Hirooki Goto is a Japanese professional wrestler.
42 Facts About Hirooki Goto
2.
Hirooki Goto later attended Kokushikan University, where he took part in freestyle wrestling and Greco-Roman wrestling.
3.
Hirooki Goto returned to NJPW in November 2002 after healing and began training in the NJPW dojo.
4.
Hirooki Goto debuted on July 6,2003, in Gifu, Gifu, wrestling Ryusuke Taguchi.
5.
Hirooki Goto won his first championship on May 15,2005, teaming with Minoru to defeat Koji Kanemoto and Wataru Inoue in the Tokyo Dome for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.
6.
In 2006, Hirooki Goto joined the American Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion as a member of Team Japan, one of the four teams competing in the TNA 2006 World X Cup Tournament.
7.
Hirooki Goto 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.
8.
Hirooki Goto showed a great deal of promise and skill since last seen in July 2006.
9.
Hirooki Goto showcased a whole new moveset and he quickly tried to establish himself as one of the top Heavyweights in New Japan.
10.
Shortly after that Hirooki Goto entered the 2007 G1 Tag League with Milano Collection AT, but the pair would finish in third place.
11.
In 2008 Hirooki Goto wrestled one of his childhood idols, The Great Muta at New Japan's annual January 4 Tokyo Dome Show.
12.
Hirooki Goto's progress was good through 2008 but a surprise victory in New Japan's prestigious G1 Climax in August surpassed everyone's expectations.
13.
Hirooki 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.
14.
In March 2009 Hirooki Goto defeated Karl Anderson, Shinsuke Nakamura, Yuji Nagata and Giant Bernard to win the 2009 New Japan Cup and earn a shot at Hiroshi Tanahashi's IWGP Heavyweight Championship.
15.
On May 3,2009, at Wrestling Dontaku 2009, Tanahashi defeated Hirooki Goto to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.
16.
In March, Hirooki Goto defeated Yujiro Takahashi, Masato Tanaka and Togi Makabe to win the 2010 New Japan Cup for the second year in a row.
17.
On June 28,2010, Hirooki Goto, teaming up with Prince Devitt and Ryusuke Taguchi entered the J Sports Crown Openweight 6 Man Tag Tournament.
18.
Later in the event, Hirooki Goto attacked and declared a war on Hiroshi Tanahashi after he had successfully defended the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Shinsuke Nakamura.
19.
On January 4,2012, at Wrestle Kingdom VI in Tokyo Dome, Hirooki Goto reignited his rivalry with Pro Wrestling Noah's Takashi Sugiura, defeating him in a singles match.
20.
On May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku 2012, Hirooki Goto unsuccessfully challenged Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.
21.
In February 2013, Hirooki 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.
22.
Hirooki Goto was leading the A block with four wins and two losses and had three matches left when he was pulled from the G1.
23.
On January 4,2014, Hirooki Goto defeated Shibata in his return match.
24.
From July 21 to August 8, Hirooki Goto took part in the 2014 G1 Climax, where he finished with a record of four wins and six losses.
25.
Hirooki 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, which he represented alongside the likes of Shibata and Hiroshi Tanahashi.
26.
On May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku 2015, Hirooki Goto defeated Shinsuke Nakamura to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship for the second time.
27.
From July 23 to August 15, Hirooki Goto took part in the 2015 G1 Climax.
28.
Hirooki Goto went into the match with new attire, painting his body white and covering himself with script.
29.
In March, Hirooki Goto made it to the finals of the 2016 New Japan Cup, but was defeated there by Tetsuya Naito.
30.
From July 18 to August 12, Hirooki Goto took part in the round-robin portion of the 2016 G1 Climax, 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.
31.
On January 4,2017, at Wrestle Kingdom 11 in Tokyo Dome, Hirooki Goto defeated Katsuyori Shibata to win the NEVER Openweight Championship for the first time.
32.
On January 4,2018, Hirooki Goto defeated Minoru Suzuki in a Hair vs Hair match to win the NEVER Openweight Championship, forcing Suzuki to have his head shaved bald.
33.
On February 23,2018, Hirooki 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.
34.
On June 9,2018 at Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo hall, Hirooki Goto lost the NEVER Openweight Championship to Michael Elgin in a 3-way match which involved Taichi, ending his second reign at 156 days.
35.
On June 17,2018 at Kizuna Road, Hirooki Goto defeated Elgin in a rematch for the NEVER Openweight Championship to win back the title Hirooki Goto made his first successful title defence against Jeff Cobb at G1 Special in San Francisco.
36.
From July 14 to August 12 Hirooki Goto took part in the G1 Climax 2018 and he ended up with 3 wins and 6 losses, failing to advance to the finals.
37.
At the event, Hirooki Goto defeated Taichi to win the NEVER Openweight Championship for the fourth time.
38.
From July 6 until August 11,2019, Hirooki Goto returned and took part in the 2019 G1 Climax, where he finished the tournament with a record of five wins and four losses, failing to advance to the finals of the tournament, due to losing to Shingo Takagi in their head-to-head match.
39.
At a press conference the following day, Hirooki Goto drew the ire of KENTA, after calling into question his in-ring abilities, leading KENTA to return the favor and attack him.
40.
At Dominion 6.12 in Osaka-jo Hall, Hirooki Goto competed in an AEW Interim World Championship eliminator match for a chance to face Jon Moxley for the title at Forbidden Door, a co-produced show between NJPW and American wrestling company All Elite Wrestling.
41.
Hirooki Goto finished the tournament with a total of 6 points, failing to advance to the semi-finals.
42.
Hirooki Goto made his acting debut in 2016 with a cameo appearance as a gangster in the Indonesian action film Headshot.