Will Ospreay Shares That His Match Against Shingo Takagi At NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 2021 Was Only Singles Match On The Card Because Multiple Wrestlers Had COVID

Shingo versus Ospreay was the only singles match on the card.

Back in 2021, Will Ospreay and Shingo Takagi clashed over the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship on night two of NJPW Wrestling Dontaku.

The match went for nearly 45 minutes, and it was the only singles match on the card. While appearing on Marking Out with MVP & Dwayne Swayze, Ospreay revealed that the reason they were the only singles match on the card was that the wrestlers who were supposed to be in singles action had COVID.

“I remember I was doing a title defense for the IWGP Title, and I had like a 30-minute match with Shingo (Takagi), and then Gedo pulled us both to one side and was like, ‘You guys are the only singles match because all of us single guys got COVID. Can you do longer?’ ‘In f*cking silence?’ 46 minutes I wrestled…”

Ospreay’s IWGP World Heavyweight Title reign came to an end several weeks after the match against Takagi. He had to relinquish the belt because he blew out two discs in his back during the aforementioned match.

If the quote in this article is used, please credit Marking Out with MVP & Dwayne Swayze with an H/T to Fightful for the transcription.