Voices of Wrestling 2025 Match of the Year: #6 (Hirooki Goto vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – February 11)

The G in IWGP finally stands for Goto in one of the year’s most feel-good moments—#6 on Voices of Wrestling’s 2025 Match of the Year list!

Voices of Wrestling 2025 Match of the Year Countdown

• Introduction, Project History, Voters/Media Outlets & Honorable Mentions
• Matches #100-76
• Matches #75-51
• Matches #50-26
• Matches #25-11
• Match of the Year Statistical Analysis & Top 10 Early Reveal (FlagshipPatreon.com)
• Match #10 (Sareee vs. Syuri – March 10)
• Match #9 (El Desperado vs. Jun Kasai – June 24)
• Match #8 (Bandido vs. Konosuke Takeshita – July 11)
• Match #7 (Saya Kamitani vs. Tam Nakano – April 27)
• Match #6 (Hirooki Goto vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – February 11)
• Match #5 (Toni Storm vs. Mariah May – March 9)
• Match #4 (Adam Page vs. Jon Moxley – July 12)
• Match #3 (Adam Page vs. Will Ospreay – May 25)
• Match #2 (Mistico vs. MJF – September 9)
• Match #1 (Kenny Omega vs. Gabe Kidd – January 5)

Voices of Wrestling’s 2025 Match of the Year Voter List

Here is the distinguished panel of wrestling media members who voted in Voices of Wrestling’s 2025 Match of the Year poll.

(Note: some voters chose not to include websites/affiliations and/or Twitter/X/Bluesky handles)

Wrestling Media Representation in Voices of Wrestling’s 2025 Match of the Year

Below are links to the many outlets participating in Voices of Wrestling’s 2025 Match of the Year voting.

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#6
Hirooki Goto defeats Zack Sabre Jr.
02/11
NJPW

Overall Points: 592
Total Votes: 76
Percentage of Ballots: 37.25%
15 First-Place Votes

My picks would be incomplete without the Goto Revolution.

Hirooki Goto’s struggle to overcome not just ZSJ, but the adversity that kept him from this spot all these years paved the way for a beautiful story. Throughout, it’s as though the cheers of Goto’s children and the spirit of his father willed him on. I’m glassy-eyed just thinking about it. – Corey Michaels (Wrestling Observer Network, Last Word on Pro Wrestling, BodySlam)

In a year of <gestures broadly at the world>, Hiroki Goto stood atop NJPW in the first half of 2025 as one of the only shining beacons of babyface joy across the world of wrestling. His title win in February was one of the few the undeniable feel-good moments in wrestling all year, a spark of heat from the dying embers of the New Japan fire. The pure joy of that “he fucking did it!” moment in Osaka was enough alone to vault this match into the top 10, but the 20+ minutes before that moment more than qualify it for the list too. – Chris Whitehead (Social Suplex Newsletter)

Mandatory viewing for anyone who considers themselves a wrestling fan–the quintessential match where an unexpected hero rises to the top of the wrestling world. – Jesse Collings (Voices of Wrestling)

The greatness of this match comes in context. Hirooki Goto spent a decade+ being nothing more than essentially a feeder for a title challenge or two, relegated to a strong tag belt holder and used as a stepping stone for other guys like Nakamura or Ibushi. By the 2020’s he was mostly seen as a “what if?” who’d came and past for any real main event title reign. This perfectly uses that built-up crowd support (aided by Goto’s stellar babyface work in prior weeks) alongside Zack being a surefire champ to make pure wrestling magic, with the champ working just tween-ish enough to get the crowd fully on Goto’s side as he sells and battles through to a final glorious upset. Even if you walked in fully knowing Goto is probably going to win the match makes you BELIEVE otherwise, and there’s something just magical about genuine unpredictability in wrestling that makes this so much stronger than just a simple underdog story. It’s a battle where Goto has to prove physically and mentally that he can finally do it. When he does? There’s nothing better than that. – Stump Puller (Violent People)

For a while, it felt like people didn’t take too seriously Hirooki Goto’s path to the IWGP World Heavyweight Title. So for him to win at New Beginning Osaka was a big deal. One of the last of a previous generation, and one that had never won this title, Goto felt in some ways like a transitional champion, but it was always about the drama here. Fighting for his family against such a technician like Sabre, this wasn’t a token championship run: Goto earned this belt. – Greg Parks (Pro Wrestling Torch)

After re-watching some of the previous matches I didn’t enjoy them as much as I did live (I still enjoy them, don’t get me wrong). For me this isn’t a problem, I believe that the true opinion of the match is the one you have right after watching, in the moment, with the emotional context of the match surrounding you.

Obviously Zack vs Goto at New Beginning had that emotion in spades at the time, but re-watching it compared to some of the others on this list is a different experience. That energy is still alive and kicking nearly an entire year later. thank the simple and universal story they told for that.

One of my favourite matches to show non-wrestling fans is Goto vs Omega in the G1 Finals, and this one fits the same mold. Goto’s pure passion and fighting spirit is one of the most intoxicating drugs to ever come out of a wrestling ring and Zack’s dickish, but viscous demeanor and offence provided the perfect adversary to Goto’s life long goal of winning the IWGP title.

Every counter that Zack performs and every trap that Zack sets gets met with an impassion lariat from Goto that brings you on a rollercoaster of emotion throughout the entire match. It’s only 20 minutes long, but it somehow feels even less as there aren’t really any long control segments from Zack that drag it down. It’s all kept extremely fluid and engaging throughout as the will of Goto surpasses anything that Sabre can throw at him. It’s not no-selling, but the kind of selling were you can see how much its taking out of Goto to see through his dream in what might be his final ever opportunity. Just wonderful storytelling and spotlessly executed pro wrestling. – Adam Darwin (Dragonscrew Wrestling)

This is one of those matches where your mileage may vary about the quality of the in-ring work. I thought it was excellent myself, but some may not share my enthusiasm (it might not even be the best Sabre/Goto match of the year), as I do. That said, it’s about what this match represents that we can all agree on. For over a decade and a half, the running joke about Hirooki Goto was that he was a bridesmaid but never the bride when it came to reaching the top of the mountain in New Japan and when he was announced as Sabre’s next challenger, a lot of people (myself included) didn’t think much about it intially but as a “filler title defense” for Sabre to stat pad. All of a sudden, with the introduction of his children and his way of family life, the switch flipped. Granted, he’s done this before, but it felt different this time. All those years of challenging for the IWGP title (World or Heavyweight), we finally wanted to see Goto win the big one in a year for New Japan, which saw major departures, questionable booking, and lukewarm fan reception. For all intents and purposes, Goto was our savior in letting us know that our current feelings of New Japan are understandable, but he will lead the company to new prosperity by becoming the IWGP World champion. After a great back-and-forth against Sabre, who was looking to redeem himself after a bad showing with Umino at Wrestle Kingdom last month, Goto hit the GTR. We held our breath in the longest three seconds in some time, and when the ref’s hand hit three, you couldn’t help but pump your fist and yell “GOTO DID IT!” A classic match and moment in New Japan that I will never forget, and his embracing of the title with his kids made the very long wait of Goto’s ascent worth it. – Hakeem Johnson (Pro Wrestling Spreadsheet)

When pro wrestling is great, there’s nothing else like it. Seeing Hirooki Goto finally climb the mountain and end his run of being the perpetual bridesmaid was one of most emotional and spectacular moments of an otherwise poor year of pro wrestling.

It’s not just emotion that makes this my number one, though. This was an excellent pro wrestling match that was paced and peaked perfectly. – Andrew Sinclair (Voices of Wrestling)

Patience is a virtue. I haven’t seen *every* Hirooki Goto IWGP title opportunity, but watching the ref count three and the immediate rush of adrenaline felt so rewarding. And I don’t think you really need to see all of Goto’s chances at the heavyweight title to get a true grasp at how important this was or why everyone in Osaka, fist pumped the air, leaping out of their seats after Goto beat Zack. It’s Goto’s spirit in this match that burns the brightest. Fighting through all the pain that Zack puts on that right arm used for the GTR, and near the end of the match Zack realizes he can’t stop Goto. No matter how hard Zack tries, Goto perseveres through the pain. And it’s the first GTR where Zack realizes it’s over. But Goto wants to make sure he can actually do it and it’s the next GTR that does it. It’s not only Goto who’s victorious, it’s the fans. Their patience paid off. Hirooki Goto is finally the IWGP (World) Heavyweight Champion. – Nathan Heslip (Nate Hates Wrestling)

After seventeen plus years of trying and missing, there was no other experience in wrestling in 2025 like seeing Charlie Brown finally kick the football and send that thing FLYING. The match is just great enough to live up to one of the best moments of the decade, and in a weaker year, that was enough. Hirooki Goto may be a blockhead, but he was the IWGP Champion. – Simon HANDWERK (HANDWERK)

New Japan was desperate to have something go right for them, and putting the belt on Hirooki Goto was exactly what they needed. Not only did it boost business, but they put on an incredible match, where plucky babyface Goto FINALLY got over the hump and won the big one. The best part was that it didn’t feel forced in the slightest. – Tyler Forness (Voices of Wrestling)

What an ending to the show with the top 2 matches. If you’d have told me that a wheezing New Japan would find a bit of stability for the first half of 2025, and that it would be due to a Gold Watch reign for Goto, I’d have told you that you were smoking crack. But it absolutely worked for this fanbase. The crowd was so overjoyed when Goto did it, it could have been the end of one of the better Rocky movies. – Eric Krol (Pro Wrestling Torch)

Hirooki Goto was always my example of someone who helps add value to a title by trying and failing to win it. If someone of his calibre couldn’t win it, then surely it’s the most valuable title in the world. And yet, years after his previous, seemingly final challenge for the title, he gains an incredible amount of momentum and finally wins it. One of the two biggest title wins in professional wrestling in 2025. – Chris Gannon (Social Suplex Newsletter)

This was a great wrestling match and a tremendous moment as well. The vibes were immaculate. – Eric Thornley (Voices of Wrestling)

The G in IWGP finally stands for Goto. It’s a testament to just how incredibly special and deep the 2010’s New Japan Roster was that it took so many departures for people as talented as Zack Sabre Jr and Hirooki Goto to have their chance at the top of the card. Talent like this in any other company would have demanded a consistent main event spot, but few people even questioned their positioning for most of the “peak” era the #7-12 guy on the roster seemed appropriate for them in a sea of all time greats.

The changes in New Japan necessitated changes at the top of the card, and when Zack won the title I was happy for him and hoped it would lead to an uptick in the quality of the shows and perhaps pique my interest a bit more. It had its ups and downs, but the Goto match was one I made sure to stay spoiler free for, and watched immediately upon waking up that morning. Goto had become a meme for his inability to win the big one, a seeming rejoinder of the fact that he was not a champion, but an upper mid carder who could challenge for, but never win the IWGP heavyweight championship. This time however, things did seem different. With so many of the old guard now gone, all of a sudden Goto didn’t seem like such a crazy choice.

I like wrestling when it feels like a sport. I like the prestige that a big world heavyweight title match carries. It’s not an unfamiliar feeling as a sports fan to be frustrated with your team but still root for them regardless. It’s a special kind of torture when your team is consistently good, makes the playoffs on a regular basis, but still has no championships to show for it. Goto felt like a perennial contender. The Buffalo Bills, Minnesota Vikings, or Atlanta Hawks of New Japan. Finally though, it all came together, and Goto was able to capture the prize that had so long eluded him. If Goto can do it, then maybe your team can too. Maybe you can do it if you just keep trying. Hirooki Goto’s career is a lesson in always trying your hardest, and eventually the rewards you deserve will come. He’s an inspiration to all of us who are getting up in age, but still want to give our dreams a shot. – Jamie Sessions (Raised by the Ring)

Nothing meant more to me as a pro wrestling fan than seeing Hirooki Goto celebrate his overdue IWGP World Title victory with his children. – Andrew Gelinas (Long Story Sport)

THE “G” IN IWGP STANDS FOR GOTO BABY!!! Such a feel good moment for long time fans of this company. The classic story of skill vs grit done about as well as possible. – Markeem Graham (The Blue Moon Wrestling Show and One of the Skypetalkers)

Much like Kidd/Omega, it’s difficult to look back at this match without remembering New Japan’s squandering of the good will it generated, but forget the piddling, political end of Goto’s reign: for one night, the stars aligned, and those of us who’d long since given up on Goto as anything other than a credible elevator of the tag titles weren’t just holding out hope, but were utterly convinced that it was finally going to happen, that Gedo wouldn’t pull away the football at the last second, and that the aging underdog the entire fanbase had gotten behind would finally win the title. It had been a long, long time since I’d been able to cheer so purely for one wrestler to beat another, not because I thought it was a more “logical” result, not because it would represent their elevation within the company, not because I was looking forward to future matches or programs, but simply because I wanted to see this guy beat that guy. – Bruce Lord (POST Wrestling)

Zack Sabre Jr. against Hirooki Goto at New Beginning is the match of the year. I should just stop there. What more should I really need to say or write?

A lot of wrestling in 2025 had crazy action, huge spots, beautiful chain wrestling, macabre amounts of blood, mental sequences or a combination of all ot some of these factors. ZSJ/Goto really had none of those in the way some of my other favourites of 2025 do. But it made me fucking feel.

Joy, dread, nervousness, elation, fear. All of that.

I forgot that this is not real. Hirooki Goto is not performing for an accolade that will make him a more effective draw in the eyes of a paying audience, he’s fighting for the fucking world title. The title that has eluded him 8 times and for nearly 20 years. That’s the sports romantic in me speaking, but there’s few feelings rawer than seeing the 20 year workhorse finally winning the big one, whether in football, ice hockey, golf, whatever. That feeling is real. Ray Bourque in 2001, tell me with a straight face that doesn’t make you FEEL.

When that hand hit the mat for the third time and the Osaka crowd leapt to their feet, I couldn’t help but follow. And when Goto lifted his gaze, there was nothing fake in that impression on his face. Finally.

When the match ended, I didn’t think I just saw the match of the year. But when the year progressed and other matches started to fade from immediate memory, I kept coming back to this. The end, the pop, the joyous tears. The FEELING.

Pro wrestling can fucking suck, we all know that. But when it’s good, you’ll remember it for a lifetime.

And the G in IWGP finally stood for Goto, that’ll stay with me. Even if I someday stop this cursed hobby of mine, this will remain.

The feeling of joy. – Semi Salmikannas (Smarkside & Kuristusjuntta)

The greatest moment of the year. Thank you Florian Schreiber, for making me this invested in the match and the moment. Goato. – Akash Merten (Five Star Network)

The last chance for Hirooki Goto. It must’ve been now. It couldn’t have been later. Later wasn’t on the horizon. Zack Sabre Jr was in his element early on, quickly working on the neck of Goto with his headscissors twist and going from there, chaining from move to move until he transitions into working the arm. Then the drama of the match really became apparent – will Goto tap? The fans were dying on any big submission attempt, begging for Goto to find an escape. And Zack played it perfectly with each little modification he added to a submission, getting closer and closer to a tap. Goto is terrific in the underdog role as always. He’s not always as charismatic as his peers, but when he’s got the momentum, he can be convincing in the ultimate hero role as any. And here, he carried that archetype and ran with it. The story of his father dying, his history in the role, the idea of the last chance, it all clicks here. And when Goto releases an impassioned yell, you can’t help but be hooked. The false finishes land, the submission teases land, and the last ditch counters are to die for. And when Goto hits the GTR and got the pin, the crowd went into a frenzy, celebrating harder at that victory than a title celebration has been received in years. What a match. What a story. ****1/4 – MC (Shoot Style and Other Stuff)

The feel good story of the year, the lipstick on the pig of New Japan’s 2025 booking and a damn good wrestling match to boot. Only slightly kept off number one because the result was never in doubt (to me). – Conor McFall (Social Suplex)

Goto-Mania runs wild! Goto proved why he was long overdue for the world title win with the spirited performance of the year, the unbreakable hero who survives the most lethal holds in Sabre Jr.’s arsenal. No other match this year had the genuine tension that every reversal and every rope break had that perfectly painted Sabre Jr. as the unbeatable dream-killer. The highest of highlights of this year in pro wrestling. – Nick Johnson (Cagematch.net)

Hirooki Goto did it. He finally did it. After nine failed attempts across nine years, he became IWGP World Heavyweight Champion. It was the culmination of eighteen years of excellence without the one accolade that mattered most. Goto’s achievements are vast (multiple championships, three New Japan Cup wins, a G1 Climax victory, and many more) yet the Big One always remained out of reach.

Because of this, the organic groundswell of support that started with this NJ Cup run in 2024 carried him all the way to this. Fans sensed the inevitability not because of a storyline or because of how the booker wanted things to go down, but because of the weight of his history. It was the slow, unmistakable feeling of history catching up to a man who had been waiting, patiently and painfully, for his turn. When he finally reached the top, the moment did not feel manufactured, it felt earned. Something we don’t feel very often in pro wrestling in this modern age.

The match itself was a fitting end to a long journey. When the decisive moment came, the reaction was not just joy but release. The crowd surged to the barricades, cheering his name, as if they had been holding their breath for years.

This was not merely a great match. It was a moment of catharsis, a rare instance of wrestling delivering real emotional closure. Goto earned this and New Japan rewarded the fans who had believed in him all along. – Warren Hayes (Voices of Wrestling / The Mr. Warren Hayes Show)

Technical wrestling meets emotion and an electric atmosphere. Hirooki Goto winning the championship was the best moment of the year for me. We say “well deserved” often in pro wrestling, this is a time where it may be an understatement. Goto has been so close, so many times but never wins the big one. Even here, surviving the brutal death trap that is Zack Sabre Jr, you never quite feel like Goto is going to pull it off until he does and it’s beautiful. The closing stretch of this match is reminiscent of golden era NJPW epic finishes and GTR is still one of the dopest moves in the company. – Noveliss (Noveliss.bandcamp.com)

Wrestling’s ultimate bridesmaid finally had his big day – and at New Beginning no less, the show where so many of his failures have taken place. I’m so glad that Gedo followed through with the seeds that were sown in last year’s G1 where out of nowhere, the fans rallied behind Goto’s story and started believing in him again. Zack’s role should not be forgotten here, he was a valuable in-ring champion in getting us out of the husk of Naito on top dark days and he put in a masterclass performance in this match. Zack dominated so much of this match, which in real time might have been a tip off that Goto’s big comeback would be successful. The G in IWGP stands for Goto! – Ed Mills (WrestlingClique)

The magic surrounding this match may never be replicated. The crowd wanted Goto to win possibly more than any New Japan crowd has ever wanted anyone to win. Oh, and I cried when Goto won. – Elliot Imes (Super J-Cast)

Goto winning didn’t seem possible. He’d come up short so many times before that I couldn’t believe it until I saw it…and then it happened! The match was great in and of itself but the emotional investment from the live crowd took this to another level. Pro wrestling at its best is the absolute best. Goto becoming IWGP Champion was an all-time moment. – Adam Berger (Voices of Wrestling)

The G in IWGP stands for Goto! – Rob Hutton (Eternal Couch Potato)

New Japan got one right? Shocker. Honestly, the emotion and the work on this one are next level. ZSJ always bring the technical excellence but his dance partners in his title reigns have not always met him. Goto was not lacking at all. Throw in the emotional investment of the fanbase and this is a great match. – Arturo Galletti (The P[w]rescription)

Going back to 2024’s G1 Climax, it just seemed so clear that Hirooki Goto could the perfect man in this time for New Japan Pro-Wrestling. The man that stayed through it all, despite the years of heartache and disappointment, could carry the banner for what this company represents at its best, to be the representative of the 2010’s old guard and be the bridge for the next generation of top champions. I can’t speak for the future of his reign, but for the here and now, Goto really was NJPW at its best. The anticipation through the crowd was at a fever pitch for the whole match, the kind of buzz that is so hard to emulate and impossible to deny when you can really feel it. And when it mattered most, Goto really did prove to be that perfect hero for this moment in time. The way that Goto and Sabre pushed and pulled the crowd until they were in a fully frothed frenzy was superb, but no amount of great ring work could ever surpass the catharsis of seeing Goto hold up the IWGP title and celebrate with his family and the fans that rushed the barricade to congratulate him. – TDE (TDE Wrestling)

A man fought for his family, his dignity and his pride… and he won. – Neil David (Voices of Wrestling)

Goto finally realizing his dream and defeating Zack Sabre Jr. for the IWGP World title felt cathartic in a way that really can’t be found in any of the other matches I list on here. He spent YEARS, decades even chasing NJPW’s top title. For him to finally win it felt incredible, a feel-good moment that feels increasingly rare in a pro wrestling world filled with heat. If there was one highlight in NJPW this year, it was Goto’s great run with this championship. – Bryan Rose (Wrestling Observer)

Feeling. That’s what I’m chasing more than anything else. More than technical execution or even artistic merit, I want to feel something when I watch professional wrestling. I can appreciate the Match of the Year of Week as much as the next guy, but unless I can emotionally attach to it it’s not going to fare very well for me on a list like this.

Hirooki Goto finally winning the IWGP Title was a feeling only wrestling can create. That unique mix of story, sports and reality coming together as the guy who could never take the final step won the big one. Watch Goto in this match. Watch as he looks out to the crowd at pivotal moments to make sure he brings them with him, this match doesn’t exist in a vacuum – it’s that crowd’s moment as much as it is Goto’s. Match of the year in 2025 by a landslide. – Garrett Kidney (Voices of Wrestling / You’ve Got To Be Kidding Me)

I never thought I’d be so emotionally invested in seeing Hirooki Goto win the World Title. He’d failed so many times it was getting annoying that he wouldn’t give up on it. But this time it just felt different. – Kadaveri (Segunda Caida)

Goto finally did it! The feel good moment of 2025, and it happened all the way back in FEB. It was also an excellent match. Hell yeah, GOTO DID IT! – Jeri Evagood (Voices of Wrestling)

What a super emotional match. Great match with an excellent ending with Goto finally achieving winning the big one. – Filip Pejic (Fil Me In Podcast)

HOLY SHIT I’M CRYING! My man Goto finally won the big one. The storytelling focused around Goto’s arm being targeted by ZSJ was smooth. The Osaka crowd behind Goto, the perpetual underdog, the WHOLE TIME. What a magical match for me. And that final stretch starting with all those headbutts! Fucking amazing. – James “NuclearConvoy” Snelgrove (Nuclear Convoy Productions)

Sometimes, wrestling just makes you feel good. I love watching Hirooki Goto wrestle, every time he gets another chance at a big victory, I get fully invested just to get my heart ripped out one more time and it sucks every time. But on this night, Goto wasn’t the choker who had lost 3700 matches for the Heavyweight Championship, he was a son fighting for his father, a father fighting for his children and a hero to 5,000 people in Osaka. And on this night, it was finally enough. I hesitate to use the term ‘feel-good reign’, because the matches were great and mostly did good business, but it nonetheless is very true that every time Goto defended the title in 2025, it just felt really good. Goto’s title reign was an expression of how pure and simple and fun wrestling can be and it all started here, with this great match and this great moment. – Jeff Ahmed (Voices of Wrestling)

I consider myself a very jaded fan at this point. Watching pro wrestling for decades and even Japanese wrestling for half of that time, it didn’t lessen my love of it, but moreso changed my viewpoint. Even when I got the chance to wrestle myself and become a person blessed enough to live my dream (even if it was short and not particularly fruitful) even still only heightened my love of it as a viewer and it’s continued on for all these years. But with the perspective of someone seasoned and mainly finding joy in being an analyst of it from so many angles, I would say it’s pretty rare for me to be touched to my core. To my heart. Amd then there’s matches like this, so powerful to remind me I’m still human.

Goto and Sabre was a complete success in the ring, but even more than that it was one of the most emotionally honest matches NJPW has ever had. Being a Goto fan has never been for the faint of heart. Suffering defeat after defeat, I had long made peace with the fact he would never be pushed as the top star of the company. And then, years after the prime of his career as a singles guy and largely being run as a tag worker in the excellent team with YOSHI-HASHI…It happened.

Zack Sabre Jr. deserves equal credit for making the moment resonate. Even in defeat, this felt like the pinnacle of his own career. He put on the performance of his career. I’ve often described his style as “World of Sport on Speed”. A submission exhibition every night, it can lead to matches where it is dazzling, or a showcase of many submissions that never lead anywhere or mean anything meaningful. This was a different Zack. He was focused completely, using neck work to set up his true focus, Goto’s arm. And Goto, brings selling right out of any old school sentimentalist’s dream to bring the match together in an era where showing any kind of weakness is minimalized. With Zack establishing control, it deserves praise. But ultimately whether in the real life judgment of this match, or the storyline itself, these parts were in service to the ultimate comeback by Goto and it came together to create an all time match and culminating in an all time moment. The crowd exploding in support on a decades long journey and one that transcended any story told in wrestling all year. This was a real reaction from both him and the crowd.

And it was emphasized by the actual storyline coming into the match. So much was made of Goto’s desire to win the title for his deceased father, one year prior. Many of the buildup interviews to the match itself featured talk of this point, at one particularly poignant moment we saw the contract for the title match under a container of his father’s ashes. I read many reviews after the match, where big name reviewers such as Joseph Montecillo and Handwerk opened up about their own journeys with their dads. These are people I have always respected and considered friends and never saw them this vulnerable and thanks to this match they were. It really struck me how much this tale resonated, particularly among male viewers and even moreso with a deceased dad. Now I do have a father who died, but this match didn’t strike me in that kind of personal way. I never met my true dad in person, in fact he had died 15 years before I even knew of his existence. But as a human being, I recognize the significance of this act and I certainly have had times where there was SOMEONE I wanted to achieve greatness and make proud of me. But knowing this fact it really showed the brilliance of all of this in it’s honesty. This wasn’t some dramatic battle of good vs. evil. Zack did nothing “wrong” per se. He was a desperate champion in the midst of his own seemingly unlikely title reign and one in life I’m sure he was feeling certain weights on his shoulders being the face of the company during a time universally hailed as one of the worst periods, particularly after his main event with Shota Umino got the reaction it did. We didn’t get any overwrought moments like them calling back to a wrist clutch for the 5th time as we’ve seen so often in thr modern epic. This was an extremely bare bones, straightforward performance from both men where they let each man speak for themselves and wrestle in their own way, while simultaneously through Goto’s extremely human motivations let the fans bring their own stories into the match with him. And what we got was beautiful and successful in every way. The sold out building, the fans living and dying with a heroic figure and a great wrestler, long since underrated in comparison to his more pushed peers, and the shadow of a father figure none of us even know at all. But we all felt the same way. 9 years directly after his lowest professional moment where he lost a match to Okada and shook his hand, one year after his loss of his father, Goto had his triumph. But it genuinely wasn’t just a triumph for Goto. It was a triumph of humanity. And perhaps in the future as Goto brought his children into the ring for a touching celebration it showed an even greater message for us all. Life will go on with or without us. But what we do with it is our own. Goto’s lost his father but now has his own children and his own family. Maybe one day one of them will follow in his footsteps. But no matter what something in my heart tells me he’s gonna be proud of his kids…just like his dad was looking down proud of him that day. With or without a title belt.

I wouldn’t change a single thing about this match before, during or after, which makes it sit in a rarefied air as among the greatest matches of all time. Which I do believe it is. And is no doubt the match of the year. – Dylan Fox (Eastern Lariat / Wrestle Update)

He did it. He finally did it. Sabre was a perfect foil here, stretching Goto and pushing his will to its limits. But Goto didn’t sit under all those waterfalls to quit. The moment when Goto wins, and everyone jumps for joy that their guy finally won the big one, is what pro wrestling is all about. – Suit Williams (Voices of Wrestling / Williams Watches Wrestling)

This timeless IWGP World Heavyweight Championship battle was a perfect showcase of heart versus technique. Sabre was masterful in the early going, dismantling Goto’s arm, neck, and legs with vicious submissions and counters. It made it feel like one small mistake would doom Goto to “almost” status yet again. But Goto refused to break, repeatedly firing back with rugged lariats, headbutts, and ushigoroshis, drawing louder and louder reactions from an Osaka crowd desperate to see him finally win the big one. The finish saw Goto survive Sabre’s flash pins, hit one GTR, yank him back up, and drill him with a second for the three count. It was an all-time emotional payoff that capped a beautifully worked match and delivered the long-awaited crowning moment of Goto’s career. – Jeremy Donovan (Social Suplex / Keepin’ It Strong Style)

I don’t rate matches, and I don’t keep a list, but Match of the Year season is still my favorite time of year. I rely on memory, and I tend to remember only the matches that made me feel something. In a year when New Japan Pro Wrestling often felt stuck in a holding pattern, Hirooki Goto’s IWGP World Heavyweight Championship win gave the New Japan faithful something to feel. The reign that followed was, at best, fine, and in retrospect it may read like a gold-watch run. But when the bell rang and Goto finally won the big belt, we all felt it—the weight of years of coming close lifting off our backs. – Chris Samsa (Voices of Wrestling / Sport of Pro Wrestling)

Voices of Wrestling 2025 Match of the Year Countdown