Hirai Kawato

Hirai Kawato (川人 拓来, Kawato Hirai, born March 13, 1997) is a Japanese professional wrestler, signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) under the ring name Master Wato (マスター・ワト Masutā Wato). He was previously on an international learning excursion, working for NJPW's Mexican partner Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) under the ring name Kawato-San/Kawato San. He is a former CMLL World Lightweight Champion and competed in the main event of CMLL's 2020 Sin Piedad major show.

Hirai Kawato
Birth nameHirai Kawato
Born (1997-03-13) March 13, 1997
Ikeda, Osaka, Japan
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)
  • Hirai Kawato
  • Kawato
  • Kawato San
  • Kawato-San
  • Master Wato
Billed height5' 91/2" (1.77 m)
Billed weight87 kg (192 lb)
Trained byNJPW Dojo
Junji Hirata
Hiroshi Tanahashi[1]
DebutJanuary 3, 2016

He was trained in the NJPW Dojo in Tokyo, under Junji Hirata and Hiroshi Tanahashi. From 2016 until 2019 he worked as a "Young Lion" in NJPW, gaining in ring experience while still training. As a "Young Lion" he mainly faced other trainees early on, moving on to participate in various tournaments such as the 2017 Super Junior Tag Tournament (with Kushida) and finishing second in the 2017 Young Lion Cup.

Professional wrestling career

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2016–2018)

Kawato started working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in 2016, training in their dojo for his in-ring career. He started by training as a "young lion" in NJPW's dojo, wearing simple black trunks and boots as he worked with other of NJPW "Young Lions" and experienced veterans as part of his training. On January 3, 2016, Kawato made his in-ring debut, losing to fellow "Young Lion" Yohei Komatsu.[2] Throughout 2016, Kawato spent most of the year working opening and undercard matches, and primarily fought against fellow "Young Lion" Teruaki Kanemitsu.[3] On February 9, 2016, Kawato teamed with Jyushin Thunder Liger and Yuji Nagata to defeat the team of Henare, Tomoyuki Oka and Yoshitatsu in a six-man tag team match.[4] David Finlay, Kawato, Manabu Nakanishi, and Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Ten-Koji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima), Jushin Thunder Liger, and Tomoyuki Okaed in the opening match of the NJPW 45th Anniversary show in Korakuen Hall.[5]

On April 22, 2016 Kawato won his first singles match when he defeated Shota Umino.[6] Kawato and Yoshitatsu defeated Kitamura and Oka in the dark match of the 2017 Wrestling Dontaku major show, but still did not work on the televised portion of the show.[7][8][9] On June 20, Kawato was involved in his first higher card match when he teamed with Hiroshi Tanahashi, losing to Los Ingobernables de Japon ("The Unruly from Japan"; Tetsuya Naito and Hiromu Takahashi). In October, Kawato teamed with Kushida to take part in the 2017 Super Junior Tag Tournament where they were defeated in the first round by Roppongi 3K (Sho and Yoh[lower-alpha 1]). On November 5, 2017, Hirai Kawato alongside Juice Robinson, Jyushin Thunder Liger, Kushida and Tiger Mask IV defeated Suzuki-gun (El Desperado, Taichi, Taka Michinoku, Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Zack Sabre Jr.) at Power Struggle.[10]

From October 12 to December 21, Kawato took part in the 2017 Young Lion Cup, where he finished second with a record of four wins (defeating Tomoyuki Oka,[11] Shota Umino,[12] Ren Narita,[13] and Tetsuhiro Yagi[14]) and one loss, to tournament winner Katsuya Kitamura,[15] to end up in second place overall.[16] Kawato competed on all eight days of the 2018 Fantastica Mania tour, where NJPW and mexican- based Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) co-promoted a number of shows in Japan. Each night, Kawato and various tag team partners faced, and lost to, members of Los Ingobernables de Japon. His final match of the tour, and for NJPW at the time, saw him team with Mexican wrestler Atlantis as they lost to Gedo and Bárbaro Cavernario.[17]

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (2018–2020)

On January 9, 2018, CMLL announced on Twitter that Kawato would begin his excursion with them at the end of the month, and would actively compete in the promotion after taking part in New Japan's Fantastica Mania events.[18] While in CMLL he would be billed as "Kawato San" (sometimes written as "Kawato-San"). For his first CMLL match, Kawato teamed up Misterioso Jr. and Virus, losing to Audaz, Pegasso, and Rey Cometa in a six-man tag team match.[19] While he was working for CMLL, they also allowed Kawato San to wrestle on the Mexican independent circuit between CMLL shows. His first independent circuit match was on March 11, where he lost to Ricky Marvin as part of a Lucha Memes show.[20]

In CMLL, he was teamed up with Okumura, CMLL's Japanese liaison, to form a team called Eje del Mal ("Axis of Evil"), presenting them as a group of "evil foreigners". Their first match as a team saw the two, and Johnny Idol, lose to Guerrero Maya Jr., Rey Cometa, and Stuka Jr..[21] Kawato San was one of twleve wrestlers competing in a torneo cibernetico elimination match to determine the challenger for CMLL's Rey del Inframundo ("King of the Underworld") championship, but was eliminated early on.[22] He was also invited to participate in the 2018 Leyenda de Plata ("Silver Legend"), one of CMLL's most prestigious tournaments. Kawato was the first man eliminated, pinned by Audaz about eight minutes into the match.[23][24][25]

He also participated in the 2019 Reyes del Aire ("King of the Air") tournament which took place on January 6 in Mexico City. He was the tenth man eliminated, as Audza pinned him after just over 20 minutes of wrestling.[26][27] Just over a year after his CMLL debut, Kawato San appeared on his first major CMLL show as he teamed up with Disturbio and Misterioso Jr. to lose to Blue Panther Jr., Black Panther and Rey Cometa on the undercard of the 2019 Juicio Final.[28][29] In June 2019, Kawato San and Audaz outlasted Eléctrico, El Hijo del Villano III, Flyer, Príncipe Diamante, Star Jr., Super Astro Jr., and Halcón Suriano Jr. to earn a match for the vacant CMLL World Super Lightweight Championship. The following week, on June 30 , 2019, Kawato San defeated Audaz to become the new champion.[30] Kawato did not wrestle any matches after July 28, 2019,[31] due to what was later revealed to be a knee injury. It was announced on November 6, 2019, that Kawato-San had returned to Mexico after recovering from his knee injury. Kawato was stripped of the CMLL World Lightweight Championship due to the injury.[32] Kawato returned to the ring on November 9, teaming with El Felino and Rey Bucanero as they lost to Atlantis Jr., Ángel de Oro, and Niebla Roja.[31]

Starting in late October, Kawato San and Dulce Gardenia became involved in a storyline feud in CMLL, with the two facing off in six-man tag team matches through out November and December.[33] Kawato and Gardenia both agreed to "bet" their hair. The Lucha de Apuestas match was the main event of the 2020 Sin Piedad ("No Mercy") CMLL show held on January 1, 2020. Gardenia won the match two-falls-to-one, followed by Kawato San being forced to shave all his hair off.[34] Kawato San was one of 12 wrestlers competing in the 2020 Reyes del Aire ("Kings of the air") tournament, but was the sixth wrestler eliminated when Rey Cometa pinned him.[35][36]

Return to NJPW (2020–present)

On July 3, 2020, Kawato returned to NJPW after a 2 year excursion under the name Master Wato. As he was exiting, he was attacked by Suzuki-Gun Member, Douki. It was later announced that at the New Japan Cup Finals in Osaka-Jo Hall, Wato would face Douki in a singles match where he was victorious.[37]

Championships and accomplishments

Luchas de Apuestas record
Winner (wager) Loser (wager) Location Event Date Notes
Dulce Gardenia (hair)Kawato-San (hair)Mexico CitySin PiedadJanuary 1, 2020[34]

Footnotes
  1. previously worked under the name "Yohei Komatsu"
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gollark: I just did maintenance on osmarks.net's primary server for MULTIPLE minutes and nobody noticed the downtime. Muahahaha.
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References
  1. "Master Wato". CAGEMATCH. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  2. "Yohei Komatsu vs. Hirai Kawato (NJPW – 01/03/16)". crossarmbreaker.com. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
  3. "Hirai Kawato >> Matches >> against Teruaki Kanemitsu". CageMatch. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
  4. Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Matches « Hirai Kawato « Wrestlers Database". cagematch.net. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
  5. "NJPW 45th Anniversary In Korakuen Hall". CageMatch. March 7, 2017. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
  6. "Kawato San >> Matches >> 2016". CageMatch. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
  7. "NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 2017". CageMatch. May 3, 2017. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
  8. Rose, Bryan (May 2, 2017). "NJPW Wrestling Dontaku live results: Okada faces Bad Luck Fale". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
  9. Macklin, Matthew (May 3, 2017). "Bad Luck Fale challenges Okada, Omega vs. Ishii and more: 5/3 NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 2017 report". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  10. "Road to Power Struggle". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  11. "Lion's Gate Project8". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved October 12, 2017.
  12. "JRA presents Road to Tokyo Dome". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved December 17, 2017.
  13. "Lion's Gate Project10". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  14. "Lion's Gate Project9". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  15. "JRA presents Road to Tokyo Dome". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  16. "Lion's Gate Project10". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  17. "Kawato San >> Matches >> 2018 >> New Japan Pro Wrestling". CageMatch. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
  18. @CMLL_OFICIAL (January 9, 2018). "Kawat arribará a México Es de los jóvenes talentos @njpw1972 que tendrá participación en esta Fantasticamanía 2018 y que arribará a México a finales de este mes de enero para participar activamente en el CMLL" [Kawato will arrive in Mexico It is one of the young talents @ njpw1972 that will participate in this Fantasticamanía 2018 and that will arrive in Mexico at the end of January to actively participate in CMLL] (Tweet) (in Spanish). Retrieved January 9, 2018 – via Twitter.
  19. "CMLL Super Viernes". February 2, 2019. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  20. "Lucha Memes". CageMatch. March 11, 2018. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  21. "CMLL Martes Arena Mexico". CageMatch. March 20, 2018. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  22. Lizarraga, Alfonso (October 27, 2018). "Derrota con sabor a victoria para Rush y compañía". The Gladiatores (in Spanish). Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  23. Rosas Plata, Arturo (November 17, 2018). "Phoenix y Cavernario, en busca de plata". Ovaciones (in Spanish). Archived from the original on January 23, 2019. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
  24. Lopez Escalona, Arturo (November 7, 2018). "Cavernario y Phoenix, finalistas en torneo de leyenda de plata". ESTO (in Spanish). Retrieved November 18, 2019.
  25. "Dolorosa caída de Carístico ante Último Guerrero en la Arena México". Marca (in Spanish). November 17, 2018. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
  26. Rosas Plata, Arturo (January 7, 2019). "¡Titán, a las nubes!" [Titan, to the clouds!]. Ovaciones (in Spanish). Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  27. Dark Angelita (January 9, 2019). "CMLL: Titán gana el torneo "Reyes del Aire 2019"" [CMLL: TItan wins the 2019 "Kings of the Air" tournament]. Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  28. "Último Guerrero rapa a Máscara Año 2000 en "Juicio Final"" [Último Guerrero takes the hair of Máscara Año 2000 at "Final Justice"]. ESTO (in Spanish). June 1, 2019. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
  29. Lizárraga, Alfonso (June 1, 2019). "Los Guerreros Laguneros, Amapola y Virus los grandes ganadores del Juicio Final" [Los Guerreros Lagunero, Amapola and Virus are the big winners at Juicio Final]. The Gladiatores (in Spanish). Retrieved June 1, 2019.
  30. "Kawato San nuevo Campeón de Peso Super Ligero del CMLL" [Kawato San new CMLL super lightweight champion]. W Radio (in Spanish). June 30, 2019. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  31. "Kawato San >> Matches >> 2019". CageMatch. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  32. @Videos OficialesCMLL (November 6, 2019). "CMLL Informa 6 de noviembre de 2019" [CMLL Informat November 6, 2019]. Informa (in Spanish). YouTube. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  33. "Kawato San >> Matches >> Against Dulce Gardenia". CageMatch. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  34. "Dulce Gardenia abre el 2020 con la cabellera de Kawato San" [Dulce Gardenia begins 2020 with the hair of Kawato San]. MedioTiempo (in Spanish). January 2, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  35. Lizarranga, Alfonso (January 15, 2020). "Místico sigue en busca de Mephisto y Templario es el Rey del Aire 2020" [Místico is looking for Mephisto and Templario is the King of the Air 2020]. The Gladiatores (in Spanish). Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  36. Dark Angelita (January 17, 2020). "CMLL: Templario es el Rey del Aire 2020" [CMLL: Templario is the King of the Air 2020]. Súper Luchas. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
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  38. "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2017". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
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