Hirooki Goto Finally Crowned IWGP World Heavyweight Champion (NJPW News)
Hirooki Goto crowned IWGP Champion on ninth attempt at The New Beginning in Osaka.
New Japan Pro Wrestling's perennial nearly man Hirooki Goto finally won the big one at The New Beginning in Osaka today, dethroning Zack Sabre Jr. to become IWGP World Heavyweight Champion.
It was an emotionally charged night for Goto, who had failed in eight previous attempts at winning NJPW's top prize. Typecast as a big-match choke artist for the best part of the decade, Goto, 45, smashed the stigma in the EDION Osaka Arena, besting ZSJ in a spirited, gutsy 20-minute match that ended via pinfall.
In a moving post-match promo, Goto paid tribute to his late father, whom he "knew was watching". The new IWGP Champion then brought his son and daughter into the ring for the celebration before closing out The New Beginning, claiming that the "Goto Revolution" had just begun.
Goto, a wrestler for 22 years, had been chasing the IWGP strap since his first failed challenge opposite Hiroshi Tanahashi in April 2009. Fittingly, Tanahashi will be Goto's first challenger, with their match set for 6 March's 53rd Anniversary Event in Tokyo. With Tanahashi set to retire later this year, this will likely be the last time he and Goto ever wrestle.
For many years NJPW had used Hirooki Goto as a game challenger who would ultimately lose to whatever IWGP Champion the promotion was attempting to get over at the time. The formula was simple: Goto would put up a strong fight, give the champion a great match, and ultimately fall. He had been typecast.
No more. The feel-good story is real. After his first title shot since 2016, Hirooki Goto is the king of New Japan.