Dragon Gate (20042018) Shingo Takagi debuted in October 2004 as the first graduate of the Dragon Gate dojo. Following this, Takagi changed his mind and joined Typhoon. Takagi's membership caused tension within the faction, and led to Susumu Yokosuka challenging Takagi to a match on November 16 for the Open the Dream Gate Championship. Takagi retained, and then tried to banish Yokosuka from Typhoon as punishment. Ryo Saito tried to stop him, and then Cima was called out. Takagi gave him a lariat before he could say anything, resulting in his banishment from Typhoon. After that, Takagi announced that he would not be participating in the annual King of Gate Tournament. Takagi began teaming with
Akira Tozawa and Taku Iwasa after the faction they had been members of, Tozawa-juku, had disbanded, with the trio officially forming a new faction on December 19. On December 28, Takagi lost the Open the Dream Gate Championship to Naruki Doi, who had won the King of the Gate Tournament. On January 11, 2009, Dragon Kid joined the new faction, with Takagi called the faction Kamikaze. They held the titles until December 27, when they lost them to Cima and Gamma. On March 22, 2010, Takagi and Cyber Kong defeated Cima and Gamma to regain the Open the Twin Gate Championship. Takagi participated in the 2010
King of Gate tournament and beat Dragon Kid in the final on April 14, 2010. This allowed him to contest Open the Dream Gate Championship match against his stablemate and champion Yamato at the Dead or Alive PPV on May 5, 2010, but Yamato retained the title by making Takagi submit. Takagi and Kong would lose their Twin Gate title to
K-ness and Susumu Yokosuka on May 13, 2010. Takagi then renewed his old feud with former tag partner BxB Hulk, leading to a Hair vs Hair match at the Kobe World Pro Wrestling Festival 2010 on July 11. Takagi won the match and shaved off Hulk's hair. After returning from an injury, Takagi disbanded Kamikaze on May 13, 2011 and the following day joined forces with
Masaaki Mochizuki's new stable, Junction Three, to battle Cima's Blood Warriors. After Junction Three was disbanded in February 2012, Takagi, alongside Yamato, joined up with Dragon Gate Nex Member Chihiro Tominaga, and the debuting Super Shenlong III and formed -akatsuki- on April 19, 2012. On July 22, 2012, Takagi and Yamato defeated Jimmy Kagetora and Jimmy Susumu to become the 22nd Open the Twin Gate Champions. They lost the title to
Don Fujii and Masaaki Mochizuki on September 23, 2012. Takagi and Yamato won the title for their third time together on May 5, 2013, by defeating BxB Hulk and
Uhaa Nation. They lost the title to Akira Tozawa and BxB Hulk on June 15, when Yamato turned on Takagi. On July 21, Takagi defeated Cima to win the Open the Dream Gate Championship for the second time. On August 1, -akatsuki- was forced to disband, after losing to
Mad Blankey in a five-on-four tag team match. On August 23, Takagi lost the Open the Dream Gate Championship to Yamato in his first defense. In order to continue his battle with Mad Blankey, Takagi formed a new stable named Monster Express with Akira Tozawa, Masato Yoshino,
Ricochet, Shachihoko Boy and Uhaa Nation. On December 22, Takagi and Tozawa defeated Naruki Doi and Yamato to win the Open the Twin Gate Championship. They lost the title to
Eita and
T-Hawk on July 20, 2014. On August 31, Shingo, Tozawa and
Uhaa Nation unsuccessfully challenged for the Open the Triangle Gate Championship against Cyber Kong, Naruki Doi and Kzy with Shingo getting pinned after Kong hit him with the Cyber Bomb. Shingo and Tozawa lost in the Summer Adventure Tag League semi-finals against T-Hawk and Eita. On December 28, Shingo unsuccessfully challenged for the Open the Dream Gate title against BxB Hulk. On August 16, 2015, Takagi defeated Masato Yoshino to win the Open the Dream Gate Championship for the third time. Shortly afterwards, Takagi was kicked out of Monster Express after turning on his then-stablemates Yoshino and Shachihoko BOY. Takagi would then form a new heel unit with the remnants of Mad Blankey, becoming the co-leader of the unit alongside Naruki Doi. On September 23, 2015, the new unit was named VerserK. On February 14, Takagi lost the Open the Dream Gate Championship to Jimmy Susumu in his fourth defense. He would regain the title from Susumu on March 6, becoming the first four-time champion. On July 24, 2016, Takagi lost the championship to
Yamato. On January 18, 2017, Takagi, along with fellow VerserK teammates T-Hawk and
El Lindaman won a special One Day 6 Man Tag Tournament, defeating Kotoka,
Masato Yoshino and
Ben-K.
Other promotions (20062009) Throughout 2006 and 2007 Shingo appeared in several American promotions, including
Full Impact Pro and
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. At
Wrestle Kingdom 13 on January 4, 2019, Takagi teamed with
Bushi to win the
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship from
Suzuki-gun (
Yoshinobu Kanemaru and
El Desperado). However, Takagi and Bushi later lost the tag team championship to
Roppongi 3K (
Sho and
Yoh) at NJPW's 47th Anniversary Show on March 6. At the
G1 Supercard on April 6, Takagi competed in the
Honor Rumble, but the match was won by
Kenny King. From May to June, Takagi participated in the
2019 Best of Super Juniors tournament in the A Block. He defeated all of his opponents in the A Block, becoming the first person to go undefeated in the tournament, and he also set a new record for most points scored in the tournament, with 18. This allowed him to advance to the tournament final against B Block winner
Will Ospreay, where he was defeated, in what was Takagi's first pinfall loss in NJPW.
NEVER Openweight Champion (2020–2021) After defeating
Satoshi Kojima at
Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo Hall, Takagi stated his intention to move into NJPW's heavyweight division and also declared himself as an entrant for the
2019 G1 Climax. In the G1 Climax, Takagi competed in the B Block and ended with a final score of 8 points (four wins and five losses), failing to move onto the tournament final. At
Destruction in Kobe on September 22, Takagi was defeated by
Hirooki Goto. On January 5, 2020 at
Wrestle Kingdom 14, Takagi and
LIJ teammates Bushi and
Evil defeated four other teams in a
gauntlet match to win the
NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship. On February 1 at
The New Beginning in Sapporo, Takagi defeated Goto to win the
NEVER Openweight Championship, making him a double champion and the first person to hold both NEVER championships at the same time. On February 24, Takagi was announced for the
2020 New Japan Cup. However, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, the event was postponed and NJPW was temporarily shut down. NJPW returned to holding events in June, and Takagi was eliminated in the first round of the New Japan Cup by Sho. At
Dominion in Osaka-jo Hall on July 17, Takagi defeated Sho to retain his NEVER Openweight Championship. On August 1, NJPW declared the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship vacant, after Evil defected from
LIJ. Takagi defeated
El Desperado at
Sengoku Lord. At
Summer Struggle in Jingu on August 29, Takagi lost the NEVER Openweight Championship to
Minoru Suzuki. Takagi then competed in the
2020 G1 Climax, in the A Block. He ended the tournament with a final tally of 8 points (four wins and five losses) losing to
Jay White,
Jeff Cobb,
Tomohiro Ishii,
Kazuchika Okada, and
Taichi, failing to advance to the tournament final. However Takagi would get wins over
Yujiro Takahashi,
British Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay, current rival Minoru Suzuki, and over eventual tournament winner
Kota Ibushi. On November 7 at
Power Struggle, Takagi regained the
NEVER Openweight Championship by defeating Suzuki for a second time. At
Wrestle Kingdom 15 on January 4, 2021, Takagi successfully defended his title against
Jeff Cobb. On January 30 at
The New Beginning in Nagoya, Takagi lost the NEVER Openweight Championship to
Hiroshi Tanahashi.
IWGP World Heavyweight Champion (2021–2022) in 2022 In March 2021, Takagi would enter the
New Japan Cup where after defeating
Kazuchika Okada in the first round,
Hirooki Goto in the second round,
KENTA in the quarter-finals, and
EVIL in the semi-finals, he would lose to Will Ospreay in the final. After Ospreay defeated
Kota Ibushi for the
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, Takagi would challenge him for a match at
Wrestling Dontaku 2021. At the event, Takagi failed to defeat Ospreay. At Dominion 6.7, Shingo defeated Kazuchika Okada for the vacant championship. Takagi would make his first title defense on July 25 at Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome after defeating Hiroshi Tanahashi. Takagi was originally scheduled to defend the title against Ibushi, however the latter suffered an injury and was unable to compete. Takagi made his second successful defense on September 5 by defeating EVIL at Wrestle Grand Slam in
Belluna Dome. Takagi's third title defence came on November 6 against Zack Sabre Jr. at
Power Struggle, in which Takagi was successful. On Night 1 of
Wrestle Kingdom 16, Takagi lost the title to Kazuchika Okada, ending his reign at a record 211 days. Takagi teamed with his LIJ teammates for the remainder of Wrestle Kingdom, defeating
Suzuki-Gun on Night 2 and
Pro Wrestling NOAH's Kongo stable on Night 3. Takagi attempted to rebound off of his Wrestle Kingdom Night one loss by entering the
New Japan Cup. He defeated Tomohiro Ishii,
Tanga Loa,
Chase Owens and
Hiromu Takahashi to make it to the semi-finals. In the semi-finals round, Takagi lost to eventual cup winner, Zack Sabre Jr.
Further championship success (2022–2025) Takagi then entered a feud with provisional
KOPW provisional champion Taichi. This led to a 30-count match, in which Takagi was victorious, becoming the new provisional KOPW Champion. The two faced off again at
Dominion 6.12 in Osaka-jo Hall in a 10-minute scramble match, in which Takagi again emerged victorious. Also at Dominion, Takagi was announced as a competitor in the upcoming
G1 Climax 32 tournament, where he would compete in the D block. However, before the tournament began Takagi competed at
AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door, a supershow between New Japan Pro-Wrestling and American promotion
All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he teamed with
Sting and
Darby Allin as 'Dudes with Attitude' to defeat
Bullet Club's,
El Phantasmo and
The Young Bucks, with Takagi pinning Phantasmo for the win. Back in Japan in the G1 Climax tournament, Takagi finished with 6 points, failing to advance to the semi-finals. Following the G1, Takagi defeated Phantasmo, retaining the provisional KOPW at Declaration of Power, in a "Who's your Daddy match", thus forcing Phantasmo to call Shingo his "Daddy", whilst dressing up as a baby. The final match between the two men took place on October 28, where Takagi once again defeated Phantasmo to retain the provisional KOPW Championship, in a
New York City Street Fight. In December at JTO 50th Anniversary For TAKATaichi Together, Takagi retained the KOPW provisional championship against Taichi in a
Last Man Standing Match, thus making Takagi the official 2022 KOPW Champion. On January 4, 2023, at
Wrestle Kingdom 17, Takagi competed in the
New Japan Rambo, successfully lasting till the final 4 and thus advancing to the four-way match, the following night. The following night at
New Year Dash, Takagi defeated Sho,
Toru Yano and
Great-O-Khan to win the 2023 KOPW provisional championship. Later that month, on January 21 at
Wrestle Kingdom 17 in Yokohama Arena, Takagi competed in a series of matches, where members of LIJ competed against members of Kongo, from Pro Wrestling Noah. At the event, Takagi defeated Kongo's
Katsuhiko Nakajima. The following day at
The New Beginning in Nagoya, Takagi retained the provisional KOPW championship, defeated Great-O-Khan in an
MMA rules match. After the victory, Takagi called out the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, Kazuchika Okada, stating he wanted to become a double champion in NJPW. Takagi received his title match on February 11 at
The New Beginning in Osaka, but was defeated by Okada. The following month, Takagi competed in the
New Japan Cup, but was quickly eliminated in the first round, by
Aaron Henare. The loss earnt Henare a future KOPW championship shot, which he received on April 2. The title match was contested under "Ultimate Triad" rules, meaning that to win, a wrestler would have to pin, submit and knock their opponent down for a ten-count. Takagi would defeat Henare at the event. Later that month, Takagi made his debut on NJPW Tamashii, NJPW's Australasian subsidiary. On April 30, Takagi lost the provisional KOPW championship to Taichi, ending his reign at 114 days. On June 25, Takagi teamed with Bushi and Hiromu Takahashi to defeat
United Empire (
T. J. Perkins,
Kyle Fletcher and Jeff Cobb) on the buy-in of
Forbidden Door. The following month, Takagi entered the
G1 Climax tournament competing in the C Block. Takagi finished his tournament with 7 points, failing to advance from his block. On October 28 at
Fighting Spirit Unleashed, Takagi defeated Tonga to win the NEVER Openweight Championship for the third time. Takagi defended his title the following month, defeating
Trent Beretta at
Lonestar Shootout. On January 4, 2024 at
Wrestle Kingdom 18, Takagi lost the NEVER Openweight Championship back to Tama Tonga, ending his third reign at 68 days. The day following Wrestle Kingdom, at
New Year Dash!!, Takagi challenged
Jon Moxley to a
No Disqualification match, the following week at
Battle in the Valley. On January 13 at the event, Takagi was defeated by Moxley. In March Takagi entered the annual
New Japan Cup, defeating
Yuya Uemura and
Gabe Kidd to make it to the quarterfinal round. On March 17, Takagi was defeated by Evil, eliminating him from the tournament. Despite this, Takagi began chasing Evil, in an attempt to both redeem his loss and reclaim the NEVER Openweight Championship, which Evil had won. Takagi received his title match on April 6, at
Sakura Genesis. At the event, Takagi defeated Evil, winning his fourth NEVER Openweight Championship. Takagi made his first title defence on May 4, at
Wrestling Dontaku, defeating Gabe Kidd. The following week at
Resurgence, Takagi retained the title against Yuya Uemura. On June 9 at
Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo Hall, Takagi defended his title against Henare, when the match ended in a Double KO. A week later at New Japan Soul, Takagi lost the title to Henare, ending his fourth reign at 71 days. In July, Takagi participated in the
G1 Climax, where he was placed in A-Block and scoring 10 points. Takagi advanced to the playoff stage, where he defeated
Great-O-Khan in the quarter-finals, but lost to eventual winner
Zack Sabre Jr. in the semi-finals. On September 29 at
Destruction in Kobe, Takagi defeated Henare to win his fifth NEVER Openweight Championship. On January 4, 2025 at
Wrestle Kingdom 19, Takagi lost his title to
Konosuke Takeshita in a
Winner takes all match, also involving Takeshita's
AEW International Championship, ending his fifth reign at 97 days. In March 2025, Takagi entered the
New Japan Cup, defeating
Boltin Oleg and
Drilla Moloney to reach the semi-finals, before losing to
Shota Umino.
The Rampage Dragon (2025–present) At
Wrestling Dontaku: Night 2 on May 4 where Takagi teamed with L.I.J stablemates
Bushi,
Hiromu Takahashi,
Tetsuya Naito to defeat
Shota Umino,
Tomohiro Ishii and Just 4 Guys' Taichi and Taka Michinoku in what would be Bushi and Naito's farewell match in NJPW. At the same event, it was announced that L.I.J would be ending as a stable moving forward. After the L.I.J's disbandment, Takagi adopted the moniker of the "Rampage Dragon" and would go to unsuccessfully challenge
Hirooki Goto at
Dominion 6.15 in Osaka-jo Hall for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. Takagi and the remaining L.I.J. members would also form a new stable called "Unaffilated." On October 13 at
King of Pro-Wrestling, the Unaffilated formed an alliance with the Bullet Club War Dogs. For the 2025 World Tag League, Takagi teamed with War Dogs member Drilla Moloney and the duo would go by the name of "War Dragons". The War Dragons finished with eight points in the block stage and failed to advance with to the semi-finals. After Wrestle Kingdom 20, at
New Year Dash!!,
David Finlay and
Yota Tsuji announced the dissolution of
Bullet Club and Unaffilated, replacing the alliance with
Unbound Co., which was a complete merger. ==Personal life==