the spot I’m in, right? Maybe there’s no right answer.”