10 Big Predictions For NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 11
3. Hirooki Goto Remains The Bridesmaid
Poor old Hirooki Goto. He’s one of the best in-ring performers in the world, but he just can’t seem to get the job done. Recent years have seen the former IWGP Intercontinental Champion establish an unfortunate reputation as NJPW’s perennial also-ran, and he never wins the big one. His latest disappointment came through losing to Kenny Omega in this year’s G1 Climax finals, but the opportunities keep on coming, and he’ll fight for Katsuyori Shibata’s NEVER Openweight Championship on January 4th.
Lifelong friends Goto and Shibata were fighting for the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships two years ago, but they’ll be knocking lumps out of each other next week. This will almost certainly be the night’s most hard-hitting match, and while Shibata is generally regarded as the world’s stiffest striker, Goto will be more than willing to respond in kind.
Shibata is seemingly on the cusp of a monster push, and he cut a damning promo on his old friend this week. “His matches get me angry,” he said. “Every time he has a big match, he says ‘this is my revival.’ EVERY time. So for crying out loud, when were you at your peak? When were you at your best that now you need a revival? Tell me.”
There’s no short of bad blood between the duo despite their former comradeship, and at this point, Goto seems destined to be NJPW’s answer to Dolph Ziggler forever. Expect a spirited performance from the challenger, but a losing effort.