Jon Moxley Beats Shingo Takagi in New Japan Pro-Wrestling's G1 Climax 29

Jon Moxley improved to 4-0 in Block B action in New Japan Pro-Wrestling's G1 Climax 29 with a win over Shingo Takagi at Hiroshima Sun Plaza Hall in Hiroshima, Japan, on Wednesday. 

After laying out Takagi with a running knee reminiscent of Shinsuke Nakamura's Kinshasa, Moxley managed to lock Takagi in the Texas Clover Leaf and forced him to tap out.

Moxley owned wins over Taichi, Jeff Cobb and Tomohiro Ishii entering Wednesday's match, while Takagi was 2-1 after victories against Taichi and Toru Yano and a loss to Juice Robinson.

The G1 allows for unique matches that often feature a clash of styles, and that was the case when Moxley and Takagi locked horns.

Takagi is a former junior heavyweight who recently ventured into the heavyweight division. At the Best of Super Juniors 2019 tournament, he won all nine of his Block A matches before going on to lose to Will Ospreay in the finals.

The 36-year-old hasn't been quite as dominant in heavyweight action, but he still looked like a force to be reckoned with entering the bout against Moxley.

For Moxley, the match was a significant departure from his previous contest. After beating Taichi and Cobb in fairly quick fashion, he had a hard-hitting, 20-minute war with Ishii that was riddled with brawling and hardcore spots.

Takagi is a capable high-flyer and technical wrestler, which forced the 33-year-old American to adapt his style in a way he didn't necessarily have to in his previous G1 matches.

Moxley vs. Takagi may not be a dream match anyone thought of while the former was in WWE as Dean Ambrose and the latter was part of Dragon Gate, but they meshed well and showed that contrasting styles can lead to entertaining matches.

With the loss, Takagi is 2-2, and he will attempt to rebound when he faces Jay White on Sunday in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

Meanwhile, Moxley will try to run his record to 5-0 when he takes on Tetsuya Naito on Sunday in what may be the most highly anticipated match of the tournament.

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