ZSJ grabs V7 with TV gold
Ever the fighting NJPW World TV Champion, Zack Sabre Jr. is in line for a rematch with Jeff Cobb at Dominion on June 4 after Wrestling Dontaku saw them go the 15 minute distance, but before that, he headed to the US to defend his gold in a Ring of Honor ring opposite AR Fox.
Fox stayed with ZSJ in the opening seconds on the mat until a hard headlock and cravate from Sabre forced him to reply with a leg lariat. As the challenger got going, a Slingblade sent ZSJ to the floor where a massive plancha scored and was followed with a springboard dropkick back inside.
A snap of the arm created an opening for the champion, and ZSJ came into his element, manipulating the joints of his foe, and peppering in European uppercuts. As Fox tried to mount a comeback, Sabre looked for an armbar that forced the challenger to the ropes, but his good right arm scored with a lariat. Now on the move, boots and a corkscrew suplex center ring would get two as the match approached the midway mark of the time limit.
Sabre went back to the left arm, and got two off a penalty kick for good measure, but Fox caught the Briton with an ugly slingshot DDT for a nearfall. A faceplant off the top followed for another two as ZSJ was pushed hard, and though the TMDK member bailed to the floor to avoid a 450 attempt, a tope con giro scored. A second attempt at the 450 missed though, and Sabre immediately punished Fox for getting quick, attacking the knee and cradling Fox in an agonising knee bar for the tapout win.
Post match, Sabre would declare himself the most active Television Champion in all of wrestling, drawing the ire of ROH TV Champion Samoa Joe. Before both could float the idea of a champion versus champion match though, they were interrupted by Matt Sydal and Christopher Daniels. ZSJ noted that the two were former ROH Tag team Champions and proposed a tag match- the TV Champion team of Sabre and Joe facing the former tag champion team of Daniels and Sydal. Sabre suggested that if one or the other got the pin on either champion, they would earn a future title shot, and that afterward the TV Champions could settle their own differences in the ring- what might happen in future weeks on ROH?
