Goto would love to go into G1 season and Forbidden Door as champion.
Hirooki Goto has been reigning as IWGP World Heavyweight Champion since February. He's had six defenses of the belt with his next coming up against Shingo Takagi at Dominion on June 15th.
To promote his upcoming defense, Goto was interviewed by NJPW1972.com. AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door on 8/24 in London, England was brought up.
Goto stated that he'd love to still be IWGP World Champion by the time Forbidden Door rolls around. He named Will Ospreay, Kazuchika Okada, and Katsuyori Shibata as potential opponents for that show.
“Of course I want to win the G1 as the champion, but I want more than anything to be IWGP Champion by the time Forbidden Door comes around. I've said before that I want to face Kazuchika Okada and Katsuyori Shibata, and Forbidden Door is my only chance for that.
That would be fantastic (to face Will Ospreay). Wrestling Callum Newman in Fukuoka really made me think of Ospreay, and we've never had a singles match. At Forbidden Door, I'd love it to be Ospreay, Okada or Shibata.”
While on the topic of defending the IWGP World Title overseas, Goto spoke about the positioning of the IWGP World Title matches on the last two USA-based NJPW events.
At Windy City Riot and Resurgence, Goto's defenses were in the semi-main event. He feels that's a shame, but admitted that the double pinfall draw with him and Sabre Jr. at Resurgence warranted their position on the card.
“That's a shame. The World Title is the symbol of the very top in NJPW, and whatever anybody says, it should always go on last in my opinion -- in the end, the match (with Zack Sabre Jr. at Resurgence) ended the way that it did though, so being in the semi is a small mercy.”
After Dominion, next up on the docket for the company is the New Japan Soul tour which starts June 18th and ends July 6th.
