Kota Ibushi Finally Accepts Hiroki Goto's Challenge For The NEVER Openweight Title

For the past few weeks, Hiroki Goto has been trying to get Kota Ibushi to face him for his NEVER Openweight Title, but the latter refused the match. Ibushi did not want to fight him at Wrestle Kingdom, New Japan's premier event to start off the new year. This past weekend, Goto got his wish, even if the match is not in January. New Japan made the match official on their website.

At Sunday's World Tag League show, Goto confronted Ibushi one last time. He seemingly tricked Ibushi, stating he was done challenging him. Ibushi fell for the bait, finally accepting Goto's challenge. Goto then smiled, revealing his plan to Ibushi.

The bout for the NEVER Openweight Title will take place on December 9 at the Iwate Industrial Cultural Center in Japan. This also happens to be the finals of the World Tag League tournament.

This is Goto's fourth reign with the title. He defeated Taichi at Power Struggle in order to become champion once again. Originally, it was supposed to be Taichi v. Will Ospreay, but the latter had to back out due to a rib injury. If healthy, Ospreay may end up getting the winner of the December 9 bout at Wrestle Kingdom.