Leading up to King of Pro Wrestling 2018, Shingo Takagi was revealed as the newest member of Los Ingobernables De Japon. The former Dragon Gate ace had amassed an impressive resume elsewhere in the world of wrestling, but when it came time to ply his trade in NJPW, it made sense that he partner with a man he trained with at Animal Hamaguchi’s Gym years earlier. 

Although initially engaging in junior heavyweight competition, Takagi would declare himself an ‘openweight’ and that showed in his combination of speed and explosive power. Instantly making a mark, he won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships with BUSHI at Wrestle Kingdom 13, and continued a march of dominance into 2019, still not being pinned or submitted in a NJPW ring. That impressive 8-month run came to an end in dramatic fashion in Ryogoku Sumo Hall at the Best of the Super Jr. 26 finals when he was pinned by Will Ospreay. Takagi entered G1 Climax 29 as a Jr. Heavyweight wrestler beating 4 Heavyweight wrestlers. After his final match of G1 Climax 29, Takagi announced his shift to Heavyweight division.

On January 5 2020 at Wrestle Kingdom 14, Takagi, BUSHI & EVIL won the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championships in a gauntlet match. The next month, Takagi defeated Hirooki Goto to score his first singles championship in NJPW, the NEVER Openweight Championship. Now a double NEVER champion, Takagi seeks to represent the hard hitting, anything-goes NEVER spirit and mentality, a goal Shingo more than lived up to in Korakuen Hall defences heading into the spring.