Goto's reign comes to an end.
One of the matches on the marquee for NJPW President Hiroshi Tanahashi's self-produced Tanahashi Jam event was an IWGP World Heavyweight Title bout.
The champion Hirooki Goto defended against Zack Sabre Jr. The match lasted 28 minutes, and throughout the bout, Sabre Jr. focused on Goto's arm.
That ended up securing Sabre Jr. the victory as he locked Goto in an armbar, and the referee stopped the bout to prevent further damage. Here is NJPW1972.com's write-up about the end of the match:
Unable to defend himself, Goto still yelled at Sabre to keep fighting, and the challenger responded with stiff kicks that had the champion roaring with pain and defiance; ricocheting up from a Sabre PK, Goto used his good left arm to rock his challenger with a lariat. A sensational GTR followed, but Goto couldn't get into a cover soon enough as Sabre brought the shoulder up. As both came to their feet, Goto tried again and again to bring Sabre down with left-sided lariats, but ZSJ's right did so with authority. A Sabre Driver, followed by the You've Been Tangoed Edition saw Goto incredibly kick out only to be trapped in another armbar, and this time Goto had no hope of making the rope. Unno called for the bell, and Sabre claimed the world title for a second time.
Sabre Jr. is now a two-time IWGP World Heavyweight Champion. NJPW Tanahashi Jam did not air on NJPW WORLD. It was a TV Asahi-exclusive program.
It was in February at The New Beginning in Osaka that Goto defeated Sabre Jr. to begin his reign as IWGP World Heavyweight Champion.
