(Almost) 5-Star Match Reviews: Kenny Omega vs. Hirooki Goto – NJPW G1 Climax Final Ten-Year Anniversary Review

It’s been a while since I’ve done a match review and thinking back I wanted to look at something that had significant impact on the wrestling business. When looking at what to review I recalled this historic match and found it to be a no-brainer. Put simply, the present-day landscape wouldn’t be what it is had Kenny Omega not won the G1 Climax. Having this comedy guy complete his transformation into believable headlining act was a daunting task but it was pulled off better than everyone expected. Not only that, Omega put on another career-best performance despite still reeling following THE best match of his career the night before.

The Story

In January 2016 AJ Styles left NJPW for WWE, leaving Bullet Club without a leader. During his big send-off party Omega, then still an underling and having lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship to KUSHIDA at Wrestle Kingdom 10, attacked him and took over his position. This was a bit of a problem: up to that point Omega had a reputation as a comedy midcarder lacking significant credibility. Think Santino Marella or R-Truth. But since Bullet Club was the top heel faction in a company defined by stable warfare with a growing international fan base, a top heel was necessary. Thus Omega slowly built his credibility over the following several months, winning the IWGP Intercontinental Championship in the process. Then July came and he entered his first G1. Despite talking lots of shit, few people expected him to win on his first try (though Hulk Hogan and André the Giant won the tournament under previous names, no foreigner had ever won the G1). Yet Omega’s tournament block wasn’t all that threatening, with the only other favorite being Tetsuya Naito (whom Omega defeated in the semi-finals in an unquestioned 5-Star classic).

On the other side was Hirooki Goto, who had one of the most complicated careers you’ll ever see. Goto spent years as NJPW’s perennial nearlyman, always the bridesmaid never the bride. He was solid as an upper midcarder with a badass look, deep move-set, and solid fan support. Yet over time he developed a reputation for choking under the pressure, never winning the world title despite winning tournaments before. With time many of his younger or stronger peers surpassed him, most notably Naito and Okada. Yet in the 2016 G1 he had a bit of good luck: despite losing to both Tanahashi and Okada, Goto got a few more wins and when Tana and Okada went to a draw Goto inched ahead with enough points to make it to the final.

Plenty of people believed that Goto would avenge his loss to Okada in February and finally get his big moment at Wrestle Kingdom. At the same time Omega, despite being a de-facto heel, was gaining popularity daily, to the point that just as many people cheered his entrance as Goto’s. Omega would need as much fan support as possible: his match with Naito the night before left him with a bad knee and he knew Goto was going to exploit that sooner or later.

The Match

This took place on August 14, 2016. It was rated ****3/4 by the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer.

They open with a standard exchange which ends with Omega lightly tapping Goto’s cheek like a douche. There’s some solid chain wrestling for the next few minutes but then Omega teases a dive, only for Goto to surprise him with a kick to the bad knee – and the crowd boos Goto. Loudly. Goto ignores them and works the knee extensively until he clotheslines Omega to ringside. They brawl ringside until Omega kisses the G1 trophy, lands a back kick, and springboards off the barricade with a quebrada. Omega slams Goto onto the edge of the ring, teases a powerbomb into the front row of fans, and then powerbombs Goto onto the apron. In the ring Omega hits a Rick Rude neckbreaker for two and works the neck with neck-cranking holds and chops. Both men avoid corner charges but Omega lands a facecrusher. They fight to their feet, trade strikes, and misdirect each other until Goto hits a Marufuji-style rebound lariat.

Goto lands some power moves for a near-fall but Omega escapes a fireman’s carry and spits on him. Omega lands a fireman’s carry/moonsault combo for two. Goto tanks several shots to the jaw and neck until Omega tricks him with an eye rake. Omega avoids Goto’s next rebound lariat and lands a snap Dragon Suplex. Then Omega succeeds with his dive but appears to reinjure his knee. Undeterred, Omega lands a diving dropkick to the back of Goto’s neck. Goto escapes another dragon suplex and counters into an ushigoroshi. After a struggle Goto lands an apron lariat and an avalanche ushigorishi, and then locks in a sleeper to set up his GTR finisher. Omega escapes, they trade sleepers, Omega lands on his feet off a German and lands a V-Trigger, and then he lands his fisherman neckbreaker. Another V-Trigger leads to a One-Winged Angel attempt. Goto escapes and locks in a sleeper. Omega fights out. Goto with a backpack sleeper. Omega ascends the top rope with Goto on his back and falls backwards to escape, leading to a double-down.

They fight to their feet and trade strikes until Omega counters a discus lariat with a high kick. Omega channels Kota Ibushi and hits a Golden Star Bomb for two. He follows with a Phoenix Splash but misses. Goto drills him with a kick to the chest for two. Omega lands on his feet to avoid the Shouten but tweaks his knee. Goto hoists him onto his shoulder and hits the reverse Shouten, driving him into the mat face-first for another near-fall. Both guys block more finishers. Omega lands a flurry of knees and another snap Dragon Suplex for two. Goto catches Omega’s knee but Omega hits back and charges, only to run into another massive lariat. Goto’s Shouten Kai connects for a close near-fall. They trade suplex attempts until Omega lands Prince Devitt’s Bloody Sunday. Omega follows with a Styles Clash for two and then succeeds with the OWA to get the three-count and win the G1 in his first attempt as everyone in attendance loses their shit!

Winner of the 2016 G1 Climax after 26:48: Kenny Omega

You can watch the full match here.

Review

It’s been a decade and this is still an amazing match. It was physical, tense, even, and exciting. Neither wrestler was the clear favorite from a booking perspective. Their wrestling was full of surprises. The crowd was incredibly loud and cheered both guys evenly and booed both men whenever they displayed unsportsmanlike tactics. There was both solid chemistry between the two wrestlers and enough contrast between them to create two distinct wrestlers that shared a common goal. The action during the final ten minutes, especially after the backwards fall from the corner, was absolutely nuts. This was made even more exciting with the commentary, especially with Japanese commentator Shinpei Nogami losing it with his “WAAA, BLOODY SUNDAY!!!” call. But most importantly, this was not a fully Omega-style match. Though filled with the usual athleticism, heavy bombs, and cheap tricks, there was still an underpinning of traditional Strong Style grit that radiated more from Goto. Omega was also a bit more subdued compared to his later matches, selling the knee more often – albeit still somewhat inconsistently – than he would in later matches featuring the same plotline. As for the finish, despite being a bit on-the-nose it made for an exciting bit of storytelling with Omega showing how his signature move was more powerful than those of Bullet Club’s previous leaders.

But as I mentioned at the start, this match’s result matters quite a bit more than its content. NJPW’s G1 has long been a hotbed of amazing wrestling content, a trend that continues to this very day. But few matches have altered the course of wrestling history more than this one. Omega needed this win to cement himself as not just the top foreign wrestler in Japan, but as arguably the best wrestler in the world – and that wouldn’t have happened without Okada. You could make the argument that Omega would’ve made his way to Okada eventually (especially given the likelihood that Goto would’ve lost had he faced Okada at WK11). But Okada/Omega happened at the right time for all the necessary pieces to fall into place. NJPW was on the cusp of international expansion. Their roster was arguably at its deepest. They were outpacing ROH as the #2 company people watched outside WWE. Though Omega and his partnership with the Young Bucks was popular and growing, there was still something lacking that would enable Omega to reach an even bigger audience, which he’d get headlining Wrestle Kingdom.

In other words, if Goto wins here Omega gets a major setback in reaching the main-event slot. Goto as the headlining act would’ve kept New Japan insular and focused on its native talent. Even if Okada was an amazing wrestler, to reach a global audience he needed an unconventional foreigner to create headlines that reached beyond Japan’s borders. Without the extra attention (and Dave Meltzer breaking his scale for them in the process), Omega and Okada don’t have the workrate fandom’s support needed to bring NJPW to America’s shores and help cultivate demand for an alternative to WWE. Without that support, All In 2018 wouldn’t have had as much success or attention – and without that show’s success, AEW likely never comes into existence.

Final Rating: ****3/4

As a standalone match this is absolutely outstanding and one of the best Kenny Omega matches you’ll ever see. Though not as good as his match with Naito from the night before (which is one of the best wrestling matches of all time), this one has its own charms thanks to a different dynamic between Omega and Goto. But in terms of history this one’s far more impactful: is solidified Omega’s status as a credible headliner, deserved leader for the Bullet Club, and put him on a collision course with Kazuchika Okada at Wrestle Kingdom. The match they’d go on to have would likewise force many fans to shift their attention away from WWE and prove that an undeniable – albeit smaller – alternative existed. With all due respect to Hirooki Goto, there was simply no way he could cultivate as much of an international audience as Omega who, despite having an established love of Japanese culture and wrestling, had broader appeal.

This is definitely one of the best matches you’ll ever see and further proof of NJPW’s greatness during the 2010s.

Thanks for reading.