WWE Star Comments On Zack Sabre Jr. Joining TMDK

During the first night of New Japan Pro-Wrestling's Wrestle Kingdom 17 pay-per-view, Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Ren Narita via submission to win the inaugural NJPW World Television Championship. The British-born wrestler overcame Alex Zayne, David Finlay, and EVIL in the first-ever NJPW World Television Championship Tournament to compete for the new title inside the Tokyo Dome. After capturing the gold in the finals match, Sabre Jr. joined The Mighty Don't Kneel (TMDK) after being offered the faction's signature tee shirt by Shane Haste and Mikey Nicholls. 

Sabre Jr. joins the stable after Bronson Reed (formerly JONAH in NJPW) left TMDK and returned to WWE in December 2022. Notably, Reed claimed a surprise victory over the new IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada in the G1 Climax 32 last year. The former "NXT" North American Champion has now commented on the "Submission Master" linking up with TMDK on Twitter: "ZSJ ... TMDK. THIS HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE PLAN." 

Sabre Jr. and Reed have previously crossed paths in Japan. In their first one-on-one encounter in the country, the former IWGP World Tag Team Champion was defeated by Reed – performing under the name of Jonah Rock – at Pro Wrestling NOAH's New Year Navigation event in 2015. The following month, Sabre Jr. and Nicholls (before linking back up with The Mighty Don't Kneel) defeated TMDK's Reed and Haste in a tag team match at NOAH's Cho Kibou-Gun Performance. The pair last stepped into the ring together in 2018 at World Series Wrestling's International Assault Best Of The Best 2K18 event in Australia, which saw Reed defeat Sabre Jr. again in a one-on-one bout.