Shingo Takagi with pre-semifinal thoughts
This weekend, we finally go from 48 to just one to lift the 2022 New Japan Cup. Saturday sees opponents well familiar with one another, as Tetsuya Naito and Kazuchika Okada meet in the main event, and Shingo Takagi collides with Zack Sabre Jr. We chatted with Shingo about their third meeting in a six month span, and coming full circle from a different tournament semifinal in 2009.
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–How are you feeling heading into these semifinals?
Shingo: I’ve gotten this far, so all I’m thinking about is the trophy. I’m not celebrating making the final four at all, if anything I’m more tense now.
–You’ll be facing Zack Sabre Jr. in the semifinals.
Shingo: That’s never a fun situation. I’ve always found him hard to deal with. I started watching his match with Ospreay, but he was just so good that it wasn’t helping me any to watch, so I gave up on that. If I’d stayed around, I would just lose faith in myself.
–You were full of bravado before you met Zack in the G1 last year, but did your last two meetings with ZSJ remind you of what he could do?
Shingo: In the end of our title match I was able to make him wrestle my style of match and I just about won out. But you know, even from last year to this, we’ve both progressed and advanced. To be honest, I think I’m even more comfortable wrestling the way I want to wrestle than when I was champion. I think if I bring the best that I have right now to him then I can pull it off. Even with someone like him who I have a lot of difficulty with, Shingo Takagi at his best can beat absolutely everyone.
–Let’s assume you do make it to the final; is there one opponent you’d like to face more?
Shingo: If I took a fan’s perspective, Takagi vs Naito is definitely an interesting prospect, and after wrestling Hiromu in the quarters, it’s definitely fun to face a teammate. Plus, last year I lost to Naito in the G1 and I want to go again. On the other hand, it hasn’t been three months since January 4, right?
–When you faced Kazuchika Okada in the Tokyo Dome.
Shingo: Some of those fans might have started to forget that I was champion, and that I did lose to Okada. To me though, that was a really crushing loss. It’s important to me that I stand in front of him again and say ‘I’m still here,’ and most of all, that I get revenge for that loss. That wasn’t it between us, not by a long shot.
–Obviously when you talk about winning the new Japan Cup, the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship is the next topic on the agenda. That’s something you’ve talked with Tokyo Sports about, having a contract?
Shingo: Right. Last year, I was the champion when Okada won the G1, and after that, everything got so hazy with all these belts around the place. That was a stressful position for me to be in. Now, I’m not saying that I’m out for revenge here, but that I might not be completely straight ahead with things after I win.
–Meaning?
Shingo: Well, we never had a briefcase, never had a contract after the G1. That might be interesting. Of course, we’ll be doing it Takagi Style. I choose the time and place.
–Traditionally that challenge has taken place in Ryogoku Sumo Hall in April, but you’re saying that it might not be the case for you?
Shingo: Heheh. Who says we can’t make it an anywhere, anytime, any title deal? I mean, I just happened to see online yesterday that SANADA’s surgery went without any issues, and he’s on the road to recovery. So maybe the US title then? That would be pretty cool, too.
–Some interesting developments to keep our eyes on then. Any final thoughts?
Shingo: Last year I was the runner-up, so this year I really went in thinking it had to be all or nothing. That’s what I was saying this whole time, and it was as much to myself as it was to all the people. I’m not satisfied with being in the final four, and won’t be with making the final. I only have eyes on the trophy.
–I see.
Shingo: When it comes to a show of strength for LIJ, especially with SANADA on the shelf for now, it’s nice that me and Naito are both in the final four, but it goes for both me and the team- I can’t lose, and we can’t lose. I’m sure Naito feels exactly the same way.
–But you still want to face Okada.
Shingo: I want to face him, and I want to get him back! It’s that simple.
