11 Things We Learned From The 2018 NJPW G1 Climax

8. Zack Sabre Jr. Is A Major Player In New Japan

Zack Sabre Jr Hirooki Goto
NJPW

When the inevitable debate begins over who has been the MVP of New Japan in 2018, it is unlikely that Zack Sabre Jr. will get much coverage. This will be a major shame, as the British submission wizard has had a fantastic year that has flown somewhat under the radar. ZSJ tapped out many of the company’s biggest stars on his way to winning the New Japan Cup, and followed that up with many big victories in the G1.

It may have been ignored as he was technically out of contention going into the final day, but Zack actually finished third in the fantastic B Block. He only suffered two defeats in the competition, coming up short against the two men that finished above him — Kota Ibushi and Kenny Omega. He was the only star in the tournament who survived without a shock loss.

When you add this strong campaign to his New Japan Cup win, it is clear that NJ has big plans for the best technical wrestler on the planet. A NEVER Openweight Championship match with Hirooki Goto is around the corner, and won’t be too surprising to see ZSJ holding a new title aloft when that match is over.

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Born in the middle of Wales in the middle of the 1980's, John can't quite remember when he started watching wrestling but he has a terrible feeling that Dino Bravo was involved. Now living in Prague, John spends most of his time trying to work out how Tomohiro Ishii still stands upright. His favourite wrestler of all time is Dean Malenko, but really it is Repo Man. He is the author of 'An Illustrated History of Slavic Misery', the best book about the Slavic people that you haven't yet read. You can get that and others from www.poshlostbooks.com.