NJPW Hizen no Kuni - April 29, 2025

[Chris]

Triple Title Action at Hizen no Kuni!​

Both junior titles, World TV rematch in Saga

Three championships will be on the line April 29 as NJPW heads to Saga prefecture for Hizen no Kuni.

Watch Hizen no Kuni live in English on NJPW World!

The main event on the night will see El Desperado putting the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship on the line against Templario. At Junior Genesis in Korakuen Hall on April 4, the first ever hardcore match for the junior gold ended with Desperado surviving a brutal war. Yet just as he was drinking in his victory, a message from Templario saw the masked CMLL representative vow to bring the junior gold to the United Empire. After Francesco Akira had his own challenge at Anniversary back in March, United Empire's hunger for the junior heavyweight title is evident, but can anyone stop Desperado from heading into Best of the Super Jr. as the IWGP Champion?

Ichiban Sweet Boys Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita will defend the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships against Master Wato and YOH. It's the second challenge in as many months with as many partners for YOH, who teamed with Rocky Romero back at New Beginning in Osaka in a failed attempt to topple Eagles and Fujita. yet as CHAOS finally completely absorbed itself into Hontai, Master Wato made his own appeal to team with YOH, building on a relationship that truly took root while both were out in 2024 due to injury. YOH seemed reluctant at first to team with Wato, but could these two junior artists find their way to the tag gold?

The NJPW World TV Championship is also up for grabs as Great-O-Khan makes his first defence in a rematch with El Phantasmo. At Sakura Genesis, a combination of a neck injury on ELP's part and incredible environmental awareness for Great-O-Khan saw the Dominator take the TV title after a TTD on steel chairs on the outside and a countout. With the outgoing champion never having been pinned, Phantasmo wants a rematch for the TV gold, and gets it here in Saga.

With Hiroshi Tanahashi facing Young Lion Masatora Yasuda on his Final Road and much more besides, it's a huge night for Hizen no Kuni in Saga!​

 

[Chris]

Wrestling Hizen no Kuni (April 29) preview​

Juniors take center stage in Saga

There is nothing like Golden Week wrestling in Japan, where a stretch of national holidays in the country see a stretch of big wrestling cards. That tradition extends to Saga, in the area of Japan formally known as Hizen, where Saga Arena hosts NJPW for the first time at Hizen no Kuni. Junior heavyweights are taking center stage, and we have three titles on the line for a big night of action.
Watch live in English on NJPW World!

Main event: IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship- El Desperado vs Templario

Saga's main event sees El Desperado seek his fifth defence of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, on the line against Templario. At Junior Genesis in Korakuen Hall on April 4, the first ever hardcore match for the junior gold ended with Desperado surviving a brutal war. Yet just as he was drinking in his victory, a message from Templario saw the masked CMLL representative vow to bring the junior gold to the United Empire. After Francesco Akira had his own challenge at Anniversary back in March, United Empire's hunger for the junior heavyweight title is evident, but can anyone stop Desperado from heading into Best of the Super Jr. as the IWGP Champion?

7th Match: IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships- Master Wato & YOH vs Ichiban Sweet Boys (Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita)

Ichiban Sweet Boys Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita will defend the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships against Master Wato and YOH. It's the second challenge in two months with as many partners for YOH, who teamed with Rocky Romero back at New Beginning in Osaka in a failed attempt to topple Eagles and Fujita. However, after CHAOS finally completely absorbed itself into Hontai, Master Wato made his own appeal to team with YOH, building on a relationship that truly took root while both were out in 2024 due to injury. YOH seemed reluctant at first to team with Wato, but success came quickly as soon as the Road to Dontaku got underway in Korakuen. Now, can these two junior artists find their way to the tag gold?

6th Match: NJPW World TV Championship- Great-O-Khan vs El Phantasmo
Singles record: 3-0 O-Khan

The NJPW World TV Championship is also up for grabs as Great-O-Khan makes his first defence in a rematch with El Phantasmo. At Sakura Genesis, a combination of a neck injury on ELP's part and incredible environmental awareness for Great-O-Khan saw the Dominator take the TV title after a TTD on steel chairs on the outside and a countout. With the outgoing champion never having been pinned, Phantasmo wants a rematch for the TV gold, and gets it here in Saga. Yet with ELP also having to think about a NEVER Openweight title shot against Konosuke Takeshita May 9 in Resurgence, O-Khan enjoys singularity of focus, as well as the champion's advantage; while Phantasmo must win this match one way or the other to claim the title, O-Khan could wait out the time limit and retain on a draw- or just as happily take another high impact assault and countout victory for that matter.

5th Match: Ryusuke Taguchi, YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto vs United Empire (Jakob Austin Young, Francesco Akira & Callum Newman)

As the days tick down to the biggest night of Callum Newman's career, if not his young life, the Prince of Pace comes face to face once more with the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion once again in Saga. Four events separate Newman from the chance to become the youngest ever holder of pro-wrestling's richest prize, but Goto will be making his young foe work for that opportunity again in Saga Arena tonight.

4th Match: War Dogs (Clark Connors, Taiji Ishimori, Drilla Moloney, Gabe Kidd & David Finlay) vs HOUSE OF TORTURE (Yoshinobu Kanemaru, SHO, SANADA, Ren Narita & EVIL)

Mere days before the Dogpound Cage door slams shut on the War Dogs and HOUSE OF TORTURE and their feud has to have a winner, the two full sides are together in ten man action for the first time on this tour. Who will have the upper hand ahead of a bloody conclusion for the teams?

3rd Match: TAKA Michinoku, Taichi, Tomohiro Ishii, Shota Umino & Yuya Uemura vs Los Ingobernables De Japon (BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi & Yota Tsuji)

Tetsuya Naito and BUSHI continue on their road to their final matches as NJPW affiliated talent on May 4 as LIJ find themselves opposite the forces of Hontai. As Shota Umino and Shingo Takagi's battles have escalated in violence over the course of the tour, and Yuya Uemura dn yota Tsuji count down to a Global title collision in Fukuoka, what's next for all ten of these men?

2nd Match: Katsuya Murashima, Boltin Oleg & Toru Yano vs TMDK (Hartley Jackson, Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr.)

Six man action has TMDK and Hontai squaring off. Zack Sabre Jr. will be preparing for his May 3 battle with Hiroshi Tanahashi by facing the Ace's former NEVER 6 Man title partners, while Ryohei Oiwa will also be wanting to get his hands on giant generational rival Boltin Oleg.

1st Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi Final Road ~Connection~: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Masatora Yasuda

Hiroshi Tanahashi completes his run of Connection matchups with the current crop of Young Lions as he faces Masatora Yasuda. After the Ace faced contemporaries Shoma Kato, katsuya Murashima and Daiki Nagai, will Yasuda outperform the other young prospects?
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