NJPW has announced “Junior Genesis” for the night before Sakura Genesis.
On Friday, April 4, the IWGP Junior Heavyweight and Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships will both be defended at Korakuen Hall. El Desperado will put his title on the line against Clark Connors in a hardcore match, while TMDK’s Kosei Fujita and Robbie Eagles defend the tag belts against Taiji Ishimori and Robbie X.
Sakura Genesis is scheduled for Saturday, April 5, at Ryogoku Sumo Hall. The winner of the March 15 Hirooki Goto vs. Yuji Nagata title match will defend the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against the 2025 New Japan Cup winner.
NJPW Road to Sakura Genesis lineup for Friday, April 4:
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion El Desperado defends against Clark Connors
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Kosei Fujita & Robbie Eagles defend against Robbie X & Taiji Ishimori
NJPW Sakura Genesis lineup for Saturday, April 5:
Winner of Hirooki Goto vs. Yuji Nagata on March 15 defends IWGP World Heavyweight Championship vs. 2025 New Japan Cup Winner
YOH suffered an apparent shoulder injury in an IWGP Junior Heavyweight title match at Saturday’s NJPW Sakura Genesis event.
While challenging his former Roppongi 3K tag partner SHO for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, YOH appeared to suffer a separated shoulder just 96 seconds into the contest.
The referee was forced to call a stop to the match, and medical personnel attended to YOH in the ring. SHO was declared the winner and retained his title.
In what looked to be a hastily-called audible, DOUKI and Kosei Fujita came to the ring to shoot an angle with SHO, with Fujita attacking the champion while DOUKI left with SHO’s title belt.
Earlier in the evening, NJPW announced the field for the Best of the Super Juniors 31 tournament, including SHO, YOH, DOUKI, and Fujita. With the injury, a replacement may be announced for YOH. The tournament kicks off on May 11, with this year’s finals taking place at Dominion on June 9.
Tetsuya Naito defends the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against 2024 New Japan Cup winner Yota Tsuji in today’s Sakura Genesis main event at Sumo Hall in Ryogoku.
Both Naito & Tsuji are members of the Los Ingobernables de Japon faction. Naito has held the title since defeating SANADA in the Wrestle Kingdom main event in January.
EVIL defends the NEVER Openweight Championship against LIJ’s Shingo Takagi in the semi-main.
Jon Moxley is in action on the show, teaming with Shota Umino against Jack Perry & Ren Narita.
Former tag team partners collide as SHO defends the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against YOH.
IWGP Tag Team Champions KENTA & Chase Owens defend against Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI.
Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney defend the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team titles against KUSHIDA & Kevin Knight, and TJP & Francesco Akira in a three-way.
Four tag team bouts round out today’s pre-show and undercard.
This match was fairly by the book, but a fun opener nonetheless.
The highlight of this match was the mat-based exchange between ZSJ and Desperado. Fujita was also a welcome addition; he was as firey as always.
Fujita and Taguchi engaged in a sequence late in the match. Once ZSJ and Desperado interfered, the match broke down entirely. This distracted Taguchi, allowing Fujita to trap him in an Oconnor roll and win the match.
Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI & Hiromu Takahashi) defeated BULLET CLUB War Dogs (David Finlay & Gedo)
This was a nothing match.
This match opened with Finlay unloading on Hiromu. Hiromu tried to fight back but continually struggled to overcome Finlay. Gedo eventually tagged in, opening the door to an LIJ rally.
With Gedo legal, LIJ was able to overwhelm BC. Hiromu kept Finlay at bay long enough for BUSHI to secure the figure four. With no one to save him, Gedo tapped out, leaving LIJ with the win.
Just 5 Guys (DOUKI, SANADA & Yuya Uemura) defeated United Empire (Callum Newman, Great-O-Khan & Jeff Cobb)
This was nothing special.
Early on, J5G tried their best to catch Cobb, but his strength proved too much. Once UE established control, they traded tags, working to isolate DOUKI.
DOUKI eventually tagged out to SANADA, who turned the match around for J5G. He unloaded on UE, connecting with a barrage of dropkicks to shift momentum completely.
Uemura tagged in to challenge O-Khan. A back-and-forth followed, leading to UE rushing the ring. As soon as they left O-Khan in a strong position, Uemura caught O-Khan with a crucifix pin to win the match.
After the match, O-Khan tried to check Uemura. Uemura responded with a deadbolt suplex. After dropping O-Khan, Uemura held up the KOPW belt, teasing a future title challenge.
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: BULLET CLUB War Dogs (Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney) (c) defeated Catch 22 (Francesco Akira & TJP) & Intergalactic Jet Setters (Kevin Knight & KUSHIDA)
This match kicked off with a brawl. Most of the guys fought on the outside, leaving the ring for spots. This played out for some time before the War Dogs cleared the ring and began to isolate Knight.
Knight eventually kicked off the War Dogs, leading to another match breakdown. Once the ring was cleared, Knight hit a dive into the first row of seats.
Back in the ring, Knight hit TJP with a rana before planting Akira with a powerbomb for a nearfall. Once Knight stood up, the War Dogs hit him with their tandem spear. KUSHIDA hit the ring next, only to eat a spear himself.
Moloney tried for a Drilla Killa, but KUSHIDA slipped free, leading to another breakdown. Once the match calmed down, TJP hit Moloney with a splash for a nearfall. Before anyone could follow up, the match fell into chaos again.
After a sequence of quick nearfalls, TJP locked KUSHIDA in a stretch. KUSHIDA reversed into the hoverboard lock. Before TJP could submit, the War Dogs hit the ring to break up the hold. Another match breakdown followed.
The War Dogs emerged from the chaos with the lead. Moloney hit KUSHIDA with the Drilla Killa. With the end in sight, the War Dogs hit Full Clip, their suplex/spear combination. They then pinned KUSHIDA to retain their belts.
IWGP Tag Team Championship: BULLET CLUB (Chase Owens & KENTA) (c) vs. Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI)
The champions kicked off this match by jumping Bishamon, only for Bishamon to reverse momentum almost immediately afterward. BC fought back by taking the challengers to the floor and whipping them into the barricades.
Back in the ring, BC maintained their lead by isolating Goto. Once YH tagged in, Bishamon turned the match back around. Owens tagged in in an attempt to reverse momentum, but Bishamon held on. This lasted until a chair shot from KENTA allowed Owens to take the driver’s seat.
Owens dropped Goto with Jewel Heist for a nearfall. KENTA tried to close with a belt shot, but Goto reversed. Owens quickly responded with a C-Trigger, but Goto stuffed the second. This gave YH time to hit the ring, leading to a Shoto attempt, but Owens slipped free.
Owens hit another C-Trigger for a nearfall. Owens then tried to get his package piledriver, but YH saved it. This led to a back-and-forth between YH and KENTA, ending with a Goto lariat. With the ring cleared, Bishamon grabbed Owens, landed Shoto and won the match.
As soon as this match began, YOH took the lead, but he immediately dislocated his shoulder. The match was called off, leaving SHO as the champion.
Once the match was officially over, Fujita and DOUKI came to the ring to challenge SHO, but neither got the match. Instead, Fujita dropped SHO, and DOUKI left with the belt.
Jon Moxley & Shota Umino defeated House of Torture (Jack Perry & Ren Narita)
This match started with HoT gaining the lead in their signature style. Once they were in control, HoT worked to isolate Umino.
Once Moxley tagged in, he leveled Narita, turning the match on its head. Moxley tried taking the fight to the floor, but Perry cut him off. Moxley responded by throwing Perry over the barricade. With Moxley distracted, Narita was free to land a suplex on the floor.
Back in the ring, Narita continued to make advances against Moxley. Moxley hit a cutter, leading to a double tag.
With Perry legal, Umino launched into an intense sequence. Perry reversed momentum by landing an elbow drop from the top rope. This led to Narita hitting the ring, which forced Moxley to get involved. With Moxley’s help, Umino held off HoT before hitting an exploder suplex for a nearfall.
A double tag led to Moxley unloading on Narita. Narita raked Moxley’s eyes to buy some separation but Moxley responded with a lariat. A superplex scored a nearfall for Moxley.
Perry hit the ring, distracting the referee. Narita tried to hit Moxley with his pushup bar, but Narita made the save. Narita tried to hold on, attempting a double cross, but Moxley slipped free. Moxley followed up with a Deathrider and a pin on Narita to win the match.
NEVER Openweight Championship: Shingo Takagi defeated EVIL (c)
This was horrible. One of the worst title matches I have ever seen.
The match started slowly, with Takagi trying to gain control in the ring. Once the match worked its way to the floor, EVIL whipped Takagi into the barricades and attacked him with chairs. Back in the ring, EVIL choked Takagi with a wire.
A dragonscrew from Takagi reset the match in his favor. Shingo followed up with high-impact offense, including a superplex for a nearfall. Once Takagi had a strong lead, EVIL faked a leg injury, distracting the referee.
With the referee distracted, Yujiro removed the turnbuckle cover. EVIL followed up by whipping Takagi into said corner. Takagi tried to respond with a pumping bomber, but Yujiro hit him with a chair again.
This interference led to a man dressed as BUSHI hitting the ring. He distracted the referee, allowing HoT to continue their attack. The real BUSHI hit the ring to make the save, but he spat mist in the face of the referee.
With the referee down, Kanemaru entered the ring wearing an official’s shirt. HoT beat down Takahashi, EVIL hit the magic killer, and Kanemaru counted to three. Takahashi rang the bell to signify EVIL’s faux win.
Hiromu, also wearing a referee’s shirt, ran to the ring to clear out HoT. This led to a full-scale brawl between the teams.
Takagi spat whiskey into the face of EVIL before throwing a faceful of powder at the champion. Hiromu then pulled another real referee to the ring. Shingo hit Last of the Dragon and won the match.
The only thing positive about this match is EVIL is no longer the NEVER champion.
After the match, Gabe Kidd hit the ring and interrupted Takagi’s celebration. He called the NEVER title a joke in it’s current state. He called out management and spat on the lion mark. Kidd promised to kill anyone in his way. He swore he’d take Shingo’s belt before leaving the ring.
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Tetsuya Naito (c) defeated Yota Tsuji
Tsuji was the first to establish control, utilizing basic strikes and holds to gain a lead. Naito fired back with clubbing strikes, but Tsuji continued to advance regardless, landing a tope to further his lead. On the outside, Tsuji whipped Naito into the barricades before dropping him on the apron. Back inside, Tsuji continued utilizing simple holds to dominate Naito.
Naito eventually fired back, landing a dropkick to the back to gain the lead for the first time. Naito followed up with a neckbreaker, beginning his wear down to set up Destino.
After being on the receiving end of Naito’s neck-based offense for a while, Tsuji fired back with a boot. Tsuji then pulled Naito to his feet on the ring’s apron and hit a partial curb stomp to the floor.
Back in the ring, Naito fired back with a DDT. To follow up, Naito hammered Tsuji with elbows to the neck and a frankensteiner.
When Naito tried for Destino, Tsuji reversed and landed a knee for a nearfall. Tsuji followed up with a powerbomb for a nearfall.
Tsuji tried for a Gene Blast, but Naito caught him with a kick. Naito then attempted a Destino, but Tsuji threw him off and hit Gene Blast. Tsuji was too exhausted to make the cover.
With both men down, a strike exchange ensued. Tsuji won out and hoisted Naito to the top rope. Tsuji hit a superplex for a two-count before locking in the Boston crab. Tsuji then hit his top rope curb stomp and a powerbomb for a pair of nearfalls.
With Naito on his last legs, Tsuji tried for Gene Blast. Naito reversed by launching Tsuji into the corner. Naito followed up with a spear of his own. Tsuji kicked out of the follow-up pin at one.
When Naito tried for Destino again, Tsuji reversed. Tsuji tried for a suplex, but Naito landed a partial Destino. Naito followed up with a full Destino to win the match and retain his belt.
After the match, Moxley confronted Naito in the ring. Naito offered putting the belt on the line against Moxley in Chicago. Unsrupringly, Moxley accepted. The match is set. April 12, Moxley vs. Naito for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.
NJPW’s Frontier Zone match will make its return as Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & Boltin Oleg take on Ayato Yoshida, Takuro Niki & Chicharito Shoki at Sakura Genesis. The Frontier Zone concept pits members of the NJPW roster against wrestlers from smaller promotions. Yoshida, Niki & Shoki are representing 2AW (Active Advance Wrestling).
NJPW wrote:
Since its inception in Ryogoku last October, the Frontier Zone has given wrestling fans the chance to sample brand new wrestling from outside the major scene, and that’s the case at Sakura Genesis when 2AW, Active Advance Wrestling gets involved!
Ayato Yoshida, Takuro Niki and Chicharito Shoki will be representing the group in Sumo Hall. It’s a return to the cerulean blue for Yoshida, who wrestled sporadically in NJPW between 2017 and 2019, which included a World Tag League 2018 team with then Young Lion Shota Umino. NJPW fans may remember 25 year old Chicharito Shoki from All Star Junior Festival last March, while 23 year old Takuro Niki will be looking to show the future of his promotion and NJPW at large. This young trio will have a tough time against veterans Toru Yano and Tomohiro Ishii, as well as the huge Boltin Oleg- catch how they fare by tuning in early for Sakura Genesis!
Airing on the pre-show, Ishii, Yano & Oleg vs. Yoshida, Niki & Shoki will kick off the action at Sakura Genesis.
Sakura Genesis is taking place from Sumo Hall in Tokyo on Saturday, April 6. The show will air live on NJPW World.
Here’s the full lineup:
NJPW Sakura Genesis 2024 —
IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito defends against Yota Tsuji
NEVER Openweight Champion EVIL defends against Shingo Takagi
Jon Moxley & Shota Umino vs. Jack Perry & Ren Narita
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion SHO defends against YOH
IWGP Tag Team Champions KENTA & Chase Owens defend against Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI
Three-way match: IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney defend against KUSHIDA & Kevin Knight) and Francesco Akira & TJP
SANADA, Yuya Uemura & DOUKI vs. Jeff Cobb, Great-O-Khan & Callum Newman
Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI vs. David Finlay & Gedo
El Desperado & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Kosei Fujita
New Japan Pro Wrestling has announced the full card for Sakura Genesis.
The event takes place on Saturday, April 6 at Ryogoku Sumo Hall. The main event will see New Japan Cup winner Yota Tsuji challenge his LIJ teammate Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.
Also on the card, Jon Moxley will team with Shota Umino and face House of Torture’s Jack Perry & Ren Narita.
NJPW Sakura Genesis 2024 full card —
IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito defends against Yota Tsuji
NEVER Openweight Champion EVIL defends against Shingo Takagi
Jon Moxley & Shota Umino vs. Jack Perry & Ren Narita
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion SHO defends against YOH
IWGP Tag Team Champions Chase Owens & KENTA defend against Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI)
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney defend against Intergalactic Jet Setters (KUSHIDA & Kevin Knight) and Catch 2/2 (Francesco Akira & TJP) in a three-way match
DOUKI, Yuya Uemura & SANADA vs. Jeff Cobb, Great-O-Khan & Callum Newman
BUSHI & Hiromu Takahashi vs. Gedo & David Finlay
Ryusuke Taguchi & El Desperado vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Kosei Fujita
Hiroshi Tanahashi won’t be able to make his scheduled Global title challenge against Nic Nemeth.
NJPW had announced that Nemeth would defend the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship against Tanahashi at Sakura Genesis on Saturday, April 6. But Tanahashi has now been pulled from the Sakura Genesis card after further examination of an ankle injury that he suffered.
Tanahashi suffered a right ankle injury during his match against Matt Riddle at the New Beginning in Sapporo night one on February 23. Tanahashi then had to miss night two due to the injury.
Tanahashi has also been pulled from NJPW’s 52nd anniversary show and the New Japan Cup tour.
NJPW wrote that the Nemeth vs. Tanahashi match will happen at a later date to be determined:
Following further examination on an ankle injury sustained at New Beginning in Sapporo, Hiroshi Tanahashi will be absent from the New Japan Cup series, as well as Sakura Genesis on April 6 to allow for a full recovery.
His previously announced IWGP Global Championship match will be delayed until a later date to be determined.
We apologize to fans looking forward to seeing Tanahashi wrestle and appreciate your understanding.
Tanahashi lost the NJPW World Television Championship to Riddle at the New Beginning in Sapporo night one. That same night, Nemeth won the Global title from David Finlay. The match was Nemeth’s NJPW in-ring debut.
The Sakura Genesis match against Tanahashi was set to be Nemeth’s first title defense. Nemeth, formerly known as Dolph Ziggler, was released by WWE in September 2023.
It’s a Saturday edition of Wrestling Observer Live.
At last night’s NJPW Sakura Genesis, SANADA did what Cody Rhodes didn’t at WWE WrestleMania 39: finish the story. Wy? Because there’s a difference in storytelling in New Japan vs. WWE which I discuss this week.
Paul Heyman said Rhodes is a bigger star for losing. Is he? Is Drew McIntyre? Is Brock Lesnar? Is Matt Riddle? Is Edge? WWE is just loser after loser after loser.
On SmackDown in Portland, OR, Dominik Mysterio got a louder, more organic reaction than Roman Reigns. Considering the WWE corporate machine has been behind him for over a decade, why isn’t Reigns the most over wrestler of all-time?
Plus, let’s talk Mercedes Mone, Aussie Open, AEW to Wembley Stadium, and more.
New champions were crowned on Saturday at NJPW Sakura Genesis at Sumo Hall.
In a massive upset, SANADA defeated Kazuchika Okada in the show’s main event to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.
The 2023 New Japan Cup winner, SANADA hit Okada with his new Deadfall finisher for the pin to win the title.
Following his win, SANADA was challenged by his former Los Ingobernables de Japon stablemate Hiromu Takahashi to a future World Heavyweight title bout. SANADA’s new Just Five Guys stablemate Yoshinobu Kanemaru interrupted on SANADA’s behalf, demanding an IWGP Junior title shot against Hiromu before any SANADA vs. Hiromu bout takes place.
The victory was just the second for SANADA versus Okada in their tenth career singles bout. In addition, the title win is just SANADA’s second singles title held in an NJPW run that began in 2016.
Okada’s second reign with the IWGP World title ends at 94 days and two successful defenses.
Earlier on the Sakura Genesis card, Aussie Open’s Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis defeated Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI to capture the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship for the first time.
Fletcher pinned Goto after hitting Coriolis, securing Aussie Open’s highest-profile title victory to date.
Goto and YOSHI-HASHI’s second reign with the IWGP Heavyweight Tag titles also ends at 94 days and two defenses.
In the evening’s other title bouts, Mercedes Mone retained the IWGP Women’s Championship, Zack Sabre Jr. retained the NJPW World Television Championship, and Hiromu Takahashi retained the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.
Kazuchika Okada vs. SANADA headlines today’s NJPW Sakura Genesis event at Sumo Hall in Tokyo.
Okada is set to defend the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against SANADA, the 2023 New Japan Cup winner. Okada is 8-1 in nine career singles bouts against SANADA.
A total of five title bouts are set for the show.
In the semi-main, Hiromu Takahashi defends the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title against Robbie Eagles, the newest member of TMDK.
Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI will defend the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team titles against Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher of Aussie Open.
Zack Sabre Jr. will defend the NJPW World Television title against Shota Umino.
Mercedes Mone puts the IWGP Women’s title on the line in a triple threat match versus AZM and Hazuki.
The undercard:
Tama Tonga, Hikuleo & Master Wato vs. David Finlay, KENTA & El Phantasmo
Jeff Cobb, Aaron Henare & Francesco Akira vs. EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi & SHO
Mystery six-man tag team match
Our live coverage begins at 4 a.m. Eastern time.
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Shinnichi Champion Grand Prix Celebration Six-Man Tag Match: Toru Yano, Great O-Khan, & Minoru Suzuki defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, YOH, & El Desperado
This was an enjoyable opening bout that explored faction relations atypically.
This match’s oddball lineup was a part of the stip. Factionmates stood apart from one another while partnering with longtime rivals.
Suzuki and Desperado started the match and had a sportsmanly back-and-forth. This was the end of normalcy, however, as the struggle for tags began around this point.
With neither team wanting to engage in tags, O-Khan and YOH were left to fight each other for some time. Tanahashi eventually forced himself into the fray, taking momentum for his team. O-Khan grew desperate for a tag, but his partners refused to engage.
After much debate, Yano tagged into the match, and partners O-Khan and Suzuki were left to fight each other. Poor Yano was left in a three-on-one situation, but he took advantage of the dysfunction. YOH slapped his partner Desperado, and in the chaos that followed, Yano hit Tanahashi with a low blow and rolled him up to win the match.
United Empire (Aaron Henare, Francesco Akira & Jeff Cobb) defeated House Of Torture (EVIL, SHO & Yujiro Takahashi)
This match opened with a brawl. SHO and Akira were left in the ring to fight for control, where SHO gained full advantage for HOT. It took a tag to Cobb for UE to fight into the match, but HOT was willing to use their numbers to retake the lead.
SHO distracted the referee with his wrench, giving Dick Togo an opportunity to hit the ring with his cord. While being choked by Togo, Cobb stood up, grabbed SHO, and dropped him with tour of the islands. With Togo on his back, Cobb pinned SHO and secured the UE win.
After the match, Akira accepted KUSHIDA and Kevin Knight’s challenge for the junior tag titles.
Just 5 Guys (DOUKI, Taichi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito)
Naito started the match quickly by rushing DOUKI. LIJ fought with what felt like personal animosity towards J5G, leading to an extended sequence of control.
After a double tag, Taichi and Shingo traded heavy blows. BUSHI continued to keep up the fight after tagging in to handle Kanemaru. Kanemaru was able to turn things around, securing a figure four leglock in the center of the ring. As the rest of LIJ tried to make the save, J5G caught them in other holds, protecting BUSHI long enough for him to secure the win.
After the bell, DOUKI held Naito in the DOUKI Chokey for an extended period, forcing the ringside crew to break the hold. DOUKI later would challenge Naito to a singles match.
BULLET CLUB (David Finlay, El Phantasmo & KENTA) defeated Hikuleo, Tama Tonga, & Master Wato
Bullet Club drama will never end. Ten years after this faction’s creation, we’re still dealing with schisms, splinter groups, and betrayals.
Before the match could begin, ELP and Finlay had a bit of squabble. Once the bout actually started, the babyface squad was quick to take control.
The BC trio eventually took the lead but didn’t do much to capitalize as ELP and Finlay continued to argue. Finlay and ELP traded ‘tags’ that were closer to chops, leading to a rally from the faces.
Even though the disfunction, ELP was able to drop Wato with sudden death and a CR2.
Once the match concluded, Finlay dropped Tama with the NEVER championship. As Finlay beat down Tama, ELP tried to pull him off. Finlay dropped ELP with a forearm, leading into a strike exchange. After being pulled apart, ELP removed his Bullet Club gear. KENTA, who was playing a peacemaker role up to this point, dropped ELP with a GTS.
After KENTA’s action, KENTA and Gedo presented ELP to Finlay, who was now wielding his shillelagh. Taiji Ishimori hit the ring to make an apparent save, but instead, he dropped ELP with a low blow. Ishimori then helped Finlay deliver the shillelagh strike, dissolving The World’s Cutest Tag Team and ELP’s involvement in Bullet Club propper.
Since his arrival in the faction, ELP has been questioning Finlay’s authority. ELP seems to be brushing up to Bullet Club Gold and Black, which appears to be Jay White’s AEW schism group.
G1 Climax 2023 Schedule
July 15-16: Hokkai Kitayell | July 18: Yamagata | July 19: Xebio Arena Sendai | July 21: Ao-re Nagaoka | July 23: Nagano | July 25-26: Korakuen | July 27: Otaku | July 30: Aichi | August 1: Takamatsu | August 2: Hiroshima | August 5-6: Osaka | August 8: Yokohama Budokan | August 9: Act City Hamamatsu | August 10: Chiba | August 12-13: RYOGOKU
IWGP Women’s Championship: Mercedes Mone (c) defeated Hazuki and AZM
The match opened with a fast triangle sequence, leaving all women on equal footing. AZM and Mone made an on-the-fly agreement to write off Hazuki, but instead, Hazuki took control of both of her opponents.
After a brief sequence of Hazuki control, the match turned into a series of dives. From here, the trio traded tandem submissions and quick pin attempts, never leaving out any competitor for long.
Mone eventually landed a pair of code breakers and a Meteora for a near fall over AZM. AZM scored a nearfall of her own with a quick trapping pin before Hazuki fought back into the match with an explosive set of strikes.
Hazuki tried to close with a brainbuster, but AZM hit the ring to interrupt. Instead of securing a pin, as she had hoped, AZM was caught by Mone. Mone dropped AZM onto Hazuki with Money Maker, winning the match and retaining her belt.
After the match, Mayu Iwatani walked to the ring to challenge Mone for the Women’s title. Mone answered with a slap to the face.
NJPW World Television Championship: Zack Sabre Jr. (c) defeated Shota Umino
The match opened with a series of quick pin attempts. After the opening pin sequence, things calmed down a little, with both men trading uppercuts instead. Some intensity from Umino allowed him to gain a lead, which he used to work the leg.
ZSJ caught Shota with an armbar that forced him into the ropes. Continued work on the arm allowed ZSJ to retake the lead after Shota began to rally.
After escaping a brutal armbar, Shota attempted another rally with various quick pins. A swinging DDT and a death rider scored Shota a convincing nearfall late in the match. Shota tried for another death rider, but ZSJ reversed into a pin, winning the match.
IWGP Tag Team Championship: Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) defeated Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) (c)
Aussie Open started the match by isolating YH. Once Goto tagged in, Aussie Open upped the stakes to maintain their control, landing huge dives to the outside, leaving Bishamon on the backfoot.
YH eventually launched a rally, but Fletcher and Davis kept on the same page. At some point, Fletcher was busted open, but he continued to fight, even with a tapped-up head.
Once Goto tagged into the match, he began to turn things around. After sending Davis to the floor, Goto dropped Fletcher with a lariat and a backdrop. YH hit the ring to help Goto close, but Fletcher escaped Shoto. Goto persisted, dropping Fletcher with GYW, but Davis was able to make the save.
Another save from Davis allowed Fletcher to score a near fall. To clear the ring of YH, Aussie Open hit a double lariat. A follow-up sandwiching-lariat to Goto and Coriolis was able to close out the match for Aussie Open, winning them the match and IWGP gold.
The opening sequence saw Hiromu bait Eagles to the floor. Hiromu tried his sunset flip bomb, but a bad knee gave out, opening him up to a targeted attack from Eagles. Eagles’ attack on the leg was focused and relentless, using strikes, holds, and his environment to put Hiromu through the wringer.
Hiromu’s eventual rally started with a victory royal after minutes of agony. Back-and-forth suplexes led to a slam into the corner and a Timebomb for a Hiromu nearfall.
An encounter that forced the pair into the corner ended with a poison rana and a 450 to Hiromu’s knee. After landing the splash, Eagles locked in the Rob Miller Special; Hiromu barely escaped.
After a brief pause, Hiromu was able to land Dynamite Plunger and Timebomb 2 to win the match.
SANADA defeated Kazuchika Okada to win the IWGP World Heavyweight title
The match began with a typical collar-and-elbow tie-up. As the match continued, it soon worked its way to the floor. On the outside, SANADA dropped Okada on the concrete with a barricade-assisted DDT. Back in the ring, SANADA maintained this control for some time.
A flapjack to SANADA allowed Okada to fight into a leading position. A dropkick from Okada sent SANADA crashing to the floor, where he returned the concrete-DDT favor.
SANADA was quick to fight back after returning to the ring. A quick dropkick to Okada left SANADA a step ahead. The match wandered back outside again, leading to a SANADA dive.
Okada blocked SANADA’s moonsault attempt by extending his knees. A follow-up suplex led to a pair of lariats and the money clip. Okada landed a dropkick and landslide, but SANADA reversed the rainmaker attempt into a lariat of his own.
After escaping Okada’s finish, SANADA challenged Okada to a strike exchange. Okada ended the strike exchange with a dropkick, but SANADA revered the rainmaker into a cutter and a pair of moonsaults for a nearfall.
Okada tried for landslide, but SANADA turned it into a choke. After dropping Okada, SANADA landed a shining wizard but failed to follow up. Once he escaped another finish attempt, Okada tried again for rainmaker. This time, SANADA reversed rainmaker into Deadfall. After landing his swinging DDT variation, SANADA pinned Okada to win the belt for the first time in his career.
During SANADA’s victory speech, Hiromu walked to the ring. He congratulated SANADA for his win before challenging for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. Kanemaru asked Hiromu for a junior title shot before Hiromu got a chance to challenge for the heavyweight title.
SANADA closed the show with a promo and shower of confetti. Just 5 Guys have arrived.
NJPW has revealed the full card for Sakura Genesis set for Saturday, April 8.
Newly announced is a mystery six-man tag team match will open the show, with the participants only being revealed as their entrance music plays. NJPW’s English-language website details that this match is a tie-in with NJPW’s Shinnichi Champion variety show on Japan’s TV Asahi.
Five title matches are set for the show, with Kazuchika Okada defending the IWGP World Heavyweight title against New Japan Cup winner SANADA in the main event, Hiromu Takahashi defending the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title against Robbie Eagles, Bishamon defending the IWGP Heavyweight Tag titles against Aussie Open, Zack Sabre Jr. defending the NJPW World Television title against Shota Umino, plus Mercedes Mone defending the IWGP Women’s title against AZM and Hazuki.
Three other tag team bouts are set for the undercard.
Sakura Genesis will air live in English on NJPW World from Sumo Hall in Tokyo on Saturday, April 8 at 4 a.m. Eastern time.
Here is the finalized lineup:
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada defends against 2023 New Japan Cup winner SANADA
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Hiromu Takahashi defends against Robbie Eagles
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) defend against Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis)
NJPW World Television Championship: Zack Sabre Jr. defends against Shota Umino
IWGP Women’s Championship: Mercedes Mone defends against AZM & Hazuki in a three-way
Mercedes Mone will have two challengers in her first defense of the IWGP Women’s Championship.
NJPW has announced that Mone will defend the IWGP Women’s title against AZM and Hazuki in a three-way match at Sakura Genesis on Saturday, April 8. The match was made official with Mone accepting challenges that had been issued by both AZM and Hazuki.
The winner of the match will be in line to defend the IWGP Women’s Championship against Mayu Iwatani at Stardom’s event at the Yokohama Arena on Sunday, April 23.
NJPW wrote:
Since winning the IWGP Women’s Championship at Battle in the Valley, Mercedes Mone has been hitting red carpets and conventions in VIP style with the title, but has yet to make her first defense. Meanwhile, with the door open to challengers from around the world, two have stepped up from STARDOM.
First, High Speed Champion and young superstar of Queen’s Quest AZM would take to the microphone at a press conference recently to state that since Mercedes had mentioned her name as a prospective opponent, she’d be happy to step up. Later, the Wild Heart of STARS, Hazuki threw her hat into the ring as she proposed a three way match- even Mayu Iwatani said she would take on the winner April 23 at STARDOM’s Yokohama Arena event.
In a message released on social media today, Mercedes would issue her response. saying that ‘double the challenge means double the Mone’ the CEO took on the three way at Sakura Genesis April 8. Can Hazuki capture IWGP gold? Will AZM (that’s ‘A Zu Mi’), disrespected by Mercedes’ backhanded praise, make this title spectacular something more personal?
Mone, formerly known as Sasha Banks in WWE, returned to pro wrestling at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 this January. She made her NJPW in-ring debut at Battle in the Valley last month, defeating Kairi to win the IWGP Women’s title.
Sakura Genesis is taking place at Sumo Hall in Tokyo and will air live in English on NJPW World. The updated card for the show is listed below:
IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada defends against SANADA
IWGP Women’s Champion Mercedes Mone defends against AZM and Hazuki in a three-way match
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi defends against Robbie Eagles
IWGP Tag Team Champions Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI defend against Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis)
NJPW World Television Champion Zack Sabre Jr. defends against Shota Umino
Four title matches have been announced for Sakura Genesis.
NJPW’s next major card will take place at Sumo Hall on April 8. Kazuchika Okada will defend the IWGP World Heavyweight title against SANADA, who won this year’s New Japan Cup on Tuesday morning. The two exchanged words following SANADA’s win.
The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship will also be on the line, when Hiromu Takahashi defends against Robbie Eagles. After Takahashi successfully defended the title against Lio Rush on Tuesday morning, a video revealed that Eagles had left CHAOS and joined TMDK.
Two other title matches will have Bishamon (Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI) defend the IWGP Tag Team titles against Aussie Open (Mark Davis and Kyle Fletcher). Zack Sabre Jr. will also defend the New Japan World Television Championship against Shota Umino, who scored a win over Sabre during the course of the New Japan Cup tournament.
Here is the current lineup for Sakura Genesis:
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. SANADA
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs. Robbie Eagles
IWGP Tag Team Championship: Bishamon (c) vs. Aussie Open
New Japan World Television Championship: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Shota Umino
David Finlay, KENTA, and El Phantasmo vs. Tama Tonga, Hikuleo and Master Wato
Toa Henare, under a new name, has joined The United Empire.
Henare, going under the name Aaron Henare, joined the group during tonight’s NJPW Sakura Genesis event, revealing himself as their mystery tag team partner. He teamed up with Jeff Cobb and The Great-O-Khan to take on the Los Ingobernables de Japon team of Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, and Shingo Takagi. He picked up the win for his team, pinning SANADA after a death valley driver.
After the match, Henare and Cobb held Naito down as Great O-Khan attacked Naito’s knee with a steel chair.
Henare had been doing a storyline earlier this year where he expressed frustrations about his recent losses. He mentioned on Twitter that he was not in Japan for the current tour and was back home in New Zealand under quarantine.
Starting off as a young lion in 2016 under the name Henare, he would later emerge out of his young lion stage without taking an excursion, going under the name Toa Henare. Despite no longer being a young lion, Henare has spent the last few years in NJPW’s midcard, usually taking the pin for more established stars.
