2021 was the year of the Dragon in professional wrestling. From the massive rise of Shingo Takagi in NJPW and the return of The American Dragon, Bryan Danielson. However, only one of them was in the running for a prestigious award from TokyoSports. This is their MVP of 2021, and Shingo Takagi was able to come out on top of their list.
Shingo Takagi Has Been The Best Wrestler Of 2021 – And Not Just In Japan
In 2020, this award went to Tetsuya Naito – which means Los Ingobernables de Japón has taken the MVP award two years in a row. This year, it came down to Shingo Takagi or Keiji Mutoh, who claimed the GHC Heavyweight Championship, completing the trio of Japanese world championships – a feat only done by two others in Kensuke Sasaki and Yoshihiro Takayama.
However, the insane quality of Shingo Takagi matches – and their consistency was likely what put him over the edge. From Jeff Cobb at Wrestle Kingdom, to Hiroshi Tanahashi at Wrestle Grand Slam, and many others along the way? Shingo has been an absolute machine in NJPW. He is carrying the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship into Wrestle Kingdom, where he will face Kazuchika Okada.
While Tokyo Sports is more or less just concerned with Japan, it’s not hard to stretch out further and say Shingo is the MVP of pro wrestling in 2021. Only Kenny Omega in AEW had a horse in the same race. That was due to him being a triple world champion, and having top tier matches while suffering from a variety of injuries that would shelve a lesser performer.
Other NJPW award winners include Dangerous Tekkers getting Tag Team of the year, and Great-O-Khan getting the Technique award. O-Khan intends to claim MVP someday however, giving him a big goal to fight towards.
Comments From A Humble Shingo Takagi About Winning This Award
Shingo would say the following after receiving the news.
“Thank you for voting me as MVP. I don’t have the time here to really express how I feel, or how happy I am at the award, but to hear that the nominations were mainly for me and Keiji Muto, that shows that Yamanashi is churning out the best in Japan and the world, and that’s pretty cool in my book.
Looking back on the year, just like in 2020, we had to live with COVID, and the challenges that presents. We all as pro-wrestlers had to put everything we have into doing what we could. We were still performing in front of half capacity buildings, and the fans weren’t allowed to cheer. So it was up to us to express what they couldn’t. We had to bring that heat and energy, we had to create that emotional connection with the fans there, and of course watching at home. That’s what I was thinking in every single match.
This year I was chosen as MVP, but I don’t believe I did anything particularly different this year. It was business as usual, as far as I was concerned. Other people were saying ‘it should be Shingo’ but, y’know, this business is a lot like any other; sometimes luck and timing can make all the difference. Looking back, I guess that for all my talking about being fired up, this was the year that people bought into my conviction.”
Who is your MVP in pro wrestling for 2021? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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