First trophy match without Yano seemingly set

Hyper Battle in Ryogoku on April 9 saw Taichi pick up a victory over Toru Yano in a no rope ring out match, and if some may be surprised about Yano losing his ‘baby’, all were by his post match address.

The rules of the bout were sumo inspired, but far removed from sumo itself; while victory was to be attained by casting a foe from the ropeless ring, Taichi and Yano would exchange strikes, and used the still standing ring posts to avoid disaster on more than one occasion.

Yano went to judo to almost cast Taichi out with an arm drag, but in the end, it was a sumo maneuver that got the victory. Taichi would hook Yano’s sumo belt, and landed a masterful take down to send Yano out.

Quick to head off at the pass any idea of a Yano rematch, Taichi would take the microphone and promise to raise the KOPW 2022 trophy to ‘the main event level’. Immediately, he nominated a former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion in Shingo Takagi to be his first challenger.

Backstage, Takagi wondered whether Taichi would ‘regret his words,’ stating that he would pick the hardest rules possible. Going as far as to suggest a deserted island Ganryujima death match as a half joking example, Taichi certainly showed his resolve.