[7.0] "Bunch of very good matches here but nothing that sniffed that MOTY level. Besides HoT everything else was solid too. Enjoyable show. 7.5/10"

[6.0] "The main event was strong, but the rest of the show felt pretty lackluster for the most part. The NEVER Openweight title match was also good though. [MOTN: David Finlay vs. Hirooki Goto]"

[9.0] "Just another great New Japan show and like usual super super easy to watch, great main event and the sumo hall crowds never fail to not be hot. New Japan has gone under the radar so far in 2025 and they're putting together some good PPVs so far. We're on the road to Dominion basically so things should pick up more and more as we go into Dontaku."

[6.0] "This was a decent show although it could have been better overall. The last four matches are worth a watch even though there is no classics but the first five quite dragged a bit. I feel like there was a lot of potential that has been wasted here. ***1/4"

[7.0] "Hirooki Goto is an incredibly strong champion and has made these lighter shows feel very important. Konosuke vs Ryohei was an awesome bout. EU vs LIJ was a fast paced banger. Goto vs Finlay felt unpredictable in a way championship matches rarely do. Solid show."

[5.0] "Very average show for NJPW with only two matches actually worth going out of your way to watch, and even then, neither of those matches are going to be MOTY candidates, they were good, but nothing special. Rest of the card was extremely average including the complete waste of time that was the NEVER Openweight Tag Team Title match with House of Torture."

[7.0] "Katsuya Murashima vs Daiki Nagai: For a young lion match this was fine, a normal standard of action match, Murashima getting the win was okay to see, the characters and personalities are developing which is good to see [**]. Yuya Uemura vs SANADA: Uemura picking up another win over SANADA in this special singles match was good to see, the match did lack that something it needed to elevate it to the level it needed to be at [**1/4]. Great O-Khan vs El Phantasmo: ELP with the selling of his obviously not 100% arm was worked fairly solid, the match overall was just not that interesting [**]. Shota Umino vs Hiroshi Tanahashi: A solid showing from Tanahashi, Umino winning was a surprise, solid level of action here [***1/4]. Ren Narita, SHO & Yujiro Takahashi vs Drilla Moloney, Gabe Kidd & Taiji Ishimori: A usual HoT tactics filled match that was not that good to be honest [*1/2]. Konosuke Takeshita vs Ryohei Oiwa: A great match between these two wrestlers, who have good chemistry together and they can put on a solid showing, just wished they had a bit more tiime [***1/4]. Callum Newman & Jeff Cobb vs Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito: Naito had one of his best showings in a while in this one even in defeat, Newman and Cobb winning the titles was surprising but also good to see, Newman pinning Naito to win the match made sense, solid action led to a surprise title change [***]. Yota Tsuji vs EVIL: While there were some HoT tactics used again, the two backfire moments towards the end with EVIL were funny to watch when Togo went to throw the powder into the face of Tsuji but went into the face of EVIL as with the whiskey from Kanemaru, Tsuji retaining felt right to book, the match was fine apart from that [***]. Hirooki Goto vs David Finlay: I really enjoyed this match, they have such decent chemistry and be able to have a solid main event match, Goto winning and retaining the title was good to see, Finlay proved to be a viable challenger and the ending sequences were on the edge of seat stuff with the near falls, the table spot on the outside of the ring looked brutal [****1/2]"

[8.0] "Really, a two-match card, but that's how NJPW structures its cards and you take that into account when you rate their shows. A better order of the last few matches would probably poke this up to a 9, but the HoT shenanigans in the semi-main puts this as a solid 8."

[8.0] "Another good NJPW event. SANADA sadly truly does seem cooked as a main evented following that arm injury. I was hoping he'd be able to heal up but it gets more noticeable by the day. I'm glad he put over Uemura clean twice and at least he got his time at the top. GOK as TV Champion has me excited for him to bring back his Rural Revitalization stuff which got him over and gave attention to smaller shows. Hoping he finally is given the mantle of United Empire leader (he doesn't need to be the Ace of the group). The match was solid and I am surprised at the lower rating. Another solid Tanahashi retirement tour match and I like where they're going with Umino. NEVER 6-man match was more of an angle than a match which is fine. SANADA doesn't logically make sense reuniting with EVIL but his new style does suit House of Torture far more. I do think there's more to this leading into the Dog Pound Cage match--likely at the BULLET CLUB anniversary on May 3 or the night after--against the War Dogs. TAKESHITA vs Oiwa for the NEVER Championship was great and I'm praying NJPW attempt to sign The Alpha exclusively next year. The IWGP Heavyweight Tag Championship match exceeded expectations. Naito in the tag division is great for him physically but I'm assuming he's back to singles competition soon. I'm hoping one teams breaks the 5+ year curse of teams being unable to get more than 2 successful defenses. This was a great moment for Newman who finally pinned Naito after trying and failing to multiple times the last year. I personally really enjoyed the IWGP GHC match between Tsuji and EVIL with EVIL's match formula improving the last few months. Uemura and Tsuji are destined to do this forever and main event the Tokyo Dome. I'm hoping NJPW lets these two main event one of the Wrestling Dontaku nights just to establish the belt. I love the rivalry between the two. Goto vs Finlay for the IWGP World Championship was MOTN and these two work well together. Goto got his revenge and the GOTOREVOLUTION continues! The title feels right on him and I love how everyone seems to agree. Finlay has improved so much. The match was awkward at times due to the fans wanting to cheer for Finlay (whilst still rooting for Goto) since the War Dogs have essentially become tweeners but the storyline logically called for Finlay to be the antagonizing heel due to his history with the Champion and his kids last year. Made things a little weird but the match delivered. Umino challenging in Chicago makes sense and I'm hoping it's another learning curve for Umino. Goto's been a draw for the company and I'm sure they're wondering why they didn't do this sooner. ZSJ vs Finlay at Windy City Riot likely sets up the next challenger (or future challenger at Dominion) for whoever walks out of Chicago as IWGP World Champion. Both make sense as opponents for Goto and Umino but still my heart isn't ready to let Goto go as Champion."

[7.0] "A good show from NJPW with some great matches, and only really one bad one. Goto vs Finlay 3, LIJ vs United Empire, and Takeshita vs Oiwa were all amazing match-ups, the only ones I didn't really enjoy was the trios match and O-Khan winning the belt from ELP, but other than that it was a solid show. Overall I really enjoyed this show and recommend it, or at least watch the second half."

[6.0] "Had only middling expectations, and while the main event could've been a MOTY candidate, it definitely was a worthy main event. Shota vs Tana was a drag, and the HoT stuff is relentlessly garbage. Lots of unpredictable results though. Shout out to Callum Newman for his huge moment. The performers of the night were Oiwa and Goto, both of whom looked like true main event talent."

[7.0] "A strong show this. Kickoff, showcasing young prospects. Sanada Yuya was a bit disappointing. O-khan ELP showed up tonight and a title change. Shota Tana was solid. Of course we can't have all the good, need to balance it out with HOT nonsense, add Sanada to the list now. Takeshita Ryohei match of the night for me, cause of course it is. Tag titles match was a sleeper hit, wasn't expecting that plus new champs, thank the lord for that. Yota Evil was too. Back to back questionable match card on paper but delivered beyond expectations. And finally, still I. W. GOTO. P. champion, dragon papa, Hirooki Goto."

[8.0] "Exceeded the already high standard of the night before, this was a brilliant NJPW card with only one real lowlight in the 6 man bout, and even that worked as an angle. The main was a MOTYC, the Oiwa/Takeshita match was great fun and everything else (6 man aside) was enjoyable consistently. Well worth a watch and one of the better NJPW of the last couple years."

[7.0] "Sakura Genesis 2025 didn't thoroughly impress me like an NJPW classic, nor feature significant storyline advancements similar to this year's New Beginning. However, it was a consistently solid show, with some inevitable HoT-related low points that were still bearable. The title changes made sense, and the champions who retained their singles titles are ones whose stories are far from over. New Japan continues to recover nicely from some rather stale years."

[7.0] "Great Sumo Hall show from New Japan. The match of the night for me was Tsuji vs. EVIl, paid off that feud wonderfully. The tag title match was also very good, as was the main event. There isn't a bad match on this card, and the crowd was super into everything on this show. MVP of the show goes to Yota Tsuji for outsmarting the big bad heels at every turn and putting on the match of the night."

[8.0] "Not gonna lie -- when Finlay won the Cup, and they announced Clark vs Despy for Junior Genesis, plus Robbie X & Taiji vs the Ichiban Sweet Boys a few days later, I was fully expecting a show that would end with the War Dogs draped in gold. You know, the classic Bullet Club photo with everyone holding up titles. But it ended up being the complete opposite -- and honestly, I'm glad it was. Outside of O-Khan vs ELP, which I personally didn't find interesting at all (aside from O-Khan finally winning a singles title in NJPW -- and no, I don't count KOPW), everything else hit the mark. The 3-on-3 felt more like a segment than a proper match, as SANADA's betrayal was the only real takeaway. Still, the rest of the show was solid. Goto is exceeding expectations as a champion, and it's well deserved."

[8.0] "Amazing show. Scratch HoT and it would have gotten 9. But still a very good show with a lot of great matches"

[8.0] "All in all, awesome event. SANADA vs Yuya (***.5): Solid opener, abrupt finish. Possibly due to SANADA leaving War Dogs for H.O.T. ELP vs O-Khan (***): Decent match with a good story but pretty trash finish. Hopefully O-Khan does alright with the TV title. Umino vs Tanahashi (***.5): Good win for Shota, good showing for both. H.O.T vs War Dogs (*.75): Only used for SANADAs betrayal against War Dogs. Match was chaotic but was the same as all the preview tags they had. Takeshita vs Oiwa (****.25) Awesome match, Oiwa had another star making performance and Takeshita is having an amazing Never title run. UE vs LIJ (**.5): Decent tag match with a decent story. Glad for Callum to get a win over Naito. Tsuji vs EVIL (****) Good match that got the crowd super behind Tsuji. Run ins were done better than they usually were. Goto vs Finlay (****.75): Excellent main event that cemented Finlay as a top star and Gotos run has been great so far."