Master Wato certainly drew the attention of many who tuned in to NJPW recently and saw his return from excursion.
Right as Wato made his debut, he entered a feud with DOUKI, but in an interview with NJPW, Wato admitted that his original goal was to go straight towards IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi. However, those plans changed just as he entered the feud against DOUKI.
"Yeah. I talked about reaching the very top in NJPW, and I had plans to challenge Hiromu Takahashi out the gate. But when DOUKI showed up it became ‘OK, first him, and then everybody else one by one,’" Wato said.
Wato continued talking about his desire to work in the junior heavyweight division and said the biggest goal in mind is Takahashi and the title, adding that he believes he can fill a gap within the division.
"Well, looking at the landscape of the junior heavyweights, hontai was the place to be in my opinion. The biggest thing in my mind is Hiromu Takahashi and the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. I don’t want to team with him, I want to be wrestling him for that title. Then, when it comes to the junior heavyweights in hontai, I felt I could really fill a gap there," Wato said.
Takahashi is currently set to defend his title against Taiji Ishimori in August at Summer Struggle in Jingu. You can check out the full interview at this link.
