Sumo debut and makuuchi promotion Wakatakakage made his professional debut in March 2017, and because of his success in amateur sumo began as a
sandanme tsukedashi entrant. He won the
sandanme division championship in May 2017 with a perfect 7–0 record and also won the
makushita division championship in January 2018 by the same score. He made his
jūryō debut in May 2018, the second to do from
Arashio stable after
Sokokurai in 2010 and the first from
Fukushima Prefecture since in 2009. He rose slowly up the
jūryō division, winning promotion to the top
makuuchi division after a 9–6 record at
jūryō 3 in September 2019. Despite a poor 2–6 start to that tournament he won his final seven matches (including wins over top division veterans such as
Toyonoshima and
Kaisei) to secure his promotion. He was the third
sandanme tsukedashi entrant to reach the top division after
Yutakayama and
Asanoyama. Wakatakakage won his first four bouts in his top division debut in November 2019, but dislocated a joint in his right foot after landing awkwardly during his fourth day win over
Terutsuyoshi and had to withdraw from the rest of the tournament. Back in
jūryō he put together two consecutive winning records of 9–6 and 10–5 upon his return from injury to earn promotion back the top division for the (subsequently cancelled) May 2020 tournament at his highest rank to date of
maegashira 14. In July 2020 he completed his first full tournament in
makuuchi, posting a respectable 10 wins. In September he was on the leaderboard for much of the tournament, although he picked up his fourth loss to
Mitakeumi on Day 14 and finished in a share of third place on 11–4. On 31 December 2020 – 10 days before the start of the January 2021
basho - it was announced by the Sumo Association that Wakatakakage tested positive for
COVID-19. The entire Arashio stable – along with the
Miyagino,
Tomozuna and
Kokonoe stables – sat out the tournament. He returned in March and produced a 10–5 record, defeating two
ōzeki and receiving the Technique
Prize. He earned his second Technique Prize in May 2021 with a 9–6 record and was promoted to the ''san'yaku
ranks for the first time as komusubi. He was the first from Arashio stable to reach the komusubi'' rank since its founding in 2002.
''San'yaku'' After consecutive
winning records at the top
maegashira rank in November 2021 and January 2022, Wakatakakage was promoted to a career-best rank of
sekiwake for the March 2022 tournament. He followed up this
sekiwake debut by winning his first
makuuchi tournament after producing a 12-3 record and defeating co-leader
Takayasu in a playoff, along with receiving his third Technique prize. This marked the first time in 86 years that a newly promoted
sekiwake won the championship (after
Futabayama in 1936), as well as the first time in 50 years that a wrestler from
Fukushima Prefecture won the championship (after
Tochiazuma in January 1972). Wakatakakage failed to defeat
ōzeki Shōdai in the final regulation match (thus missing out on the Outstanding Performance Prize that he would have received with a 13–2 record), but was guaranteed at least a playoff as Takayasu had lost his own match to
Abi earlier in the day. Maintaining his
sekiwake rank in July, Wakatakakage recovered from losing his first three matches in September to produce an 11–4 record. He received his fourth Technique Prize on the final day. He achieved an 8–7 record in the November tournament to close out the year.
Injury and relegation In the January 2023 tournament Wakatakakage earned a 9–6 record. He withdrew towards the end of the March 2023
basho after injuring his right
ACL and
meniscus in his win over
Kotonowaka on Day 13. The following month stablemaster Arashio (former
maegashira Sōkokurai) announced that Wakatakakage would be sidelined for up to one year after undergoing reconstructive knee surgery. When withdrawing from the September tournament, his medical certificate with the Sumo Association indicated he would need "approximately one month of treatment and outpatient rehabilitation." In preparation for the November 2023 tournament, Wakatakakage was demoted to the
makushita division, where he was ranked sixth. No longer a
sekitori, observers noted that he now wore the black
mawashi of the lower-ranked wrestlers during his trainings. Noting his training sessions without knee braces,
Sports Hochi speculated about a possible return to competition for the Kyushu tournament that same month, Wakatakakage's return at the November tournament was confirmed when his name was listed among the
makushita matches for the first day. He began his comeback with a defeat but bounced back to finish the tournament with a score of . During the first tournament of 2024, Wakatakakage won all his matches, winning his second
makushita championship, the first in six years. This victory marks the second time a former
makuuchi championship winner has won a
makushita championship after a period of demotion, the first being
Yokozuna Terunofuji in
2019. He won the May 2024 championship with 14 wins, resulting in his return to the top division in July.
Return to ''san'yaku'' When the banzuke for the January 2025 tournament was published, it was confirmed that Wakatakakage was returning to the ''
san'yaku'' ranks, where his brother Wakamotoharu also competed. Wakamotoharu, having completed on two successful tournaments in September and November 2024, could, according to the press, count on his brother's promotion in order to aim for the rank of
ōzeki. Wakatakakage quickly dispatched
Terunofuji on the opening day of the January tournament to mark his first career victory against a . During the 2025 May tournament, Wakatakakage stood out as one of the leaders of the competition, recording seven victories and one defeat during the first half of the tournament, sharing the lead group after undefeated
Ōnosato with
Aonishiki and
Hakuōhō. Although he fell behind in the race for the title, Wakatakakage matched his personal best with a total of twelve victories, renewing hopes of promotion to . For his performance, he also won his sixth Technique prize. At the July 2025 tournament Wakatakakage won ten times, putting him in a position for potential promotion to sumo's second-highest rank of if he can win 11 or more matches in September. Before the tournament, his chances of promotion were commented on by Takadagawa (former
Akinoshima), head of the
Judging Department, who announced that his sumo level should be sufficient for promotion to the rank of if he managed to achieve a simple double-digit score (ten wins), rather than clinging to the criterion of 33 wins in the last three tournaments. The run for the title was considered compromised when Wakatakakage suffered a fourth defeat against
Kirishima on Day 9. Although benefiting from the presence of
Kotozakura alone in the rank, which would allow him to be promoted with only ten wins, it was noted that his chances had become slim as he had yet to face either of the two . After suffering a sixth defeat to
Kotoshōhō on Day 11, his promotion chances were ended. On Day 14, he suffered his eighth defeat, ensuring his demotion from ''san'yaku
for the November tournament. On the opening day of the March 2026 tournament, Wakatakakage, then ranked at Maegashira 1, defeated Yokozuna Ōnosato by oshidashi
for his first career . In his Day 13 match against Abi, Wakatakakage appeared to aggravate the right-elbow injury that he suffered prior to the tournament. Despite this, Wakatakakage won the match to secure his kachi-koshi
and return to the san'yaku'' ranks in the next tournament. He withdrew on Day 14, giving
Daieishō a default victory. ==Fighting style==