Wakanoyama was able to hold his own in the top division this time, rising slowly up the rankings. In March 2000, ranked at "maegashira" 1, he faced "yokozuna" Wakanohana on the opening day. The last time the two had fought was eight years previously in May 1992. This is the longest ever gap between meetings in the top division. Wakanoyama lost the match and fell short with a 6-9 record, but in January 2001 he scored 9-6 at "maegashira" 3 and won his first ever special prize. In the following tournament he was promoted to "komusubi", the highest rank he was to achieve. He was the first non-foreign and non-college wrestler from his stable to reach a "sanyaku" rank. He fought his last tournament in the top division in March 2004, and retired in September 2005 at the age of thirty three.