Zack Sabre Jr.

Sabre in January 2024

###

Isle of Sheppey, Swale, Kent, England, United Kingdom

**Lucas "Luke" James Uggles Eatwell** (born 24 July 1987) is an English professional wrestler better known by the ring name **Zack Sabre Jr.**, in short **ZSJ**. He is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a former and the inaugural NJPW World Television Champion, while also being a former three-time IWGP Tag Team Champion, and the winner of the 2018 and 2022 New Japan Cup. He is also the leader of the TMDK stable.

Through a working relationship between NJPW and Revolution Pro Wrestling (RPW), he is a former and record setting four-time British Heavyweight Champion, while also being a former one-time British Tag Team Champion.

Regarded as one of the world's best technical wrestlers, Sabre started training with NWA-UK Hammerlock at the age of 14, under the guidance of Jon Ryan and Andre Baker. Sabre's offensive moveset includes a wide array of intricately complex technical wrestling holds and pinning combinations, harsh strikes (stemming from his love of puroresu), explosive athleticism and dazzling acrobatics. The readers of the *Wrestling Observer Newsletter* voted Sabre the Best Technical Wrestler of the year for seven consecutive years (2014–2020) and was voted Best Technical Wrestler of the Decade (2010s).

Though primarily known for his solo performances, Sabre is also a tag team wrestler. He is a former British Tag Team Championship, alongside former Suzuki-gun stablemate Minoru Suzuki, and was a two-time GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion alongside Yoshinari Ogawa during his time in Pro Wrestling Noah and a three-time IWGP Tag Team Champion alongside former Suzuki-gun stablemate Taichi, best known as the Dangerous Tekkers.

## Professional wrestling career

### Pro Wrestling NOAH (2008–2015)

On 21 June 2008, Sabre took part in an exclusive British six-man tag team match, on the pre-show of Pro Wrestling Noah's UK tour at the Coventry Skydome. The team of Hubba Bubba Lucha (El Ligero and Bubblegum) & Luke "Dragon" Phoenix defeated Sabre, Dave Moralez & Mark Haskins. The following day on 22 June 2008, Sabre fought to a twenty-minute time limit draw, with the current holder of the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship, Yoshinobu Kanemaru. Sabre wrestled a number of matches on tour with Pro Wrestling Noah between July and September 2011. Sabre returned to Pro Wrestling NOAH in April 2012 to wrestle a number of singles matches on the 2012 Global Tag League tour.

On December 7, 2013, Sabre and Yoshinari Ogawa defeated Jushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask to win the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. They lost the title to Atsushi Kotoge and Taiji Ishimori on 21 March 2014, before regaining it from them on 12 April. On July 5, Sabre and Ogawa again lost the title to Kotoge and Ishimori. Sabre left Noah in November 2015.

### New Japan Pro Wrestling (2017–Present)

#### Suzuki-gun (2017–2022)

On February 21, 2017, it was announced that Sabre would be making his debut for New Japan Pro Wrestling at the promotion's 45th anniversary show on March 6, where he would challenge Katsuyori Shibata for the British Heavyweight Championship. Sabre won the match with help from Minoru Suzuki and Davey Boy Smith Jr., joining the Suzuki-gun stable in the process. The following day, Sabre pinned NEVER Openweight Champion Hirooki Goto in an eight-man tag team match. This led to Sabre unsuccessfully challenging Goto for the title on April 9 at Sakura Genesis 2017. Sabre was left out of the Best of the Super Juniors as NJPW had decided to categorize him as a heavyweight wrestler going forward. Instead, he was announced for NJPW's premier singles tournament, the G1 Climax. Prior to the G1 Climax, Sabre took part in a tournament to crown the inaugural IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship at G1 Special in USA, where he made it to the semifinals, before losing to Tomohiro Ishii. On 17 July, Sabre scored a major win in his first G1 Climax match by submitting the reigning IWGP Intercontinental Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi. Sabre went on to finish the tournament with a record of five wins and four losses, failing to advance to the finals. On 16 September at Destruction in Hiroshima, Sabre failed in his attempt to capture the Intercontinental Championship from Tanahashi.

On February 28, 2018, Sabre was announced to take part in the 2018 New Japan Cup. Sabre defeated Tetsuya Naito in the first round, Kota Ibushi in the second round and SANADA in the semi-finals, to advance to the finals. On March 21, Sabre defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi in the finals to win the 2018 New Japan Cup, and become the number one for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. This also led Sabre to become the second gaijin to win the tournament after Giant Bernard in 2006. During the tournament, Sabre stablemate Taka Michinoku became his manager and spokesperson. On April 1 at Sakura Genesis, Sabre unsuccessfully challenged Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Six days later, it was reported that Sabre signed a full-time deal with NJPW. From July 14 until August 11, Sabre took part in the 2018 G1 Climax, finishing the tournament with a record of six wins and three losses, failing to advance to the finals of the tournament after losing to Kota Ibushi in their head-to-head match. From November 17 until December 7, Sabre and Taichi took part in the 2018 World Tag League, finishing the tournament with a record of seven wins and six losses, faillng to advancieto the finals, due to losing to EVIL and SANADA in their last round -obin match.

On January 4, 2019, at Wrestle Kingdom 13 in Tokyo Dome, Sabre defeated Tomohiro Ishii to win the British Heavyweight Championship for the record-breaking third time. From July 6 until August 10, Sabre took part in the 2019 G1 Climax, where he finished the tournament with a record of four wins and five losses, failing to advance to the finals of the tournament. On August 31 at Royal Quest, Sabre lost the British Heavyweight Championship to Hiroshi Tanahashi, only to regain it on September 15 at Destruction in Beppu. From November 16 until December 8, Sabre and Taichi took part in the 2019 World Tag League, failing to win the tournament with a record of ten wins and five losses. Afterwards, Sabre began feuding with SANADA, attacking him due to being furious for losing to him twice. At a press conference the following day, Sabre walked out of the press conference after feeling to be disrespected by SANADA. On December 19, Sabre and SANADA faced each other in a tag team match, where Sabre teamed with Taichi and SANADA with his *Los Ingobernables de Japon* stablemate EVIL. The match ended with Sabre pinning SANADA for the victory. The following day, SANADA returned Sabre the favor, after pinning him during their tag team match, leading Sabre to be furious for losing to SANADA for the third time. On December 21, due to SANADA being injured, his *Los Ingobernables de Japon* stablemate BUSHI faced Sabre, scoring an upset win over Sabre, leading his Suzuki-gun stablemate Taichi, who was mocking BUSHI with the Masked Black Horse mask, attacked the referee, leading him to be furious again.

On January 5, 2020, on the second night of Wrestle Kingdom 14 in Tokyo Dome, Sabre successfully defended the British Heavyweight Championship against SANADA. He lost the title to Will Ospreay on February 14 at Revolution Pro Wrestling's High Stakes. In June, Sabre took part in the 2020 New Japan Cup, being eliminated from the tournament by Kota Ibushi in the first round. On July 12 at Dominion in Osaka-jo Hall, Sabre and Taichi defeated Golden☆Ace (Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kota Ibushi) to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship. From September 19 until October 17, Sabre took part in the 2020 G1 Climax, finishing the tournament with a record of five wins and four losses, failling to advance to the finals of the tournament. From November 15 until December 6, Sabre and Taichi took part in the 2020 World Tag League, finishing the tournament with a record of six wins and three losses, failling advance to the finals of the tournament, due to losing to FinJuice (David Finlay and Juice Robinson) and the Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa) in their head-to-head match. On January 4, 2021, on the first night of Wrestle Kingdom 15 in Tokyo Dome, Sabre and Taichi lost the IWGP Tag Team Championship to the Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa). In March, Sabre took part in the 2021 New Japan Cup, losing in the second round to eventual finalist Will Ospreay on March 14. On June 1, Sabre and Taichi regained the IWGP Tag Team Championship from the Guerrillas of Destiny. They lost the titles to *Los Ingobernables de Japón* (Tetsuya Naito and SANADA) on July 11, only to regain them on July 24. From September 18 to October 18, Sabre took part in the 2021 G1 Climax, where he finished with a record of six wins and three losses, failing to advance to the finals of the tournament. From November 14 until December 12, Sabre and Taichi took part in the 2021 World Tag League. After eight wins and three losses, Sabre and Taichi were defeated in the final day of the tournament by Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi and thus were eliminated from the finals. On January 4, 2022, on the first night of Wrestle Kingdom 16, Sabre and Taichi lost the IWGP Tag Team Championship to Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi.

On March 6, Sabre entered the 2022 New Japan Cup, defeating Ryohei Oiwa in his first round match. After defeating Suzuki-gun stablemate DOUKI in the second round on March 12, Sabre advance to the third round, defeating Great-O-Khan on March 17, and Will Opsreay in the quarterfinals on March 21. Sabre first defeated Shingo Takagi in the semifinals on March 26 and then Tetsuya Naito in the finals on March 27 to win the tournament and earn the right to challenge Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, a feat that he accomplished twice with the same reigning champion. On April 9 at Hyper Battle, Sabre unsucessfully challenged Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. From July 17 to August 16, Sabre took part in the 2022 G1 Climax. Finishing with a record of four wins and two losses, Sabre narrowly failed to advance to the semifinals after losing to Tetsuya Naito on the final day. On December 14, Minoru Suzuki announced that Suzuki-gun would disband by the end of the year. On December 23, Suzuki-gun had their final match, with every Suzuki-gun member hoisting the Suzuki-gun banner and posing one last time.

#### TMDK (2023–Present)

During this month, Sabre took part in a tournament to crown the NJPW World Television Championship, which he eventually won, defeating Ren Narita in the finals on January 4, 2023, at Wrestle Kingdom 17 in Tokyo Dome, marking his first singles title win. After the match, Mikey Nicholls and Shane Haste offered him a spot to join TMDK, which he accepted. Afterwards, Sabre was positioned as the new leader of the stable, being described as "The Front Man". The following day, at *New Year Dash!*, Sabre, Nicholls and Haste faced CHAOS' Hirooki Goto, Yoshi-Hashi and Tomohiro Ishii in a winning effort. Shortly after, with TMDK needing a fourth member, Sabre pulled young lion Kosei Fujita from ringside, took off his Young Lion garb, and gave him a TMDK shirt, becoming the newest member of the stable. In March, Sabre took part in the New Japan Cup, where he was eliminated in the second round to Shota Umino. This led to a rematch on April 8, at Sakura Genesis, where Sabre defeated Umino to make his fourth succesfull title defense. From July 16 to August 9, Sabre took part in the 2023 G1 Climax, where he finished the tournament with a record of five wins and two losses, advancing to the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, on August 10, Sabre was eliminated from the tournament by Kazuchika Okada. Over the course of the year, Sabre made numerous title defenses of the NJPW World Television Championship, defending it across NJPW, AEW and ROH. Before the end of the year, Sabre set the goal of having 20 successful title defenses. However, Sabre gave up on his objective in order to give Hiroshi Tanahashi a title match for the NJPW World Television Championship, after challenging him to a match at Lonestar Shootout on November 10. On January 4, 2024 at Wrestle Kingdom 18, Sabre lost the NJPW World Television Championship to Hiroshi Tanahashi in his seventeenth title defense, ending his reign at 365 days

The following day, at *New Year Dash*, TMDK faced Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley, Kazuchika Okada and Tomohiro Ishii in a winning effort. Afterwards, Sabre challenged Danielson to a rematch, after Danielson had previously defeated him at AEW's WrestleDream on October 1, 2023, by knockout blow, leading Sabre to maintain that Danielson was unable to tap him out and he was the best technical wrestler in the world.

## In wrestling

* **Finishing moves**
	+ *Article 50* (Cross armbreaker)
	+ *Barry from Eastenders* (Grounded abdominal stretch)
	+ *Cremation Lily* (Double omoplata / Figure-four stump puller combination)
	+ *Clarky Cat* (Grounded Arm-lock)
	+ *Clarky Cat (Bad Balloon Remix)* (Over-the-shoulder single leg Boston crab / Armlock combination)
	+ *European Clutch* (Double wrist-clutch flip into a bridging cradle pin)
	+ *Hypernormalisation* (Back-mounted inverted surfboard)
	+ *Jim Breaks Armbar* (Omoplata stepover scissored armbar)
	+ *How About These Legs/You Can't Play Conkers In England* (Standing armlock cross hold)
	+ *Hurrah! Another Year, Surely This One Will Be Better Than The Last; The Inexorable March of Progress Will Lead Us All to Happiness* / Double armbar octopus hold
	+ *Orienteering with Napalm Death* (Over-the-shoulder single leg Boston crab / Calf slicer combination)
	+ Rear naked choke
	+ *Selected Technical Works Vol.2* (Indian deathlock/rear naked choke combination)
	+ *South Mimms Services* (Elevated Fujiwara arm-bar)
	+ *Sunday Rail Engineering Works Replacement Bus Service* (Heel hook)
	+ *Tesco Meal Deal* (Head scissors/hammerlock combination)
	+ *Yes! I Am a Long Way From Home* (Indian Deathlock/Octopus hold combination)
	+ Young Boy Killer (Double leg-trap chickenwing Inverted facelock)
	+ *Zack Driver* (Michinoku driver II)
* **Signature moves**
	+ Discus elbow smash
	+ *Front Neck Choke* (Guillotine clutch)
	+ High-angle sitout powerbomb
	+ *Jim Breaks Special* (Elevated wristlock)
	+ Kimura lock
	+ Multiple kick variations
		- Feint roundhouse followed by a legsweep
		- Overhead to opponent's arm
		- Diving enzuigiri
		- Springboard enzuigiri
	+ Multiple suplex variations
		- Bridging half nelson
		- Dragon
		- Northern Lights, usually followed by cross armbreaker
		- Snap
		- Snap underhook
		- Tiger
	+ Muta lock
	+ Neck twist
	+ Octopus hold
	+ *Penalty Kick* (Soccer kick to the chest of a seated opponent)
	+ *Rolling Elbow* (Discus elbow smash)
	+ Running European uppercut to a cornered opponent
	+ *The Triple Lock Pension* (Headscissors/muffler hold/arm lock combination) – rarely used
* **Managers**
	+ Kosei Fujita
	+ Shane Haste
	+ Taka Michinoku
* **Nicknames**
	+ **"ZSJ"**
	+ **"The Front Man"**
	+ "**The Technical Wizard"**
	+ **"Submission Master"**
	+ "Wrestling Master"
	+ **"Eikoku no Wakaki Takumi"** (Japanese for "Britain's Young Master")
	+ "Zacky Two Belts" (When holding the British Heavyweight and Tag Team Championships all at the same time)
	+ "Zacky Three Belts" (When holding the Evolve, PWG, and British Heavyweight Championships all at the same time)
* **Entrance themes**
	+ "Hyph Mngo" by Joy Orbison (NOAH)
	+ "Real Bone Master (Remix)" by Yonosuke Kitamura (NJPW; used as part of Suzuki-gun)
	+ **"Young Punks"** by Mass Lines (used as part of TMDK)

### Wrestlers trained

* Cara Noir
* Hitoshi Kumano
* Kosei Fujita
* Mark Andrews
* Ryohei Oiwa

## Championships and accomplishments

* **DDT Pro-Wrestling**
	+ Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship (1 time)
* **Evolve**
	+ Evolve Championship (1 time)
* **New Japan Pro-Wrestling**
	+ IWGP Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Taichi
	+ NJPW World Television Championship (1 time, inaugural)
	+ NJPW World Television Championship Tournament (2023)
	+ New Japan Cup (2018, 2022)
* **Pro Wrestling Guerrilla**
	+ PWG World Championship (1 time)
	+ Battle of Los Angeles (2015)

* ***Pro Wrestling Illustrated***
	+ PWI ranked him #**28** of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2016
	+ PWI ranked him #**26** of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2017
* **Pro Wrestling NOAH**
	+ GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Yoshinari Ogawa
* **Revolution Pro Wrestling**
	+ British Heavyweight Championship (4 times)
	+ British Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Minoru Suzuki
* ***Tokyo Sports***
	+ Tag Team of the Year (2021) – with Taichi
* ***Wrestling Observer Newsletter***
	+ 5 Star Match (2017) vs. Walter on 21 October
	+ Bryan Danielson Award (Best Technical Wrestler) (2014-2017)

## References

1. ↑ Search Results for Civil Births in Birth, Marriage, Death & Parish Records . England & Wales Births 1837–2006.
2. ↑ britwres.com . britwres.com. Retrieved on 2013-11-05.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Great Voyage 2013 in Tokyo vol.2～田上明引退記念大会～  (in Japanese). *Pro Wrestling Noah*. Retrieved on 2013-12-07.
4. ↑ Spring Navig.2014  (in Japanese). *Pro Wrestling Noah*. Retrieved on 2014-03-21.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 *ja:グローバル・タッグリーグ戦2014* (in Japanese). *Pro Wrestling Noah*. Retrieved on 2014-04-12.
6. ↑ 「Great Voyage 2014 in Tokyo vol.2」方舟進章～有明夏の陣～  (in Japanese). *Pro Wrestling Noah*. Retrieved on 2014-07-05.
7. ↑ The Week In British Wrestling: Lucha Britannia, Progress season tickets, more . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2015-11-24.
8. ↑ Rose, Bryan 2017-02-21. Zack Sabre Jr. debuting for NJPW at 45th anniversary show . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2017-02-22.
9. ↑ Rose, Bryan 2017-03-06. NJPW 45th Anniversary show live results: Okada vs. Tiger Mask W . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2017-03-06.
10. ↑ Rose, Bryan 2017-04-08. NJPW Sakura Genesis live results: Okada vs. Shibata . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2017-04-09.
11. ↑ Meltzer, Dave (May 8, 2017). "May 8, 2017 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: WWE Payback review, WWE financials, plus tons of news". *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Campbell, California: 62. ISSN 1083-9593.
12. ↑ *ja:【『G1 Climax 27』出場メンバーが決定！】あの“飯伏幸太”が電撃参戦！ ザック・セイバーJr.が初出場！ 鈴木みのるが3年ぶりにエントリー!!* (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2017-06-20). Retrieved on 2017-06-20.
13. ↑ NJPW G1 Special live results: The first IWGP US Champion is crowned . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter* (2017-07-02). Retrieved on 2017-07-02.
14. ↑ Rose, Bryan 2017-07-17. NJPW G1 Climax 27 night one live results: Ibushi vs. Naito . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2017-07-20.
15. ↑ *ja:ローソンチケット Presents G1 Climax 27* (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro-Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2017-08-11.
16. ↑ Destruction in Hiroshima  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro-Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2017-09-16.
17. ↑ Currier, Joseph 2018-02-28. NJPW REVEALS BRACKET FOR 2018 NEW JAPAN CUP . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2018-03-21.
18. ↑ Rose, Bryan 2018-03-11. NEW JAPAN CUP NIGHT THREE RESULTS: TETSUYA NAITO VS. ZACK SABRE JR. . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2018-03-21.
19. ↑ Renner, Ethan 2018-02-18. NEW JAPAN CUP NIGHT SIX RESULTS: ZACK SABRE JR. VS. KOTA IBUSHI . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2018-03-21.
20. ↑ Rose, Bryan 2018-03-18. NEW JAPAN CUP NIGHT 8 RESULTS: ZACK SABRE JR. VS. SANADA . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2018-03-21.
21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `NJPW`
22. ↑ ZSJ2. on Twitter .
23. ↑ ZSJ. on Twitter .
24. ↑ ZSJ. on Twitter .
25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 25.4 25.5 25.6 wrestlingdata profile . Retrieved on 2012-12-18.
26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 Cagematch profile . Retrieved on 2012-11-05.
27. ↑ 「One Day Cruise 2015」10月10日(土)横浜ラジアントホール大会 試合後コメント . *Pro Wrestling Noah* (2015-10-10). Retrieved on 2017-04-10.
28. ↑ Rose, Bryan 2018-03-11. New Japan Cup Night Three Results: Tetsuya Naito vs Zack Sabre Jr. . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2018-03-21.
29. ↑ Ironman Heavymetalweight Title . Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved on 2016-08-29.
30. ↑ Currier, Joseph 2017-02-25. Evolve 79 recap: Timothy Thatcher vs. Zack Sabre Jr. . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2017-02-26.
31. ↑ 3/5 PWG All-Star Weekend Night Two: Roderick Strong vs. Zack Sabre Jr. for the PWG Championship, The Young Bucks vs. Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly for the PWG Tag Titles . Pro Wrestling Dot Net (2016-03-06). Retrieved on 2016-03-08.
32. ↑ Caldwell, James 2015-08-30. Show results - 8/30 PWG Battle of Los Angeles Night 3: This year's BOLA Winner determined, plus mega tag matches, more details . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2015-08-31.
33. ↑ Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2016 . *The Internet Wrestling Database*. Retrieved on 2016-09-01.
34. ↑ Meltzer, Dave 2017-12-26. Dave Meltzer's top-rated matches of 2017: Walter vs. Zack Sabre Jr. . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2017-12-27.
35. ↑ Meltzer, Dave (February 10, 2016). "February 15, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Daniel Bryan Retires". *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Campbell, California. ISSN 1083-9593.
36. ↑ Meltzer, Dave (26 January 2015). "Jan. 26, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: 2014 awards issue w/ results & Dave’s commentary, Conor McGregor, and much more". *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Campbell, California: 12. ISSN 1083-9593.
37. ↑ Meltzer, Dave (25 January 2016). "January 25, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: 2015 Observer Awards Issue". *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Campbell, California: 17. ISSN 1083-9593.

1. ↑ Renamed from "Best Technical Wrestler" to "Bryan Danielson Award (Best Technical Wrestler)" in the February 15, 2016 issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, between his third and fourth wins.