10 Biggest Stories From NJPW's Destruction Events (And What They Mean Going Forward)

7. Taichi Wins NEVER Title With Lots Of Help

During Destruction in Beppu, Hirooki Goto defended his NEVER Openweight Championship valiantly against Taichi who had challenged for the belt upon his return during the final night of the G1 Climax. In the end, Goto was unable to ward off a never-ending series of distractions courtesy of his challenger's Suzuki-gun stablemates.

The defending champion seemed to have Taichi under control for most of the bout but both Yoshinobu Kanemura and El Desperado interfered. Still, Goto managed to fight off both men, sending them to the outside where Roppongi 3K kept them at bay. But with referee Red Shoes Unno knocked unconscious, Goto was unable to follow up after a Shouten Kai slam. Again, the challenger was aided by a distraction when Takashi Iizuka held the attention of the revived referee as Taichi hit a low blow and rollup to capitalize but still the defending champ kicked out.

Finally, however, Goto succumbed to a flurry of kicks and slams from Taichi who captured his first NEVER title. During his post-match comments, the new champion chastised NJPW officials for leaving him out of the G1 tournament and added that as champion he could no longer be ignored.

Contributor

Douglas Scarpa is a freelance writer, independent filmmaker, art school graduate, and pro wrestling aficionado -- all of which mean he is in financial ruin. He has no backup plan to speak of, yet maintains his abnormally high spirits. If he had only listened to the scorn of his childhood teachers, he wouldn't be in this situation.