In what was originally supposed to be a tag team match between Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi vs. SANADA & BUSHI turned into a special singles match on the Road to Tokyo dome, due to SANADA being hurt. What should have been a nice warm up for ZSJ ahead of his January 5th title defense of the RevPro British Heavyweight Championship turned into disaster.
A Distracted Mind
Zack Sabre Jr. had a lot on his mind, especially his upcoming opponent in SANADA, who he hoped to hurt some more on that night. He called out for him many times to show himself, looking past his opponent. You can also argue that he is distracted by Boris Johnson and the tories winning the UK election, as Zack has been outspoken about that situation all year, even blaming Boris himself when he lost the British Heavyweight championship to Hiroshi Tanahashi for a brief time early this year. Regardless of what the main distraction was, ZSJ wasn’t all there for this match.
All the distractions on the head of the British Heavyweight champion led him to give up a pinfall to his crafty opponent, which by how NJPW handles title matches means that after Wrestle Kingdom, BUSHI is next in line for a shot at that championship. He will either face Zack Sabre Jr. again, or his faction mate in SANADA depending on who is victorious at Wrestle Kingdom 14.
Anything Can Happen In New Japan
BUSHI hadn’t got much time to shine as a singles star this year, beyond a mediocre run in the Best of the Super Juniors tournament and a shockingly fun match where he failed to capture Will Ospreays IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. This makes his defeat of Sabre all the more interesting. It helps enforce that anyone can really beat any champion in this company at a moments notice. Never count any opponent out.
This loss won’t make ZSJ’s failing mental state any better, and will just add to the stress he has as he marches on towards the Tokyo Dome. This was the final match he will wrestle for NJPW this year, so he has time to regroup and ensure he’s on the top of his game come January 5th.
Do you think NJPW will grant BUSHI his title shot, or will this match happen in Revolution Pro Wrestling, where the belt truly belongs? Let us know what you think down below in the comment section!
