8 Ups & 6 Downs From NJPW King Of Pro-Wrestling 2019

5. Goto Sleep

KENTA Tomohiro Ishii
NJPW

"Noooo. Nooo, Goto!", Jay White shouted at Hirooki Goto as the 'Fierce Warrior' tried to challenge for his IWGP Intercontinental Championship match after a six-man tag victory. "You're not in the picture, Goto!"

White practically mocking the CHAOS also-ran was the highlight of a routine six-man tag positioned way too high up the card. It was fine, well-worked, and could lead to White vs. Goto and Tomohiro Ishii vs. KENTA (another bloody rematch) later down the line, but such bouts work better earlier on the show. YOSHI-HASHI was in it, for Pete's sake. YOSHI-HASHI!

This fundamentally sound Bullet Club vs. CHAOS bout cruised through its 12-minute runtime in second gear, offering little in the way of excitement throughout. Goto scored the pinfall after an Ushigoroshi and GTR on Yujiro Takahashi, of all people, and while calling this "bad" wouldn't be accurate, it wasn't at all engaging.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.