After defeating Yuji Nagata in the marquee during the July 31st Summer Struggle tour event, Minoru Suzuki immediately made it clear that he had his eyes set on a short-term goal.
Shortly after it was unveiled in the ring that Suzuki wanted to meet NEVER Openweight Champion Shingo Takagi and make the V4 challenge for the title. Their match at Summer Struggle in Jingu will be the first of three headline matches and is primed to be the most physical match on the card.
With a victory, Los Ingobernables de Japon (LIJ) member Shingo Takagi will tie the NEVER Openweight Championship successful defense mark during a reign (four), a record currently held by Masato Tanaka, Tomohiro Ishii, and his upcoming opponent Minoru Suzuki.
Through Twitter, Toa Henare has made it known that he has his eyes set on becoming NEVER Openweight Champion and seemingly wants to test himself against Shingo. If Shingo were to retain against Suzuki, Henare would be the next likely challenger — assuming travel between Japan and New Zealand opens shortly.
However, Minoru Suzuki is looking to reclaim a singles championship after failing to defeat Jon Moxley in his V2 defense of the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship on February 9th during The New Beginning in Osaka featured event.
This match is also the first time Suzuki/Takagi will meet in a one on one environment, adding extra intrigue as to how the match will play out. Takagi has a lot of momentum, but despite Suzuki mostly relying on intense striking — he can fall back on his catch wrestling expertise at any point to give himself the advantage.
Shingo’s goal is to raise the level of the NEVER Openweight Championship to rival that of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, a win over Suzuki will take him one step closer in elevating the title to new drawing heights.
