Zack Sabre Jr. is having the best run of his career.
The 37-year-old has been with the promotion since 2017 and was already seen as one of the best wrestlers in the world. Zack was fresh off of WWE’s Cruiserweight Classic tournament and that momentum carried him throughout the early years in New Japan.
However, it wasn't until 2024 when Zack finally won the big one. It was at King of Pro-Wrestling when New Japan officials finally pulled the trigger by letting Zack beat Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. It was the start of a new era and the newly crowned world champion put everyone on notice following his triumphant win over Naito in a post-match interview:
“Only took eight years. Almost eight years, but I mean split the digits. 20-year career, eight years in New Japan. Carry the one. I mean, put that in the calculator and we’ll figure that out after. The era has changed. There is a new era, and it definitely Zack Sabre Jr’s era. But TMDK are with me every step of the way. We’ve got a brand new New Japan, and it’s [frick]ing orange. I mean, it’s cliche, but everything happens at the right moment. Naito is in the condition that he is in now because he has given every part of his body, soul, and mind to New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and I can only respect that. Winning the G1 was solely about winning by submission, to prove that myself of wrestling is the best style of wrestling.
I sacrificed I guess some of my [methodology] to win with an impact move, but that is a sign of my respect to Naito because I could tell that Naito would refuse to give up. With my respect for Naito, I knew that the only way to beat him by submission was to break his arms or break his legs. I think Naito’s days at the top of New Japan are over, but Naito was champion for a reason. Naito is still incredibly strong, Naito is gonna have a very long and successful career, but now I’m at the top. So I chose to beat him with an impact move to save having to [nearly] kill him. Naito is a stubborn, stubborn bastard. I wanted Naito to be able to walk out with dignity today. So that is the end of my chapter for now with Naito. That’s 13 singles matches.
I beat him in the G1, I beat him for the championship. As far as I’m concerned, my history and my story with Naito for now is over. He had lots of plans for the Tokyo Dome. He’ll be doing them without the championship, and that’s absolutely fine. The most important thing now is that Zack Sabre Jr. is the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion,"
And Zack Sabre Jr. is coming off a huge weekend where he fended off G1 Climax winner Shota Umino and former WWE star Ricochet. Following his huge win over the current AEW star, Zack Sabre Jr. commented on having the best year in his career so far, “"[I've] had the best career year and the best few months of any wrestler in the world,"
There’s no denying that this has been the biggest year for Zack Sabre Jr. How long will his Cinderella story last? We’ll just have to keep watching!