New Japan Pro Wrestling held night one of their Road to Sakura Genesis tour on March 31st, 2024. The event took place in the Act City Hamamatsu in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan, and featured eight matches.
This event was live-streamed on NJPWWorld.com.
Jeff Cobb vs Shoma Kato
- Cobb pins Kato after a standard Moonsault.
This show kicked off with a squash match. Cobb dominated the Young Lion, not giving him a chance to breath between assaults.
He eventually put the youngster out of his misery after a short bout, hitting a standing moonsault before pinning Kato for the win. It was an impressive sight for somebody Cobb’s size, and was a pretty standard victory for the United Empire man.
Intergalactic Jet Setters (Kevin Knight & KUSHIDA) vs BULLET CLUB War Dogs (Clark Connors & Gedo)
- KUSHIDA forces Gedo to tap out to a wrist lock
Bullet Club used outside interference and trickery to shut down the IJS, as KUSHIDA and Knight looked impressive in this match when given the chance.
The pair managed to fight off the interference from the War Dogs, with Kevin Knight impressing with his high-flying antics. KUSHIDA won the bout by forcing Gedo to tap out to a wrist lock.
Just 5 Guys (DOUKI, SANADA, Taichi, TAKA Michinoku & Yuya Uemura) vs CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano), El Desperado, Oleg Boltin & Tomoaki Honma
- Uemura pins Honma after a top rope splash
A fairly standard multiman match. All ten wrestles hit their basic spots, with Young Lion Oleg Boltin once again getting showcased with some big power spots and technical wrestling holds.
The five friends all his a simultaneous big boot on Honma at the end of the match. This followed a diving press from Uemura, who picked up the victory for his side.
BULLET CLUB (Chase Owens & Taiji Ishimori) vs Hirooki Goto & Tiger Mask
- Owens pins Tiger Mask after a Package Piledriver
This match was…okay. When Goto and Ishimori was in the ring, the action was fast and fun. However, when Owens and Tiger Mask entered the fray, it was slow, plodding and dull.
An out of shape Owens and Tiger Mask ended the bout. Owens hit a V-Trigger and Package Piledriver combination to win the bout for the Bullet Club.
House Of Torture (Ren Narita, SHO & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) vs Shota Umino, Togi Makabe & YOH
- Narita pin Kanemaru after an X-Factor
Another typical multi-man match. The heels worked over the face until he could hot a hot tag, and everybody managed to hit their signature moves to send the crowd home happy.
The interference from HoT was not as egregious in this match, and actually added something to the bout. Either they have improved, or Stockholm Syndrome is starting to set in.
Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi & Yota Tsuji) defeat United Empire (Callum Newman, Francesco Akira & TJP)
- Tsuji pins Newman after a Gene Blaster
With the talent in the bout, you’d expect it to be one of the best matches so far. And you’d be right! Despite LiJ isolating Francesco Akira for most of the match, there were still many fun sequences between himself as Takahashi.
LiJ picked up the win after Tsuji nailed Newman with a Gene Blast, pinning him to pick him the victory.
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito) defeat House Of Torture (EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi)
- Tagaki pins Takahashi after a bomber lariat.
The most star-studded match of the night includes two former and one current world champion in a huge tag team bout. Current IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito saw his partner win the bout.
Naito was beaten down by the HoT for most of the match, which was a disappointing display for NJPW’s top star. Shingo pinned Takahashi with a lariat, setting up a match with EVIL at Sakura Genesis.
Naito is defending his title against New Japan Cup winner Yota Tsuji at Sakura Genesis.
NJPW King Of Pro-Wrestling Title Rural Revitalization In Hamamatsu 2 Out Of 3 Falls Match: Great-O-Khan vs Tanga Loa
- Great-O-Khan defeats Tanga Loa
The main event of Night two of Road to Sakura Genesis was odd. This match was bizarre. It is a three-round contest, which each round lasting different times and with different rules. The NJPW website explained it well, stating the rounds were:
- Round 1: ten minute most covers match (every pinfall attempt results in one point)
- Round 2: five minute eel eating contest
- Round 3: strap match (competitors joined with a strap, and must touch all four corners consecutively)
The first round actually featured some wrestling, with Tanga Loa winning due to a complicated points decision. GoK then ate more eels than him, before incapacitating Loa. He took advantage of how full he was, and touched all four corners to win the third round and retain the KOPW title.
