Results
- KUSHIDA & Masatora Yasuda def. Taisei Nakahara & Tatsuya Matsumoto (7:59)
- Hartley Jackson & Kosei Fujita def. Master Wato & Togi Makabe (7:04)
- Shingo Takagi, Taiji Ishimori & Robbie X def Francesco Akira, Jake Lee & Jakob Austin Young (8:15)
- Aaron Wolf, Tiger Mask, Toru Yano & YOH def. Don Fale, DOUKI, SHO & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (7:12)
- Will Ospreay, HENARE & Great-O-Khan def. El Desperado, Taichi & Yuya Uemura (14:54)
- YOSHI-HASHI, Hirooki Goto & Boltin Oleg def. Chase Owens, Ren Narita & Yujiro Takahashi (NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championships) (12:10)
- Konosuke Takeshita vs. Shota Umino (NJPW World Television Championship) (15:00) (Time Limit Draw)
- OSKAR & Yuto-Ice def. Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr. (IWGP Tag Team Championships) (22:33) (Recommended)
- Callum Newman def. Yota Tsuji (IWGP Heavyweight Championship) (24:17) (Recommended)
NJPW has a new king. Or, in this case, a prince.
Callum Newman captured the IWGP Heavyweight Championship on Saturday night, dethroning Yuta Tsuji in a 24-minute performance. The win headlined NJPW’s first trip to Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan this year, Sakura Genesis 2026.
A back-and-forth battle, assisted with some shady tactics, kicked off Newman’s first-ever title reign with NJPW’s most important title.
Late in the match, a referee distraction from Newman allowed him to hit Tsuji with a low blow, which then set up for his Make Way finisher to earn the pinfall win.
Newman flirted with other cheating tactics earlier in the match, as well. Tsuji accidentally took out a ref with a Curbstomp halfway through the match, which gave the opening for a bending of the rules.
United Empire ally Zane Jay grabbed a steel chair and prepared to slide it into the ring for Newman during the brief lawless moment in the bout. But former United Empire leader Will Ospreay, who has been trying to steer the faction off-course from cheaper tactics, pleaded with Newman not to use the weapon. He ended up going on without the chair.
Newman sustained lots of damage from Tsuji prior to the finish, kicking out of a Destroyer into a Gene Blaster late in the bout. He also endured a nasty Curbstomp at one point, which Tsuji delivered from the ring apron down to the floor at ringside.
Newman, who now has NJPW’s top title at the young age of just 23 years old, earned the opportunity by prevailing in this year’s single-elimination New Japan Cup tournament. The bracket saw him beat other big names like Yuya Uemura, Shota Umino, and former world champ Hirooki Goto along the way.
The next challenger for Newman will be Shingo Takagi, a former world champ in his own right. Newman accepted his challenge during a post-match segment, noting that he beat him during the 2024 G1 Climax and thinks he is able to repeat history when they meet soon.
Tsuji’s title run started at this year’s Wrestle Kingdom card inside the Tokyo Dome, ending the run of AEW talent Konosuke Takeshita. He defended the title once along the way, beating Jake Lee at this year’s New Beginning in Osaka card.
Tsuji still holds the IWGP International Championship, which has been in his possession since October. It became clear after his loss Saturday that the secondary title meant he still has a target on his back, as he sustained an attack from Gabe Kidd.
Kidd attacked Tsuji while initially wearing a disguise. He took off his mask and jacket moments later to reveal an AEW t-shirt, which caused him to receive boos from the crowd.
Kidd and Tsuji notably faced off three times last year for the Global Heavyweight title, with Tsuji winning the series two-to-one.
Knockout Brothers continue dominant reign
The co-main event of the night saw the Knockout Brothers duo of OSKAR and Yuto-Ice deliver another hit performance in the tag division, beating TMDK’s Zack Sabre Jr. and Ryohei Oiwa in 22 minutes.
A large part of the matchup came down to a singles showdown between Yuto-Ice and Oiwa. The challenger had an edge on Ice at one point during the bout, tweaking his left elbow then continuing to target the limb.
But Yuto-Ice was able to regain control and eliminate Oiwa with a knee strike to the head for the pinfall victory.
The Knockout Brothers, who are nearing 200 days with the IWGP titles, have put together numerous critically acclaimed bouts since earning the belts last year. Saturday’s win was a rematch from January, when Sabre Jr. and Oiwa earned an opportunity through a Tokyo Dome battle royal.
Two teams were set up as the next contenders during a post-match. While the Knockout Brothers insisted on a match against decorated ex-champs YOSHI-HASHI and Hirooki Goto, the call-out was interrupted by United Empire’s Great-O-Khan and HENARE. It was implied during a post-match promo that the two teams will battle it out in a #1 contenders bout at some time in the future.
Takeshita, Umino fight to draw
Konosuke Takeshita’s latest appearance with the NJPW World Television Championship had an unsatisfying finish, as the AEW star fought to a 15-minute time limit draw against Shota Umino.
They teased that Umino was nearing a finish before the clock expired, wobbling Takeshita with a botched Poisonrana before flooring him with a hard lariat. Takeshita came close to finishing the match earlier as well, connecting with a Blue Thunder Bomb earlier in the bout, but having a follow-up knee strike blocked by Umino.
A masked figure entered the ring during a post-match ceremony, allowing House of Torture’s Chase Owens to attack Takeshita. The beatdown stopped after Umino returned to the ring, causing Owens to retreat.
The result means that Umino remains without a first title as he crosses into the fourth year as a post-trainee NJPW talent.
Bishamon & Oleg retain six-man belts
The trio of Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI and Boltin Oleg retained the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championships in the first title match of the evening, overcoming House of Torture’s Ren Narita, Yujiro Takahashi, and Chase Owens. The trio had to get past all of the expected HoT cheating tactics to win, including the use of plunder and an attack before the bell.
Oleg, who has the NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship along with his six-man gold, set his sights on a third title during the post-match. He called out Narita following the result, eyeing his NEVER Openweight Championship.
