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#1 Will Ospreay vs. Shingo Takagi for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 2021 Day 2)
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To pull off an undisputed match of the year in NJPW is an impossible feat for most years. However, a few performers have a tendency to deliver some out-of-this-world bouts that transcend every other contests. For 2021, that match was Will Ospreay vs. Shingo Takagi for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship from Wrestling Dontaku Day 2.
The two men met in the New Japan Cup 2021 Finals and delivered an epic in the process. Ospreay and Takagi's rivalry was already on the shortlist for the best in-ring series in NJPW and professional wrestling history, but no one could have imagined they would exceed their previous meetings here.
In their New Japan Cup 2021 Finals, the United Empire leader was always one step ahead of the Dragon. However, Shingo seemed to have learned from his mistakes and came in with a new game plan. He neutralized a lot of Ospreay's signature offense. The Los Ingobernables de Japon member countered the Aerial Assassin's biggest moves and felt like he was on the brink of victory.
The pacing of this Wrestling Dontaku Day 2 main event was unreal. There were more insane sequences and fabulous callbacks to their previous clashes. Will Ospreay brought his A-game here, trying to stake claim to being the top guy in NJPW. With superb body language and facial expressions, everything Ospreay hit looked polished.
He hit a barrage of impactful moves with the Chelsea Grin, followed by the Hidden Blade, and finally, the Stormbreaker to defeat Shingo Takagi and retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. This showdown was responsible for the injury that put the Commonwealth Kingpin on the shelf and caused him to relinquish his title, but it also elevated Shingo and showed he was a main eventer.
Both men just seemed to be in the right spot for everything in this one. It was an absolutely sensational main event, with Ospreay and Takagi putting on one of the greatest NJPW bouts in the company's history. That's why Will Ospreay vs. Shingo Takagi at Wrestling Dontaku 2021 Day 2 was the most memorable NJPW match of the year.
