10 NJPW Stars Who NEED A Memorable G1 Climax Run

4. Zack Sabre, Jr.

Tetsuya Naito Table
NJPW1972.com

In winning the New Japan Cup, Zack Sabre, Jr. went some way towards filling the void left behind by Katsuyori Shibata.

Where Shibata was notorious for and portrayed as dangerous in the extreme as a result of his absurdly stiff striking game, Sabre, Jr. is a submission machine, killing his victims in an ornate and gruesome manner of which Hannibal Lecter would be proud. He fulfils the second remit of the original Strong Style NJPW mission statement.

With this premise put over tremendously through consecutively tapping out a fleet of acts Sabre, Jr. brilliantly referred to as "hunks", Zack became a made man over the course of one tournament. He fell to Kazuchika Okada at Wrestling Dontaku, but most everybody did. This was no disgrace. The match itself reached the top end of Okada's glorious reign. Zack found himself in immortal company; he needs to remain there.

To reinforce this perception, Sabre, Jr. should finish no lower than fourth in Block B. As aforementioned, there are three acts worth putting over Kenny Omega: Sabre, Jr., Naito and Ibushi.

Sabre, Jr. feels like the odd man out - but even a second unsuccessful challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Title in a single calendar year would do more than actually winning most major championships, such is its prestige.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!