‘The Dragon’ Shingo Takagi was one of the more impressive talents in NJPW last year. Entering the company after years of dominance in Dragon Gate, he took the vacant junior heavyweight role in Los Ingobernables De Japon, and would go undefeated until he was slayed by Will Ospreay in the finals of the Best of Super Juniors.
He would then join the heavyweights in the G1 Climax, where he wouldn’t quite stay undefeated, finishing in the middle of the pack. His matches with Tomohiro Ishii & Jon Moxley were some of the best in the tournament, with his hard-hitting style truly shining.
After netting a pinfall against new NEVER Openweight Champion Hirooki Goto in a tag match at New Years Dash, he declared his intention to become the new champion sometime in the New Beginning tour, if Goto is man enough to accept his challenge.
Shingo Takagi & The NEVER Openweight Divison
Shingo will truly be at home in the division which has prided itself on hard hitting and brutal action, which has been home to men like Katsuyori Shibata, Tomoaki Honma, Tomohiro Ishii, Minoru Suzuki, and KENTA amongst others. A real who’s who of the baddest men in the company. Shingo with his hard striking and rapid speed will be hard to contend with once he gets more comfortable, and having beaten the champion in the middle of the ring, he is at the front of the pack. Former champion KENTA has moved on to try and dethrone the new dual champion in Tetsuya Naito, leaving Goto open to challenges like this.
How The New Beginning Tour Is Shaping Up
NJPW always starts off a year hot and this year is no exception. With matches like Juice Robinson & David Finlay vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi For The IWGP Tag Team Championships, Minoru Suzuki vs. Jon Moxley for the IWGP United States Championship, & KENTA vs. Tetsuya Naito for both the IWGP Intercontinental & Heavyweight Championships all being teased for the tour, it should be a very interesting time to watch NJPW. The shows will be split between the United States & Japan this time around, as the plans for New Japan Pro Wrestling Of America start to take form.
Are you excited to see Hirooki Goto & Shingo Takagi bring strong style to new heights later this month? Let us know in the comment section down below.
