Wato speaks ahead of junior title match

Master Wato’s path to ‘Grandmaster’ status, beginning out of excursion during the peak of the pandemic, and filled with difficult results though it has been, now seems truly to be on track. Enjoying an eight match win streak that has brought him the Best of the Super Jr. trophy, Wato now seeks to extend his hot hand to one more match, and along with it the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. Before his challenge on June 4 at Dominion, we spoke to Wato about his achievement and what may be to come. 

Watch Dominion LIVE in English on NJPW World!

It’s felt like a long road from my return to now

–How are you feeling now you’ve had a couple of days after winning the BOSJ?

Wato: The night of, I really didn’t sleep. I dropped off a little, but it was one or two hours if that.

–That adrenaline was still going. Did you take the trophy home with you?

Wato: I did! But living by myself, it was more… It sounds pretty weird to say I was enjoying myself with the trophy doesn’t it? I just enjoyed having it there in the house.

 –This was your first singles title in NJPW, since your debut in- when was that?

Wato: January 2016, so just over seven years now.

–Do you feel that was right on track for you? A little early? A little late?

Wato: Coming back from excursion up to now, I would say it’s been a long time. Maybe in the big picture of my career, it’s not that long, but this period from coming back to Japan up to now has felt really long. 

These three years have been worth it

 

–A lot of wrestlers in the past have come back from excursion and foudn themselves in the title mix relatively smoothly, but you came back in the middle of the pandemic, and then three years seemed to just go by.

Wato: Right. I mean, when I made my return there weren’t even any people in the building- and I got jumped from behind (laughs).

–By DOUKI. This was July 3 2020, when people weren’t in the venues.

Wato: It was really tough. Looking back on it, it’s amazing I wasn’t broken completely then and there. I think when you look at what happened in the world in that period, these three years have really felt long. But at the same time, I think it was worth it. They’ve made (winning BOSJ) all the more satisfying. I’ve been able to turn that experience into a strength for myself. 

–In those three years, Hiromu Takashi won the BOSJ three times, but he did it without the cheers of the crowd. Winning with that red hot crowd really must have made you even happier, right?

Wato: It was awesome. When the bell rang, that noise was so loud that I just thought to take it slower and not make contact right away. I wanted us to make the most out of milking that reaction.

–I see.

Wato: Then as the match wore on, I could hear them stamping their feet in the bleachers. It really was cool. Especially to hear a lot of young kids’ voices. It made me remember how important cheering is.

–Titan also had the support of his LIJ teammates… while you had your ‘diva’.

Wato: Ah yes, my ‘diva Hiroyoshi Tenzan (laughs). But it was five on one out on the floor there. I thought to have more Hontai members out there with me, but when I looked in the locker room, only Tenzan, KUSHIDA and Kevin (Knight) were still there…

–All the same, it was a really nice emotional moment to see Tenzan in your corner. 

Wato: It definitely put me at ease, yeah.

Titan was always great, and now in LIJ, he has another level of resolve

Wato: I do want to talk about Titan a bit here…

–Of course! Did you and he cross paths much in Mexico?

Wato: A little in tags, but he was a main event level guy even at that point, so we didn’t cross over that often.

–Titan is really top of the top in CMLL, even though he’s in Japan quite often.

Wato: Right. In CMLL there’s quite a bit of depth with guys like Mistico and Ultimo Guerrero, so he’s able to be away for a tour at a time I think. He’s come and gone to Japan, but I really think this last year with LIJ has been incredible. A completely different Titan.

–This year’s BOSJ final with you and Titan was an opening match back in Korakuen last year.

Wato: Right, so I really felt how far he’s evolved. Like, last year I said afterward I wanted to wrestle him more, but this match wasn’t me wrestling him more, it was wrestling a completely new person. He was always great, but since he’s been in LIJ, he has this whole other level of resolve. I think he’s really determined to be the face of CMLL, and he’s stepped that up over the last year. 

–The Llave Inmortal has been a big tool in all that, submitting Hiromu and El Desperado so quickly.

Wato: That hold is crazy! I was so desperate not to get caught in it, but when I was in that situation I kinda panicked. I didn’t know to tuck my chin, do something else or what. I saw Tenzan out on the floor by the ropes and I was almost screaming for his help.

–Titan’s finish had evolved along with the rest of him.

Wato: Japanese wrestling and lucha libre are very different, but he’s able to adjust to both. There are very few who can really master both styles, and he did on the way to the final. He was the first Mexican to make the final in 25 years, right?

–Dr. Wagner Jr. in 1998.

Wato: That’s really cool. I’d love to face Titan in Arena Mexico one day.

–It would be pretty cool to have an IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match in Mexico. The last one was when Mistico was champion in 2009.

Wato: I think CMLL would love that. If I win the title and defend it there it would be a nice repayment for them looking after me in Mexico on excursion. Anyway, Titan really is incredible. 

I thought I was done after Bailey’s double knees

 

–You took some pretty painful moves throughout the tournament, but what went through your mind when you took Titan’s double stomp?

Wato: Oof, I really thought I was done for. He hit me with his feet, and then his butt crashed down into me too. So it was this double hit. My stomach was really rough. It’s still rough now, I’m not eating right. But I’m not one to avoid an impact.

–You took some hits with Mike Bailey as well.

Wato: I really wanted Bailey to give me all he had, and for me still to find a way to win. That Ultima Weapon, man. And his double knees, I thought I was done after that.

–We could imagine a health bar getting close to zero on that. But you managed to counter his kicks with one of your own at the end. 

Wato: I really wanted to land that if I could, and the timing finally came right for me, yeah. 

–We also saw more variation in your moves through the tournament. You finished some opponents with the Tsutenakaku German, and won the final with Recientemente II- was that the result of those three years’ experience?

Wato: I would say that, yeah. In the final, the Tsutenkaku couldn’t do it. My knee was hurting, I couldn’t get him high enough… So Recientemente II was there in my back pocket. 

 I won’t forget grabbing him

–So now you’re headed for Dominion, what would you say is the most important thing about this match? Winning the title, or beating Hiromu?

Wato: 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.

–That match inspired you to become a junior heavyweight. With the frame you have, you could in theory bulk up to heavyweight, but uyou wanted to beat Hiromu in the junior division.

Wato: Right. That’s when I decided I wouldn’t be a heavyweight and that I was set to be a junior. 

–What are your thoughts on Hiromu now?

Wato:  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. 

–Going back to the benefit of those three years’ experience. 

Wato: Right. That and the frustration I felt losing in the Tokyo Dome in January. I definitely want revenge for that. 

–It would be both feast and famine in a one week span should you win BOSJ and then lose at Dominion. 

Wato: Maybe. But the way I see it, I did win BOSJ, and nobody can take that away from me. I won’t give up on this, even if it means going for the title during the G1, or at the All Star Junior Festival in Philadelphia in August.

If I win in Osaka, there’s someone I want to face

–The last few years have seen the big three of Hiromu Takahashi, El Desperado and Taiji Ishimori, but your win has upset that order.

Wato: There’s no doubt that they’ve earned their spots in this generation, btu I really felt I needed to represent the next as a home grown NJPW talent. That’s why I felt I really needed to win this, and I was willing to put my body on the line to do it. 

–I see.

Wato: But in this business, it can’t all be about one person. Even if they are a little older than me, I’d like a YOH or SHO to be up in that mix. 

–YOH or SHO haven’t been able to win BOSJ yet which says a lot about what you’ve been able to achieve. 

Wato: Right. But I wouldn’t say I’ve completely surpassed them. SHO in his own way has his own strengths, and so does YOH. So I do feel that I’m chasing them in a sense, and I want to beat them in every way possible. 

–Come to think of it, the junior roster is very deep right now, throwing the returning KUSHIDA in that mix as well. 

Wato: When the BOSJ lineups were announced I wanted to wrestle KUSHIDA. We didn’t get put in the same block, but I met him on the tour and said I wanted a singles match with hi,. He said the same, so we both want to make it happen, heh. 

–I see. So Hiromu is first in line, but you have plenty you want to get to. 

Wato: Oh yeah. For one thing, if I win in Osaka Jo Hall, I want my first defence to be against DOUKI.

–DOUKI! He was your first opponent back from excursion and in Osaka Jo so he is a pretty important opponent to you.

Wato: Yeah. It isn’t that I have a grudge for what he did when I came back, but he proved himself in Mexico, and he’s an incredible wrestler as well. I think you really saw that during BOSJ. I know that when Suzuki Gun split up he went into Just 5 Guys, but I wonder whether that’s the best fit for him. I want to say that there’s a lot more he could be doing, there’s a bigger spot for him.

–Where would that spot be?

Wato: In Hontai. I’d like to invite DOUKI in. Giving him a shot at the title would be a good way to do that, and to see if he’s really happy where he’s at. 

–As we get to the end here, Shota Umino and Ren Narita have spoken a lot about changing the guard in NJPW. What are your thoughts on that?

Wato: It’s definitely cool what they’re doing, but I feel for me, it’s about opening new doors, not shutting ones. I think my idea of things is a little different to theirs. 

–Opening the door for the new generation doesn’t necessarily mean shutting it on the old one. 

Wato: Right. The generation before was made by Hiromu, Desperado, Ishimori. I see myself building on top of that, not destroying it. Like I said, you can’t be entirely selfish in this business. 

–So you’re ready to wrestle with that generation any time. 

Wato: And beat them, obviously (laughs).