#tomohiroishii

[blofishcreative]

Fan #art of #njpw #tomohiroishii. #sketch #art #ink #blofishcreative (at Marrickville, New South Wales) https://www.instagram.com/p/CGEC8CrJ6md/?igshid=a90vreguynz3

[jondavidguerra]

A cool Instagram stories suggestion was Tomohiro Ishii Vs Hirooki Goto! Thought that was a real fun idea! #NJPW #tomohiroishii #hirookigoto

[therealfanbro]

The Good, The Bad, The Ishii #OrangeCassidy #RockyRomero #TomohiroIshii #AEW #AllEliteWrestling  #AEW #AEWRampage #AEWDynamite #ImWithAEW #AEWOnTNT https://www.instagram.com/p/CWdj0Wmpwgp/?utm_medium=tumblr

[djvillain]

NJPW Destruction In Hiroshima 2018 Review

[whatifitscool]

Shingo Takagi: Charting the Progress of the Dragon with the Mighty Mullet

By Timmy Daytona

To say that Shingo Takagi had a stellar introduction in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), one need only review his impressive record.

Introduced as the sixth member of Los Ingobernables de Japon in late 2018, Takagi looked as menacing as his Dragon moniker implied.

With the physique of a barrel-chested strongman, he is also the proud owner of the most magnificent mullet in pro wrestling today.

Though Takagi was already familiar to Dragon Gate audiences and the independent wrestling scene abroad, 2019 was the year that mainstream wrestling fans were put on notice.

The Dragon had arrived and he was here to dominate.

Steamrolling through the competition of Block A in the Best of the Super Juniors (BOSJ) 26 tournament, Takagi was the first man to ever reach a perfect 9-0 record on his way to the finals.

As storylines went, this was nothing new seeing a performer go unpinned or unsubmitted for so long. Same with the way he shook off almost all challengers that stood in his path.

But it was a real delight seeing how casually and expertly he dismantled the competition.

They were all insects compared to this beast of a man.

His performance with Will Ospreay in the 2019 BOSJ final was a David vs Goliath encounter of epic proportions. 33:36 of brilliance.

The power of Takagi paired well with the fancy acrobatics of Aerial Assassin Ospreay in a dynamic bout of might vs flight. Their first meeting left an indelible impression, leaving fans craving more.

Ospreay had to unload his entire arsenal before he slew the Dragon at Ryogoku.

This was a match of the year contender and for both men, the best of their careers (at the time). Especially Takagi, who, despite coming up short in the final, nonetheless impressed in his debut year.

Following BOSJ 26, Takagi’s steady rise in NJPW continued when he announced that he was moving to the heavyweight division at Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-Jo Hall 2019.

Fighting bigger opponents, the big man found foes almost as immovable as him.

His final standing in the G1 Climax 29 of 2019 of 4 wins and 5 losses included impressive wins over reliable heavy hitters Tomohiro Ishii and Hirooki Goto in brawny, big hoss battles. He’d finally met true challenges in NJPW.

While 2020 started off in memorable fashion with Takagi defeating Goto for the NEVER Openweight Championship at The New Beginning in Sapporo, everything came grinding to a halt.

In response to the global pandemic, NJPW closed their doors for a significant period last year.

When they returned, Takagi would again put in spirited efforts in the G1 as well as in defences and pursuit of the slippery NEVER Openweight title.

In his third defence, Takagi lost the title to Minoru Suzuki at Summer Struggle in Jingu on 29 August 2020 before reclaiming it from him at Power Struggle on 07 November 2020.

Between those dates, he took part in the G1 Climax 30 where he equalled his previous year’s performance. His efforts however, were even more notable as Takagi brought his fighting spirit in the rematch with Will Ospreay as well as in two matches that Kevin Kelly looked forward to most in the tournament against Kota Ibushi and Kazuchika Okada.

In their rematch on 27 September 2020, a major talking point involved Ospreay’s increased size and power. In a neat reversal of roles, Takagi was no longer the dominant aggressor while Ospreay played the overconfident larger man.

Despite moving up a division, the two did not miss a step with their sequences. The match still featured the swiftness of their 2019 confrontation, though this time with Takagi the victor as he avenged his loss from BOSJ. The two have amazing chemistry together so additional classics are sure to be achieved should this rivalry be reignited in the future.

In his first meeting against Kota Ibushi on 07 October 2020, Takagi again looked highly competitive. In a hard-hitting bout, Takagi emerged victorious when he blocked the Kamigoye and immediately converted it into Last of the Dragon for an amazing upset.

On 10 October 2020, Takagi met Kazuchika Okada. While the Rainmaker refused to use his trademark finisher, Takagi took him to the limit and outshone him in several exchanges. Most notably was his immediate recovery following a shotgun dropkick to answer Okada with a sliding lariat.

Takagi had also grown more comfortable in the lens of the camera, sometimes looking directly into it with a cheeky grin or when pumping himself up. And although Okada teased its appearance, Takagi was the one who utilised the Rainmaker – complete with pose – much to the crowd’s amusement.

Ultimately, he would fall to Okada. He sold the Money Clip’s effects beautifully as his eyes displayed his fighting spirit slowly being extinguished. Takagi still looked great even in defeat.

Wrestle Kingdom 15 featured the big hoss battle for the NEVER Openweight title against the now villainous Jeff Cobb. In a strange sight, Takagi was manhandled by Cobb like nobody else, looking visibly smaller than the former Olympian. Having lost to Cobb in previous meetings, the Dragon had to switch gears.

Memorably, Takagi hit a Tope con Giro on Cobb on the outside. Receiving just as much punishment as he dished out, Takagi had to – as Chris Charlton said – summon the will of the people on more than one occasion to make it through the war.

He eventually found a weakness to exploit and after targeting Cobb’s knee, he cut down the human tree. A late stage Pumping Bomber turned Cobb inside out before Last of the Dragon saw Takagi finally overcome Cobb to retain the title.

Most recently at The New Beginning in Nagoya on 30 January 2020, the former top heel of Dragon Gate met the Ace of NJPW, Hiroshi Tanahashi, in a dream match-up.

On commentary, Kevin Kelly noted that there were a lot of physical similarities between Tanahashi a decade ago and Shingo now.

In this later stage of his career, the Ace had to wrestle smarter to take on the power of the Dragon.

In a highlight reel of the hits, Tanahashi and Takagi brought their entire arsenal to Nagoya. A monstrous Made in Japan looked like it crushed Tanahashi’s head and neck while a later stage Pumping Bomber looked like it knocked him right out of his boots.

He even had room for some more copycat antics similar to his match against Okada, this time imitating Twist and Shout on Tanahashi.

Tanahashi on the other hand executed a perfect game plan to target Takagi’s knee, using the Dragon Screw Leg Whip to devastating effect multiple times, also hitting a huge Aces High from the top turnbuckle to Takagi on the outside. The final sequence of Tanahashi’s Aces High, Dragon Suplex with a bridge and High Fly Flow sealed the Dragon’s fate.

Unluckily for the Dragon, he lost the NEVER Openweight title to the Ace but in a sign of respect, he blessed Tanahashi as the new holder of the belt and both agreed they should do this at least one more time.

What also stood out in this epic were the more frequent flashes of Takagi showing off his more charismatic side. Fist pumping for the camera or firing himself and the crowd up, he is fast becoming a badass fan favourite.

With the Ace in the NEVER Openweight picture, Tanahashi together with Shingo could bring a level of prestige to this title and elevate it to greater heights.

While it would be great to see them fight forever, one could also see Takagi’s chase of this title as laying the groundwork to segue to the heavyweight title picture.

Years back, Okada lost to Tanahashi in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 9 but returned a year later to defeat the Ace for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 10.

What if this Nagoya classic and further battles with Tanahashi are to prepare Takagi for the richest prizes of the Intercontinental and IWGP Heavyweight championships?

Despite this recent loss, mark these words. This isn’t the Last of the Dragon. The man with the mightiest and classiest mullet in pro wrestling lives to fight another day and 2021 and 2022 will see improved performances from Takagi in the G1.

Perhaps he will pin the current champion once more to set up a program where he gets a match for the top prize? Hopefully it’s not just as a temporary challenger like Ishii was to Omega in 2018.

But based on Takagi’s performances against top tier wrestlers like Ibushi, Okada and the Ace, he is more than capable of standing toe to toe with the upper echelon of talent. Defeating them is within his grasp and it’s only a matter of time before the Dragon finally holds the gold that he covets.

[weluvwrestling]

Four have advanced in the New Japan Cup! #NJPW #NewJapanCup #TogiMakabe #TomohiroIshii #TuroYano #HiromuTakahashi #WeLuvWrestling https://www.instagram.com/p/CBf5Q7QBCk8/?igshid=17aatp0fzugho

[heelsteven]

My pick to win the G1 Climax 27 Tetsuya Naito The Leader of Los Ingobernables De Japon. Who do think will win this years G1 Climax 27 and go on to meet the IWGP World Champion at Next Years WrestleKingdom 12 ? #TetsuyaNaito #kazuchikaokada #hiroshitanahashi #KennyOmega #NJPW #G1Climax27 #NJPWorld #tomohiroishii #HirokiGoto #minorusuzuki #ProWrestling #MichaelElgin #juicerobinson #Sanada #zacksabrejr #kotaibushi #satoshikojima #Yuginagata #WrestleKingdom12 #WWE #ROH #GFW #LosIngobernablesDeJapon #BulletClub

[lostinyourears]

With the G1 halfway over, who are your top 5 MVPs of the tournament so far?

/r/squaredcircle thread

1. Yuji Nagata, when all's said and done very few guys will have a perfect record of 'good' or entertaining matches. Block B all have to contend with Yano. Yuji Nagata though hasn't had a single match I would call a dud or even one I'd call 'mediocre'. The guy is going out on his back again and again, but always puts on an entertaining fight doing it.

2. Michael Elgin, he is making the case for himself to be the next gaijin to hold the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. While the obvious gaijin to do it is Kenny Omega, Elgin isn't about to let people forget how great of a performer he is. Probably the best matches for Okada and Omega.

3. Juice Robinson, the guy has really shown his fighting spirit. While he isn't racking up points, he is winning favor with me and others who have watched. His matches with Okada and Suzuki being 2 of the best on that block for me. I loved his fight with Suzuki more than most though.

4. Kota Ibushi, coming back NJPW Kota Ibushi has had great matches pretty much anytime he has been in the ring. I can't imagine him vs Tanahashi, Goto or Nagata will let down. So he will likely stay on this list unless his chemistry with those great workers is just completely not there.

5. ZSJ, this is his first G1 Climax and he is really winning over the crowd with his unique submission/catch style. His matches also are standing out in the field full of strong style. It's nice to have variety and ZSJ brings that to the tournament.

Others :

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito, Kenny Omega, Minoru Suzuki and Kazuchika Okada have all done fine, but not really surprising.

Omega/Okada have not really reached the heights they have vs one another earlier in the year... though could have match of the tournament in Block B's final night.

Naito has been great, but not surprisingly so. His match with Ibushi though is my favorite of the tournament so far.

Minoru Suzuki's matches are fun, but I think lean too heavily on outside interference and brawling on the outside. It can be fun, but it's making lots of his matches feel a bit samey.

Tomohiro Ishii, Tama Tonga, EVIL, SANADA, Hirooki Goto, have all put on good matches though seem like an afterthought. I don't think any of them are going to win and I'm not into them enough to really be pulling for them.

I love Ishii, but I have to give the nod to Elgin over Ishii in the G1 Hoss race. Elgin has just been having a better G1, it might have to do with blocks or Elgin might just have more to prove.

Toru Yano, Yoshi-Hashi, Kojima, Togi Makabe and Bad Luck Fale, this is basically the I don't really care for them group. I'm sure all these guys have their fans and can put on great work, but I get a little bored when their matches come up.

Yano is fun and his match with Kenny Omega was golden, but his matches lack an urgency because... it's Yano.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Kojima/Makabe have had decent matches, but I just don't have any investment in them. Kojima in particular always seems outpaced so early in his matches and then always has a comeback sequence before being caught off guard and pinned.

Bad Luck Fale/Yoshi-Hashi/Makabe all have offense I don't really like seeing. Though I'll give Fale/Makabe credit as being good big men people have to overcome, that's what they feel like to me. Obstacles for the talents I do like to overcome and beat. It makes for great moments like the thin as a rail ZSJ getting the pin on Fale.

[doubled5]

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#tomohiroishii #jeffcobb #njpw #njpwdallas #wrestling #dallas #g1climax #g129 (at American Airlines Center) https://www.instagram.com/p/BzmZrPkAD3S/?igshid=ilbxfwnhl7e5

[xxxvalaryaxxx]

#njpw #njpwtagleague #tagleagueinkanagawa

#sho #yoh #yano #tomohiroishii #kazuchikaokada #shingotakagi #bushi #sanada #evil #tetsuyanaito #toahenare #togimakabe #tamatonga #tangaloa #chuckiet #beretta #yujirotakahashi #hangmanpage #satoshikojima #hiroyoshitenzan #manabunakaishi #yujinagata #davidfinlay #juicerobinson #shotaumino #ayatoyoshida #eldesperdao #takashilizuka #minorusuzuki #yoshinobukanemaru #daveyboysmithjr #lancearcher #rennarita #tomoakihonma #taichi #zacksabrejr #jeffcobb #michaelelgin #yuyauemura #yotatsuji

[thehiterevolution]

G1 Special in San Francisco: #TomohiroIshii #ToruYano vs @suzuki.d.minoru @zacksabrejr

[mrkpacgreen]

Another painting in my G1 series Tomohiro Ishii #art #artist #ishii #tomohiro #tomohiroishii #njpw #g1climax #g127 #iwgp #wrestling #ink #watercolor #painting

[crowgarrett]

It’s about to go down!!! #TomohiroIshii #KennyOmega #Njpw #G1usa . . . . . #theprettycities #hollywood #visualoflife #adrenaline #celebrity #roamtheplanet #actionsports #exploringtheglobe #famous #aroundtheworldpix #actress #awesome_earthpix #Kcco #losangelesgrammers #adrenalinerush #CrowGarrett #adrenalinejunkie #celeb #celebrities #discoverla #conquer_ca #celebritystyle #conquer_la #celebritynews #weownthenight_la #redcarpet (at Los Angeles, California)

[therealfanbro]

The team I didn't know that I needed👌🏾! #TomohiroIshii #TayConti #AEW #AllEliteWrestling  #AEW #AEWRampage #AEWDynamite #ImWithAEW #AEWOnTNT (at Chartway Arena) https://www.instagram.com/p/CWa9ns8ggE-/?utm_medium=tumblr

[djvillain]

NJPW G1 Climax 30 A Block Finals Review

[thedooge]

#draw365 Day 183. #TomohiroIshii is my pick to win the #IWGP US CHAMPIONSHIP. #g1special #IWGPUSTITLE #NJPW #STONEPITBULL