12 Biggest Stories From New Japan's Power Struggle And What They Mean Going Forward
3. Hirooki Goto Regains NEVER Title From Taichi
With Will Ospreay out of the NEVER Openweight title match and Hirooki Goto in, fans in Osaka witnessed a rematch between current champion Taichi and the man he previously beat for the title. Goto looked to avenge his championship loss, while Taichi was hoping to solidify his reign following the controversial victory at September's Destruction in Beppu.
It was a heated affair that saw the defending champion again take any shortcut possible to retain his belt. In typical fashion, the cunning champion made use of his valet at ringside, multiple distractions, and even attempted to utilize the belt itself en route to toppling Goto. Still, Hirooki fought valiantly, even forgoing his own opportunity to use the championship as a weapon and instead planted Taichi with a GTR for the win.
With Ospreay out for an indeterminate amount of time, it will be interesting to see what Goto’s road ahead will hold. It’s not yet clear who will challenge the new NEVER Champion come Wrestle Kingdom. In his post-match comments, Goto stated that Will Ospreay should receive the next shot at the title, but the UK star may not be back in time for January.