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KOPW 2023 holder Shingo Takagi and Great-O-Khan were present at a special press conference on January 12, as both men presented stipulations for their bout on January 22 in Nagoya.
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Shingo Takagi- Takagi style 30 count pinfall match- First to a total of 30 counts wins!
Great-O-Khan- Mixed Martial Arts Match- both competitors will be in gi- KO, TKO or submissions only! If Great-O-Khan’s stipulation wins, Takagi must put his IWGP World Heavyweight number one contendership on the line!
Great-O-Khan was first to speak, bringing with him a clutch of accolades attained in the world of combat sports as he addressed KOPW 2023 holder Shingo Takagi.
‘First of all, Takagi here complained on a near daily basis about his trophy, but we would like to suggest that trophies are no bad thing. This one is for distinguished achievement. Here a world sambo championship trophy… The Don Quixote All Japanese Beach Wrestling Championship Grand winner… International Submission Wrestling champion…We don’t recall these achievements, such is their number, but the record books show all that we have achieved. All gold medals. Karate, judo, kickboxing… but pro-wrestling belts are of interest as well.
It just irritates us. All this belt talk. Such and such needs a belt to challenge for. Winning this belt to face whoever. Where are your values? These accolades don’t fade! These are forever our achievements!’
O-Khan’s spiel angered Takagi who countered with a ‘Enough boasting! Just give your rules!’, sparking an argument that between the two combatants, O-Khan ending his thought by saying that ‘accolades deserve to be carried and displayed’ before finally presenting his choice of stipulation.
Mixed Martial Arts Match
‘We shall both wear martial arts gi, which can be used for submissions. The only way to win is via KO, TKO or tapout. And in case you are so scared that you attempt to escape the ring, let’s use lumberjacks as well, shall we? Bring anybody you wish. Our United Empire teammates will of course be present. So let us have a proper fight, one on one with a clear winner like men. Whether you peasants choose to vote or not? Do as you wish.’
Takagi responded incredulously to the presentation, asking ‘We’re both pro-wrestlers. Why should we have a Mixed Martial Arts match?’
‘You may merely be a professional wrestler. We are as well, but we are also a jiu jitsu practioner, a kickboxer, a judoka, a karate expert, sambo master and more,’
‘That’s all in the past. Now you’re a pro-wrestler. That includes everything anyway. So why not have a pro-wrestling fight?’
‘Gi aside, are these rules not professional, and wrestling? This one is full of excuses.’
Shingo Takagi then moved ahead with his presentation.
30 count Pinfall Match
‘I had a lot of KOPW title matches in 2022, and one that I thought really helped elevate the status of the title was in April, a match that really showed how hard fought this title can be- the Takagi Style 30 Count Pinfall Match. In Hiroshima, Taichi and I fought it out in a match that really represented what KOPW should be. No countouts, no submissions. Whoever gets a total of 30 counts wins.
Just as O-Khan’s rule angered Takagi, so to did the challenger scoff at Shingo’s suggestion.
‘You’re the KOPW holder, and you’ve suggested a rule we’ve had before?’
‘It was a good rule’
‘Not just that, but no submissions? You’re running scared are you not?’
‘No, of course not! But you can’t have a submission with 30 counts.’
‘Oh, Mr High and Mighty, Pro-wrestling is a combination of arts, pro-wrestling above all, but you would deny a SANADA, a Zack Sabre Jr., any other submission wrestler? This hypocrite talking of what’s best in KOPW, when all he did was complain about wanting a belt instead of a trophy, that he wasn’t interested in the title any more.’
‘You certainly keep up with my comments’
‘We hear all. This must be the Old Japanese Spirit they speak of…’
‘You’re Japanese!’
‘We are not. Our nationality is unclear.’
In the midst of a quarrel between holder and challenger that is quickly becoming a theme in KOPW press conferences, Shingo Takagi left with the final thought that ‘this is the main event of a big card in Nagoya. Forget this holder stuff. I am a KOPW Champion, he is a challenger, this is a title match. Think about it, New Japan. That’s the way it should be’.
Asked if he had further thoughts, O-Khan responded ‘We do. In Ota, you said right to the camera- you would put your IWGP World Heavyweight Championship challenger status on the line as well. It seems you have forgotten, or are running scared’.
Takagi stated that ‘I don’t plan on backing down on anything,’
‘Well then, what about it?’
‘This is a rule presentation, nothing to do with the IWGP. How about if your rule wins, the number one contendership is on the line. If my rules win, then it won’t be.’
‘Typical Old Japanese Spirit. Full of excuses. Well if it must be so then we will humor you. Our rules then, a mixed martial arts match with the IWGP World heavyweight Contendership on the line? Loyal subjects know the right choice to make.’
