Tag: sakura genesis 2026

Will Ospreay set for NJPW return

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Will Ospreay is back in action — and he’s now set to return to the NJPW ring.

In his first match in Japan in more than two years, Ospreay will reunite with United Empire stablemates Great-O-Khan & HENARE for a six-man tag match at NJPW Sakura Genesis on April 4. They’ll be facing off against Yuya Uemura, Taichi & El Desperado.

Ospreay underwent neck surgery in 2025 and spent several months sidelined until returning at AEW Revolution. His comeback match took place on Dynamite last week, with Ospreay defeating Blake Christian. Ospreay is now set to take on Jon Moxley at AEW’s Dynasty pay-per-view next month.

During his injury layoff, Ospreay said that — while AEW is his home base — he was hoping to be able to wrestle for NJPW a few times per year once he was cleared to return. He made an appearance at NJPW New Year Dash 2026 and had a tense interaction with Callum Newman, who is now the leader of United Empire.

The main event of Sakura Genesis will see Newman challenge Yota Tsuji for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Newman earned the title shot through winning this year’s New Japan Cup.

With the addition of this six-man tag match, the card for Sakura Genesis is now finalized. The show is being held at Sumo Hall in Tokyo and will air live on NJPW World.

NJPW Sakura Genesis 2026 (Saturday, April 4) —

  • IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yota Tsuji defends against Callum Newman
  • IWGP Tag Team Champions The Knock Out Brothers (Oskar & Yuto-Ice) defend against Zack Sabre Jr. & Ryohei Oiwa
  • NJPW World Television Champion Konosuke Takeshita defends against Shota Umino
  • NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champions Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Oleg Boltin defend against Ren Narita, Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens
  • Will Ospreay, Great-O-Khan & HENARE vs. Yuya Uemura, Taichi & El Desperado
  • Aaron Wolf, YOH, Toru Yano & Master Wato vs. Don Fale, DOUKI, SHO & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
  • Shingo Takagi, Taiji Ishimori & Robbie X vs. Jake Lee, Francesco Akira & Jakob Austin Young
  • Togi Makabe & Tiger Mask vs. Hartley Jackson & Kosei Fujita
  • Pre-show: KUSHIDA & Masatora Yasuda vs. Tatsuya Matsumoto & Taisei Nakahara

NJPW announces title matches for Sakura Genesis 2026

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Coming out of the New Japan Cup finals, NJPW has revealed most of the card for Sakura Genesis 2026.

United Empire’s Callum Newman was crowned the New Japan Cup winner this past weekend. With that victory, he now heads to the main event of Sakura Genesis on April 4 for an IWGP Heavyweight Championship match against Yota Tsuji. It will be the second title defense of Tsuji’s reign. He already holds a victory over United Empire member Jake Lee.

In total, four championship bouts are part of the announced Sakura Genesis lineup. The IWGP Tag Team titles will be on the line when TMDK’s Zack Sabre Jr. & Ryohei Oiwa challenge Oskar & Yuto-Ice. This is a rematch from the main event of New Year Dash 2026, where Oskar & Yuto-Ice retained over Sabre & Oiwa.

Konosuke Takeshita will make another defense of the NJPW World Television Championship, this time against Shota Umino. Takeshita won the belt from El Phantasmo last month and successfully defended against Yujiro Takahashi at the New Japan Cup finals.

Plus, Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Oleg Boltin will put their NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team titles on the line against House of Torture (Ren Narita, Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens).

Sakura Genesis is being held at Sumo Hall in Tokyo and will stream live on NJPW World.

NJPW Sakura Genesis 2026 (Saturday, April 4) —

  • IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yota Tsuji defends against Callum Newman
  • IWGP Tag Team Champions The Knock Out Brothers (Oskar & Yuto-Ice) defend against Zack Sabre Jr. & Ryohei Oiwa
  • NJPW World Television Champion Konosuke Takeshita defends against Shota Umino
  • NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champions Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Oleg Boltin defend against Ren Narita, Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens
  • Aaron Wolf, YOH, Toru Yano & Master Wato vs. Don Fale, DOUKI, SHO & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
  • Shingo Takagi, Taiji Ishimori & Robbie X vs. Jake Lee, Francesco Akira & Jakob Austin Young
  • Togi Makabe & Tiger Mask vs. Hartley Jackson & Kosei Fujita
  • Pre-show: KUSHIDA & Masatora Yasuda vs. Tatsuya Matsumoto & Taisei Nakahara