NJPW Sakura Genesis 2018: Results, Grades, and Analysis

Ryusuke Taguchi, Michael Elgin, & Togi Makabe vs. Bullet Club (Tanga Loa, Tama Tonga, & Bad Luck Fale) – NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championship

Tama Tonga came out wearing a King Haku shirt (Haku/Meng being his father). Even the mention of Haku’s name is enough to strike fear in the bravest of hearts. Thankfully, he doesn’t start the match so the other team has time to adjust and get ready to fight. The early portions of this match featured GoD and Fale beating on Elgin for quite a bit. Makabe was eventually tagged in and he ran wild hitting everyone very hard. Taguchi later played coach and had his team run wild, but Tama Tonga hit a Gun Stun on him and got the pinfall.

Result: Bullet Club

Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5

David Finlay, Juice Robinson, & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. CHAOS (YOSHI-HASHI, Jay White, & Hirooki Goto)

The two interesting stories advanced in this match features Finlay aggressively going after Jay White and Juice going after Goto. Both men are heavily motivated to make a major mark, as they are challenging for their respective titles. This left Tanahashi and YOSHI-HASHI facing off, and while they don’t have a story, seeing Tanahashi wrestle is always a treat.

Tanahashi went for a slingblade, but YOSHI-HASHI ducked and hit a blockbuster neckbreaker on Tanahashi. The match broke down soon thereafter with a series of counters that say David Finlay hitting a Stunner. Juice followed this by countering a GTR and hitting Pulp Friction on Goto. Tanahashi hit a slingblade on YOSHI-HASHI and followed it up with a High Fly Flow for the pinfall.

Results: Finlay, Robinson, & Hiroshi Tanahashi

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

This helped develop stories for several midcards feuds, and established a team that could challenge for the NEVER Six-Man Championships. Great stuff all around.