Will Ospreay on NJPW return at Sakura Genesis: ‘Can’t wait to come home’
Will Ospreay has commented on his return to New Japan Pro Wrestling this weekend.
Ospreay will team with his former United Empire stablemates Great-O-Khan and HENARE against Yuya Uemura, Taichi, and El Desperado at NJPW Sakura Genesis on Saturday, April 4, at Ryogoku Sumo Hall.
This will be Ospreay’s first match in Japan since The New Beginning in Osaka on February 11, 2024.
On Thursday, Ospreay posted a statement to X that read:
“10 Years Ago. I boarded a flight to Tokyo to perform for @njpw1972. 22 years old I could barely speak English and I was so scared going to a country by myself that I couldn’t speak the language. I spent 8 years in Japan & it completely shaped me as a man. Japan taught me patience & etiquette. All I wanted to do was show my love & appreciation to a country that allowed me to be a kid & I got to grow up in a locker room full of men I had the utmost respect for. I’ve not stopped thinking about you since I left 2 years ago. Can’t wait to come home and wrestle in my favourite arena in wrestling.”
Ospreay made his NJPW debut nearly 10 years ago at Invasion Attack on April 10, 2016. He unsuccessfully challenged KUSHIDA for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title on the show.
NJPW Sakura Genesis 2026 lineup for 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
Ian Carey is a writer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, whose work has been featured in NOW Magazine, The Huffington Post, and more. A lifelong wrestling aficionado born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he has covered the industry for a decade and a half. He joined the f4wonline.com team in 2019.