Sakura Genesis was the home for a huge shock as Will Ospreay defeated Kota Ibushi to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. This follows Ospreay’s faction the United Empire gaining a new member earlier in the show, only adding to his growing influence in the company.
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Ospreay is just the second person to hold the brand new IWGP World Heavyweight Championship and adds it to his already impressive list of accolades in NJPW. Not only is he the first-ever British-born winner of the Best Of The Super Juniors tournament and the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight championship he is also now the first-ever British-born winner of the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. Many expected Ospreay to win the title eventually following his heel turn late last year but not even his biggest fans could have foreseen he would win it so soon.
These two will likely fight again soon as NJPW runs the Tokyo Dome, a baseball stadium, and Dominion in upcoming months, and this story could be reminiscent of the Tetsuya Naito vs EVIL storyline from last year where EVIL briefly held the title to give Naito a big moment at Jingu. Wherever this storyline goes it will not change the fact that Will Ospreay has won the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship and ended Ibushi’s reign.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can watch Sakura Genesis 2021 and plenty more tremendous wrestling content from New Japan Pro Wrestling on NJPWWorld.com; The King of Sports Streaming.
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