By: Steven R. Jackson

New Japan Pro-Wrestling is a truly international promotion, and that can be credited to the distinct talent signed in recent years. For a long time, British wrestling fans had waited for the day Zack Sabre Jr. (ZSJ) would sign to a major wrestling promotion and show the world the technical wizardry he’d perfected wrestling all over the globe. Now coming up on ZSJ’s fourth year in NJPW, the grappler has truly carved out a special niche.

One of ZSJ’s standout attributes is his integrity. Many British wrestlers will adapt their style to suit their audience as they progress through the world of wrestling. Wrestlers from other countries and continents do this too, but something about British wrestling stands out more to us in the UK, and we have a stake in their success.

This adaptation is common due to British wrestling being highly technical, and not very “flashy” (and I use that word in a bold sense) which may wear on the attention spans of modern fans. In the UK we don’t see a whole lot of dives to the outside, for instance, or fast exchange stand-o f spots. Our style places a heavy emphasis on pacing, psychology and chain- wrestling, things ZSJ has mastered throughout his career.

Photo Credit: twitter/taigaPhoto_PW

The roots of ZSJ’s style are in the British wrestling promotion World of Sport, which features wrestlers on a TV show by the same name. It’s based around “Admiral-Lord Mountevans Rules,” which emphasize a round and falls system for matches, as well as specifying legal and illegal manoeuvres. From reading the rules and watching the matches, you can see that British wrestling takes more of a defensive stance than an offensive one.

It’s a style ZSJ has always embodied, and it has allowed him to stand out on an international stage. With ZSJ wrestling more of a slow-burn and intricate style, some fans haven’t caught on. But he must be doing something right: up to joining NJPW, he’d already wrestled in fourteen different countries for over fifty independent promotions around the globe!

It leaves us to wonder if ZSJ is still looking for a ring to call home. Having such a high level of self-discipline and tenaciousness while wrestling is great on a smaller stage, but climbing up the ladder can mean compromise and changing styles to suit the promotion. As he moved around the world prior to landing in New Japan, it seemed like ZSJ yearned for a promotion with enough talent to match his own that would double as a place he could showcase the best that British wrestling has to offer.

If we examine ZSJ’s style along with Japan’s close ties to British wrestling, you may think that Japan was a natural fit all along. As a “Young Lion” and during the early part of his career, ZSJ wrestled for Pro Wrestling NOAH. While his matches were great, there was something missing. And while NOAH is coming into its own, gaijins have famously struggled to fully assimilate – rather than becoming a mainstay of the roster, ZSJ was tossed aside by NOAH for other wrestlers of the moment.

While wrestling in NOAH, he was also wrestling concurrently in EVOLVE, WXW and PWG among others.

He was being pushed so heavily while winning titles and tournaments that the iron was hot enough for ZSJ to strike a deal. But NOAH never finalized a contract, forcing ZSJ to leave in November 2015, four years after making his debut.

Photo Credit: twitter/taigaPhoto_PW

Following his time in NOAH, ZSJ returned to touring the international independent circuit, most notably in his native England, where he became an integral part of Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro). The self-styled promotion had recently inked a developmental deal with NJPW, and several headliners had travelled to England to wrestle on its shows. One such name was “The Wrestler” Katsuyori Shibata in 2017, who challenged ZSJ for his RPW World Championship in London. The match was a classic and shocked the audience when Shibata defeated ZSJ for his title, leaving with the belt for Japan!

That called for a rematch, and at the New Japan’s 45th Anniversary Show, ZSJ made his long-awaited debut in NJPW 18 months after leaving Pro Wrestling NOAH. British wrestling fans were galvanized to tune in and see if their homegrown hero could withstand the vicious strikes and “strong style” of Shibata. It was a clash of styles, and a spectacle that would put the technical wizardry of British pro wrestling on display for the world to watch.

The match was a masterclass in the wrestlers’ respective styles, including thundering strikes to go with insane submissions and intense grappling. Everything ZSJ had perfected across fi ty promotions and thirteen years had built up to this moment. When the dust had settled, ZSJ’s hand was raised, reclaiming the title and establishing him as an instant star in NJPW, joining the Suzuki-gun to the amazement of everyone.

It goes without saying that ZSJ couldn’t have picked a better mentor than Minoru Suzuki, arguably the greatest Japanese submission wrestler in history, and one of the most charismatic wrestlers ever. Straight away, unlike in NOAH, ZSJ was given purpose and a platform to be able to grow from. ZSJ did have to adapt. But he didn’t adapt his wrestling style or his personality, he adapted his charisma.

Three years on, the greatness of ZSJ has become a staple of NJPW tournaments. The pride we feel in the UK seeing him carry the British flag in the World Tag League or the G1 Climax has been nothing short of revolutionary.

No longer just a British gaijin with an eyebrow-raising style, ZSJ is now the “Submission Master” and “The Windy Man” who oozes with confidence and swagger he was once unable to find. He’s never compromised his style and never altered his views to make fans feel one way or another. Instead, they’ve organically come to appreciate him through the awesome technical work and skills that make him Britain’s premiere export to the wrestling world.

ZSJ made his home in New Japan through the same “fighting spirit” its audience has come to expect from homegrown talent. And as a result, the World of Sport might as well be known as the “World of Sabre.” It took a roundtrip across the globe to get here, and the search was long and tough, but in the end, New Japan Pro-Wrestling is Zack Sabre Jr.’s true home.

This article first appeared in Monthly Puroresu Issue #3