Hirooki Goto’s long journey to win back the NEVER Openweight Championship is over.
At Wrestle Kingdom 14, Goto defeated KENTA to win back the title, becoming a five-time titleholder and tying Tomohiro Ishii for most all time.
Goto takes the bait and @KENTAG2S drops him with a DDT! #njwk14
— TDE Wrestling (@tde_wrestling) January 5, 2020
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Ushigoroshi from @510njpw! #njwk14
— TDE Wrestling (@tde_wrestling) January 5, 2020
https://t.co/nA6zFRMmxQ pic.twitter.com/DmE9cVqji6
.@KENTAG2S nails the Busaiku Knee! #njwk14
— TDE Wrestling (@tde_wrestling) January 5, 2020
https://t.co/nA6zFRMmxQ pic.twitter.com/MRG4moLBXt
.@510njpw will not be denied! #njwk14
— TDE Wrestling (@tde_wrestling) January 5, 2020
https://t.co/nA6zFRMmxQ pic.twitter.com/ew6WaEKFqU
It’s been roughly 14 months since Goto last held the NEVER title and it is the third time Goto won the title at Wrestle Kingdom. The other two occasions he did so was at Wrestle Kingdom 11 in 2017 when he beat Katsuyori Shibata and Wrestle Kingdom 12 in 2018 when he defeated Minoru Suzuki in a hair vs. hair match.
KENTA’s run with the title ended at 127 days, having won the belt at NJPW Royal Quest this past August when he defeated Ishii. KENTA’s two title defenses during his run as champion place him tied for sixth-most in the belt’s history.
For full results on night two of Wrestle Kingdom 14, check out Fightful’s live coverage of the event here. There will be a post-show podcast recapping both shows later in the day.
