NJPW Sakura Genesis 4/8 Discussion Thread

1792 Views 40 Replies 12 Participants Last post by TD Stinger, 2 mo ago

TD Stinger

Discussion Starter · 2 mo ago (Edited)

9

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BigCy

· #2 · 2 mo ago (Edited)

Most likely also...

ZSJ vs Umino
Goto/Hashi vs Aussie Open
Finlay vs Tonga
Shingo vs Henare
Suzuki/Narita/Despe vs EVIL/Takahashi/SHO

Is Omega ever gonna defend that US strap? Maybe Akira/TJP defend their belts as well.

EDIT:

Looks like they are doing ZSJ vs Umino and Goto/Hashi vs Aussie Open officially.

They're running KOPW Shingo vs Henare on the 04.02 Road to show and the NEVER 6 Man Suzuki/Despe/Narita vs EVIL/Takahashi/SHO on the 04.03 Road to show.

No mention yet of Finlay vs Tonga but they have them on opposite sides in tag matches so they might put them on the tour following Sakura Genesis.

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3venflow

· #3 · 2 mo ago

BigCy said:
Is Omega ever gonna defend that US strap? Maybe Akira/TJP defend their belts as well.

Cobb said he'll be at Dynamite next week, so the next defense will be at a NJPW USA show or AEW Dynamite more than likely.

Robbie Eagles joining TMDK continues Gedo's moving the pieces around without any earth shattering changes. That spells the end of Flying Tiger but Tiger Mask has been a spent force for years anyway, and I'd rather see Eagles tagging with his compatriots Haste/Nicholls, ZSJ and young Fujita.

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TD Stinger

Discussion Starter · #4 · 2 mo ago

OP updated with the partial crowd for the big show, including key matches from the Road To shows. Mone vs. AZM isn't official yet but I assume they're waiting on something to finish up on the Stardom side. Pretty loaded show so far with Okada/Sanada, Bishamon/Aussie Open, Eagles/Hiromu, and ZSJ/Shota.

Key matches from the Road to shows:

Road to Sakura Genesis, Night 2

Oleg Boltin debut match: Kosei Fujita, Robbie Eagles & Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Oleg Boltin, Ryusuke Taguchi & Shota Umino
Provisional KOPW 2023 Championship - Ultimate Triad match: Aaron Henare vs. Shingo Takagi (c) (first to get all three of pinfall, submission and 10-count

Road to Sakura Genesis, Night 3

NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship: House of Torture vs. Strong Style (c)

Sakura Genesis

Aaron Henare, Francesco Akira & Jeff Cobb vs. EVIL, SHO & Yujiro Takahashi
David Finlay, El Phantasmo & KENTA vs. Hikuleo, Master Wato & Tama Tonga
BUSHI, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito vs. DOUKI, Taichi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
NJPW World Television Championship: Shota Umino vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (c)
IWGP Tag Team Championship: Aussie Open vs. Bishamon (c)
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs. Robbie Eagles
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. SANADA

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BigCy

· #5 · 2 mo ago

Yeah it's a solid enough card for a "Big 4" NJPW event. I kind of think they should have just put the KOPW and NEVER 6-Man on the SG card and left the multiman undercard matches to the Road to's but it's ok.

Just gonna guess now...

SANADA over Okada - I'm just gonna have to be that guy that puts it on the underdog. SANADA literally lost to Okada like 7 times in a row. I just have to think something has to give.

Shingo over Henare - I would like my boy Henare to win but he got a good rub by beating Shingo at the Cup. I don;t think they think too highly of him to have him win against him twice in a row.

Strong Style over House of Torture - Who knows though? Sometimes they want to take this belt seriously other times not.

ZSJ over Umino - This one is a toss up but I'm going ZSJ to have the belt another month or two.

Eagles over Hiromu - This one is kind of a toss up too. lolHiromuwins IS kind of a thing but I'm gonna go with Eagles.

Aussie Open over Goto/Hashi - Another close one but I think they're kind of high on AO so I'm gonna go with them.

Anyone watching that Multiverse show with Impact? I might check that out. We're getting KENTA vs Suzuki and a couple other good matches.

I also think military/beast boy or whoever that is will debut at SG as well and either go with LIJ or TMDK.

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TD Stinger

Discussion Starter · #6 · 2 mo ago

Looks like it'll be Hazuki vs. AZM vs. Mercedes at Sakura Genesis. From what I've recently seen of Hazuki & AZM, I'm excited for this one.

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Lariatoh!

· #7 · 2 mo ago

Another year, another Okada vs. Sanada Championship match. sigh

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Garmonbozia

· #8 · 2 mo ago

SANADA loses lol?

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thorwold

· #9 · 2 mo ago

I'm starting to get this really horrible feeling they're going to have Sanada go over so he can go to Forbidden Door and do a job and then Okada will take the title back at Dominion

Man, I hope not.

Anyway, Aussie Open hopefully will win, they've built way too much momentum to lose, and though it's unlikely to happen given the result in the tournament I think it'd be awesome if Umino beat Sabre. That's the kind of guy they need to start focusing on, Shoot Shooter to the moon, he's shown so much progress the last few weeks.

TeamFlareZakk

· #10 · 2 mo ago

Seeing that this happens after WrestleMania and hopefully the mass releases, Bayley to reunite with Mercedes to make her NJPW debut to start the female Bullet Club! 😍😍

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RainmakerV2

· #11 · 2 mo ago

Lariatoh! said:
Another year, another Okada vs. Sanada Championship match. sigh

60 min draw this time LETS GO

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TD Stinger

Discussion Starter · #12 · 2 mo ago

Lariatoh! said:
Another year, another Okada vs. Sanada Championship match. sigh

It feels like they haven't wrestled 1 on 1 in a while, and when I looked it up they've only had 1 singles match against each other in the last 4 years.

I was never high on Okada vs. Sanada in the past, but given Okada's latest run (acting more heelish and Sanada's new role and developing personality, I am excited to see this one.

thorwold said:
I'm starting to get this really horrible feeling they're going to have Sanada go over so he can go to Forbidden Door and do a job and then Okada will take the title back at Dominion Man, I hope not.

If it's anything like last year, Dominion will be before Forbidden Door. So if anything, if Sanda wins at Sakura Genesis, he'd drop it right back to Okada at Dominion.

Given all of this, it's why I don't expect Sanada to win at all. I expect Okada's holding that belt until next year's WK.

thorwold

· #13 · 2 mo ago

TD Stinger said:
It feels like they haven't wrestled 1 on 1 in a while, and when I looked it up they've only had 1 singles match against each other in the last 4 years.

I was never high on Okada vs. Sanada in the past, but given Okada's latest run (acting more heelish and Sanada's new role and developing personality, I am excited to see this one.

If it's anything like last year, Dominion will be before Forbidden Door. So if anything, if Sanda wins at Sakura Genesis, he'd drop it right back to Okada at Dominion.

Given all of this, it's why I don't expect Sanada to win at all. I expect Okada's holding that belt until next year's WK.

You're right, it's usually the beginning of June, but it's not on the schedule yet for whatever reason.

I don't think he'll win either. He got his hometown win, him and Okada will be a bigger match than Finlay and Okada would have been. Though I wouldn't be surprised if they did do the draw. Beating Sanada now wouldn't be smart, but taking it off Okada would probably be dumb also.

5 Star Giulia ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

· #14 · 2 mo ago

Please replace that ugly ass graphic with the superior STARDOM version @TD Stinger

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TD Stinger

Discussion Starter · #15 · 2 mo ago

thorwold said:
You're right, it's usually the beginning of June, but it's not on the schedule yet for whatever reason.

I don't think he'll win either. He got his hometown win, him and Okada will be a bigger match than Finlay and Okada would have been. Though I wouldn't be surprised if they did do the draw. Beating Sanada now wouldn't be smart, but taking it off Okada would probably be dumb also.

Now that I think about it, Forbidden Door potentially messes with NJPW when it comes to the Heavyweight Title scene. The year starts with Wrestle Kingdom, where you're only going to have your top stars in the main event. Then Forbidden Door is 5 months later. So even if you wanted to have someone new like Sanada win the belt, you would think they'd just drop the belt back right before Forbidden Door.

And then right after Forbidden Door, you have the G1. And then after the G1, there's 4 months to WK. So, not really any time to try a fresh, new champion there either unless it's a big enough name.

5 Star Giulia ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ said:
Please replace that ugly ass graphic with the superior STARDOM version @TD Stinger
View attachment 162993

Replaced it and a few others. Not sure why they made 2 set of graphics but the ones I use I usually just pull from NJPW's website.

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TD Stinger

Discussion Starter · #16 · 2 mo ago

3

OP updated to reflect the final card and it's order. I'm gonna guess Sasha/Mercedes fans aren't gonna love the Mercedes/Hazuki/AZM being the 5th match on the show out of 9.

As far as the opener goes, this is what the website says:

NJPW’s variety TV Asahi show Shinnichi Champion is celebrating finally winning the grand prize in a recent poll, one where the grand prize was a nationally broadcast TV special. During the special, much discussion was centered on classic entrance music, sparking this special match to start the night. This six man tag bout will have participants only revealed when they make their entrance, meaning that two wild combinations could be squaring off April 8!

And lastly, the 4/2 Road to Show will feature Shingo vs. Henare and Boltin Oleg's official debut and the 4/3 Road to Show will feature House of Torture vs. Strong Style for the 6 Man Championships.

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BigCy

· #17 · 2 mo ago (Edited)

Shingo vs Henare was a good to great match. 7.8 / 10. Definitely worth watching.

Surprised they had Boltin Oleg do the job when they had Taguchi considering it seems they're trying to give him a strong push right out the gate and even give his matches special considerations and names. I do like his look and style though.

3venflow

· #18 · 2 mo ago

Shingo vs. Henare was pretty incredible. At nearly 40 minutes, on paper it felt like it could have been way too long. But man, they nailed it and Henare has improved so much in the last year. With Jay and Juice leaving for America, they need some foreigners to step up, so this is a big chance for Finlay and Henare to.

Oleg Boltin looked very impressive in his debut. New Japan needs to make sure he's under a long contract because if Vince gets a look at this guy, he'll start drooling.

Outlaw91

· #19 · 2 mo ago

The Sumo Hall looks very good for this show and the crowd screaming Kaze Ninare is music to my ears!

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Outlaw91

· #20 · 2 mo ago

LOL Bushi is clearly the biggest jobber in NJPW today, also submitted by Kanemaru. I never thought a team of Taichi and 2 jobbers will defeat a team of Naito, Shingo and anyone else.

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