Championship History

NWA International Jr. Heavyweight Championship
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship


Major Tournaments Won

Young Lion Cup (2005)
G1 Climax (2008)
New Japan Cup (2009 and 2010)
Real Name: Hirooki Goto
Birth: June 25th, 1979
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 230 lbs.
Background: New Japan Dojo
Debut: July 6th, 2003 vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
Other Identities: None
Alliances: None
Promotion History: New Japan (2003 to present)
Hirooki Goto Hirooki Goto

Awards and Recognition

Pro Wrestling Illustrated:
Highest Rank was #35 Wrestler in the World in 2010

Notable Matches

May 14th, 2005 with Minoru vs. Koji Kanemoto and Wataru Inoue
March 4th, 2007 vs. Shocker
November 11th, 2007 vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
January 4th, 2008 vs. Great Muta
March 22nd, 2009 vs. Giant Bernard
March 22nd, 2010 vs. Togi Makabe
June 18th, 2011 vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

Other Pictures

Goto attacks Shinsuke Nakamura
Goto after his return from Mexico
Goto with the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship

Wrestling Moves Videos Reviewed Matches on Puroresu Central
Avalanche Neck Breaker
Brainbuster
Fireman's Carry Slam to Knee
German Suplex Hold
Kaiten
Lariat
Shining Wizard
Shouten
Shouten Kai
Shoryu Kekkai
Top Rope Elbow Drop
A young Goto with the Go To Heaven
Goto delivering the Kaiten
With the Shoryu Kekkai
Both the Shouten and the Shouten Kai
Goto delivers the Ura Shouten to Tanahashi
December 11th, 2004 - Hirooki Goto vs. Masayuki Naruse
January 26th, 2005 - Hirooki Goto vs. Hiroshi Nagao
January 4th, 2006 - 12 Man Tag featuring Hirooki Goto
April 27th, 2008 - Hirooki Goto and Giant Bernard vs. Tomohiro Ishii and Honma
October 13th, 2008 - Hirooki Goto vs. Giant Bernard
January 4th, 2009 - Hirooki Goto and Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Misawa and Sugiura
January 4th, 2010 - Hirooki Goto vs. Takashi Sugiura
January 4th, 2014 - Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata
Featured Signature Moves
Shouten

Shouten Ka
i
Ura Shouten

Still a junior heavyweight in 2005, Goto found the most success of all the young lions.  Teaming with Minoru, in 2005 Goto won the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, a belt that he held from May until the end of 2005.  He was also successful at the Best of the Super Jr. Tournament, finishing third in his block.  Goto is one of the most promising of all the younger wrestlers.

It wasn't a strong year for Goto in Japan during 2006, as he lost the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship on February 16th and then came in sixth in his bracket at the Best of the Super Jr. Tournament. After a difficult July, Goto left for Mexico on August 1st, losing in his farewell match at the CTU 2nd Anniversary Show. No time table has been set for his return.

Goto spent most of 2007 in Mexico, transforming himself from a vanilla Jr. Heavyweight to a powerful Heavyweight. When he returned on August 26th, he returned with a vengeance and proved that his time in Mexico was not wasted. After going through Yamamoto, Uwano, and Honma, Goto proved that he was a force to be reckoned with when he defeated Tenzan on October 8th. On November 11th he challenged Tanahashi for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, but after a long and hard fought match Tanahashi would win with the Texas Cloverleaf. In the G1 Tag League he teamed with Milano Collection AT, but the pair would come in 3rd place. On November 25th, Goto lost in a singles match to Makabe, showing that even though he grew tremendously in the last year he still needed some work before breaking the highest tier in New Japan.

2008 had some notable highs and lows for Goto as he continued to try to establish himself as a star in New Japan. The year started slow, as he lost to the Great Muta at the Tokyo Dome. At the New Japan Cup he lost to eventual winner Tanahashi in the first round. In the G1 Climax, Goto had the highlight of his career when he beat Makabe in the finals to win the tournament. Winning the G1 Climax earned him a title shot and he challenged Keiji Mutoh in All Japan for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, but Mutoh would defeat the young star for the second time that year. On September 5th, Goto with Nakamura challenged Togi Makabe and Toru Yano for the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, but Goto would be defeated. In the G1 Tag League Goto teamed with Shinsuke Nakamura and they would reach the semi-finals before falling again to Togi Makabe and Toru Yano.

Goto cooled off a bit in 2009 as even though he stayed in the main event picture he failed to win any titles and had mixed results in his feud with Pro Wrestling NOAH. The year started well for Goto, as he teamed with Nakamura to defeat Misawa and Sugiura at the Tokyo Dome. In the New Japan Cup, Goto's rise continued as he defeated Yuji Nagata and Giant Bernard to win the tournament and earn himself a title shot against Tanahashi. On May 3rd, Goto challenged Tanahashi for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship but lost after the High Fly Flow. Two days later he teamed with Okada to take on NOAH's Sugiura and Aoki, but the New Japan team would lose. A month later he challenged Sugiura one on one, but again Goto would be defeated. In the G1 Climax, Goto did well but he lost on the last day yet again to Takashi Sugiura which kept him out of the semi-finals. In the G1 Tag League, Goto teamed with Okada and the pair came in last place as they picked up no wins. On November 8th he had a special singles match against Masato Tanaka, but the ZERO1 star defeated him. He avenged the defeat when he defeated Tanaka on December 5th, ending the year on a high note.

Goto continued hanging around the main event scene in 2010, but again was unable to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. He started the year on a down note, as he lost to Takashi Sugiura at the Tokyo Dome event. On March 22nd, Goto became the first ever wrestler to win the New Japan Cup two straight years as he defeated Yujiro Takahashi and Togi Makabe to win the tournament. This earned him a title shot against Shinsuke Nakamura on April 4th, but after a great match Nakamura would retain the championship. After that, Goto had a brief feud with Masato Tanaka which ended when Goto defeated Tanaka on June 19th. In the G1 Climax, Goto had a flashback to last year as again he lost on the last day to an Outsider (Kojima this time) that kept him out of the Finals. On October 11th, Goto avenged his earlier loss to Nakamura as he defeated him with the Jigoku Guruma. In the G1 Tag League, he teamed with Tama Tonga but the pair did not do well as they finished 4th in their bracket. Goto ended the year with back to back losses to Tanahashi and Kojima, showing that while Goto has shown promise he still has more to prove to be considered one of the top stars in the promotion.