Both men needed wins, as Hiroshi Tanahashi and Zack Sabre Jr. were both winless thus far in the G1 Climax tournament.
The former IWGP Heayvweight Champion and Sabre Jr. are no strangers to one another, as both athletes have fought each other numerous times including at the G1 Supercard show in Madison Square Garden where the latter got a victory over Tanahashi.
The technical wrestling wizard targeted Tanahashi’s arm throughout the bout; however, the 2018 G1 Climax winner would never give up and was able to out maneuver Sabre Jr. with a jackknife pinning hold around 14-minutes. As you can imagine, Sabre Jr. wasn’t thrilled with remaining winless in the competition.
Tanahashi gains his first win and his score is now 1-2, whereas Zack’s winless score is bumped to 0-3.