The 10 most memorable NJPW matches of 2021

#5 Shingo Takagi vs. Jeff Cobb for the NEVER Openweight Championship (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 15 Day 2)

NJPW has its fair share of hoss fights every year. The term "hoss fight" is usually used for two large competitors having a high-impact matchup. Whatever image that puts in someone's head was taken up quite a few notches when Shingo Takagi faced Jeff Cobb for the NEVER Openweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 15 Day 2.

Jeff Cobb wanted to make a statement and did just that. The United Empire member ran roughshod with his agility and power being used to keep Shingo on his back foot. But Takagi wouldn't be stopped and defeated Cobb with the Last of the Dragon to retain the NEVER Openweight Title. This was a heavyweight slugfest and a certified banger that was a Tokyo Dome classic.

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#4 Shingo Takagi vs. Tomohiro Ishii in a G1 Climax 31 A Block Match (NJPW G1 Climax 31 Night 1)

The G1 Climax has quite the reputation from years of quality in-ring action. To kick things off on the right note this year, IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Shingo Takagi faced Tomohiro Ishii in the main event of the first night of NJPW's G1 Climax 31 tournament. If fans expected big meaty men slapping meat, well that's what they got and then some.

The G1 Climax 31 A Block Match started with a literal ramming of the bulls. The story of the contest was "anything you can do, I can do better," with both competitors trying to outdo one another and prove themselves the tougher of the two. Takagi defeated Ishii with the Last of the Dragon with just two minutes to spare.