The latest WWE and AEW News and Results
It’s a special solo express edition of the Big Audio Nightmare as I take a look at all of the recent developments in the Japanese pro wrestling landscape.
Topics include:
Kota Ibushi will defend the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship for the first time at Sakura Genesis on Sunday, April 4, taking on 2021 New Japan Cup winner Will Ospreay in the main event. NJPW made the match official at a press conference this morning.
The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships will also be on the line at Sakura Genesis, as El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru defend against SHO and the returning YOH. YOH made the challenge in a surprise return to kick off Sunday’s New Japan Cup final show, and the match has been made official.
The United Empire looks to be adding a new member to their faction at the event, as The Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb and a mystery partner will take on Tetsuya Naito, SANADA and Shingo Takagi.
Sakura Genesis takes place Sunday, April 4 in Ryogoku and will be aired live on NJPW World.
Here is the full lineup:
NJPW Sakura Genesis, Sunday, April 4, 4 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —
NJPW has revealed the lineups for the Road to Sakura Genesis tour.
The key shows on the tour take place Monday, March 29 and Tuesday, March 30, both at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. Both shows will be headlined by trios matches with IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Kota Ibushi on one side, and his next challenger Will Ospreay and The United Empire on the other.
On March 29, Ibushi, Yuji Nagata and Tomoaki Honma will face Ospreay, The Great-O-Khan and Jeff Cobb. On March 30, Ibushi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima will face Ospreay, O-Khan and Cobb.
Two of the four events will be shown live on NJPW World, while two will be non-televised shows. The tour kicks off Sunday, March 28 with a non-televised event. The Thursday, April 1 event in Fukushima is also not going to be broadcast. No card was announced for the April 1 show.
Here are the full lineups:
NJPW Road to Sakura Genesis, Sunday, March 28
NJPW Road to Sakura Genesis, Monday, March 29, 5:30 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World
NJPW Road to Sakura Genesis, Tuesday, March 30, 5:30 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World
NJPW Road to Sakura Genesis, Thursday, April 1
Will Ospreay has won the 2021 New Japan Cup.
Ospreay defeated Shingo Takagi to win the tournament for the first time. In a fierce back and forth match, Ospreay defeated Takagi after a hidden blade and the stormbreaker. As a result of the win, Ospreay will now face Kota Ibushi for the new IWGP World Heavyweight title at Sakura Genesis on April 4.
After the match. Ospreay said he had dominated the heavyweight division and put over his United Empire stable. He called out Kota Ibushi, who was doing commentary at ringside. Ibushi entered the ring. He agreed with Ibushi about the IWGP World Heavyweight title in terms of creating a new lineage and said he would do anything it takes to take the title away from Ibushi. He then laid out Bea Preistley with the ozcutter, abandoning her as the rest of the United Empire left the ring.
He later explained his actions backstage, saying that winning the IWGP World Heavyweight title meant more to him than he and Priestley’s relationship and if he could do that to someone he loved, what would he do to Ibushi?
Sakura Genesis will take place on April 4 at Sumo Hall.
NJPW has announced that their annual Sakura Genesis event will return in April.
The company announced that Sakura Genesis will take place on April 4. It will take place at Sumo Hall, the first NJPW event in the venue since the G1 Climax finals in October.
This is the first time that the annual Sakura Genesis event has run since 2018. In 2019, the company ran a show at Madison Square Garden during WrestleMania weekend, and last year’s show was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sakura Genesis replaced Invasion Attack as the annual April event in 2017.
The winner of the New Japan Cup tournament, which runs during March, usually challenges for the championship of their choosing at Sakura Genesis. The tournament runs this year from March 5 through March 21.
Sakura Genesis in 2018 was headlined by Kazuchika Okada successfully defending the IWGP Heavyweight title against Zack Sabre Jr.
