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Sakura Genesis 2025 From Ryogoku Sumo Hall, Tokyo, Japan:
1 - Yuya Uemura vs. SANADA
They battle into the crowd and SANADA throws Uemura into the Japanese commentary table. SANADA hits a Magic Screw on the floor and another in the ring. Uemura comes back with suplexes. SANADA pushes Uemura into the referee and hits a low blow on Uemura. Uemura fights back and traps SANADA in a cross arm breaker.
SANADA taps out.
2 - NJPW World TV Championship: El Phantasmo vs. Great O-Khan
Solid match. ELP hits a CR2 but only a two count. ELP climbs the ropes for a Thunderkiss but O-Khan rolls to the floor. They tease a chair shot. ELP tosses the chair to the floor. O-Khan hits a right punch. O-Khan hits a Tenzan Tombstone Piledriver on a chair. O-Khan jumped in the ring. ELP was counted out.
Great O-Khan wins the NJPW Television Championship.
3 - Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shota Umino
Good match. Tanahashi hits Aces High, but misses a High Fly Flow. Umino hits a hard running knee to the back of the head. Crowd is chanting for Tanahashi. Umino hits another running knee to the face and goes for Second Chapter. Tanahashi reverses into a small package. Two count. Umino hits a lariat. Two count. Umino hits Second Chapter.
Umino pins Tanahashi.
Umino gets the mic, he kneels and says he wants to lead Hontai. He bows to Tanahashi. Crowd chants for Umino.
I think this is Umino still trying to build himself in the eyes of the fans. He beat the leader of New Japan. We will see if he can lead, and if the Japanese fans will buy into it.
4 - NEVER Openweight 6-man Championship: Taiji Ishimori, Drilla Moloney and Gabe Kidd vs. SHO, Yujiro Takahashi and Ren Narita
All men brawl out of the ring and into the crowd. Wild match. The referee takes bump. SHO low blows Moloney. Narita hits Kidd with a push up bar. SHO is about to hit Moloney with a wrench. Clark Conners makes the save and beats up House of Torture. SANADA comes to the ring wearing puffy red boots and guitar in hand. SANADA is about to hit SHO but he blasts Moloney instead.
SHO pins Moloney.
House of Torture retains the NEVER Openweight 6-man Tag Team Championship.
SANADA has a House of Torture shirt.
Looks like the war between House of Torture and War Dogs enters a new phase as SANADA switches sides.
They announce the participants of Best of the Super Juniors in May.
The participants are:
El Desperado
Ryusuke Taguchi
YOH
Master Wato
KUSHIDA
Kevin Knight
Ninja Mack
Kosei Fujita
Robbie Eagles
Hiromu Takahashi
BUSHI
Francesco Akira
Taiji Ishimori
Clark Conners
SHO
Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Dragon Dia
MAO
Nick Wayne
A wrestler from CMLL will also compete.
5 - NEVER Openweight Championship: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Ryohei Oiwa
Stiff hard hitting match. Oiwa was able to keep up with Takeshita. Takeshita hits Raging Fire and gets the pin.
Konosuke Takeshita retains the NEVER Openweight Championship.
He will face Hiroshi Tanahashi at Windy City Riot in Chicago, next week.
6 - IWGP Tag Team Championship: Hiromu Takahashi and Tetsuya Naito vs. Callum Newman and Jeff Cobb
Good match. This match went back and forth. They kept talking about how Naito has defeated Newman several times.
Cobb hits a Tour of the Islands on Hiromu and another on Naito. Cobb picks up Naito and throws him into Newman’s flying knee. Newman hits a modified brainbuster on Naito.
Newman pins Naito.
United Empire wins the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.
At 22 years old, Callum Newman wins his first title in New Japan.
7 - IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship: Yota Tsuji vs. EVIL
EVIL and Dick Togo attacks Tsuji on his way to the ring. Another person attacks EVIL. Tsuji has an identical twin brother who was wearing his ring gear to the ring. EVIL gets mad that Tsuji tried to trick him.
EVIL and Togo attacks Tsuji’s injured knee. EVIL applies submission holds on Tsuji’s legs. He won’t submit. Tsuji makes a comeback but Kanemaru comes out with Tsuji’s brother in a chokehold. They beat up the Tsuji brothers. Shingo Takagi comes out to even the odds.
EVIL hits a Magic Killer on Tsuji. EVIL with a lariat. Two count. EVIL hits Darkness Falls. Two count. Tsuji avoids EVIL’s finisher and hits a Gene Blaster. More House of Torture interference. Takagi clears the ring. Tsuji hits a Malo Crash and a Gene Blaster.
Tsuji pins EVIL
Yota Tsuji retains the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship.
Yuya Uemura comes to the ring. Tsuji offers a challenge to Uemura for the Global Title.
8 - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Hirooki Goto vs. David Finlay
Goto’s children are at ringside for this match.
Finlay attacked Goto’s back. Finlay took the match to the floor and they smashed each other on the guardrails. They exchange strikes. Finlay taunted Goto’s kids. Finlay hit a backbreaker and a Dominator. Finlay tried to powerbomb Goto but Goto reversed out and hits a Death Valley Driver through the tables.
Goto with a GTW. Two count. Finlay with a modified Overkill. Two count. Finlay hit a buckle bomb then a powerbomb. Two count.
Goto hits a sunset powerbomb off the top rope. Two count. Finlay hits Into Oblivion. Two count. They trade strikes and reversals. Finlay hits a Gun Stun. Goto hits a Shotenkai. Two count. Goto hits three GTRs.
Goto pins Finlay.
Hirooki Goto retains the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.
Fun match. Goto and Finlay is good match up.
Goto thanks his kids and the fans.
Goto calls out Shota Umino. Umino comes to the ring. The crowd boos. Umino tries to leave, but Goto tells him to get in the ring. He challenges Umino to a match at Windy City Riot. Umino accepts the challenge.
We shall see what happens with Shota Umino. They are pushing him as he defeated Tanahashi and Goto giving him a title shot. Finlay won the New Japan Cup, lost his match, and Umino gets an automatic title match. Umino is still getting boos which means the Japanese are not buying into him. How will the Chicago fans buy him?
Whew! Long show.
Thank you for reading.
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