New Japan Pro Wrestling held their annual April supershow Sakura Genesis. Since the event started at 3am EST, here’s a spoiler-free match listing for all the non-nite owl NJPW Fans. Each match receives a Need To Watch Rating of (0.0-10.0)
FIRST MATCH: Bullet Club (Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson)
The Bullet Club civil war continues in a quick, but fun tag match. Young Bucks continue to work a much more grounded style in the heavyweight division.
Need To Watch Rating: (4.1)
SECOND MATCH: CHAOS (Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii) vs. Suzuki-gun (Takashi Iizuka & Taichi)
Considering all of the typical Yano shenanigans and the Iizuka shenanigans and the Taichi shenanigans…it’s not really a terrible match. Quite enjoyable actually.
Need To Watch Rating: (4.0)
THIRD MATCH: NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Champions Bullet Club (Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Bad Luck Fale) vs. Taguchi Japan (Ryusuke Taguchi, Togi Makabe & Michael Elgin)
Recommended if you’ve ever wanted to hear Michael Elgin get choked with a microphone cable.
Need To Watch Rating: (1.0)
FOURTH MATCH: Hiroshi Tanahashi, David Finlay & Juice Robinson vs. CHAOS (Jay White, YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto)
Wild six-man tag match that does more for the Finlay/White feud than anything else this year. Definitely recommended undercard viewing.
Need To Watch Rating: (6.0)
FIFTH MATCH: Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, EVIL & SANADA) vs. Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr.)
LIJ vs. Suzuki-gun continues to deliver on two exciting feuds. EVIL hasn’t lost a step on the disabled list. Naito and Suzuki continue to be amazing. Recommended.
Need To Watch Rating: (7.1)
SIXTH MATCH: IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Suzuki-gun (El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) vs. Roppongi 3k (Sho & Yoh) vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI & Hiromu Takahashi)
This exhaustive feud continues to be built with extremely proficient matches. Better than expected. Definitely a treat of a three way match, and far better than these teams’s last encounter.
Need To Watch Rating: (7.9)
SEVENTH MATCH: IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay vs. Marty Scurll
This is a brutal trainwreck of a match. There are some truly terrifying sequences in a breathtaking story that may not have needed to be told so violently. Essential viewing, but heavily cautioned, as this match can be extremely difficult to watch.
Need To Watch Rating: (10.0)
EIGHTH MATCH: The Golden Lovers (Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi) vs. Team Cody (Cody & Hangman Page)
The second brutal match of the night. Bullet Club’s civil war continues to write new, heartbreaking chapters. Definitely essential viewing.
Need To Watch Rating: (10.0)
MAIN EVENT: IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Okada’s best match of the year. Sabre’s best match in NJPW. Definitely sets the stage for an unpredictable G1 Climax. The third essential match of the night.
Need To Watch Rating: (10.0)
