The third match of the New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) Cup finals event sees Suzuki-Gun member Douki face the returning Master Wato, who performed under his given name Hirai Kawato as an NJPW Noge Dojo Young Lion and Kawato-San during his excursion to Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) officially between February 2018 to July 2020. It’s unknown as to when Wato returned to Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic; it was likely in February or March of this year.
Douki, who has been improving since his May 2019 debut in NJPW as a Best of the Super Junior 26 (BOSJ) participant retains his bitterness towards NJPW Noge Dojo young lions who receive the ‘red carpet’ treatment in Mexico by competing in industry powerhouse CMLL. During Douki’s eight-plus years between 2011 – 2019 mostly working for mid to low-level independent promotions in Mexico, he was never able to compete for CMLL or Lucha Libe AAA Worldwide (AAA).
Douki refers to individuals like Master Wato as ‘Hipster Luchadores’ who haven’t earned what was given to them, thus explaining his vicious pipe attack on the returning Wato.
During Wato’s time in CMLL, he was able to win the CMLL World Lightweight Championship in June 2019 to when he vacated the championship in November of last year due to a knee injury. Wato wrestled approximately 158 matches during his time in CMLL, and likely spent time training at CMLL’s training school in Mexico City.
Wato who is portraying a martial arts master based on Japanese cinema will have his hands full with the aggressive Suzuki-Gun member with a chip on his shoulder. Due to NJPW operating with approximately only half of their roster in Japan, the winner could possibly challenge IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi in his v2 defense of the title.
