After the Strong Style Evolved card, I was really excited about Sakura Genesis…until I saw the number of multi-man matches on the show. I think New Japan goes a little heavy on these matches sometimes – though the various tag matches are usually decent and a staple of Japanese wrestling, they do make the show longer and there is often no pay off.
However, I remember being sixteen and remember having to depend on WWF Heat and WCW Worldwide for my wrestling fix…bad times! As the old saying goes, never look a gift horse in the mouth. If New Japan want to provide me with long, quality wrestling shows, I’m not gonna complain too much…
Chase Owens and Yujiro vs The Young Bucks (3/5) was a good opener, slower than most Young Bucks matches, but with a nice build to the finish. I really like the emphasis on Matt Jackson’s back injury – the focus and storytelling around the injury (from Wrestle Kingdom) is excellent.
Toru Yano and Tomohiro Ishii vs Taichi and Takashi Iizuka (2/5) didn’t do a lot for me. The slow heat on Ishii and the usual Suzuki-gun tactics (jumping Yano and Ishii before the bell, cheating, weapon shots) didn’t hold my interest. I’ve seen it before and it’s getting stale, especially when you’re not watching the likes of Suzuki and Sabre Jr doing it.
Never 6 Man Openweight Ryusuke Taguchi, Michael Elgin and Togi Makabe vs Bad Luck Fale and G.O.D was fine. (2.5/5) I thought the start was pretty slow and I was fearing a repeat of the previous match, but the action picked up, culminating in a cool finish (Tama Tonga pinned Taguchi after dodging a flying hip attack and hitting the Gun Stun)
David Finlay, Juice Robinson and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Yoshi-Hashi, Jay White and Hirooki Goto (3/5) was more about storylines than the action. The focus was on Finlay vs White and Goto vs Robinson and the goal of this match was to set up further matches over the course of the next month. I thought it was a success – Juice pinning Goto makes me want to see them face off for the NEVER Openweight Title and I loved the intensity from Finlay as he went after White.
Sanada, Evil and Tetsuya Naito vs Davey Boy Smith, Lance Archer and Minoru Suzuki (3/5) was a fine contest, with similar intentions to the previous match. The goal here was to further the storylines and set up a tag team title match between Evil and Sanada and Killer Elite Squad and an Intercontinental Title match between Naito and Suzuki. Again, I thought it was a success – based on the intensity displayed here, I’m now pretty interested in seeing those two matches. The match itself was good, thought I thought it was a bit short to go above 3/5.
The IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title match between Roppongi 3K vs Suzuki-gun vs Hiromu Takahashi and Bushi (3.5/5) was non stop. Lots of ridiculously quick sequences, with the heel Suzuki-gun team retaining the titles and furthering the feud with LIJ’s Takahashi and Bushi. I enjoyed this match more than the first match last month and again, I’m looking forward to another clash between Suzuki-gun and LIJ.
The IWGP Jr Heavyweight Title Will Ospreay vs Marty Scurll was superb. (4.5/5) It had everything I could want from this match – great high flying, a cracking storyline (Ospreay wanted to beat Scrull one on one as Scrull usually has his number), some intense focus on working a body part and a ton of false finishes. I bit on a few of them, such as the second Tombstone Piledriver from Scrull to Ospreay and Ospreay nearly beating Scrull by countout after a dangerous Spanish Fly (somersault Rock Bottom) off the ring apron to the floor. An epic match and probably my favourite match from both men.
The Golden Lovers vs Cody and Hangman Page (4/5) was a slower paced match than the Young Bucks vs Golden Lovers match at Strong Style Evolved, but it felt like more of a chapter in a bigger story (Cody vs Kenny Omega over the Bullet Club) than a big main event match. This match never got to fifth gear, but it didn’t need to…the aim of this match was to give Cody some momentum heading into the match with Omega at Supercard of Honor next weekend. That said, the wrestling was good – I enjoyed the methodical teamwork of Cody and Hangman early on and the last third had some good sequences. Throw in a sick looking cut on Cody’s face and you had a fine match that really makes me want to see Omega vs Cody on Saturday….
Kazuchika Okada vs Zack Sabre Jr. for the IWGP Heavyweight Title had a good story going in – could Okada hang with the technical wrestling and submission skills of Sabre Jr? I like when matches have a story based on wrestling – it feels like a legitimate sporting contest, plus I think wrestling can be fascinating when you have two opposites facing off, to see which approach wins out. I liked how Sabre Jr. bossed the early mat based portion of the match, then was out of his depth once Okada brought the strikes and big moves.
However, I could never see Sabre Jr winning and the match itself felt like a placeholder main event. A good match (3.5/5 for me) but I want to see Okada in a long running feud with a bitter rival – he needs more than Sanada and Sabre Jr if this title reign is to keep going.
Overall, Sakura Genesis scored 3.22/5.00. I thought it was a good show, but it felt like a stepping stone, with the route to lots of big future matches set in motion (Naito vs Suzuki, Omega vs Cody, Killer Elite Squad vs Evil and Sanada, Suzuki-gun vs Bushi and Takahashi and Ospreay vs Kushida) I’m looking forward to seeing those matches and it was a fun journey to see how we get to those matches, but I wanted a bit more from Sakura Genesis. I want more from Okada’s IWGP Title reign too – I feel like we are treading water until the G1 Climax tournament. I like that Tanahashi confronted Okada after his win (Okada is close to breaking Tanahashi’s record of IWGP Title defences) – that could be a great match, if that is the direction they go in.
In the end Sakura Genesis was a good show, better than an episode of WCW Worldwide, which is all I ask really! The tag matches did a good job of pushing future matches so I can’t really complain about them and there was a great match in Scrull vs Ospreay – I would recommend you watch that match if you can….
I still need to get around to the last few NJPW shows. It sees like the upper end of the card has been on a high for them of late.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Definitely – I recommend you seek out Golden Lovers Vs Young Bucks from Strong Style Evolved and Ospreay Vs Scroll from this show, two of the best matches I’ve seen this year.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s funny, because I’m sure that I read a few people saying the Bullet Club would fail without either Fergal or AJ involved. You look at it now though, and they’re still on fire!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know…it never quite jumps the shark, does it? Surely one of the best factions in history for longevity and quality.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Absolutely agree. I think it helps that it’s always helmed by someone decent, and the stories have evolved over time. The current ‘faction split’ arc in particular has been so well executed.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Completely agree – I’ve really got into watching Being The Elite, just to see how everything plays out.
Someone on a podcast made a great point the other day – imagine if the NWO split in 1998 had been this well executed?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Crikey, yeah. Black and White and Red and Black was a missed opportunity.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I missed out on it at the time, but yeah…it should have been so much more. The NWO was a storyline that was ran into the ground….remember the silver and black NWO with Bret Hart in 1999/2000?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ya know, I’d forgotten that one. Jarrett was in it too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That Ospreay and Scurll match was absolutely fantastic. I flinched when the Spanish Fly happened, dear god.
Sakura Genesis down. NXT TakeOver New Orleans and Wrestlemania 34 are next. It’s going to be a fun but long weekend for wrestling fans.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah, I’m wrestled out already and it’s Wednesday 😀 I think Takeover NOLA will be show of the year though, so excited about that one! Mania? Erm…we’ll see…
That Spanish Fly was insane. Ospreay looked a mess at the end and still had to challenge Kushida 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Takeover will be the superior show without a doubt. I’m hoping WM 34 is a great show. It’s got a great card and there are spaces for surprises but most of the feuds have next to no build up.
I thought Ospreay was out after that Thankfully it isn’t anything serious. Ospreay vs Kushida, I’m down with that. It’s going to be a very fast paced match.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ospreay vis Kushida will be great. Best Of The Super Juniors is in May/June (?) so I’m expecting more great Ospreay matches. Personally, I’d love to see him vs Takahashi again. I think Ospreay may need a rest soon…after the match on Sunday, he’s booked all this weekend…
Takeover will be amazing, as most NXT shows tend to be. Have you seen the NXT Access tournaments? Think I’d rather watch those than ‘Mania! I’m not confident with WM34 – the last few years have been all sizzle no steak. Too many part timers and irrelevant matches for my liking. Asuka vs Charlotte should be decent, so I’m hoping they get 20 minutes at least!
LikeLiked by 1 person
The NXT Access tournaments could be a PPV by themselves. It’s stacked.
I remain hopeful for Wrestlemania 34 but Takeover will definitely be a better show.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’d definitely watch the NXT Access shows if they were on the WWE Network. To be fair, WWE might use the best matches for the post ‘Mania NXT TV shows.
You’re more optimistic than me for ‘Mania. I’m dreading that show…the last three ‘Manias haven’t been great…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Last year’s Mania wasn’t too bad. Nothing special but it was much better than 32. Oh boy was that bad.
LikeLiked by 1 person
To be honest, I’ve been down on ‘Mania since HHH beat Sting…it ruined a good match for me.
All the recent ”Manias bleed into one for me. All I remember from last year was the Roman Vs ‘Taker match, which I wasn’t impressed by. Was WM32 Shane Vs ‘Taker in Hell In A Cell? That was one of the worst ‘big’ ‘Mania matches I can think of….
LikeLiked by 1 person
I still don’t get why HHH had to be Sting. It would have been a great moment if Sting won but alas he didn’t. At least we got Daniel Bryan winning.
Taker v Shane was WM32 yeah. It was an okay match but it was predictable and everyone knew Shane was going to jump of the Hell in a Cell.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know HHH has to be positioned as the greatest of all time, but Sting should have won – he had a title match 3 months later!
I didn’t enjoy Shane Vs Taker. The whole thing was pretty silly…story, match, bump. The aftermath in particular was just daft – after all that, Shane gets to be GM?
LikeLiked by 1 person