On last week’s episode of AEW Dynamite, the former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr issued a challenge to Kenny Omega for a singles match at Forbidden Door at the end of the month. Not only would it be the pair’s first meeting since their clash in the G1 Climax nearly eight years ago, but it would also be the first time they’ve shared the ring in any capacity.
Prior to that, their only other singles match was back in 2013 for a British indie promotion named 4FW, a match that has little to no information available on the internet. They also faced off a couple of times in tag team matches in New Japan. It isn’t purely coincidence that they haven’t met more often in their career.
It wasn’t until Sabre joined New Japan Pro Wrestling in early 2017 that they were both signed under the same promotion. On top of that, both were part of heel factions: Omega as the leader of Bullet Club and Sabre as part of Suzuki-Gun. Because of this, a meeting outside of a tournament setting was out of the question. In July, they almost met in the final of the tournament to crown the inaugural IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion, but the Brit was bested in the semi-final by Tomohiro Ishii.
After being put in opposite blocks for the G1 Climax in 2017, they were both part of Block B when the tournament came around in 2018. Their match took place in Kagoshima on night twelve of the tournament. Coming into the match, Omega was the IWGP Heavyweight Champion at the time, and a victory could lead to a second title shot of the year for Sabre, after he’d been unsuccessful earlier in the year when Kazuchika Okada was champion.
The match started on the mat, with Omega trying to beat Sabre at his own game. Sabre, from the get-go, had a game plan in mind to take down the champion, targeting the heel that Omega had fractured a few weeks prior while defending the title against Cody.
The Brit attempted a triangle choke early on, but Omega, showcasing his strength, lifted him up to get out of it. Moments later, it looked like he’d gotten things under control by catching his opponent mid-air as he tried to jump over him, but Omega kept finding ways to escape his clutches.
This was the story of the match in the opening section: Zack trying to wear the champion down with the arsenal of submissions at his disposal, and Kenny, knowing that all too well, never letting his guard down enough for his opponent to fully take over.
The action eventually reached the outside, and Sabre found an opening to take control, unleashing a barrage of submissions on the ramp: an ankle lock, a half Boston crab, and a modified STF. When the action resumed in the ring, his ring IQ was on full display. After Omega ducked a high kick attempt, Sabre improvised by taking out his legs from below on the way down.
His strategy of going after the legs was working — Omega wasn’t moving as fluidly as he normally would and had to take some time to recover, but that also allowed Sabre to recover as well.
With the time limit winding down, Omega looked to finish things off with a One-Winged Angel, but Sabre countered with a cross-arm breaker. His inability to fully lock it in allowed the champion to roll through and hit a snap dragon. With Sabre on his knees, Omega looked for a V-Trigger, but the Brit caught it and reversed it into another half Boston crab. He got a near-fall with a PK but was not able to put the match away.
Omega, who was undefeated in the tournament up to that point, had no intention of losing that night, even though he was just barely hanging on. After finally hitting the V-Trigger, instead of going for the One-Winged Angel — which Sabre kept countering every time he tried — Omega went for an immediate roll-up to get the 1-2-3.
It wasn’t a decisive victory, and there’s an argument to be made that Sabre was on his way to victory before Omega pulled a fast one on him. On his call-out on Dynamite, the line “What’s the frequency, Kenneth?” could very well be a reference to this.
It should be a great match at Forbidden Door, with no time limit constraints and both men relatively fresh coming into the match. Like he said in his promo, Zack Sabre Jr is still the best technical wrestler in the world — but is Kenny Omega still the best bout machine? We will see on June 28th.
You must be logged in to post a comment.