
Z.S.J. said he knows it was never going to be comparable to Omega versus Kidd.
The day after NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 19, New Japan, AEW, CMLL, Ring of Honor and STARDOM co-presented Wrestle Dynasty at the Tokyo Dome.
The final two matches of the evening at Wrestle Dynasty saw Kenny Omega versus Gabe Kidd and closing the show was Zack Sabre Jr. defending the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against Ricochet. NJPW1972.com rolled out a new interview with Sabre Jr. and asked him was it difficult to follow Omega versus Kidd.
He said their match had a deeper meaning attached to it whereas his match against Ricochet was solely about fighting for the title. Sabre Jr. added that it was never going to be comparable to Omega versus Kidd.
I was warming up and I could hear the crowd. Gabe (Kidd) and Kenny (Omega) 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 4th 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.
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.
Looking back at that weekend of events, Sabre Jr. feels it would be more special if Wrestle Kingdom and Wrestle Dynasty were not in the same time frame as they were this year.
On a personal level, Zack felt it was special to headline the Tokyo Dome on back-to-back nights. He went on to state that from a fan’s perspective, moving Wrestle Dynasty to the summer or sometime later might be the best route to take. Sabre Jr. said double Dome shows are cool, but they need to get to a point where they’re selling out night one before doing two nights.
We’re in a unique position now where we have so many global partners, but almost all of these collaborative events have happened outside Japan, so it was time we did something here, and to do it in the Tokyo Dome was fantastic. But moving forward, 1/4 is so symbolic and historic, that if we had another Wrestle Dynasty, it would be more special if it wasn’t in the same time frame. On a personal level, becoming the first foreigner to win a Tokyo Dome main event, and then do it again the very next night put my confidence on an all-time high, but from a fans’ perspective, having it in the summer or something like that would be better.
Double Domes are obviously a good goal to have, but we need to get to the stage where we’re almost selling out one night before we do two. I’m conscious of the fact I have a lot of work to do as champion in that regard as well.
NJPW is in the midst of their New Beginning tour. On February 11th, the tour will wrap up with The New Beginning in Osaka.
That show is going to be headlined by Hirooki Goto challenging Sabre Jr. for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.