Claudio Castagnoli Confirms Shingo Takagi Showdown at NJPW Destruction in Kobe

Claudio Castagnoli has officially accepted Shingo Takagi’s challenge for NJPW Destruction in Kobe on September 27.

Takagi called out Castagnoli several weeks ago, blaming the AEW star for his disappointing G1 Climax campaign and demanding an opportunity to settle the score. NJPW later released a video in which Castagnoli confirmed that he would face Takagi in Kobe.

Takagi finished the G1 with a 4-5 record. He claimed that losing to Castagnoli in July disrupted his momentum heading into the tournament. The wrestlers previously met as part of a tag match on AEW Collision, where Castagnoli and PAC, representing the Death Riders, defeated Takagi and Drilla Moloney of the Unbound Company.

Castagnoli mocked Takagi for complaining and accepted the challenge, setting up the first one-on-one match between the two competitors. It will also mark Castagnoli’s first match in Japan since January 2025.

“You want me to come to Kobe to teach you another lesson? No problem,” Castagnoli said. “But judging by what you said, that means you’ll have another two years of bad luck coming afterwards.”

Castagnoli’s response was shown during NJPW’s September 9 Road to Destruction event, where Takagi teamed with Robbie X to defeat Master Wato and Oleg Boltin.

Destruction in Kobe will take place at Kobe World Memorial Hall and stream live on NJPW World. The announced card currently features:

NJPW Destruction in Kobe 2026 — Sunday, September 27

• IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yota Tsuji defends against Hirooki Goto
• IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion Gabe Kidd defends against Drilla Moloney
• Jeff Cobb vs. Callum Newman
• Ryohei Oiwa, Hartley Jackson & Kosei Fujita vs. Yuya Uemura, Aaron Wolf & Taichi
• NJPW World Television Champion Konosuke Takeshita defends against Shun Skywalker
• Shingo Takagi vs. Claudio Castagnoli

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