Top NJPW Star Wants To Defend Title Against Darby Allin In AEW
One of NJPW’s most popular stars wants a match with Darby Allin on primetime TV.
Hiromu Takahashi has reigned as IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion since defeating Taiji Ishimori at Wrestle Kingdom 17 back in January. He’s successfully defended the title against opponents such as Robbie Eagles, Lio Rush, and YOH, and according to the star himself, he’d love to introduce the title to fans in the United States.
Speaking through a translator to Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, Takahashi opened up about wanting to show North American fans the greatness of junior heavyweight wrestling, saying they don’t necessarily understand what the style is the way Japanese fans do.
“I think Japanese fans already know about how great junior heavyweight wrestling is, but not many fans in the US know what the division means. In the US, cruiserweight divisions used to be more common, but the word ‘junior’ doesn’t mean ‘less than’. Not at all.”
Hiromu Takahashi Wants To Face Darby Allin
While the star has yet to defend his title in North America, he did take part in a six-man tag team match at Forbidden Door, teaming with fellow Los Ingobernables de Japon members Bushi and Shingo Takagi to defeat United Empire’s Jeff Cobb, Kyle Fletcher, and TJP. He told Justin Barrasso that he was glad he was able to take part in the event after being pulled from Forbidden Door in 2022.
“I couldn’t wrestle at the Forbidden Door last year because I got a fever. I was gutted, so I’m so glad I could wrestle in the show this time.”
Continuing, Takahashi revealed his dream of wrestling on primetime television and singled out Darby Allin as the opponent he’d most like to face.
“A dream of mine is to have a match on live prime time TV. I’d be stoked to wrestle in AEW any time and defend the IWGP junior heavyweight title there. Last year, I was supposed to team up with Darby Allin and Sting. So I want to team up with Sting rather than wrestle him. Wrestling someone? That would be Darby.”
Takahashi is set to compete at All Star Junior Festival USA on August 19th in Philadelphia, PA.