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#1 Shingo Takagi (vs. Kazuchika Okada - G1 Climax 30 Day 13; vs. Kota Ibushi - G1 Climax 30 Day 11; vs. Will Ospreay - G1 Climax 30 Day 5)
The only man who delivered two Wrestling Observer Newsletter five star-plus matches during the G1 Climax 30 was Shingo Takagi. For a competitor who was not even in NJPW for two years, Shingo's ability to adapt to the strong style sprints of the G1 has been nothing short of stellar.
The Dragon Gate alum has been a revelation in NJPW and quickly established himself as one of the best wrestlers in the promotion. In the G1 Climax 30, Shingo had a wide range of extraordinary encounters. From his opening salvo with Jay White from his final A Block battle with Suzuki, Takagi gave us plenty to be grateful for.
In between his first and last matches in the G1 Climax 30, Shingo delivered two Wrestling Observer Newsletter five star-plus matches with his spectacular rematch of the Best of Super Juniors 26 Finals against Will Ospreay on Day 5 and a stunning epic encounter with Kazuchika Okada on Day 13. These two bangers, along with his gems against Kota Ibushi and Taichi, showed what Shingo does best. He gives hard hitting violence and a next-level type of speed and swiftness to everything he does in the ring.
Despite only four wins in the entire tournament, Takagi showed in the G1 Climax 30 that he deserves to be in the main event scene in NJPW. This past month guaranteed that we will see more of The Dragon in future G1 tournaments to come. This is why Shingo Takagi is the G1 Climax 30 MVP.
