Yano thinks fast to win no corner pad match with Zack Sabre Jr. 

Toru Yano has retained his provisional KOPW2020 status and trophy after a No Corner Pad Match with Zack Sabre Jr. kicked off proceedings at Power Struggle. 

After some initial frustration on Yano’s part over the speed of the corner pad removal, the match finally went ahead with Yano repeatedly attempting to send his challenger into the exposed buckle to little avail. Sabre would have greater success, sending Yano repeatedly into the corner and removing Yano’s Tshirt to increase the damage. Yano would try to rally with a belly to belly suplex and attempted to put the pads back on, but the match would eventually be decided not within the confines of the dangerous ring, but on the outside. 

Sabre would lock in a painful cross heel hook on Yano that had the KOPW holder in deep trouble until he made the ropes. The master producer would bail to the outside in a bid to escape, only for Sabre to lock the hold in again around the steel guardrail for extra leverage. Thinking fast in extreme pain, Yano picked at Sabre’s bootlaces and tied them together around the guardrail, preventing the Briton from re-entering the ring. A triumphant Yano was full of beans backstage after his victory; will there be any more defenses for Yano before 2020 is out?