Master Wato is ready to make history.
The company star earned a shot at Hiromu Takahashi and the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship at tomorrow’s NJPW Dominion event by winning this year’s Best of the Super Juniors tournament. Wato spoke with NJPW ahead of the marquee matchup, where he stated that defeating Takahashi will be just as important to him as being crowned champion due to Takahashi’s dominance over the junior division the last few years. He even recalls the moment he knew he wanted to be a top competitor in the division.
In my mind, the bigger deal is beating Hiromu. In 2017, just before I went on excursion, I teamed with Hiroshi Tanahashi against Naito and Hiromu. After the match, Hiromu had beaten me and came toward me. Without thinking, I remember grabbing his hair. Like my hand moved by itself, it was crazy. I’ll never forget that feeling, in the moment of ‘I can’t just let this guy beat me’. That’s when I felt I had to be a junior heavyweight.
Wato knows that dethroning Takahashi is no easy task. He tells NJPW that he will do his best to find a weakness in the champ as he knows there are few.
He’s incredibly talented, and he doesn’t really have a weakness. That’s a strength in itself. But I think where I am now in my career, I’m at a point where I can find a weakness in him. That’s the plan in Osaka.
The full card for NJPW Dominion can be found here.