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 finals. 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.