Hiroki Goto
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is a Japanese professional wrestler. Since his debut, he has wrestled primarily for New Japan Pro-Wrestling. He is also known for being the longest reigning NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champion with his Chaos stablemates, Tomohiro Ishii and Yoshi-Hashi, a two-time IWGP Intercontinental Champion, two-time IWGP Tag Team Champion, one-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion, five-time NEVER Openweight Champion, one-time winner of the G1 Climax (
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), three-time winner of the World Tag League (
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,
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, and
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,
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), and a record three-time winner of the New Japan Cup (
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,
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, and
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).


Early life

Goto attended Kuwana Kogyo High School in Kuwana, Mie, where he was classmates with Katsuyori Shibata. Goto later attended Kokushikan University, where he took part in freestyle wrestling and
Greco-Roman wrestling Greco-Roman (American English), Graeco-Roman (British English), classic wrestling (Euro English) or French wrestling (in Russia until 1948) is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first mod ...
.


Professional wrestling career


New Japan Pro-Wrestling


Junior heavyweight (2003–2005)

Goto's first approach to pro wrestling was Fire pro Wrestling videogame. Then, he started watching JPW, NJPW, AJPW, and Michinoku Pro. Upon graduating, Goto qualified to join New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), but left the promotion after incurring a shoulder injury. He returned to NJPW in November 2002 after healing and began training in the NJPW dojo. He debuted on July 6, 2003, in Gifu, Gifu, wrestling Ryusuke Taguchi. The two men competed in the junior heavyweight division, and teamed together the same year to try to take the vacant IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship in a tournament, but were defeated in the final by veterans Gedo and Jado. In early 2005, he won the NJPW
Young Lion Cup __NOTOC__ The is an infrequent professional wrestling tournament promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as a means of showcasing the younger talent on their roster. The tournament is the successor to the Karl Gotch Cup that NJPW promoted in t ...
, defeating Hiroyuki Itō in the tournament final. After turning
heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower Human leg, leg. Structure To distribute the compressive for ...
and joining Jyushin Thunder Liger's "Control Terrorism Unit" ("C.T.U.")
stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...
, Goto adopted the
ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...
"C.T.U Ranger Red". He won his first championship on May 15, 2005, teaming with
Minoru Minoru is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *Minoru Arakawa (荒川 實, born 1946), Japanese former president of Nintendo of America *Minoru Chiaki (千秋 実, 1917–1999), Japanese actor *Minoru Fujita ( ...
to defeat Koji Kanemoto and
Wataru Inoue is a Japanese retired professional wrestler currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Professional wrestling career Inoue made his debut on New Japan Pro-Wrestling in 1999. He aligned himself with New Japan Junior Seikigun, a face s ...
in the Tokyo Dome for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. The duo held the titles for nine months, losing to El Samurai and Ryusuke Taguchi on February 19, 2006 in Tokyo.


Foreign excursion (2006–2007)

In 2006, Goto joined the American Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) promotion as a member of Team Japan (consisting of CTU members Goto, Jyushin Thunder Liger, Black Tiger and Minoru), one of the four teams competing in the TNA 2006 World X Cup Tournament. He debuted in TNA on April 23, 2006 at Lockdown, where he teamed with Black Tiger and Minoru against Team USA members Sonjay Dutt, Jay Lethal and
Alex Shelley Patrick Kenneth Martin (born May 23, 1983) is an American professional wrestler and physical therapy clinician, better known by the ring name, Alex Shelley, makes appearances with Impact Wrestling (formerly known as Total Nonstop Action Wrestl ...
. Team Japan defeated USA when Black Tiger pinned Lethal. On the April 27, 2006, episode of '' TNA Impact!'', Goto and Minoru lost to Dutt and Shelley, giving a first round victory and two points to Team USA. On May 14, 2006 at
Sacrifice Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exi ...
, Goto and the other members of Team Japan accompanied Liger to ringside, assisting him in his victory over Team Canada captain Petey Williams. Later that night, all four members of Team Japan took part in a gauntlet match that was won by Team Canada captain Petey Williams. The 2006 World X Cup was won by Team USA (with five points), with Team Japan coming last with three points. On August 1, 2006, Goto left for a lengthy learning excursion to Mexico after losing in a farewell match at the CTU 2nd Anniversary Show. While in Mexico he wrestled primarily for
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as ''Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre'' (''EMLL'') (''Mexi ...
and for Último Dragón's Toryumon Mexico. During his time in Mexico, he formed a rudo unit Hajime Ohara and Shigeo Okumura in CMLL.


RISE (2007–2009)

In August 2007, Goto returned to New Japan after his almost one-year stay in Mexico. Upon his return, the now much more muscular Goto graduated from a Jr. heavyweight to a Heavyweight. Goto showed a great deal of promise and skill since last seen in July 2006. He showcased a whole new moveset and he quickly tried to establish himself as one of the top Heavyweights in New Japan. Not that far into his return Goto join the Stable " R.I.S.E" with
Shinsuke Nakamura is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown WWE brand extension, brand. Nakamura is known for his time in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where ...
, Travis Tomko, Giant Bernard, and fellow former CTU teammates Minoru,
Milano Collection AT , is a Japanese color commentator and retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name . As Milano, Sawafuji adopted the gimmick of an Italian fashion aficionado/supermodel, reflected in his ring attire. Milano is also known for walkin ...
, and Prince Devitt. On November 11, he challenged Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, but after a long and hard-fought match, Tanahashi would win with the Texas Cloverleaf. Shortly after that Goto entered the 2007 G1 Tag League with Milano Collection AT, but the pair would finish in third place. In 2008 Goto wrestled one of his childhood idols, The Great Muta at New Japan's annual January 4 Tokyo Dome Show. Although having a good showing, Goto would fall to Muta. Goto's progress was good through 2008 but a surprise victory in New Japan's prestigious G1 Climax in August surpassed everyone's expectations. Goto earned 8 points in Block B, tied for first with Nakamura, but he advanced to the final due to a direct win over the former IWGP champion and RISE leader. Meeting Togi Makabe in the final, Goto overcame outside interference and blood loss to defeat the leader of the Great Bash Heel (G.B.H.) faction, pinning him with the Shouten. In March 2009 Goto defeated
Karl Anderson Chad Allegra (born January 20, 1980), better known by the ring name Karl Anderson, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE where he performs on the Raw brand. He also makes appearances for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), whe ...
, Shinsuke Nakamura, Yuji Nagata and Giant Bernard to win the
2009 New Japan Cup __NOTOC__ The New Japan Cup (NJC) is an annual single-elimination professional wrestling tournament held by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) since 2005. It is considered the second most prominent heavyweight tournament in NJPW, after the G1 Climax wh ...
and earn a shot at Hiroshi Tanahashi's IWGP Heavyweight Championship. On May 3, 2009, at Wrestling Dontaku 2009, Tanahashi defeated Goto to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.


Tournament wins (2010–2013)

On January 4, 2010, at Wrestle Kingdom IV in Tokyo Dome, Takashi Sugiura successfully defended his GHC Heavyweight Championship against Goto. In March, Goto defeated Yujiro Takahashi,
Masato Tanaka is a Japanese professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) in Japan where he was a one-time FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Champion and a one-time WEW World Heavyweight Champion and in Ext ...
and Togi Makabe to win the 2010 New Japan Cup for the second year in a row. Goto went on to challenge the IWGP Heavyweight Champion Shinsuke Nakamura on April 4, but would once again fail in his attempt to win the title. On June 28, 2010, Goto, teaming up with Prince Devitt and Ryusuke Taguchi entered the J Sports Crown Openweight 6 Man Tag Tournament. Two days later the trio defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tajiri and Kushida in the finals to win the tournament. During August's G1 Climax Goto debuted a new finishing maneuver, a cross-legged
cradle Cradle may refer to: * Cradle (bed) * Bassinet, a small bed, often on rockers, in which babies and small children sleep Mechanical devices * Cradle (circus act), or aerial cradle or casting cradle used in an aerial circus act * Cradling (paintin ...
, which he initially titled as Goto Special but was later renamed Goto-Shiki Hold (Goto Style Hold), has earned him pinfall victories over former IWGP Heavyweight Champions Yuji Nagata and Shinsuke Nakamura, but a loss to eventual G1 winner Satoshi Kojima on the final day of the tournament dropped him fourth in his block, narrowly missing the finals. On October 11 Goto defeated Shinsuke Nakamura to earn the right to challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. However, the reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champion Satoshi Kojima vetoed the result of the match and named Nakamura his first challenger for the belt. On December 11, while Kojima successfully defended his title against Nakamura, Goto was derailed from his quest to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship with a loss against Hiroshi Tanahashi. The following day Kojima defeated Goto in a non–title match, ending Goto's dream of main eventing
Wrestle Kingdom V in Tokyo Dome was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion, which took place at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan on January 4, 2011. It was the 20th January 4 Tokyo Dome Show and the fifth held un ...
. Instead, Goto teamed with the returning Kazuchika Okada in a tag team match, where they were defeated by Pro Wrestling Noah representatives Yoshihiro Takayama and Takashi Sugiura. On March 6 Goto began his quest to win his third New Japan Cup in a row, but was defeated in the first round by Shinsuke Nakamura. On March 20, the final day of the tournament, Goto turned heel by abandoning IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi during a tag team match against Satoshi Kojima and MVP. This marked Goto's final appearance for New Japan, before leaving for his second excursion to Mexico. Goto made his return to CMLL on March 25 and would, for the next month, work for the promotion as a heel, culminating in a match on April 29 at Arena México's 55th anniversary show, where he unsuccessfully challenged Último Guerrero for the
CMLL World Heavyweight Championship The CMLL World Heavyweight Championship ( es, Campeonato Mundial de Peso Completo del CMLL) is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship established in 1991 and promoted by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). CMLL introduced the ...
in a Two Out of Three Falls match. Goto returned to New Japan on May 3, when he teamed with Tama Tonga to defeat Takashi Sugiura and Makoto Hashi in a tag team match. Later in the event, Goto attacked and declared a war on Hiroshi Tanahashi after he had successfully defended the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Shinsuke Nakamura. Goto would once again fail in his IWGP Heavyweight Championship challenge on June 18, 2011. After the match, Goto and Tanahashi seemingly made peace with each other, with Tanahashi suggesting that they go for the IWGP Tag Team Championship together. On June 23, Goto, Prince Devitt and Ryusuke Taguchi won their second J Sports Crown Openweight 6 Man Tag Tournament in a row by defeating the team of Giant Bernard, Jyushin Thunder Liger and Karl Anderson in the finals of the three-day-long tournament. On July 3 Goto and Tanahashi failed in their attempt to capture the IWGP Tag Team Championship from Giant Bernard and Karl Anderson. On August 1, Goto entered the
2011 G1 Climax The is a professional wrestling tournament held each August by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. Though it has sometimes been held as a single-elimination tournament, it is usually (and currently) held as a round-robin, with winner ...
, where he went on to win six out of his nine matches, but a loss to
Strong Man {{disambig *Ring name of American professional wrestler Jon Andersen *Strong Man, a cartoon superhero in ''The Mighty Heroes ''The Mighty Heroes'' is a Saturday morning animated television series created by Ralph Bakshi for the Terrytoons compan ...
on the final day of the tournament dropped him to second place in his block, causing him to narrowly miss the finals of the tournament. In the 2011 G1 Tag League, Goto teamed with Hiroshi Tanahashi as "The Billion Powers". After picking up two wins and two losses in their first four matches in the group stage of the tournament, Goto and Tanahashi defeated the Beast Combination (Satoshi Kojima and Togi Makabe) on November 4 to advance to the semifinals of the tournament. On November 6, Goto and Tanahashi were eliminated from the tournament in the semifinals by Bad Intentions. On November 12 at
Power Struggle In political science and political history, the term power vacuum, also known as a power void, is an analogy between a physical vacuum to the political condition "when someone in a place of power, has lost control of something and no one has repla ...
, Goto unsuccessfully challenged Masato Tanaka for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. On January 4, 2012, at Wrestle Kingdom VI in Tokyo Dome, Goto reignited his rivalry with Pro Wrestling Noah's Takashi Sugiura, defeating him in a singles match. On February 12 at The New Beginning, Goto defeated Masato Tanaka to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship for the first time. Goto made his first title defense on March 11, defeating Yujiro Takahashi. On April 1, Goto entered the 2012 New Japan Cup. After victories over Yujiro Takahashi, La Sombra and Togi Makabe, Goto defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi on April 8 in the finals to win the tournament for the third time and earn another shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. On May 3 at
Wrestling Dontaku 2012 Wrestling Dontaku 2012 was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on May 3, 2012, in Fukuoka, Fukuoka, at the Fukuoka Kokusai Center. The event featured nine matches, three ...
, Goto unsuccessfully challenged Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. On May 20, Goto made his second successful defense of the IWGP Intercontinental Championship against Tomohiro Ishii. On July 22, Goto lost the title to Shinsuke Nakamura in his third defense. On October 8 at
King of Pro-Wrestling King of Pro-Wrestling is an annual professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event has been held every October since 2012 and aired domestically as a pay-per-view (PPV). The event also aired internationally as ...
, Goto received a rematch for the title, but was again defeated by Nakamura. On November 11 at
Power Struggle In political science and political history, the term power vacuum, also known as a power void, is an analogy between a physical vacuum to the political condition "when someone in a place of power, has lost control of something and no one has repla ...
, Goto unsuccessfully challenged Kazuchika Okada for the right to challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at the Tokyo Dome. From November 20 to December 1, Goto took part in the round-robin portion of the
2012 World Tag League __NOTOC__ The is a professional wrestling round-robin tag team tournament held by New Japan Pro-Wrestling as a spin-off of the popular singles tournament, the G1 Climax. It was created in 1991 as the Super Grade Tag League, as a continuation of ...
, alongside Karl Anderson under the team name "Sword & Guns". The team finished with a record of four wins and two losses, finishing second in their block and advancing to the semifinals of the tournament. On December 2, Goto and Anderson defeated Tencozy ( Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima) to advance to the finals of the tournament, where, later that same day, they defeated the reigning IWGP Tag Team Champions, K.E.S. ( Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Lance Archer), to win the tournament. Sword & Guns received their shot at the IWGP Tag Team Championship on January 4, 2013, at Wrestle Kingdom 7 in Tokyo Dome, but were defeated in a rematch by K.E.S.


Storyline with Katsuyori Shibata (2013–2015)

In February 2013, Goto made a challenge towards former high school classmate Katsuyori Shibata, which led to a tag team match on February 10, where he and Wataru Inoue were defeated by Shibata and Kazushi Sakuraba. Afterwards, Goto and Shibata had a heated confrontation, building to a future singles match between the two. In March, Goto once again made it to the finals of the New Japan Cup, before losing to Kazuchika Okada. Goto and Shibata finally faced off in a singles match on May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku 2013, which ended in a draw. A rematch between the two took place on June 22 at Dominion 6.22, where Shibata was victorious. A third match between the two on July 20 ended in another draw. During early August, Goto participated in the
2013 G1 Climax The is a professional wrestling tournament held each August by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. Though it has sometimes been held as a single-elimination tournament, it is usually (and currently) held as a round-robin, with winners ...
. On August 8, however, it was revealed that Goto had suffered a fractured jaw and was pulled from the tournament. He was leading the A block with four wins (which included a big win over IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada) and two losses and had three matches left when he was pulled from the G1. Goto returned on December 8, challenging Katsuyori Shibata to a match at Wrestle Kingdom 8 in Tokyo Dome. On January 4, 2014, Goto defeated Shibata in his return match. The match ended the rivalry between Goto and Shibata and led to the two forming a tag team. The following day, Goto scored the pinfall in an eight-man tag team main event against Chaos, after which he challenged Kazuchika Okada to a match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. On February 11 at
The New Beginning in Osaka The New Beginning is an annual professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event has been held since 2011 as a pay-per-view (PPV). From 2013 to 2014, the event also aired outside Japan as an internet pay-per-view ...
, Goto received his seventh shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, but was yet again unsuccessful in capturing the title. Afterwards, Goto and Shibata entered the IWGP Tag Team Championship picture, defeating the reigning champions, Bullet Club ( Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson), in a non-title match at New Japan's 42nd anniversary event on March 6. They received their title shot on April 6 at
Invasion Attack 2014 Invasion Attack 2014 was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on April 6, 2014, in Tokyo at Ryōgoku Kokugikan. The event featured nine matches, five of which were cont ...
, but were defeated by Gallows and Anderson. From July 21 to August 8, Goto took part in the
2014 G1 Climax The is a professional wrestling tournament held each August by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. Though it has sometimes been held as a single-elimination tournament, it is usually (and currently) held as a round-robin, with winners ...
, where he finished with a record of four wins and six losses. During the tournament final event on August 10, Goto and Shibata faced off in another singles match, where Shibata was victorious. Goto then entered a storyline, where he started leading a counterattack against the Bullet Club and Chaos stables, with the goal of revitalizing the New Japan Seikigun ("regular army"), which he represented alongside the likes of Shibata and Hiroshi Tanahashi. On November 8 at
Power Struggle In political science and political history, the term power vacuum, also known as a power void, is an analogy between a physical vacuum to the political condition "when someone in a place of power, has lost control of something and no one has repla ...
, Goto received his first shot at the NEVER Openweight Championship, but was defeated by the defending champion, Tomohiro Ishii. Later in the month, Goto and Shibata entered the
2014 World Tag League __NOTOC__ The is a professional wrestling round-robin tag team tournament held by New Japan Pro-Wrestling as a spin-off of the popular singles tournament, the G1 Climax. It was created in 1991 as the Super Grade Tag League, as a continuation of ...
, where they opened with a three match losing streak, only to come back and win their four remaining matches, winning their block and advancing to the finals. On December 7, Goto and Shibata defeated Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson in the finals to win the 2014 World Tag League. This led to a rematch between the two teams on January 4, 2015, at Wrestle Kingdom 9 in Tokyo Dome, where Goto and Shibata defeated Anderson and Gallows to become the new IWGP Tag Team Champions. Goto and Shibata's reign ended in their first defense on February 11 at
The New Beginning in Osaka The New Beginning is an annual professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event has been held since 2011 as a pay-per-view (PPV). From 2013 to 2014, the event also aired outside Japan as an internet pay-per-view ...
, where they were defeated by Anderson and Gallows. On March 8, Goto and Shibata once again faced off in the second round of the
2015 New Japan Cup __NOTOC__ The New Japan Cup (NJC) is an annual single-elimination professional wrestling tournament held by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) since 2005. It is considered the second most prominent heavyweight tournament in NJPW, after the G1 Climax wh ...
in a match, where Goto was victorious. Goto eventually made it to the finals of the tournament on March 15, where he was defeated by Kota Ibushi. On May 3 at
Wrestling Dontaku 2015 Wrestling Dontaku 2015 was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on May 3, 2015, in Fukuoka, Fukuoka at Fukuoka Kokusai Center and featured nine matches, three of which w ...
, Goto defeated Shinsuke Nakamura to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship for the second time. Goto made his first title defense on July 5 at Dominion 7.5 in Osaka-jo Hall, defeating Nakamura in a rematch. From July 23 to August 15, Goto took part in the
2015 G1 Climax The is a professional wrestling tournament held each August by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. Though it has sometimes been held as a single-elimination tournament, it is usually (and currently) held as a round-robin, with winners ...
. After six victories, one of which came over reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada, Goto entered the final day with a chance to advance from his block, but was eliminated after suffering his third loss of the tournament against Yuji Nagata. Through NJPW's working relationship with the
Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011, when the promotion was so ...
(ROH) promotion, Goto returned to the United States on August 21, teaming with Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe in a six-man tag team match, where they defeated Okada, Beretta and Rocky Romero. Goto's Intercontinental Championship reign ended on September 27 at Destruction in Kobe, when he was defeated by Shinsuke Nakamura in another title rematch.


Chaos (2016–present)

After defeating Tetsuya Naito on January 4, 2016, at Wrestle Kingdom 10 in Tokyo Dome, Goto received his eighth shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, but yet again failed to win the title, being defeated by the defending champion, Kazuchika Okada, on February 11 at
The New Beginning in Osaka The New Beginning is an annual professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event has been held since 2011 as a pay-per-view (PPV). From 2013 to 2014, the event also aired outside Japan as an internet pay-per-view ...
. Goto went into the match with new attire, painting his body white and covering himself with script. Following the match, Okada offered Goto a spot in the Chaos stable. Over the next several events, Okada tried to shake hands with Goto and get him to join Chaos on multiple occasions, but was turned down each time. In March, Goto made it to the finals of the 2016 New Japan Cup, but was defeated there by Tetsuya Naito. After the final match, Goto finally agreed to shake hands with Okada, after he saved him from a post-match assault by Naito and his '' Los Ingobernables de Japón'' stable, and joined Chaos. From July 18 to August 12, Goto took part in the round-robin portion of the
2016 G1 Climax The is a professional wrestling tournament held each August by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. Though it has sometimes been held as a single-elimination tournament, it is usually (and currently) held as a round-robin tournament, ro ...
, where he won his block, besting both Hiroshi Tanahashi and reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada, with a record of six wins and three losses, advancing to the finals. On August 14, Goto was defeated in the finals by Kenny Omega. At the end of the year, Goto took part in the 2016 World Tag League, teaming with Chaos stablemate Tomohiro Ishii. The two finished the tournament with a record of four wins and three losses, failing to advance to the finals due to losing to block winners Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma in their final round-robin match. On January 4, 2017, at Wrestle Kingdom 11 in Tokyo Dome, Goto defeated Katsuyori Shibata to win the NEVER Openweight Championship for the first time. Goto made his first successful title defense on February 5 at
The New Beginning in Sapporo The New Beginning is an annual professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event has been held since 2011 as a pay-per-view (PPV). From 2013 to 2014, the event also aired outside Japan as an internet pay-per-view ...
against Juice Robinson. His second defense took place at the NJPW and ROH co-produced Honor Rising: Japan 2017 event, where he defeated ROH wrestler Punisher Martinez. On April 9 at
Sakura Genesis 2017 Sakura Genesis 2017 was a professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), which took place on April 9, 2017, in Tokyo at Ryōgoku Kokugikan. The event featured nine matches (in addition to one match on the pre-show), main ...
, Goto made his third successful defense against Zack Sabre Jr., despite outside interference from Sabre's Suzuki-gun stablemates Minoru Suzuki and El Desperado. Afterwards, Goto brawled with Suzuki, setting up his next title defense. On April 27, Goto lost the NEVER Openweight Championship to Suzuki. On June 11 at Dominion 6.11 in Osaka-jo Hall, he failed to reclaim the title in a rematch against Suzuki in a Lumberjack Deathmatch. The following month, Goto entered the
2017 G1 Climax The is a professional wrestling tournament held each August by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. Though it has sometimes been held as a single-elimination tournament, it is usually (and currently) held as a round-robin, with winners ...
, where he finished with a record of five wins and four losses, failing to advance from his block. At the end of the year, Goto teamed with Yoshi-Hashi in the
2017 World Tag League __NOTOC__ The is a professional wrestling round-robin tag team tournament held by New Japan Pro-Wrestling as a spin-off of the popular singles tournament, the G1 Climax. It was created in 1991 as the Super Grade Tag League, as a continuation of ...
. Finishing with a record of four wins and three losses, the team failed to qualify for the finals, after losing to Evil and Sanada in their final round-robin match. On January 4, 2018, Goto defeated Minoru Suzuki in a Hair vs. Hair match to win the NEVER Openweight Championship, forcing Suzuki to have his head shaved bald. On January 5, 2018, at New Year's Dash, he was challenged to a title match by Evil, which he accepted. The match took place on February 10, 2018 at
The New Beginning in Osaka The New Beginning is an annual professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event has been held since 2011 as a pay-per-view (PPV). From 2013 to 2014, the event also aired outside Japan as an internet pay-per-view ...
, where Goto was victorious. On February 23, 2018, Goto made his second successful defense of the NEVER Openweight Championship against The Beer City Bruiser at the NJPW and ROH co-produced Honor Rising: Japan 2018 event. On April 27, 2018, at Road to Wrestling Dontaku, Goto made his third successful defense of the NEVER Openweight championship in a rematch with Juice Robinson. On June 9, 2018 at
Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo hall Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo Hall was a professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on June 9, 2018 at the Osaka-jō Hall, in Osaka. It is the tenth event under the Dominion name and the fourth in ...
, Goto lost the NEVER Openweight Championship to Michael Elgin in a 3-way match which also involved Taichi, ending his second reign at 156 days. On June 17, 2018 at Kizuna Road, Goto defeated Elgin in a rematch for the NEVER Openweight Championship to win back the title Goto made his first successful title defence against Jeff Cobb at G1 Special in San Francisco. From July 14 to August 12 Goto took part in the G1 Climax 2018 and he ended up with 3 wins and 6 losses, failing to advance to the finals. On the final day of the G1 Climax, a returning Taichi later challenged him for the NEVER Openweight Championship, which Goto accepted. On September 17, at Destruction in Beppu, Goto lost the NEVER Openweight Championship to Taichi in his second defense. On October 27, Goto requested for a rematch for the NEVER Openweight Championship, replacing his Chaos stablemate Will Ospreay, who was scheduled to challenge Taichi at
Power Struggle In political science and political history, the term power vacuum, also known as a power void, is an analogy between a physical vacuum to the political condition "when someone in a place of power, has lost control of something and no one has repla ...
for the title but was unable to do so due to Ospreay suffering an injury. Taichi, however, waved off Goto's challenge and declined immediately. Despite this, the title match was eventually still set at Power struggle which took place on November 3. At the event, Goto defeated Taichi to win the NEVER Openweight Championship for the fourth time. Goto would lose the belt to Kota Ibushi on December 9, without having any defenses. 2019 would see Goto change effectively. After some massive losses, including one to Jay White on April 29, Goto would travel to the United States to train under Shibata's LA Dojo system to improve as he also briefly wrestled for Ring of Honor during their ''War Of The Worlds'' series. From July 6 until August 11, 2019, Goto returned and took part in the 2019 G1 Climax, where he finished the tournament with a record of five wins (one against Jay White) and four losses, failing to advance to the finals of the tournament, due to losing to Shingo Takagi in their head-to-head match. Goto would avenge his loss to Shingo at September's Destruction in Kobe however. In the same event, he would challenge White for his newly won Intercontinental Championship, although White repeatedly refused, the match was set up anyway for
Power Struggle In political science and political history, the term power vacuum, also known as a power void, is an analogy between a physical vacuum to the political condition "when someone in a place of power, has lost control of something and no one has repla ...
, where Goto would lose. From November 16 until December 8, Goto and 
Karl Fredericks Karl Fredericks (born July 15, 1990) is an American professional wrestler signed with WWE, where he performs on NXT. He is known for his stint in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was the winner of the 2019 Young Lion Cup. Professional wr ...
 took part in the 2019 World Tag League, failing to win the tournament with a record of three wins and twelve losses. Afterward, Goto began feuding with  KENTA. Throughout the 2019 World Tag League, KENTA began mocking Goto after his matches, leading Goto to attack him on November 29. Despite being attacked by Goto, KENTA continued to mock Goto leading him to attack KENTA again on December 8. At a press conference the following day, Goto drew the ire of KENTA, after calling into question his in-ring abilities, leading KENTA to return the favor and attack him. On January 5, 2020, on the second night of Wrestle Kingdom 14 in Tokyo Dome, Goto defeated KENTA to win the NEVER Openweight Championship for the fifth time. He lost the title to Shingo Takagi on February 1, at The New Beginning in Sapporo. In June, Goto took part in the 2020 New Japan Cup, being eliminated from the tournament by EVIL in the second round. On August 9, Goto, Ishii & Yoshi-Hashi defeated fellow CHAOS stablemates Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano & Sho in a tournament final to win NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship. From September 19 until October 17, Goto took part in the 2020 G1 Climax, finishing the tournament with a record of four wins and five losses, failing to advance to the finals of the tournament. During the tournament, Goto and Toru Yano broke the record of the shortest match in the tournament's history with the match lasting 18 seconds, surpassing the record held by  Kenzo Suzuki against  Tadao Yasuda in the 2002 tournament, which their match lasted 37 seconds. From November 15 until December 6, Goto and Yoshi-Hashi took part in the 2020 World Tag League, finishing the tournament with a record of five wins and four losses, failing to advance to the finals of the tournament. In March 2021, Goto took part in the 2021 New Japan Cup, losing in the second round to eventual finalist Shingo Takagi on March 13. From September 19 to October 20, Goto took part in the 2021 G1 Climax, where he finished with a record of three wins and six losses, failing to advance to the finals of the tournament. Goto, Ishii & Yoshi-Hashi's reign would break the record for the longest reign as champions at 454 days and the most successful title defenses with 9 defenses, before losing the titles to House of Torture (EVIL, Sho & Yujiro Takahashi) on November 6 at Power Struggle. From November 14 to December 12, Goto took part in the round-robin portion of the 2021 World Tag League, alongside Yoshi-Hashi. The team finished with a record of nine wins and two losses, advancing to the finals of the tournament. On December 15, Goto & Yoshi-Hashi defeated EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi in the finals to win the 2021 World Tag League. On January 4, 2022, on the first night of Wrestle Kingdom 16, Goto and Yoshi-Hashi defeated Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship. On Night 2, Goto, Yoshi-Hashi and Yoh, failed to capture the NEVER Openweight 6-man Tag Team championships from House of Torture. In March, Goto competed in the New Japan Cup, defeating Yuji Nagata and Dick Togo, before being defeated by Cima in the third round. At Hyper Battle, Goto and Yoshi-Hashi lost the IWGP Tag Team Championships to United Empire's Jeff Cobb and Great-O-Khan. At Dominion 6.12 in Osaka-jo Hall, Goto competed in an
AEW Interim World Championship The AEW World Championship is a professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Unveiled on May 25, 2019, it is the promotion's top championship for male singles competitors, ...
eliminator match for a chance to face Jon Moxley for the title at
Forbidden Door ''The Forbidden Door'' ( id, Pintu Terlarang) is a 2009 Indonesian psychological thriller film written and directed by Joko Anwar based on Sekar Ayu Asmara's novel of the same name. Despite disappointing box office receipts in Indonesia, the fi ...
, a co-produced show between NJPW and American wrestling company All Elite Wrestling. At the event, Goto was defeated by Hiroshi Tanahashi. Instead at the show, Goto and Yoshi-Hashi competed in the opening match on the Buy-In, defeating Q. T. Marshall and
Aaron Solo Aaron Solow is an American professional wrestler. He is currently working for the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is part of The Factory stable, using the ring name Aaron Solo. Professional wrestling career Solo made his ...
. This win lead to the pair getting an AEW World Tag Team Championship eliminator match on AEW Rampage, making their AEW debuts against current champions The Young Bucks, which they lost. In June, Goto was announced to be competing in the
G1 Climax 32 The G1 Climax 32 was a professional wrestling tournament promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The tournament commenced on July 16 and concluded on August 18, 2022. It was the thirty-second edition of G1 Climax and the forty-eighth edition ...
tournament in July, as apart of the C Block. Goto finished the tournament with a total of 6 points, failing to advance to the semi-finals.


Other media

Goto made his acting debut in 2016 with a cameo appearance as a gangster in the Indonesian action film '' Headshot''. In 2020, Goto appeared in Kamen Rider Zero-One the Movie: Real×Time as Buga, a computer avatar and one of the users of the Kamen Rider Abaddon powers.


Championships and accomplishments

* New Japan Pro-Wrestling ** IWGP Intercontinental Championship (
2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...
) ** IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with
Minoru Minoru is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *Minoru Arakawa (荒川 實, born 1946), Japanese former president of Nintendo of America *Minoru Chiaki (千秋 実, 1917–1999), Japanese actor *Minoru Fujita ( ...
** IWGP Tag Team Championship (
2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...
) – with Katsuyori Shibata (1) and Yoshi-Hashi (1) ** NEVER Openweight Championship ( 5 times) ** NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Yoshi-Hashi and Tomohiro Ishii (1) and Yoshi-Hashi and Yoh (1) ** G1 Climax (
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
) ** New Japan Cup (
2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
,
2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
,
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
) ** World Tag League (
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
with
Karl Anderson Chad Allegra (born January 20, 1980), better known by the ring name Karl Anderson, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE where he performs on the Raw brand. He also makes appearances for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), whe ...
,
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
with Katsuyori Shibata,
2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
,
2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
with Yoshi-Hashi) **
Young Lion Cup __NOTOC__ The is an infrequent professional wrestling tournament promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as a means of showcasing the younger talent on their roster. The tournament is the successor to the Karl Gotch Cup that NJPW promoted in t ...
(
2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
) **J Sports Crown Openweight 6 Man Tag Tournament (2010, 2011) – with Prince Devitt and Ryusuke Taguchi **Samurai! TV Openweight Tag Tournament (2005) – with Yuji Nagata **Jr. Heavyweight Tag MVP Award (2005) – with Minoru *'' Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' **Ranked No. 35 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the '' PWI 500'' in 2010 * Toryumon Mexico ** NWA International Junior Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) **Yamaha Cup (2007)


Luchas de Apuestas record


References


External links

*
Puroresu Central profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Goto, Hirooki 1979 births Living people 21st-century professional wrestlers Japanese male professional wrestlers Sportspeople from Mie Prefecture Chaos (professional wrestling) members IWGP Intercontinental champions NEVER Openweight champions NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions NWA International Junior Heavyweight Champions