MOTW 92: Hirooki Goto vs Zack Sabre Jr
"M.O.T.W. #92: Hirooki Goto vs. Zack Sabre Jr. " - ink & digital illustration
"Don't be sad it's over, be happy it happened."
Hi pals! I'm back again for week 92 of our 'Match of the Week' illustration series. And today we have another timely one!
This incredibly heartfelt Professional Wrestling match took place on February 11th of this year - the main event of NJPW's 'The New Beginning In Osaka 2025' event at the great Pro Wrestling venue that is Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. And dang, this one certainly got me in the feels!
So I'm clearly quite behind in my New Japan viewing but upon hearing the sad news this week that Goto's reign has now come to an end, I thought it high time to finally watch his big win that I've been meaning to get to for almost 6 months. And man, I was so happy that I did!
The whole story is just magical. This ended up one of those rare, transcendent moments. Everything aligned perfectly and for a little bit, everything felt right in the world. Goto, forever the bridesmaid but never the bride finally did it, after getting close oh so many times. Dedicated the win to his recently passed father. His adorable youngun's were there. "Daddy did it!" ...man, I was almost crying watching that post match speech!
The match itself was incredible too. Maybe my favourite match I've seen from this year! It had the perfect contrast of styles. And Zack's submission wizardry really made for the perfect foil against Goto's sheer power & heart. That moment when Goto powers through and somehow reaches the ropes to ZSJ's complete disbelief was something else! ...and one of the hottest crowds ever was just the icing on the cake. Man I love Osaka fans!
There really is something to be said about being made to wait an absurd amount of time for something and it being so much more magical as a result!
ENJOY!
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