IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr. spoke with the company on several topics, including facing AEW star Ricochet at Wrestle Dynasty immediately following the Gabe Kidd vs. Kenny Omega match.
Sabre Jr. said, “I was warming up and I could hear the crowd. Gabe and Kenny was a match rooted in a lot of emotion and deeper meaning. Me and Ricochet was essentially an exhibition match- we’d only had one interaction when he surprised me in Osaka and then nothing for two months. My priority had to be promoting the January 4 match with Shota. But it was a remarkable match, and I’m happy for the fans they were able to see something like that. My purpose was really to make sure I defended the IWGP World Heavyweight title from an outsider.”
On his match with Ricochet compared to Kidd vs. Omega:
“It was a very physical match, but it was just about each of us fighting to be the champion. So it was never going to be comparable to Gabe and Kenny and that’s fine.”
on who he wants to face next in AEW:
“There’s a lot. The laziest names to say would be [Kazuchika] Okada and [Will] Ospreay, so I won’t say them. I’d like to wrestle people that haven’t been to Japan yet, like Swerve Strickland or MJF. I’ve wrestled Daniel Garcia and Orange Cassidy before, but the AEW wrestlers that haven’t really had notoriety in WWE are appealing to me. There’s also a lot of people I know from my independent career. Myself and Darby Allin have had a lot of matches on the independents. When it comes to a Forbidden Door in England this year, obviously me and Ospreay would be a fantastic match but I think it would be good to do something different.”
On being part of TMDK for two years:
“I think Suzuki Gun did a lot for me. To bring it back to Shota in a way, before I joined Suzuki-Gun I was seen by a lot of people as one of the best wrestlers in the world, but I don’t think I really had an identity of my own before I joined Suzuki-Gun. That group provided me an opportunity to find myself. I learned from one of the best of all time in Minoru Suzuki, but also I saw the passion that El Desperado brings, and I saw DOUKI and his rise. Kanemaru as well, and especially when Davey Boy Smith and Lance Archer left I was the only foreigner in the group but they just treated me like one of the family all the same.”
On being in a faction that’s filled with foreigners:
“Obviously me, Mikey Nicholls and Shane Haste have a close bond from NOAH. When you spend time with someone in a Dojo you have a very particular relationship. And I wanted to do the reverse of what Suzuki-Gun did for me- I wanted to give younger wrestlers more freedom and a relaxed environment. The three of us and Robbie as well, Robbie’s been paramount in helping Fujita, and we balance one another out . We have foreigners that respect Japanese wrestling but that’s also more playful and has more freedom. You’ll see Oiwa shine a lot more in the future- he was already in a Tokyo Dome title match at Wrestle Kingdom this year but next year I think you’ll see him much more prominently.”
