NJPW issued the following:
Three bouts added to Windy City Riot! 【NJoA】
More bouts set for Chicago card
Windy City Riot is mere weeks away, with anticipation building for April 11 in Chicago’s Wintrust Arena. Now with New Japan Cup in the books and Sakura Genesis fast approaching in Japan, more matches have been made for this huge event in the States.
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In a rematch from the New Japan Cup semifinals, Zack Sabre Jr. faces Cup winner David Finlay. While this is a special singles match at the time of writing, the stakes of this contest could be raised significantly on April 5 at Sakura Genesis. Should Finlay win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, that title will be on the line here in Chicago, with Finlay seeking his first defence, and Sabre his second reign.
It was Finlay who stopped ZSJ in his tracks during the New Japan Cup, and halted the Briton’s plans of getting back to the IWGP World Heavyweight title mix as soon as possible after his defeat at the hands of Hirooki Goto in Osaka this February. Finlay and Sabre’s sensational semifinal bout has been hailed by many as the match of the tournament for New Japan Cup 2025, and the competition is sure to be just as intense in Chicago; in the meantime, ZSJ will be in the rare position of cheering for Finlay during the Sakura Genesis main event April 5.
Tag team action will see Rocky Romero and El Phantasmo form a surprising combination against LIJ’s Titan and Tetsuya Naito. March 6 and Anniversary saw the last vestiges of any walls between CHAOS and Hontai eliminated, as CHAOS was formally absorbed into the NJPW main group. That means CHAOS stalwart Romero is now officially stablemates with ELP, and years of hostilities that have seen multiple epic bouts will be set aside as both focus on this special tag team bout. In the opposite corner, Titan and Naito will present their own dynamic approach, and ever the magpie, perhaps Rocky will be attracted to the IWGP tag title around Naito’s waist should he and Hiromu retain on April 5 at Sakura Genesis.
The STRONG Tag Team Championships will also be on the line when the World Class Wrecking Crew, Royce Isaacs and Jorel Nelson face the returning Intergalactic Jet Setters. Two time IWGP Junior Heavyweight tag Champions, we haven’t seen KUSHIDA and Kevin Knight in NJPW rings since Wrestle Kingdom, and the Tokyo Terror Ladder Match. Both men might have Best of Super Jr. in mind in the month of May, but before that, could transition from junior heavyweight to openweight tag team success.
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