NJPW Star Feels ‘Nobody Is Better Suited’ To Be KOPW Than Them

A NJPW star feels “nobody is better suited” to be KOPW 22 than them.

El Phantasmo made the transition from junior heavyweight to the heavyweight division during this year’s G1 Climax 32 tournament. In his final match, he defeated Shingo Takagi to kickstart a rivalry.

At NJPW Declaration of Power, ELP came up short against Takagi in a bid to claim the KOPW 22 provisional trophy.

New Japan Pro Wrestling announced that Shingo Takagi will face El Phantasmo in a NYC Street Fight for the KOPW 22 trophy at the Rumble On 44th Street event on October 28.

Speaking with NJPW’s official website, Phantasmo was asked whether he’s focused on the title or simply beating Takagi.

He answered:

“Look, if NJPW put any effort or budget into making their trophies then maybe I might show them some more respect. G1, BOSJ, New Japan Cup aside, the Super J-Cup I won in 2019 looked like it was bought at a Dollar store, the second one was a little better but fell apart, and this KOPW one was an abomination on the eyes. There isn’t the best track record for good looking titles lately.”

Putting the design aside, El Phantasmo proclaimed that the title is meaningful to him because he’s confident that he is best suited to KOPW.

He stated:

“There’s nobody better suited to KOPW than me. There’s nobody more creative, there’s nobody that can push the boundaries and limits of what the KOPW idea represents.”

As previously reported, the IWGP Women’s Title tournament finals has been set for the upcoming NJPW x STARDOM joint event.

The card for NJPW Rumble On 44th Street event can be seen below:

Three-Way Match for the NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team Titles
The Motor City Machine Guns vs. The DKC and Kevin Knight vs. Aussie Open (c)

NYC Street Fight for the Provisional KOPW Title
El Phantasmo vs. Shingo Takagi (c)

The Bullet Club (Juice Robinson and IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Jay White) vs. Kazuchika Okada and Eddie Kingston

Minoru Suzuki vs. Clark Connors

Chaos (Rocky Romero and Yoh) vs. House of Torture (NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champions Sho and Yujiro Takahashi)

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