A couple of New Japan stars invade the upcoming DEFY show.
On April 13th, DEFY confirmed their upcoming Streets of Rage show will be headlined with a match between former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr. and Timothy Thatcher. This isn’t the first time these two have met.
Zack and Thatcher first met at Evolve 79 where the latter was the EVOLVE Champion. The New Japan star would beat Thatcher for the belt and go on to keep the EVOLVE title for 404 days. Their final match was at EVOLVE 88, with Zack Sabre Jr. successfully retained his belt.
Current NJPW Strong Openweight Champion Gabe Kidd returns to DEFY to take on Calvin Tankman. Kidd has only had two matches in the promotion and they both ended in a DQ. It’s been four years since Calvin Tankman competed at a DEFY event as the 30-year-old last fought on DEFY Leviathan against Ethan HD.
But New Japan isn’t the only promotion that will represent the upcoming DEFY show as several TNA Wrestling stars are scheduled to compete as well. TNA’s newcomer, Mance Warner, will be facing El Phantasmo. Warner is no stranger to DEFY wrestling and is actually a former DEFY Tag Team Champion.
Speaking of championships, the DEFY Tag Team Championships will be on the line as Sinner And Saint (Judas Icarus & Travis Williams) will defend them against Kzy & Susumu Yokosuka. This is the second title defense for the duo as Sinner and Saint originally won them back at DEFY Blueprint and successfully defended them in a six-man ladder match against Los Desperados (Arez, Gringo Loco & Latigo). Check out the advertised line-up below:
DEFY Streets of Rage (4/13)
- Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Timothy Thatcher
- Gabe Kidd vs. Calvin Tankman
- El Phantasmo vs. Mance Warner
- DEFY Tag Team Championship: Sinner And Saint (Judas Icarus & Travis Williams) (c) vs. Kzy & Susumu Yokosuka
- Ho Ho Lun & Ishin vs. C4 (Cody Chhun & Guillermo Rosas) vs. Midnight Heat (Eddie Pearl & Ricky Gibson)
- Randy Myers vs. Miles Deville