Sakura Genesis 2024 was a professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). It took place on April 6, 2024, in Tokyo at Ryōgoku Kokugikan. The event was main evented by Tetsuya Naito defending the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against 2024 New Japan Cup winner Yota Tsuji. This was the fifth event under the Sakura Genesis name.
Production[]
Storylines[]
Sakura Genesis 2024 featured professional wrestling matches that involve different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portray villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches.
Tetsuya Naito, who defended the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against Yota Tsuji at the main event
Sakura Genesis 2024 is the first major NJPW show following the 2024 New Japan Cup. The New Japan Cup is an annual single-elimination tournament, where the winner gets to choose whether to challenge for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. Traditionally, the title match has taken place at the April Ryōgoku Kokugikan show, previously known as Invasion Attack and now as Sakura Genesis. In March, Yota Tsuji made it to the finals of the 2024 New Japan Cup, which he eventually won, defeating Hirooki Goto in the finals on March 20, and afterwards declared himself the face of the new era before calling out his Los Ingobernables de Japón stablemate Tetsuya Naito and challenged him to a title match for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. Ever since Tsuji's debut, Naito had an eye out for him ever since his young lion days, and Tsuji’s own admiration for Naito’s freedom of expression saw him to eventually face Naito one on one in his last match before going on excursion in 2021. Before the tournament started, Tsuji made a promise directly to Naito that he would be winning the tournament and would be facing him in a title match.
EVIL, who lost the NEVER Openweight Championship to Shingo Takagi at the event
On March 17, Shingo Takagi was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the New Japan Cup by EVIL, following the interference by House of Torture. The following day, in the semifinals, Takagi wanted to ensure that the same would not happen to his Los Ingobernables de Japón stablemate Yota Tsuji and prevented the interference from the House of Torture, who eventually won the match and the tournament. At New Japan Cup finals on March 20, Takagi and Tetsuya Naito faced House of Torture's (Dick Togo and EVIL) in a winning effort. Following the match, Takagi challlenged EVIL to a title match for the NEVER Openweight Championship, which he later accepted. Afterwards, Takagi declared that he would renovate the title entirely should he win, after EVIL mistreated it, reducing the belt to tatters and spray painting it black.
Shota Umino, who team with his mentor Jon Moxley at the event
Since December 2023, Shota Umino began feuding with House of Torture, and over the following months, Umino faced various members of the House of Torture, starting with Narita in a winning effort on January 24, 2024. Just as he thought he could put Narita’s betrayal aside, Umino started feuding with EVIL, losing to him on February 23 at The New Beginning in Sapporo for the NEVER Openweight Championship, before facing Jack Perry, who knocked him out of the first round of the New Japan Cup, following the interference from House of Torture, whom Perry joined. On March 20, Umino challenged House of Torture to a match, before promised the return of someone to punish H.O.T. The following day, NJPW announced that Umino and his mentor Jon Moxley would face Narita and Perry at the event. On April 3, EVIL appointed his House of Torture stablemate Yoshinobu Kanemaru to be the special referee for his title match against Shingo.
Sho, who defended the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against Yoh at the event
At The New Beginning in Sapporo, Sho defeated El Desperado to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship in a controversial fashion by winning by count out. The following day, Sho's former partner Yoh stole his title and continued to taunt him during the New Japan Cup tour, a tour Sho had to miss due to physical and emotional distress. His House of Torture stablemate Yoshinobu Kanemaru attemped to retrieve the title back to Sho, but failed after losing to Yoh on March 20. Afterwards, Sho finally accepted Yoh's challenge to a title match. On April 3, Yoh persuaded that he would return the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship belt on the grounds that SHO competed in a clean match with no interference, at Sakura Genesis, which he accepted, before Yoh handed the title belt back to Sho. After their match, Yoh made a nearly unconscious Sho declare to the audience that the match would be clean.
During the New Japan Cup, Yoshi-Hashi defeated one-half of the reigning IWGP Tag Team Champions KENTA, meanwhile Goto defeated the other half of the reigning champions Chase Owens in route to reach the finals of the tournament. On March 20, KENTA and Owens tried to attack Yoshi-hashi with the IWGP Tag Team Champion belt. Later that night, after Goto lost the New Japan Cup final, in a post-match interview, KENTA and Owens attacked Goto and Yoshi-Hashi, before challenging them to a match, which they accepted.
Bullet Club War Dogs (Clark Connors and Drilla Moloney), the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, who defended their titles at the event
Following the end of the feud between Bullet Club War Dogs and United Empire on February 11 at The New Beginning in Osaka, Francesco Akira began challenging Bullet Club War Dogs' Clark Connors and Drilla Moloney to a rematch for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship during the New Japan Cup, who didn't return to NJPW, after The New Beginning in Osaka. On March 20, Jet Setters (KUSHIDA and Kevin Knight) made their return to NJPW, in a pre-taped vignette, challenging Bullet Club War Dogs to a title match. The following day, NJPW announced that Bullet Club War Dogs would face Catch 2/2 and Jet Setters in a three-way match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. On April 3, Knight requested the match to be under tornado tag rules, which Connors and Moloney accepted.
At The New Beginning in Sapporo, Nic Nemeth defeated David Finlay to win the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship, marking his first championship outside his run with the WWE. After the match, Nemeth asked Hiroshi Tanahashi to be his partner in the following day in a tag team match, and also nominated him to be his first challenger for his title. However, Tanahashi was sidelined with a ankle injury forcing him to be pulled from the match. On February 26, NJPW announced the title match, as it was expected that Tanahashi would be able to recover from his injury at the time of the title match, but three days later, NJPW announced that following further examination, their title match would be postponed to a later date, in order to allow Tanahashi to fully recover.
Matches[]
Kickoff[]
| # | Results | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1P | Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano and Boltin Oleg defeated Ayato Yoshida, Takuro Niki and Chicharito Shoki | Six-Man Tag Team Match Frontier Zone |
8:33 |
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Main show[]
| # | Results | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TMDK (Zack Sabre Jr. and Kosei Fujita) defeated El Desperado and Ryusuke Taguchi | Tag team match | 9:33 |
| 2 | Los Ingobernables de Japón (Hiromu Takahashi and BUSHI) defeated Bullet Club War Dogs (David Finlay and Gedo) | Tag team match | 5:39 |
| 3 | Just 5 Guys (SANADA, Yuya Uemura and DOUKI) defeated United Empire (Jeff Cobb, Great-O-Khan and Callum Newman) | Six-man tag team match | 8:53 |
| 4 | Bullet Club War Dogs (Clark Connors and Drilla Moloney) (c) defeated Jet Setters (KUSHIDA and Kevin Knight), and Catch 2/2 (TJP and Francesco Akira) | Three-way tag team match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship | 17:57 |
| 5 | Bishamon (Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi) defeated Bullet Club (KENTA and Chase Owens) (c) | Tag team match for the IWGP Tag Team Championship | 13:57 |
| 6 | Sho (c) defeated Yoh by Referee Stoppage | Singles match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship | 1:50 |
| 7 | Jon Moxley and Shota Umino defeated House of Torture (Ren Narita and Jack Perry) | Tag team match | 14:35 |
| 8 | Shingo Takagi defeated EVIL (c) | Singles match for the NEVER Openweight Championship This was a Special Guest Referee match, with Yoshinobu Kanemaru serving as the Special Guest Referee |
21:17 |
| 9 | Tetsuya Naito (c) defeated Yota Tsuji | Singles match for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship | 34:25 |
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