Callum Newman Wins IWGP Championship at NJPW Sakura Genesis

Posted in: NJPW, Sports, TV | Tagged: Callum Newman, new japan pro wrestling

Callum Newman Wins IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Sakura Genesis

In a surprise victory, Callum Newman is the new IWGP Heavyweight Champion, having defeated Yota Tsuji at NJPW Sakura Genesis.

Published Sun, 05 Apr 2026 14:37:07 -0500
by Gavin Sheehan
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Article Summary

• Callum Newman shocks NJPW by defeating Yota Tsuji to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Sakura Genesis
• Newman becomes the youngest IWGP Champion ever, breaking Shinsuke Nakamura's longstanding record
• A masked Gabe Kidd attacks Tsuji post-match, setting up a new feud for the IWGP Global Champion
• Highlights include Will Ospreay's victorious return and successful IWGP Tag Title defense by Oskar and Yuto-Ice

A shocking turn of events during the NJPW Sakura Genesis event at Ryogoku Sumo Hall this weekend, as Callum Newman won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship from Yota Tsuji. The main event saw the two young stars battle it out for the title after Newman won the New Japan Cup back in March, giving him the option of challenging any champion for any title he chooses. Newman chose Tsuji, who is still the NJPW Global Champion, so he isn't exactly beltless at the conclusion of the match. Newman used a number of underhanded tricks to gain an advantage, but Tsuji fought back to overcome many of them. But when it was over, after a low blow behind the referee's back, Newman hit a Make Way for the pin. The victory makes him the youngest wrestler to hold the top title at 23 years and 7 months old, replacing Shinsuke Nakamura, who won it at 23 years and 9 months old.

Callum Newman Becomes The Youngest IWGP Heavyweight Champion in NJPW History

The move is a little surprising, as it seemed NJPW was going to make Tsuji the champion for a much longer run than this, having won the title back at Wrestle Kingdom 20 in January and having the company bring back the much more regal design of the IWGP Title from five years ago. Even more surprising, after the match, a masked man came out and attacked Tsuji, who was revealed to be Gabe Kidd, returning to the promotion after signing with AEW, wearing an AEW shirt, who dragged Tsuji to the back and beat him up all the way to the interview area. So it looks like that will be the next program for the now former but still current IWGP Global champion.

Some of the other major results of the night saw a returning Will Ospreay teaming with fellow United Kingdom members Great-O-Khan and Henare defeat the team of El Desperado, Taichi, and Yuua Uemura; the House of Torture fail to win the Six-Man Tag Titles from Hirooki Gogo, Yoshi-Hashi, and Boltin Oleg; Konosuke Takeshita and Shota Umino went to a 15-minute draw over the TV Title (in which a masked man distracted Takeshita after the match for him to then be attacked by Chase Owens); and the IWGP Tag Team Champions Oskar and Yuto-Ice successfully defend their titles against Zack Saber Jr. and Ryohei Oiwa.

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