On Saturday, NJPW held its Sakura Genesis event, which featured a loaded card for one of the promotion’s larger shows.
The main event was an IWGP World Heavyweight Title match between SANADA and Kazuchika Okada, in which SANADA won the title. This is the first time SANADA has held the title during his time with New Japan Pro Wrestling.
The finish came when SANADA connected with his new finisher to defeat “The Rainmaker.”
After being passed to be the opponent for Keiji Muto’s retirement match, with his former stablemate Tetsuya Naito serving in that role and going on a losing streak, SANADA did a storyline in which he realized he needed to make a change, which led to him returning to his winning ways.
Okada’s second reign as IWGP World Heavyweight Champion was cut short after 95 days.
You can check out a clip from the match below.
.@seiyasanada "Rainmaker"
Watch Sakura Genesis live in LIVE in English on https://t.co/CcdQ1XamUA (outside Japan)#njSG #njpw #njpwworld pic.twitter.com/SMwvYPuW5A
— njpwworld (@njpwworld) April 8, 2023
