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Hirai Kawato (2018)

55 PTS.



One of the most charismatic young lions of recent vintage, Kawato has potential junior superstar written all over him. The youngster (still only 21 years old) made his NJPW debut in 2016 and continued to impress through 2017. We even had an entire essay devoted to the young lion in last year’s eBook (Many a Calm River Begins as a Turbulent Waterfall: The Year of Hirai Kawato).

In January, Kawato played a major role in NJPW/CMLL’s FantasticaMania tour tipping off where he would go on excursion. In February, Kawato left the NJPW dojo and began his excursion in Mexico with CMLL. Here’s where I tell you that Kawato continues to shine and continues to exhibit the superstar potential he had in 2016 and 2017. Here’s where I tell you how he’s acclimated himself to CMLL like Hiromu Takahashi (then Kamaitachi) and how he’s main eventing Arena Mexico shows and taking Mexico by storm and is ready to return to NJPW to take his rightful place at the top of the NJPW juniors.

I won’t be doing that because Kawato has been nothing short of a disaster thus far in CMLL.

Kawato arrived in Mexico February of the year and has only recently shown signs of improvement. The translation to lucha style is no easy task. For those unfamiliar, you’re working a different side of the body, catching is taught different and the rings are harder. That’s just a few examples of the in-ring differences. There are also cultural disconnects and traveling to a new land for the first time in a young man’s career. Imagine yourself at 21 going to live full-time in a different country in a language you don’t speak. Reports from Mexico were that Kawato was still very much overthinking everything he did in the ring and not just working with the flow of the match. While that’s a normal progression for most wrestlers, it was alarming in the case of Kawato as he seemed such a complete package as recently as eight months ago.

We shouldn’t grab the dirt and bury Kawato just yet, though. NJPW has weathered the storm of numerous failed excursions with wrestlers emerging as stars and pillars of the company. The most glaring example being the former Takaai Watanabe (EVIL) who did next to nothing in the United States particularly in New Jersey where he participated in a few battle royals then was not booked on shows for months. SHO and YOH had a dud of an excursion as The Tempura Boyz in Ring of Honor and Jay White showed none of what’s made him the most interesting wrestler in 2018 while stateside as well. Kawato isn’t done and finished yet but the concern is there. Should struggles continue he could be one of the great “What Ifs” in NJPW young lion history.