Two matches for NJPW Sakura Genesis confirmed

Two matches have been confirmed for Sakura Genesis on April 1.

The main event was officially announced today as Kazuchika Okada defending the IWGP Heavyweight title against New Japan Cup winner Zack Sabre Jr.. If Okada were to defeat Sabre, he would tie Hiroshi Tanahashi’s record of most IWGP Heavyweight title defenses in a single reign at 11. With submission wins over Tetsuya Naito, Kota Ibushi, SANADA and Tanahashi, however, Sabre will prove to be someone very difficult to beat.

The other match announced for the card is a triple threat match pitting new IWGP Jr. tag team champions Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru against BUSHI and Hiromu Takahashi and Roppongi 3K in a triple threat match. This would be a rematch from the 46th anniversary show that took place back on March 6, where Desperado and Kanemario won the championships from Roppongi 3K. All three teams ended up in an angle at the New Japan Cup finals where Roppongi 3K ended up standing tall over the other two teams.

There were several angles shot during the New Japan Cup finals that may or may not lead to matches on this show. Minoru Suzuki and Tetsuya Naito spent most of their match on the show brawling with one another, and ended up brawling into the press area once the match was over. Meanwhile, Juice Robinson pinned Hirooki Goto in a tag match, making it clear that he was the top contender for the NEVER title. The Killer Elite Squad also called out current IWGP tag team champions EVIL and SANADA, though EVIL is still out with a broken orbital bone. 

Sakura Genesis will air at 3 a.m. EDT on April 1. It will have English commentary.