NJPW Sakura Genesis notes: Wrestler returns, mystery man, Knockout Brothers
Notes from NJPW Sakura Genesis.
Following Callum Newman’s shock IWGP Championship win, A hooded figure appeared out of the crowd and jumped Tsuji, who was still recovering on the outside. Gabe Kidd unmasked, unzipping his jacket to reveal an AEW shirt. He fled the ringside area with the IWGP Global title, which he lost to Tsuji back in October.
One of the top matches from Saturday’s show had Konosuke Takeshita go to a time limit draw with Shota Umino, retaining the NJPW World Television title. However, a mystery man in a mask and suit appeared at ringside, momentarily distracting Takeshita. This allowed Chase Owens to run in and jump the TV Champion from behind. Owens continued his assault until Umino came back to the ring for the save.
Earlier in the show, Boltin Oleg & Bishimon retained the NEVER Six-Man titles against Ren Narita, Yujiro Takahashi, and Owens, with Bishimon taking out Yujiro as Oleg had Narita in a torture rack. After the match, he cut a short promo making it clear he wanted the next shot at Narita’s NEVER Championship.
In the co-main event, The Knockout Brothers defeated Zack Sabre Jr. and Ryohei Oiwa in a classic bout to retain the IWGP Tag Team titles. Yuto-Ice cut a promo after the match saying they wanted another shot at Bishimon. But before Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI could arrive, Aaron Henare and Great-O-Khan entered the ring, saying they wanted the next shot. Eventually it was decided that Bishimon and the two members of the United Empire would face off in the future with the winners challenging the champions.
Bryan Rose is an editor from California that has been covering professional wrestling for well over a decade. He officially joined F4WOnline as an editor in 2017.