NJPW: 5 highlights from the first half of Best of the Super Juniors

To paraphrase Franklin D Roosevelt, “I have seen war and I love war when it’s two beefy dudes clobbering each other within an inch of their lives until they finally hit each other so hard that we all turn into dust.”

I think I got that right.

Perhaps no other feud in the Best of the Super Juniors is as important or longstanding as the land war between SHO and Shingo Takagi. When Shingo was first unveiled as the newest member of Los Ingobernables de Japon, he sent a shock-wave through the entire wrestling world.

Billed as a Junior Heavyweight but built like a tank of a Heavyweight, Shingo and partner BUSHI quickly made their presence known by becoming IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions. While their reign was short-lived, it proved that Shingo was here to make a statement as a dominant force in LIJ.

Despite losing their titles back to Roppongi 3K at the anniversary show in March, Shingo continued to protect his status as a technically undefeated member of the New Japan roster. To date, nobody has pinned or submitted Shingo. Any losses suffered in tag team matches have been at the hands of his partners without ‘The Dragon’ being part of the losing fall.

Because of this, Shingo has developed an ever-growing target on his back with the Shock Arrow of SHO zeroing in ever closer on the bullseye. Leading up to the Best of the Super Juniors, SHO made it no secret that he wanted a chance to go one-on-one with Shingo.

It didn’t matter to SHO when – maybe they’d meet in the finals as block winners. Maybe New Japan would be brave enough to place them in the same block so we wouldn’t have to rely on wins and losses to lock horns.

Thankfully for us, the second option came to fruition.

Not only were we lucky enough to get this meeting as part of regular block matches, but we weren’t going to have to wait too long to see it. SHO and Shingo were scheduled to face off on the very first night of the tournament in easily the most awaited meetings of the entire tour.

Unfortunately for SHO, he learned that not all wishes are meant to come true. In spite of a valiant effort from one half of the current IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, Shingo came out victorious in a match that nearly went to a time limit draw.

For Shingo, this was the start of a roll that has yet to be stopped or slowed. For SHO, it was the beginning of a tumultuous journey through the rest of Best of the Super Juniors. While Shingo now sits with a full 10 points on the board, SHO has struggled and has accumulated just 4 points to date.

What’s most obvious between SHO and Shingo, though, is that the war between these two beasts is far from over. When the day finally comes for SHO and YOH to break off into the Heavyweight and Junior Heavyweight divisions respectively, Shingo will be waiting for SHO.

There is absolutely zero doubt in my mind that SHO and Shingo will be a feud we see play out in New Japan over the next several years. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to see SHO and Shingo headline in The Tokyo Dome years down the line after each man has solidified themselves as legitimate Heavyweights.

For now, though, Shingo looks to be on his way to making history as the third man to go undefeated in the Best of the Super Juniors. For SHO? He’ll be in Shingo’s rear-view mirror as ‘The Dragon’ inches closer and closer to wresting the Junior Heavyweight Title away from Dragon Lee.