History was made this morning (or last night depending on where you are in the world) when Blighty’s own Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi to win his first New Japan Cup.
It’s hard to deny that ZSJ has truly flourished as part of New Japan Pro Wrestling, with a new heelish persona that has shined through with his sadistic in-ring style. It seems that NJPW have a lot of faith in the Suzuki-Gun member, who will now go on to challenge Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at a later date.
Sabre defeated some massive names on his way to the finals: Tetsuya Naito, Sanada and Kota Ibushi, culminating with the victory over one of New Japan’s veterans, Tanahasi. If this isn’t a massive rub, then I don’t know what is.
This is not only huge for the British megastar, but also marks the first time that a British wrestler has challenged for the IWGP Heavyweight title since Steven Regal’s attempt in the early 90s.
A huge congratulations to Zack Sabre Jr.
ZSJ is set to face Okada on April 1st, who’ve you got? Let us know in the comments below.
Some of the coverage you find on Cultured Vultures contains affiliate links, which provide us with small commissions based on purchases made from visiting our site. We cover gaming news, movie reviews, wrestling and much more.
