10 Live Observations From NJPW’s FIRST EVER UK Tour

1. Gunishment

Kazuchika Okada Zack Sabre Jr
Robyn Goding/Beyond Gorilla

To the victors went the spoils, then, as Zack Sabre Jr and Minoru Suzuki shared show-closing duties with brilliant promos at the expense of the Chaos lads they'd put in their places across both nights in the United Kingdom.

Avoiding the potential for a mutual appreciation society, an acerbic ZSJ relished the opportunity to mock the local crowd with potty-mouthed petty threats and digs at the various favourites that had fallen throughout the night.

Suzuki may have held two belts aloft and stood atop his stable of wrong-uns and rebels, but it was Sabre that truly shone. The victory over Kazuchika Okada won't disappear from view anytime soon, not least if he can tap out a few more "hunks" in the G1 Climax.

The heels received standing ovations despite the rabble-rousing, from an audience as much in awestruck appreciation of the work as they wore entrenched in the storylines they'd surprisingly been allowed to become a part of for one night.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back almost 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 60,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett