8 NJPW Best of Super Junior Participants Who Made The Successful Move to Heavyweight

6. Shingo Takagi

Many New Japan fans doubted that Shingo Takagi belonged in the Junior division as soon as he stepped into a New Japan Ring. Yet, with the absence of Hiromu, he was the perfect addition to Los Ingobernables de Japon. He quickly dominated and went unbeaten from October 2018 until the finals of the 2019 BoSJ tournament.

Inevitably, Shingo moved away from the division. He had always preferred to be labelled as Openweight. The NEVER division was the perfect bridge to heavyweight, as he helped to raise the prestige of the belt. He officially became heavyweight in June 2019 and shined.

The Dragon’s big moment came in 2019 at Dominion when Shingo defeated Kazuchika Okada for the vacant IWGP World Heavyweight championship. He held the title for an impressive 211 days before losing it to Kazuchika Okada. Shingo might be far away from the Heavyweight Championship scene. But even as the KOPW champion, the Dragon is genuinely showcasing his dominance.

• best of super junior
• kota ibushi
• Shingo Takagi
• NJPW
• Will Ospreay
• Kenny Omega

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