Sakura Genesis returns to the New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) lineup on Saturday as one of the biggest shows of the year for the promotion is about to go down. The main event will see the New Japan Cup winner take on the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion while Mercedes Moné makes her NJPW-proper debut when she defends the IWGP Women’s Championship for the first time against two of STARDOM’s best. Here’s a look at the full card for NJPW Sakura Genesis.
NJPW Sakura Genesis Full Card & Start Time
— Shinnichi Champion Grand Prix Celebration Match: Six-Man Tag Team Match (competitors will be revealed at the time of the match)
— United Empire (Francesco Akira, Jeff Cobb & Aaron Henare) vs. House of Torture (EVIL, SHO & Yujiro Takahashi)
— Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi & BUSHI) vs. Just 5 Guys (Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI)
— Tama Tonga, Hikuleo & Master Wato vs. BULLET CLUB (David Finlay, KENTA & El Phantasmo)
— IWGP Women’s Championship: Mercedes Moné (c) vs. AZM vs. Hazuki
— NJPW World TV Championship: Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Shota Umino
— IWGP Tag Team Championship: Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) (c) vs. Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis)
— IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs. Robbie Eagles
— IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. SANADA
Start Time: Sunday, April 8, 2023, at 4 a.m. EST
NJPW Sakura Genesis Main Event Preview
Kazuchika Okada vs. SANADA: Can The New Japan Cup Winner Finally Win The Big One?
Kazuchika Okada will defend the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against the New Japan Cup winner SANADA in the main event of Sakura Genesis. As we’ve seen in the past, overcoming Okada with the top prize of NJPW on the line hasn’t been easy for SANADA, but joining Just 5 Guys has given him a brand new focus, mindset, and overall delivery that he didn’t have while he was in Los Ingobernables de Japon. If there was ever a time for SANADA to win the big one, it’d be now.
But as we’ve seen with Okada this year, he’s a different man. He is vicious, unrelenting, and simply devastating. His last defense against Hiroshi Tanahashi saw “The Rainmaker” make quicker work against his generational rival than we’re used to. Some could even say Okada’s win over Jay White at Wrestle Kingdom 17 is what ultimately led to the destruction of White and his time in NJPW. The last major match Okada had was against Kaito Kiyomiya, who has also suffered a fall from grace. The point is, Okada at the top of his game is a devasting blow for anyone who opposes him. If SANADA wants to beat him, he’s got to be a different guy than the usual “Cold Skull” we’ve seen for years.
It’s worth noting — the last New Japan Cup winner to challenge at Sakura Genesis walked away as IWGP World Heavyweight Champion.
Prediction: Kazuchika Okada
More from LWOS Pro Wrestling
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 rewatch all 2022 NJPW events and plenty more tremendous wrestling content from New Japan Pro-Wrestling on NJPWWorld.com; The King of Sports Streaming.
