NJPW New Japan Cup Winner Vows To End Cinderella Title Run

The 2025 New Japan Cup winner has sent a warning to IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Hirooki Goto.

On February 11th, Hirooki Goto captured the IWGP World Heavyweight Title from Zack Sabre Jr., in a shock victory at the New Beginning in Osaka. Since then, he has successfully saw off challenges from New Japan’s Ace, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and the legendary Blue Justice, Yuji Nagata. He is now set for his biggest challenge yet, as David Finlay has claimed the New Japan Cup.

After overcoming the likes of ZSJ and EVIL to reach the final of the two-week tournament, the leader of the Bullet Club War Dogs faced rising star Shota Umino in the final. The pair went to war for almost 30 minutes before Finlay was able to escape Umino’s Second Chapter finisher and hit Oblivion to win the tournament and a shot at the IWGP World Heavyweight Title at Sakura Genesis on April 5th.

David Finlay Lays Down Challenge For NJPW Sakura Genesis 2025

After the win, Finlay called Goto to the ring to make his challenge official and claim he would bring a revolution to NJPW.

“I keep hearing all this bulls**t about some Goto revolution, but quite frankly, you cannot have a revolution without a rebel. So the revolution is not yours baby boy, the revolution is all mine.”

After the rest of the War Dogs came into the ring to celebrate, Finlay took another shot at Goto, telling him his “Cinderella run” was finished.

“Goto, your Cinderella run is over. I am the Savage King. I am coming for my crown, so your fairytale is over. I am taking your title because hate always finds a way.”

If you use any of the above quotes, please credit the original source and give an H/T to TJR Wrestling for the transcription.