Will Ospreay set for NJPW return
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
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.