[2024-03-18-NJPW-New Japan Cup] SANADA vs Hirooki Goto

[Superstar Sleeze]

SANADA vs Hirooki Goto - NJPW 03/18/24 New Japan Cup 2024 Semis

I leave for Japan on April 13th. Time to get my ass in gear! Hirooki Goto still wrestles?!? Wow! SANADA has a great look, not sure he has IT. I thought he was perfectly solid just didn’t jump off the page for me. I thought he’d be a lock to win since he was a recent champion & Goto is a vet but they went with the upset. It is still cold in Boston so this is going to be short.

Pretty heatless match overall. Nothing bad per se but nothing great. Standard New Japan start with Mat wrestling which I appreciate. Looks like Goto is going to take control first with a clotheslining Samara over the top rope but very All Japan transition here with drop toe hole into the guardrail and then piledriver on the floor. That was the peak of the match. Lame Sanada control. Lame Goto transition on a lame cross cross. Stock Goto stuff. The criss cross stuff in this match was not good. SANADA who I believe is a Mutoh student at the very least he worked Wrestle-1 with Mutoh uses a lot of Mutoh moves such as the Shining Wizard & Moonsault. I did like the Dragon Sleeper with a body scissors. There was an especially bad New Japan strike exchange breakdown. The finish stretch was pretty standard New Japan does 90s All Japan style bomb throwing. This came off well and heated. The crowd finally got into it. I liked Sanada’s use if quick pins to discombobulate and set up offense but eventually he got caught by two big moves from Goto.

I’m probably harsher sounding on it than I felt while watching. I didn’t think either guy really stood out and they didn’t tell a real story. It was not like one guy was fighting from underneath (SANADA was on top more I reckon), no limbo psychology, no tempo psychology. It was just hit your spots with weak transition and a standard finish run. Nothing bad, nothing great. It just was.