As 2020 comes to a close many people have started thinking about what wrestling can be in 2021. One of those people is New Japan Pro Wrestling’s NEVER Openweight Champion, Shingo Takagi.
Takagi recently spoke with njpw1972.com ahead of Wrestle Kingdom 15 and talked about how to be successful in pro wrestling. A significant point he made was that you have to be the real deal. Here is the quote:
“No doubt [You never stop learning]. That was always the case, and it was changed a lot this year with the fans not being allowed to yell or chant. That created a different kind of wrestling, and I think that’ll evolve in 2021. I really think from now on, it’ll be only the strong that survive, and only the realest that survive. You have to be the real deal, I think. Up to now, it was easier to gauge; those guys that popped the crowds, we thought they were the best, but now you don’t have that audible feedback, right?
So I think if you aren’t the real deal, if you can get a pop but that’s it, if everything you have is superficial, you won’t last in this environment. Look, things are tough all over. Nobody is sitting pretty. I don’t even think my spot is a given; look at my record in the New Japan Cup, or the G1 this year! So I have to fight for all I have in 2021, starting with this match.”
Shingo Takagi won the NEVER Openweight Championship from Minoru Suzuki at Power Struggle in November. He will make his first title defence at Wrestle Kingdom 15 against Jeff Cobb on Night Two.
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