Former IWGP World Heavyweight champion Shingo Takagi spoke with the NJPW press about his experience at Forbidden Door last month and what it was like to team up with the icon Sting. Takagi also names opponents he would like to face from AEW in the future. Highlights from the interview are below.
Who he would like to wrestle in AEW and how Sting carried their Forbidden Door match:
Well, I think the guys that I have wrestled before, or had near misses with. So Bryan (Danielson) (Samoa) Joe, Claudio (Castagnoli), PAC. But then Sting… Sting just entirely carried that match we had (laughs). From the entrance on, it was all Sting. That’s a legend for you. He was a real model for me going forward, that’s the kind of wrestler I need to be.
Says he would like to compete in a title match next time NJPW and AEW does a collaboration:
One thing about that event was that Tanahashi and Okada had title matches, Ishii would have had a title match but for injury. I was running hard as IWGP World Champion for most of last year and I think people shouldn’t forget that. If I go over there again I should be in the title picture, I should be a main event guy there.
On hearing fans be loud for the first time in years due to Japan’s restrictions:
I’d planned to just pretty much go out there, business as usual, but with the place so loud, and then the (All Atlantic Championship 4 way) match before us really going down well, I had my doubts for a second. I think I’m just so used to the no cheering thing, it’s so ingrained now. What you do doesn’t change at all, but when you hear those voices, it does become ‘man, I really can’t let these guys down’ so it kind of sharpens your instincts as a professional. Obviously I want that back for Japan as well, and when it comes, I want the fans to make even more noise than they did before.