Shōdai with a 12–3 record, his first runner-up performance as an ōzeki. The November 2020 basho started without both yokozuna and with two ōzeki withdrawing in the first five days, leaving Takakeishō as the only remaining ōzeki in the tournament and the highest ranked in the field. After winning his first eight matches in a row, he faced Terunofuji on the final day, while leading the tournament with a 13-1 record. Although he lost that match, the two faced off again in a playoff, which Takakeishō won to earn his second top division championship, his first as an ōzeki. Takakeishō also had the most wins in 2020 out of any wrestler, with 51. Takakeishō had been aiming for promotion to yokozuna in the January 2021 tournament, but the opportunity was all but gone after losing his first four matches. After just two wins in nine days, he withdrew on day 10 as a result of an ankle injury. Facing demotion from his rank in the March tournament, he secured a 10-5 winning record, allowing him to stay an ozeki. He was runner-up to Terunofuji in the May tournament with a 12–3 record, defeating Terunofuji in their regulation match on the final day but losing to him in the subsequent playoff. Takakeishō withdrew from the July 2021 tournament after suffering a neck injury in his Day 2 match against Ichinojō. The injury required one month of recovery time, according to officials. Upon his return in September he lost his first three matches, and would have lost his ōzeki rank had he withdrawn again. He managed an 8–7 record, and performed better in November, finishing runner-up to Terunofuji on 12–3. Takakeishō pulled out of the January 2022 tournament on the fourth day after he sprained his right ankle in his loss to Ura the day before. It was Takakeishō's eighth career kyūjō, and the March 2022 basho was his fifth tournament in kadoban status. He preserved his rank by securing his eighth win on the 11th day of the March tournament against Kotonowaka. Following a further 8-7 record in the March tournament, Takakeishō achieved three consecutive double-digit winning scores in the July, September and November basho, finishing as joint runner-up to Ichinojō alongside yokozuna Terunofuji and losing a play-off for the November title to Abi in November. On the strength of the latter performance, he was a candidate for yokozuna promotion in