 Takagi in 2020 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Shin Takagi (1982-11-21)November 21, 1982 (age 42)[1] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Shingo Takagi Shingo |
| Billed height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1] |
| Billed weight | 100 kg (220 lb)[1] |
| Trained by | Dragon Gate dojo[2] Animal Hamaguchi[3] |
| Debut | October 3, 2004[1] |
Shin Takagi (鷹木 信,Takagi Shin) (born 21 November 1982),[4] known by the ring nameShingo Takagi (鷹木信悟,Takagi Shingo), is a Japaneseprofessional wrestler. He is signed toNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is a former member of theLos Ingobernables de Japónstable and is afive-timeNEVER Openweight Champion. Takagi is best known for his appearances in NJPW andDragongate (then known as "Dragon Gate"), as well asRing of Honor (ROH),All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) and thepuroresuindependent circuit. He also makes appearances forAll Elite Wrestling (AEW) and British PromotionRevolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro).
Takagi first became known for his work with Dragongate, where he competed from his debut in 2004 up until 2018. Known during his tenure as the "Pumping Hawk", he was recognized as the promotion's topheel for many years and incantations, and went on to become one of the most decorated wrestlers in the company's history, winning theOpen the Dream Gate Championship, the top championship in the promotion, four times in eight years. He was also known as the leader of theNew Hazard, Real Hazard, KAMIKAZE, -akatsuki-, VerserK and ANTIAS stables in Dragongate, and for his long-lasting rivalry withBxB Hulk, with whom he faced off against in several prominent events. He had his last contracted Dragongate match on October 7, 2018, where he would lose to BxB Hulk. During his time in Dragongate, he also spent an extended amount of time with American promotions such asFull Impact Pro,Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and Ring of Honor (ROH); In ROH, he became aROH World Tag Team Champion alongside then-stablemateNaruki Doi in 2007.
On October 8, 2018, Takagi made his surprise debut in NJPW as the foreshadowed sixth member ("pareja") of theLos Ingobernables de Japón stable as "The Dragon" (not to be confused with fellow NJPW wrestlerTatsumi Fujinami, who was also known as "The Dragon"). Originally performing in the Junior Heavyweight division, he went on to be undefeated as a singles competitor and overall unpinned and unsubmitted until theBOSJ 2019 final. He also held theIWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship once with fellowIngobernables memberBushi from January to March 2019. Takagi moved to the Heavyweight division in June 2019, debuting atG1 Climax 29. From February to August 2020, Takagi held both theNEVER Openweight Championship and theNEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship (with Bushi andEvil), making him the first person to hold bothNEVER titles at the same time. After losing the NEVER Title in August, he regained it in November for a second time. By winning theIWGP World Heavyweight Championship atDominion 6.6 in Osaka-jo Hall in 2021, Takagi became the only wrestler that won the top championships in NJPW and Dragongate.
Takagi has been praised for his wrestling abilities in both NJPW and Dragongate,[5][6] to which has garnered him numerous accolades. He was recognized and voted as the "Rookie of the Year" in theWrestling Observer Newsletter Awards in 2005. In 2021, he notably placed 9th on thePro Wrestling Illustrated "PWI 500" list, received theMVP Award at theTokyo Sports Puroresu Awards, and was ranked as the "Most Outstanding Wrestler" andJapanese wrestling's most valuable player by the readers of theWrestling Observer Newsletter.
Shingo Takagi debuted in October 2004 as the first graduate of the Dragon Gate dojo.[2] He was also trained byAnimal Hamaguchi. Takagi won the2005 Wrestling Observer Rookie of the Year award.[3][2]
In Dragon Gate, Takagi became a member of the Blood Generation stable. On May 10, 2007, shortly after forming the stableNew Hazard, Takagi – along withBxB Hulk andCyber Kong – defeated the Typhoon team ofCima,Susumu Yokosuka, andRyo Saito for theDragon Gate Open the Triangle Gate Championship.[2] They held the championship until July 13, 2007, when the team were forced to vacate the championship as BxB Hulk had sustained a jaw injury. Takagi and Kong replaced Hulk withJack Evans, and challenged for the vacant championship against theMuscle Outlaw'z team ofNaruki Doi,Masato Yoshino, andMagnitude Kishiwada, but were unsuccessful.
On May 14, 2008, Takagi and Kong turned on Hulk shortly before a scheduled Open the Triangle Gate Championship defense againstGenki Horiguchi,Gamma andYamato of the Muscle Outlaw'z, citing Hulk as a weakling. Takagi and Kong then joined up with Genki, Gamma, Yamato andYasushi Kanda, ending both New Hazard and Muscle Outlaw'z and forming Real Hazard, a new faction. Takagi then teamed with Gamma and Yamato to win the newly-vacant Open the Triangle Gate Championship, defeating Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino and Hulk.[2] On June 28, they lost the Open the Triangle Gate Championship toKenichiro Arai,Taku Iwasa andShinobu of the Tozawa-juku faction.
The following day, he fought BxB Hulk to a one-hour draw in a number one contender's match for Cima'sOpen the Dream Gate Championship. They were immediately scheduled for a rematch on July 27, but this time the Open the Dream Gate Championship was on the line as Cima had to vacate the championship due to a neck injury. On July 10, doubt was already cast over his standing in Real Hazard when he stopped them andTokyo Gurentai members from trying to give Cima an unwanted haircut. This caused tensions to stir between him and the others, especially with Kong. On July 27, Takagi defeated BxB Hulk to win the Open the Dream Gate Championship.[2] After the match, Takagi apologized to Hulk and retracted his statement about him being weak. Soon after, Kong attempted to attack Cima, who was at the announce table, but Takagi stopped him. After a brief argument, Real Hazard attacked Takagi and kicked him out of the group for showing compassion towards Hulk and Cima, but he was saved by Typhoon.
Typhoon offered him membership in the faction, but he turned it down. He later teamed withDragon Kid, a Typhoon member, in theSummer Adventure Tag League Tournament, and the pair reached the final before they were beaten by Naruki Doi and Masato Yoshino.[7] Following this, Takagi changed his mind and joined Typhoon. Takagi's membership caused tension within the faction, and led to Susumu Yokosuka challenging Takagi to a match on November 16 for the Open the Dream Gate Championship. Takagi retained, and then tried to banish Yokosuka from Typhoon as punishment. Ryo Saito tried to stop him, and then Cima was called out. Takagi gave him a lariat before he could say anything, resulting in his banishment from Typhoon. After that, Takagi announced that he would not be participating in the annual King of Gate Tournament.
Takagi began teaming withAkira Tozawa and Taku Iwasa after the faction they had been members of, Tozawa-juku, had disbanded, with the trio officially forming a new faction on December 19. On December 28, Takagi lost the Open the Dream Gate Championship to Naruki Doi, who had won the King of the Gate Tournament. On January 11, 2009, Dragon Kid joined the new faction, with Takagi called the faction Kamikaze.[2] On February 15, Takagi, Iwasa and Dragon Kid won the Open the Triangle Gate Championship, but lost the championship to Cima, Gamma and Kagetora on April 15.[2] When Yamato left Real Hazard, he joined Kamikaze, reforming his team with Takagi. The duo won the annualSummer Adventure Tag League Tournament in August, and then theOpen the Twin Gate Championship the following month.[2][8] They held the titles until December 27, when they lost them to Cima and Gamma.
On March 22, 2010, Takagi and Cyber Kong defeated Cima and Gamma to regain the Open the Twin Gate Championship. Takagi participated in the 2010King of Gate tournament and beat Dragon Kid in the final on April 14, 2010. This allowed him to contest Open the Dream Gate Championship match against his stablemate and champion Yamato at the Dead or Alive PPV on May 5, 2010, but Yamato retained the title by making Takagi submit. Takagi and Kong would lose their Twin Gate title toK-ness and Susumu Yokosuka on May 13, 2010. Takagi then renewed his old feud with former tag partner BxB Hulk, leading to a Hair vs Hair match at the Kobe World Pro Wrestling Festival 2010 on July 11. Takagi won the match and shaved off Hulk's hair.
After returning from an injury, Takagi disbanded Kamikaze on May 13, 2011 and the following day joined forces withMasaaki Mochizuki's new stable, Junction Three, to battle Cima's Blood Warriors. After Junction Three was disbanded in February 2012, Takagi, alongside Yamato, joined up with Dragon Gate Nex Member Chihiro Tominaga, and the debuting Super Shenlong III and formed -akatsuki- on April 19, 2012. On July 22, 2012, Takagi and Yamato defeated Jimmy Kagetora and Jimmy Susumu to become the 22nd Open the Twin Gate Champions. They lost the title toDon Fujii and Masaaki Mochizuki on September 23, 2012.[9] Takagi and Yamato won the title for their third time together on May 5, 2013, by defeating BxB Hulk andUhaa Nation.[10] They lost the title to Akira Tozawa and BxB Hulk on June 15, when Yamato turned on Takagi.[11] On July 21, Takagi defeated Cima to win the Open the Dream Gate Championship for the second time.[12] On August 1, -akatsuki- was forced to disband, after losing toMad Blankey in a five-on-four tag team match.[13] On August 23, Takagi lost the Open the Dream Gate Championship to Yamato in his first defense.[14] In order to continue his battle with Mad Blankey, Takagi formed a new stable named Monster Express with Akira Tozawa, Masato Yoshino,Ricochet, Shachihoko Boy and Uhaa Nation.[15][16] On December 22, Takagi and Tozawa defeated Naruki Doi and Yamato to win the Open the Twin Gate Championship.[17] They lost the title toEita andT-Hawk on July 20, 2014.[18] On August 31, Shingo, Tozawa andUhaa Nation unsuccessfully challenged for the Open the Triangle Gate Championship against Cyber Kong, Naruki Doi and Kzy with Shingo getting pinned after Kong hit him with the Cyber Bomb. Shingo and Tozawa lost in the Summer Adventure Tag League semi-finals against T-Hawk and Eita.[19] On December 28, Shingo unsuccessfully challenged for the Open the Dream Gate title against BxB Hulk. On August 16, 2015, Takagi defeated Masato Yoshino to win the Open the Dream Gate Championship for the third time.[20] Shortly afterwards, Takagi was kicked out of Monster Express after turning on his then-stablemates Yoshino and Shachihoko BOY.[21] Takagi would then form a new heel unit with the remnants of Mad Blankey, becoming the co-leader of the unit alongside Naruki Doi. On September 23, 2015, the new unit was named VerserK.[22] On February 14, Takagi lost the Open the Dream Gate Championship to Jimmy Susumu in his fourth defense. He would regain the title from Susumu on March 6, becoming the first four-time champion. On July 24, 2016, Takagi lost the championship toYamato.[23] On January 18, 2017, Takagi, along with fellow VerserK teammates T-Hawk andEl Lindaman won a special One Day 6 Man Tag Tournament, defeating Kotoka,Masato Yoshino andBen-K.[24]
Shortly after becoming a member of Blood Generation, Shingo began wrestling forRing of Honor (ROH) in the United States. He made several ROH appearances before becoming a regular wrestler in ROH in late 2006. He became one half of theROH World Tag Team Champions alongside Naruki Doi on March 3, 2007, by beating theBriscoe Brothers inLiverpool,England.[25] The two lost the championship back to the Briscoes atAll Star Extravaganza III on March 30.[25]
Shingo had his final official ROH match at "Good Times, Great Memories" on April 28, 2007, unsuccessfully challengingTakeshi Morishima for theROH World Championship. He challenged theBriscoe Brothers forROH World Tag Team Championship unsuccessfully at ROH'sLive in Osaka show with his partner Susumu Yokosuka on July 17. At Wrestlemania weekend in 2008 at "Dragon Gate Challenge II" and "Supercard of Honor III", he andBxB Hulk wrestled The Age of the Fall (Tyler Black andJimmy Jacobs), andEl Generico andKevin Steen respectively in his last two ROH appearances.
In June, Takagi returned to Ring of Honor, which was now the sister company ofAEW, teaming with hisLos Ingobernables de Japon teammatesHiromu Takahashi andBushi, to unsuccessfully challengeThe Mogul Embassy (Brian Cage,Bishop Kaun andToa Liona) for theROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championships.[26]
Throughout 2006 and 2007 Shingo appeared in several American promotions, includingFull Impact Pro andPro Wrestling Guerrilla.[3] On February 27, 2007, Shingo won the Southern Thunder Pro Wrestling Texas Heavyweight Championship by defeating Texas Renegade.[3] On September 5, 2007 he made his Hawaii debut for Action Zone Wrestling (AZW) teaming with Sabaki in a losing effort to AZW Tag Team Champions Devilshock. On March 8, 2009, he won his first wrestling tournament in Germany by emerging triumphant at wXw's annualwXw 16 Carat Gold Tournament. In 2009, he began wrestling forDragon Gate USA.[2]
Takagi made his surprise debut forNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) during theKing of Pro-Wrestling event on October 8, 2018, joining theLos Ingobernables de Japón (LIJ) faction.[27][28] AtWrestle Kingdom 13 on January 4, 2019, Takagi teamed withBushi to win theIWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship fromSuzuki-gun (Yoshinobu Kanemaru andEl Desperado).[29] However, Takagi and Bushi later lost the tag team championship toRoppongi 3K (Sho andYoh) at NJPW's 47th Anniversary Show on March 6.[30] At theG1 Supercard on April 6, Takagi competed in theHonor Rumble, but the match was won byKenny King.[31]
From May to June, Takagi participated in the2019 Best of Super Juniors tournament in the A Block.[32] He defeated all of his opponents in the A Block, becoming the first person to go undefeated in the tournament, and he also set a new record for most points scored in the tournament, with 18.[33][34][35][36] This allowed him to advance to the tournament final against B Block winnerWill Ospreay, where he was defeated, in what was Takagi's first pinfall loss in NJPW.[37][38]
After defeatingSatoshi Kojima atDominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo Hall, Takagi stated his intention to move into NJPW's heavyweight division and also declared himself as an entrant for the2019 G1 Climax.[39] In the G1 Climax, Takagi competed in the B Block and ended with a final score of 8 points (four wins and five losses), failing to move onto the tournament final.[40] AtDestruction in Kobe on September 22, Takagi was defeated byHirooki Goto.[41] On January 5, 2020 atWrestle Kingdom 14, Takagi andLIJ teammates Bushi andEvil defeated four other teams in agauntlet match to win theNEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship.[42] On February 1 atThe New Beginning in Sapporo, Takagi defeated Goto to win theNEVER Openweight Championship, making him a double champion and the first person to hold both NEVER championships at the same time.[43] On February 24, Takagi was announced for the2020 New Japan Cup.[44] However, due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, the event was postponed and NJPW was temporarily shut down.[45]
NJPW returned to holding events in June, and Takagi was eliminated in the first round of the New Japan Cup by Sho.[46] AtDominion in Osaka-jo Hall on July 17, Takagi defeated Sho to retain his NEVER Openweight Championship.[47] On August 1, NJPW declared the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship vacant, after Evil defected fromLIJ.[48] Takagi defeatedEl Desperado atSengoku Lord. AtSummer Struggle in Jingu on August 29, Takagi lost the NEVER Openweight Championship toMinoru Suzuki.[49] Takagi then competed in the2020 G1 Climax, in the A Block.[50] He ended the tournament with a final tally of 8 points (four wins and five losses) losing toJay White,Jeff Cobb,Tomohiro Ishii,Kazuchika Okada, andTaichi, failing to advance to the tournament final. However Takagi would get wins overYujiro Takahashi,British Heavyweight ChampionWill Ospreay, current rival Minoru Suzuki, and over eventual tournament winnerKota Ibushi.[51]
On November 7 atPower Struggle, Takagi regained theNEVER Openweight Championship by defeating Suzuki for a second time. AtWrestle Kingdom 15 on January 4, 2021, Takagi successfully defended his title againstJeff Cobb. On January 30 atThe New Beginning in Nagoya, Takagi lost the NEVER Openweight Championship toHiroshi Tanahashi.
In March 2021, Takagi would enter theNew Japan Cup where after defeatingKazuchika Okada in the first round,Hirooki Goto in the second round,KENTA in the quarter-finals, andEVIL in the semi-finals, he would lose to Will Ospreay in the final. After Ospreay defeatedKota Ibushi for theIWGP World Heavyweight Championship, Takagi would challenge him for a match atWrestling Dontaku 2021. At the event, Takagi failed to defeat Ospreay.[52] At Dominion 6.7, Shingo defeated Kazuchika Okada for the vacant championship.[53] Takagi would make his first title defense on July 25 at Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome after defeating Hiroshi Tanahashi. Takagi was originally scheduled to defend the title against Ibushi, however the latter suffered an injury and was unable to compete. Takagi made his second successful defense on September 5 by defeating EVIL at Wrestle Grand Slam inBelluna Dome. Takagi's third title defence came on November 6 against Zack Sabre Jr. atPower Struggle, in which Takagi was successful. On Night 1 ofWrestle Kingdom 16, Takagi lost the title to Kazuchika Okada, ending his reign at a record 211 days.[54]
Takagi teamed with his LIJ teammates for the remainder of Wrestle Kingdom, defeatingSuzuki-Gun on Night 2 andPro Wrestling NOAH's Kongo stable on Night 3.[55][56] Takagi attempted to rebound off of his Wrestle Kingdom Night one loss by entering theNew Japan Cup. He defeated Tomohiro Ishii,Tanga Loa,Chase Owens andHiromu Takahashi to make it to the semi-finals.[57] In the semi-finals round, Takagi lost to eventual cup winner, Zack Sabre Jr.[58]
Takagi then entered a feud with provisionalKOPW provisional champion Taichi. This led to a 30-count match, in which Takagi was victorious, becoming the new provisional KOPW Champion.[59] The two faced off again atDominion 6.12 in Osaka-jo Hall in a 10-minute scramble match, in which Takagi again emerged victorious.[60] Also at Dominion, Takagi was announced as a competitor in the upcomingG1 Climax 32 tournament, where he would compete in the D block.[61] However, before the tournament began Takagi competed atAEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door, a supershow between New Japan Pro-Wrestling and American promotionAll Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he teamed withSting andDarby Allin as 'Dudes with Attitude' to defeatBullet Club's,El Phantasmo andThe Young Bucks, with Takagi pinning Phantasmo for the win.[62] Back in Japan in the G1 Climax tournament, Takagi finished with 6 points, failing to advance to the semi-finals.[63]
Following the G1, Takagi defeated Phantasmo, retaining the provisional KOPW at Declaration of Power, in a "Who's your Daddy match", thus forcing Phantasmo to call Shingo his "Daddy", whilst dressing up as a baby.[64] The final match between the two men took place on October 28, where Takagi once again defeated Phantasmo to retain the provisional KOPW Championship, in aNew York City Street Fight.[65] In December at JTO 50th Anniversary For TAKATaichi Together, Takagi retained the KOPW provisional championship against Taichi in aLast Man Standing Match, thus making Takagi the official 2022 KOPW Champion.[66] On January 4, 2023, atWrestle Kingdom 17, Takagi competed in theNew Japan Rambo, successfully lasting till the final 4 and thus advancing to the four-way match, the following night.[67] The following night atNew Year Dash, Takagi defeated Sho,Toru Yano andGreat-O-Khan to win the 2023 KOPW provisional championship.[68]
Later that month, on January 21 atWrestle Kingdom 17 in Yokohama Arena, Takagi competed in a series of matches, where members of LIJ competed against members of Kongo, from Pro Wrestling Noah. At the event, Takagi defeated Kongo'sKatsuhiko Nakajima.[69] The following day atThe New Beginning in Nagoya, Takagi retained the provisional KOPW championship, defeated Great-O-Khan in anMMA rules match. After the victory, Takagi called out the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, Kazuchika Okada, stating he wanted to become a double champion in NJPW.[70] Takagi received his title match on February 11 atThe New Beginning in Osaka, but was defeated by Okada.[71] The following month, Takagi competed in theNew Japan Cup, but was quickly eliminated in the first round, byAaron Henare.[72] The loss earnt Henare a future KOPW championship shot, which he received on April 2. The title match was contested under "Ultimate Triad" rules, meaning that to win, a wrestler would have to pin, submit and knock their opponent down for a ten-count. Takagi would defeat Henare at the event.[73] Later that month, Takagi made his debut on NJPW Tamashii, NJPW's Australasian subsidiary.[74] On April 30, Takagi lost the provisional KOPW championship to Taichi, ending his reign at 114 days.[75]
On June 25, Takagi teamed with Bushi and Hiromu Takahashi to defeatUnited Empire (T. J. Perkins,Kyle Fletcher and Jeff Cobb) on the buy-in ofForbidden Door.[76] The following month, Takagi entered theG1 Climax tournament competing in the C Block.[77] Takagi finished his tournament with 7 points, failing to advance from his block.[78] On October 28 atFighting Spirit Unleashed, Takagi defeated Tonga to win the NEVER Openweight Championship for the third time.[79] Takagi defended his title the following month, defeatingTrent Beretta atLonestar Shootout.[80] On January 4, 2024 atWrestle Kingdom 18, Takagi lost the NEVER Openweight Championship back to Tama Tonga, ending his third reign at 68 days.[81]
The day following Wrestle Kingdom, atNew Year Dash!!, Takagi challengedJon Moxley to aNo Disqualification match, the following week atBattle in the Valley. On January 13 at the event, Takagi was defeated by Moxley. In March Takagi entered the annualNew Japan Cup, defeatingYuya Uemura andGabe Kidd to make it to the quarterfinal round.[82] On March 17, Takagi was defeated by Evil, eliminating him from the tournament.[83] Despite this, Takagi began chasing Evil, in an attempt to both redeem his loss and reclaim the NEVER Openweight Championship, which Evil had won. Takagi received his title match on April 6, atSakura Genesis. At the event, Takagi defeated Evil, winning his fourth NEVER Openweight Championship.[84]
Takagi made his first title defence on May 4, atWrestling Dontaku, defeating Gabe Kidd.[85] The following week atResurgence, Takagi retained the title against Yuya Uemura.[86] On June 9 atDominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo Hall, Takagi defended his title against Henare, when the match ended in a Double KO.[87] A week later at New Japan Soul, Takagi lost the title to Henare, ending his fourth reign at 71 days.[88] In July, Takagi participated in theG1 Climax, where he was placed in A-Block and scoring 10 points. Takagi advanced to the playoff stage, where he defeatedGreat-O-Khan in the quarter-finals, but lost to eventual winnerZack Sabre Jr. in the semi-finals. On September 29 atDestruction in Kobe, Takagi defeated Henare to win his fifth NEVER Openweight Championship.[89]
On January 4, 2025 atWrestle Kingdom 19, Takagi lost his title toKonosuke Takeshita in aWinner takes all match, also involving Takeshita'sAEW International Championship, ending his fifth reign at 97 days.[90] In March 2025, Takagi entered theNew Japan Cup, defeatingBoltin Oleg andDrilla Moloney to reach the semi-finals, before losing toShota Umino.
AtWrestling Dontaku: Night 2 on May 4 where Takagi teamed with L.I.J stablematesBushi,Hiromu Takahashi,Tetsuya Naito to defeatShota Umino,Tomohiro Ishii and Just 4 Guys' Taichi and Taka Michinoku in what would be Bushi and Naito's farewell match in NJPW. At the same event, it was announced that L.I.J would be ending as a stable moving forward.[91][92] After the L.I.J's disbandment, Takagi adopted the moniker of the "Rampage Dragon" and would go to unsuccessfully challengeHirooki Goto atDominion 6.15 in Osaka-jo Hall for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.[93]
Outside of his pro-wrestling career, Takagi supports his localfootball club,Ventforet Kofu, which currently competes inJ2 League.[94] He expressed support toLDP politicianSanae Takaichi following her appointment asPrime Minister of Japan in October 2025.
| Winner (wager) | Loser (wager) | Location | Event | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shingo Takagi (hair) | BxB Hulk (hair) | Kobe,Japan | Kobe Pro-Wrestling Festival 2010 | July 11, 2010 |
,Wrestlingdata,Internet Wrestling Database
