Sakura Genesis 2024 results: Tetsuya Naito holds off Yota Tsuji in Tokyo

Yota Tsuji wanted to usher in a new era of NJPW, but Tetsuya Naito wasn’t ready to let go of the current one yet.

Established star vs. rising talent. Old guard vs. new wave. Teammate vs. teammate. Any way you want to look at it, the main event of NJPW Sakura Genesis 2024 is dripping with intrigue.

Tetsuya Naito always planned to be in this position, defending the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship in the spring. It’s the culmination of a journey that took him through last year’s G1 Climax to Wrestle Kingdom, where he fulfilled a long-held dream of winning New Japan’s top prize in the main event.

It’s very likely he didn’t expect he’d be facing his LIJ-mate Yota Tsuji in this spot. While a little intramural competition is always acceptable among Los Ingobernables de Japon, Naito has gone on record saying he thought it would be Shingo Takagi, not Tsuji.

Interestingly, the young-ish Yota has already declared something of a throwback title reign if he wins, complete with restoring and then retiring the Intercontinental Championship and then bringing back the old IWGP Heavyweight Championship belt. But it’s also clear a victory for him would mark a true turning of the page for New Japan.

Another title match has a past vs. present vibe when it comes to LIJ, as Takagi will try to claim the NEVER Openweight title from EVIL. For AEW fans who don’t mind staying up late on the busiest wrestling weekend of the year, there’s also a tag team match pitting Jon Moxley and Shota Umino against Ren Narita and Jack Perry.

We’re looking forward to hearing Chris Charlton and special guest Jeff Cobb on the English call, so let’s get into it.

Sakura Genesis 2024 results from Tokyo:

(please scroll down for more details on any match in bold)

  • Kickoff match: Frontier Zone – Oleg Boltin, Toru Yano and Tomohiro Ishii def. 2AW (Ayato Yoshida, Takuro Niki and Chicharito Shoki) by pinfall
  • TMDK (Zack Sabre Jr. and Kosei Fujita) def. El Desperado and Ryusuke Taguchi  by pinfall as Fujita pins Taguchi
  • Los Ingobernables de Japon (Bushi and Hiromu Takahashi) def. Bullet Club War Dogs (David Finlay and Gedo) by submission as Bushi taps out Gedo
  • Just Five Guys (Douki, Sanada and Yuya Uemura) def. United Empire (Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb and Callum Newman) by pinfall as Uemura pins Great-O-Khan; after the match, Uemura suplexes Khan and admires the KOPW belt, holding it high above its owner
  • Bullet Club War Dogs (Drilla Moloney and Clark Connors) def. Intergalactic Jet Setters (Kushida and Kevin Knight) and Catch 2/2 (TJP and Francesco Akira) to retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
  • Bishamon (Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi) def. Bullet Club (Kenta and Chase Owens) to become the new IWGP Tag Team Champions
  • The field is announced for Best of the Super Juniors 2024, which kicks off May 11, including talent from CMLL, ROH and Pro Wrestling Noah
  • Sho def. Yoh by injury stoppage to retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, but Kosei Fujita and Douki arrive to declare their interest in challenging Sho, and Douki ends up leaving with the title belt
  • Jon Moxley and Shota Umino def. Jack Perry and Ren Narita by pinfall as Moxley pins Narita after Umino takes a shot from the push-up bar that was intended for Mox
  • Shingo Takagi def. EVIL by pinfall to become the new NEVER Openweight Champion in a wildly overbooked match
  • Shingo gets some brief mic time after his victory, but he and his LIJ teammates are quickly jumped by Gabe Kidd and other War Dogs; Kidd gets on the mic himself and calls the title a joke and Tanahashi an embarrassment, ending by saying “f–k New Japan Pro Wrestling” while vowing to take the title from Shingo
  • Tetsuya Naito def. Yota Tsuji by pinfall to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship

Yoh vs. Sho comes to an unfortunate quick end, but new challengers for Yoh quickly emerge

Sho is in hot pursuit of his former partner even before the bell rings, desperate to get physical custody of his belt back. But unfortunately, Yoh’s left shoulder looks like it’s dislocated from the first bump he takes, and the match is called to a quick stop.

While the medical team looks at Yoh, Kosei Fujita climbs into the ring. After Yoh is led to the back, Fujita grabs a mic to call Sho the worst champion in history and challenges him for his title. They’re soon joined by Douki, who gets in Fujita’s face and says he’s the one with the buzz right now and deserves a shot first.

Sho gloats about Yoh’s injury and says it shows how tough he is, making it clear he doesn’t want to wrestle either one of them. Fujita hears enough and hits him with a springboard dropkick, holding the title belt up in Douki’s face before laying it back down on the mat.

Fujita heads for the back and Douki decides to leave with the belt, basically taking over for what Yoh had done.


Shota Umino sacrifices himself so Mox can get them a victory

Can’t imagine there will be too much subtlety here, and all four men eagerly pair off and start brawling as soon as the bell rings. Chris Charlton mentions how Perry has “been in the news all week,” an oblique reference to CM Punk giving his side of the story for their altercation at All In London last year.

Umino and Narita end up getting paired off before too long, turning this into something like a proper tag match. The crowd comes to life for Moxley tagging in and running wild on Narita, who is able to escape a bulldog choke with a rope break.

Some fun bumps are taken out on the floor right in front of President Tanahashi. Perry jumps a long way to deliver a top rope elbow, punctuating it with two middle fingers to the crowd before he leaps.

Mox gets to work Narita again, delivering a superplex for a near fall. With the ref distracted, Narita gets the push-up bar into the mix, and Umino takes a shot from it that was intended for Moxley.

That pays off, as Mox is able to hit the Death Rider on Narita to win it for his side.


Shingo Takagi survives the full House of Torture nonsense platter, claims NEVER Openweight title

Chris Charlton and Jeff Cobb frame this as a battle for the soul of the NEVER title after it was painted black by EVIL. House of Torture is up to its usual tricks before the bell even rings, with Yoshinobu Kanemaru in a referee shirt and trying to make himself the official of record.

(Note: It doesn’t work.)

It doesn’t take long for the real ref to take a bump, leading to a chair-swinging battle on the floor that goes in EVIL’s favor. The King of Darkness sneaks more foreign objects into the ring, causing Charlton to grudgingly admire his creativity in cheating.

Shingo eventually gets rolling on offense, foiling all of EVIL’s efforts to avoid more punishment. Takagi’s big superplex is on target but only gets him two.

A rally by EVIL leads up to Darkness Falls, which nearly wins it. We then enter the battle of wills phase, but Yujiro Takahashi sneaks in a chair shot from the floor. Bushi runs down to assist his teammate, though his help is questionable … because it’s Dick Togo under the mask.

The real Bushi arrives but accidentally hits the ref with his mist. That means a House of Torture group beating for Shingo, including “dick to dick contact” as Togo hits Takagi in the crotch.

Shingo takes a Magic Killer and Kanemaru makes a super fast three count. Hiromu runs down in his own referee shirt, so perhaps this match is continuing on. Takagi takes a low blow but hits EVIL with his own finisher, and now Kanemaru is back to fight with Hiromu.

It’s tough to even keep track of the hinjinks now, but Yujiro nails his teammate in the face with powder, and a real referee arrives to count the three after Last of the Dragon. New champ! But wow that was some insanity.


Yota Tsuji shows out but can’t dethrone Tetsuya Naito

No one currently in New Japan gets a reaction during his entrance like Naito, but the fans are definitely divided and might even be slightly favoring Tsuji once the bell finally rings. Charlton and Cobb note that Naito has wrestled more often than anyone else on the NJPW roster so far in 2024, pondering whether he can or should keep up that kind of pace.

Tsuji won’t let Naito do the Tranquilo pose, finally getting himself a smattering of boos. He controls the next few minutes of action, with Cobb suggesting that Naito has rubbed off some on Tsuji.

Yota taunts and spits on the champ, but that brings a rapid response that includes a knee to the back of Tsuji’s neck. A neckbreaker off the apron to the floor won’t make that feel any better.

A headscissors flings Naito half in and half out of the ring, causing the challenger to bail on his plan for a dive. They battle on the apron instead, where Tsuji hits part of a curb stomp that sends Naito to the floor.

A swinging DDT helps Naito fight back and leaves both men on the mat. The announcers tout Naito’s experience in lengthy singles matches, whereas this is still a relatively new experience for Tsuji as we pass the 20-minute mark.

There’s the Frankensteiner from Naito, but his Destino is countered by a knee to the face. Both men are back on the canvas, but Tsuji is back up first for a sitout powerbomb and a near fall.

Is Tsuji thinking Gene Blast? A rolling kick prevents it, and is followed by a running Destino. Naito tries the normal version but gets hit by the Gene Blast instead. Tsuji can’t follow up with a pin, selling accumulated damage to his neck.

Naito elbows Tsuji repeatedly until he’s back on the mat. The challenger fights back with a curb stomp and once again can’t capitalize on it. What he can do after a moment is use a Boston Crab to set up another curb stomp. To the corner they go, and whatever Tsuji has planned goes for naught as Naito shoves him down. Tsuji tries again, this time delivering a superplex and covering for two.

Back to the Boston Crab goes Tsuji, turning it into a Lion Tamer that looks painful. Red Shoes is checking carefully on Naito, but Tsuji eventually releases the hold. He springs off the buckles for another stomp, coming ever so close with that and his next move to the three count.

Tsuji calls for Gene Blast, but Naito rolls back and catapults Tsuji into the corner. Naito hits his own Gene Blast, but Tsuji kicks out at one.

Naito hits Valentia, and after a series of counters, Destino. Another one follows, and he hooks the leg to retain his title.

Dominion 6.4 in Osaka-jo Hall results: Sanada holds off intriguing challenger, Bullet Club grows

Check out all of the action for NJPW’s start of the summer card with full Dominion 6.4 in Osaka-jo Hall results.

Is there change in the air? It’s always possible when eight championships are on the line on one pro wrestling card, which is the case for NJPW Dominion 6.4 in Osaka-jo Hall.

Except for one eight-man tag and one match to determine a No. 1 contender for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship — and even that bout is intriguing considering the man holding that particular title is Kenny Omega — every bout on this year’s card is a championship match.

With that much gold on the line, it’s tricky to pick the showdowns that stand out from the rest, but three figure to be measuring sticks for whether things will be shaken up across New Japan this summer. The first sees David Finlay, leader of the Bullet Club, take on former teammate El Phantasmo for Finlay’s NEVER Openweight Championship. Will this be a measure of revenge for ELP after he was unceremoniously booted from the group, or further validation of Finlay’s new direction for one of pro wrestling’s most famous stables?

Hiromu Takahashi defends his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against Master Wato, who made quite the impression by winning the 2023 Best of the Super Juniors tournament. A victory over Hiromu would give him the right to claim he’s the best junior heavyweight in the company.

And in the main event, Sanada will attempt to fend off a challenge to his IWGP World Heavyweight Championship from Yota Tsuji. While Sanada had to break free from Los Ingobernables de Japon  to take his game to the next level, Tsuji is attempting to do just the opposite, saying he wants to join LIJ while trying to bring home the top prize in NJPW.

It should be an exciting night with a title change or two and perhaps a couple of surprises before it’s all said and done, not to mention the reveal of the G1 Climax 33 lineups.

Dominion 6.4 in Osaka-jo Hall results:

(click on any match with a link for full details)

  • Will Ospreay def. Lance Archer by pinfall to become No. 1 contender for Kenny Omega’s IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship
  • Ospreay gets on the microphone and says he’s out for revenge on Omega, and will walk into Canada to bring the title back … likely meaning at Forbidden Door in Toronto
  • Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, Bushi and Titán) def. Just 5 Guys (Taichi, Douki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Taka Michinoku) by submission
  • Catch 2/2 (Francesco Akira and TJP) def. Intergalactic Jet Setters (Kushida and Kevin Knight) by pinfall to become the new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions …
  • … but the new champs are attacked right after the match by Dan Moloney, who cornered them during the bout, and Clark Connors
  • Zack Sabre Jr. def. Jeff Cobb by pinfall to retain the NJPW World Television Championship
  • Bishamon (Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi) def. House of Torture (Evil and Yujiro Takahashi) and United Empire (Great-O-Khan and Aaron Henare) by pinfall to become the new IWGP Tag Team Champions and Strong Openweight Tag Team Champions …
  • … but after their victory, they are laid out by the new Bullet Club War Dogs, Alex Coughlin and Gabriel Kidd
  • The G1 Climax 33 field will include Kazuchika Okada, Naito, Sanada, Ospreay, Hiroshi Tanahashi, David Finlay, Shota Umino, Takagi, Tomohiro Ishii, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Hikuleo, Goto, Yoshi-Hashi, Toru Yano, Kenta, ZSJ, Taichi, Eddie Kingston, El Phantasmo, Ren Narita, Evil, Chase Owens, Cobb, Great-O-Khan, Henare, Kidd, Coughlin, Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls, Yota Tsuji, and Kaito Kiyomiya
  • David Finlay def. El Phantasmo by pinfall to retain the NEVER Openweight Championship
  • Hiromu Takahashi def. Master Wato by pinfall to retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
  • Chaos (Kazuchika Okada and Tomohiro Ishii) and Hiroshi Tanahashi def. Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli) and Shota Umino by pinfall, with Okada accepting a recorded challenge from Bryan Danielson after the match and suggesting “the Forbidden Door will be opened”
  • Sanada def. Yota Tsuji by pinfall to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship

G1 Climax 32 Night 14 results: Naito, Kenta in crucial C Block contest

Check out full NJPW G1 Climax results from Night 14 in Hiroshima, with Testsuya Naito and Kenta squaring off in the main event.

If Tetsuya Naito is going to use G1 Climax 32 to springboard himself to a Wrestle Kingdom main event, the main event of Night 14 in Hiroshima is one of the matches he absolutely can’t afford to lose.

Though he set himself back with a few early losses, the LIJ leader is still alive in C Block. But every bout is now the bottom of the ninth situation he always talks about, and that includes his showdown with Kenta.

He’s not the only wrestler on Night 14 in a must-win situation. Lance Archer needs to find a way to slow down arguably the hottest wrestler in the tournament, Jonah, fresh off the biggest victory of his career over Kazuchika Okada. Plus Tama Tonga and Taichi need to either win or draw against each other to keep their hopes of winning B Block alive.

We’re tracking all the action from Hiroshima live, so bookmark this page and check back as needed for the latest G1 Climax 32 Night 14 results.

G1 Climax 32 Night 14 quick results:

  • Shingo Takagi and Bushi vs. Tomohiro Ishii and Kosei Fujita

Scroll down for complete results for every match.