NJPW Sakura Genesis live results: Yota Tsuji vs. Callum Newman
New Japan Pro-Wrestling presents Sakura Genesis on Saturday, April 4, at Ryogoku Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan.
Four championship matches and the return of Will Ospreay are advertised for the show.
The main event saw Yota Tsuji defending the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against 2026 New Japan Cup winner Callum Newman.
In the semi-main event, IWGP Tag Team Champions Knockout Brothers (OSKAR & Yuto-Ice) defended their titles against Ryohei Oiwa and Zack Sabre Jr. of TMDK.
The full lineup is as follows:
- IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Callum Newman defeated Yota Tsuji (c)
- IWGP Tag Team Championship: The Knock Out Brothers (OSKAR & Yuto-Ice) (c) defeated TMDK (Zack Sabre Jr. & Ryohei Oiwa)
- NJPW World Television Championship: Konosuke Takeshita (c) versus Shota Umino ended in a time-limit draw
- NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championship: Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) & Oleg Boltin (c) defeated House of Torture (Ren Narita, Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens)
- United Empire (Will Ospreay, Great-O-Khan & HENARE) defeated Yuya Uemura, Taichi & El Desperado
- Tiger Mask, Aaron Wolf, YOH & Toru Yano defeated House of Torture (DOUKI, Don Fale, SHO & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
- Unbound Co. (Shingo Takagi, Taiji Ishimori & Robbie X) defeated United Empire (Jake Lee, Francesco Akira & Jakob Austin Young)
- TMDK (Hartley Jackson & Kosei Fujita defeated Togi Makabe & Master Wato
- Pre-show: KUSHIDA & Masatora Yasuda defeated Tatsuya Matsumoto & Taisei Nakahara
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Pre-show
KUSHIDA & Masatora Yasuda defeated Taisei Nakahara & Tatsuya Matsumoto
Nakahara defiantly struggled through KUSHIDA’s headlocks, eventually locking in one of his own. Matsumoto wasn’t so easy for KUSHIDA to pin down, slamming the veteran to escape a particularly stubborn armbar. Nakahara soon tapped out to Yasuda’s unrelenting Boston Crab.
Main Card
TMDK (Hartley Jackson & Kosei Fujita) defeated Togi Makabe & Master Wato
Jackson wore down an eager Makabe, allowing Fujita to engage Wato unimpeded; Wato fought back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker to halt Fujita’s momentum. Makabe toppled Jackson via a King Kong Lariat. Jackson soundly put the veteran away with a Jagged Edge, earning the pinfall amid Wato and Fujita’s brawling.
Jackson’s best outing since that singles match against Oleg Boltin this year. He’s taking advantage of every opportunity given to him this year and has made the most of them to spectacular effect.
Unbound Co. (Shingo Takagi, Taiji Ishimori & Robbie X) defeated United Empire (Jake Lee, Francesco Akira & Jakob Austin Young)
United Empire’s early ploy to disorient Unbound Co. at the start of this match paid off initially, yet a synchronized dropkick stunted further dominance. Lee and Akira mounted a front against Takagi, who singlehandedly downed them with a double-lariat. Young, though spirited, albeit dirty his fight was, inescapably fell on the sword of Takagi’s Last of the Dragon. Unbound Co. walked away with the victory.
Robbie X, during the Road to Sakura Genesis, especially the April 2 show, displayed exceptional athleticism and pacing, and throughout his brief flashes in this match, continued to do so. Young also made the most of his spots, at a couple of points, making him almost believable to stand toe-to-toe with Takagi.
Tiger Mask, Aaron Wolf, YOH & Toru Yano defeated House of Torture (DOUKI, Don Fale, SHO & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
After an awkward leg holding spot from YOH, SHO, and the referee, Yano stripped a turnbuckle of its pad and paid dearly in typical House of Torture madness. Fale pressed his full weight on Yano’s spine, which DOUKI and SHO exploited by shoving their boots into his ribs. Tiger Mask kicked his way out of a combined assault stemming from DOUKI and Kanemaru. Wolf crushed Kanemaru with a Landslide and a headlock choke, the latter of which the House of Torture member tapped out.
Please, please let this be the end of Wolf’s rock bottom arc. Let him shine the way he opened the year. His finish and Tiger Mask’s spots were the highlights, poetically so, as one is still stepping through the door while another is on the way out.
Best of the Super Juniors Entrants Revealed
A-Block: Master Wato, Ryusuke Taguchi, DOUKI, Francesco Akira, Robbie X, Taiji Ishimori, Titan (CMLL), SHO, Kosei Fujita, & Jun Kasai (FREEDOMS)
B-Block: El Desperado, KUSHIDA, YOH, Robbie Eagles, Daisuke Sasaki (DDT), Jakob Austin Young, Nick Wayne (AEW), Hyo (Dragon Gate), Valiente Jr. (CMLL), & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
United Empire (Great-O-Khan, HENARE & Will Ospreay) defeated El Desperado, Taichi & Yuya Uemura
Still bearing the wounds suffered by AEW’s Death Riders (specifically PAC from the April 1 episode of AEW Dynamite), Ospreay weathered Desperado and Uemura’s coalesced offense. HENARE cleared the path for him to flatten Desperado with a Flying Crossbody out of the ring. Desperado collapsed following a meaty chop exchange with HENARE. United Empire linked up for a triple superkick to rock the masked wrestler further.
Uemura dished out dropkicks left and right to level the playing field, followed by a back suplex to Khan. Taichi met Ospreay in the middle of the ring, trading Kawada Kicks and backfists. A Dangerous Backdrop echoed through Ospreay, as did an Axe Bomber, yet Taichi’s efforts ultimately proved ineffective. Ospreay fired back with an Oscutter, therefore securing a comeback. He employed a Hidden Blade and Stormbreaker to cement his NJPW return at Taichi’s expense.
Post-match: Ospreay watched in dismay as Khan and HENARE bullied the defeated Taichi, Desperado, and Uemura.
This did its job in painting the picture of Ospreay coming back as the prodigal son of NJPW and United Empire favorite. The story of him opposing the new vision of the group under Callum Newman sets up the future conflict quite nicely, though I hope they address the possibility that he likely kept up to date with the group’s progress in his absence.
Bishamon (Hirooki Goto &YOSHI-HASHI), & Oleg Boltin defeated House of Torture (Ren Narita, Yujiro Takahashi, & Chase Owens) for the NEVER Openweight Six Man Championship
YOSHI-HASHI started strong, but Owens and Takahashi took him outside and lashed him against the steel barricade. Goto withstood Owens, decapitating him with a lariat. Boltin nauseated Narita with a Boltin Shake. Dick Togo rang the bell to distract Boltin amid a Torture Rack. House of Torture took this moment to strike down Bishamon and convened with Togo for a Dick-to-Dick Contact. Narita flopped down on the mat after Boltin devastated him with The Verdict.
Takahashi saved himself from Bishamon’s dominance over him by way of a Fisherman Buster. Uncorking his patented Pimp Juice on YOSHI-HASHI, Takahashi fell foul of a full-steam Boltin rampage. Narita frantically tapped on Boltin’s Torture Rack while Bishamon finished Takahashi with a Shoto.
Boltin again excels in 2026. I greatly enjoy his pairing with Bishamon.
Konosuke Takeshita (c) versus Shota Umino for the NJPW World Television Championship ended in a time-limit draw
Champion and challenger shrugged off an early forearm exchange, but Umino would writhe on the apron after falling back first onto it from Takeshita’s shoulders. Umino broke Takeshita’s dominion with a Tornado-DDT and Fisherman Suplex. Mounting himself over the top rope, Umino planted Takeshita, skull-first, into the apron and gathered his thoughts as he gazed upon the golden sheen of the title nearby.
The DDTs continued, this time on the outside courtesy of Umino’s Tornado-DDT to the unforgiving floor. Takeshita took revenge, damaging Umino’s shoulder by swinging it against the top rope. Umino powerbombed his way back to control. Takeshita swiftly took it away with a Blue Thunderbomb. With less than two minutes of the NJPW World Television title time limit left, Takeshita hit a lariat and an Exploder. Ten seconds dwindled, with neither able to capitalize after a colliding lariat from both men.
Post-match: A figure in a peculiar mask caught Takeshita’s eye. Chase Owens from House of Torture ambushed Takeshita, but was chased off by Umino.
It took a moment for this to truly get going, with the final stretch becoming rather intense. Sadly, it didn’t live up to its potential, but a decent bout nonetheless.
Knockout Brothers (OSKAR & Yuto-Ice) (c) defeated TMDK (Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr.) for the IWGP Tag Team Championship
Ice caught Oiwa off guard with a kick to the shin. Sabre came for the save, and he joined Oiwa in incurring OSKAR’s wrath by kicking him off the apron and into the barricade. The German released his anger by hurling Sabre across the cerulean mat. Precariously locking in OSKAR’s ankle, Sabre relied on Oiwa to drop an elbow to cripple the giant. The challengers kept OSKAR isolated from Ice, allowing Sabre to employ a Half-Boston Crab, subduing his opponent’s arms in the process.
Ice had the advantage as a fresher competitor, and he utilized it to obliterate Oiwa with a Bomboclat. Oiwa toiled in the Ice-inflicted misery, yet in a split decision, he twisted the champion’s arm. Commentary and Referee Marty Asami watched in concern as Oiwa mercilessly kept targeting the weakened limb. Relinquishing the tape from his arm, Ice fed feeling and adrenaline into it on the turnbuckle. Oiwa returned the arm to its maligned state, twisting and striking it. Ice swung a comeback with a lariat. Before he could exploit this moment, Sabre attacked him, leading Oiwa to strike Ice with a Chaos Theory. A Zack Driver and Oiwa’s bridged German suplex brought TMDK within grasp of the titles, but only just so. Ice took out Oiwa with a Cruella to retain the belts.
Post-match: Ice evicted Oiwa from the ring and took to the microphone. He celebrated the match’s result and asked Bishamon to come out so they could issue their challenge. United Empire’s HENARE and Great-O-Khan met them instead and stamped their place in the discussion. Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI of Bishamon joined them, also claiming their stake.
Spite. Pure spite. What levels are you willing to sink to, as a human, to hold onto or attain what you hold so dear, and will you act inhumanely to another person to get it? Both teams asked that of themselves, and they threw everything at it, sparing no expense. This is what can be expected of TMDK and The Knockout Brothers, and they rose to that in cathartic fashion at the crossroads between sports and theater.
Main Event
Callum Newman defeated Yota Tsuji (c) for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship -TITLE CHANGE
A Tope Tsuijicita broke Newman’s beginning offense, sending the challenger into the blue guardrails outside. Newman soon wrenched control with a Tiger Suplex. At his fastest, Newman can become almost unstoppable, yet Tsuji pulled out a lariat just in time to prevent that, leaving the Brit horizontal, at his own expense. A Curb Stomp from the champ plummeted the challenger frighteningly head-first on the floor; Referee Red Shoes allowed the match to continue.
Red Shoes fell unconscious amid another scuffle between champ and challenger. Newman exploited this with a Shining Wizard. Zane Jay offered Newman a steel chair, but Will Ospreay pleaded with Newman not to use it. Tsuji unleashed a Gene Blaster amid the kerfuffle while Jay and Ospreay loudly argued outside. Newman survived a Destroyer and Gene Blaster, instilling panic in the champion. Tsuji’s desperation cost him in a flash; Newman unsheathed Excalibur to puncture him to the mat. Marlowe Crash by Tsuji earned him a comeback. Newman landed inches within pinfall using his Prince’s Curse—victory barely eluding him. To the shock of everyone, Newman became the IWGP Heavyweight Champion with his MAKE WAY finisher.
Post-match: Newman and Ospreay tearfully embraced. Outside, a masked man in a jacket assaulted Yota Tsuji and revealed himself to be Gabe Kidd with an AEW shirt. Shingo Takagi came to Tsuji’s aid, but Kidd laid him flat. Kidd left with Tsuji’s IWGP Global Heavyweight belt. Takagi rolled into the ring and humorously slid in and out of the ring until he snatched the microphone. He issued a challenge for the belt and left, nursing his neck. At last, Newman had the chance to celebrate, which he did, by telling the crowd to “kiss the crown”. Posing with his newly acquired spoils of 2026, he and United Empire posed to end the night.
I can’t believe they actually did it. I’ve been a Callum Newman believer for a long time, but I wasn’t sure to what extent NJPW would push him. But they did it. The prince has been crowned. And the drama it took to get there, the inclusion of newbie Zane Jay and big name Will Ospreay, elevated this even further. Going into this, I expected a simple title retention, nothing too crazy, and this exceeded my expectations tenfold.
Final Thoughts
Sakura Genesis satisfied me. Several developments spun from the show, due to build into some exciting territory. The mystery of the masked man who confronted Konosuke Takeshita adds some intrigue. Will Ospreay’s return set forth some compelling narratives in the United Empire. And the Knockout Brothers cemented their place as the top tag team in the company right now. Furthermore, Aaron Wolf got his lick in on the House of Torture and more, standing tall over Don Fale in the post-match of his multi-man bout.
And with the shocking end to the night, NJPW confidently placed itself in special territory. The company, as it is right now, knows what it has to be, and it has to be forward. Don’t rest on laurels. Take risks. Trust in the young talent and follow through with them to build a future amid a rough economy. Especially right now, NJPW is insanely blessed to have huge stars rising: Knockout Brothers, Yuya Uemura, Shota Umino, Yota Tsuji, Callum Newman, and the various Young Lion graduates. Don’t let up on the gas, even for a second.
Corey Michaels covers the play-by-play action of events hosted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Referenced by content creators and Wikipedia articles, he adds his prosaic voice with authority to the F4W/WON audience.
A content writer and wrestling fan, Corey has woven the stories of our great sport into literature. He cuts to the emotional core of characters, rivalries, and angles.