Zack Sabre Jr. Dethrones Tetsuya Naito, Becomes New IWGP World Heavyweight Champion

By Sam Palmer
Zack Sabre Jr. smiling Etsuo Hara/Getty Images

It's the dawn of a new era in NJPW, as Zack Sabre Jr. is the new IWGP World Heavyweight Champion after defeating Tetsuya Naito at King of Pro-Wrestling 2024.

Earlier this year, Sabre Jr. became the first British wrestler to win the G1 Climax tournament, and he decided to buck the trend of waiting until Wrestle Kingdom to get his IWGP World Heavyweight Title shot by requesting his match for NJPW's annual October event in Ryogoku Sumo Hall. The two men had wrestled a total of 12 times before the King of Pro-Wrestling main event, with Naito having the better record of seven wins to Sabre Jr.'s five. Considering the challenger beat Naito on his way to winning the G1 Climax earlier this year, no one in attendance knew which way the match was going to go.

After nearly 25 minutes of action that saw both men dig deep into their respective bags of tricks, it was Sabre Jr. who came out victorious after slamming Naito down for the three-count. The TMDK frontman is the first Englishman to win NJPW's top prize since Will Ospreay in 2021, and will now walk into the Tokyo Dome on January 4, 2025, as champion, with the challenger still to be decided. 

After the match, Sabre Jr. and Naito came face-to-face, with the fallen champion clearly angling for a rematch down the line. Sabre Jr. said that Naito has nothing to worry about, as he doesn't plan on leaving Japan for the rest of his career. The new champ will now have a few days off before enjoying a big homecoming when he travels to the United Kingdom this weekend for RevPro's Global Wars, and NJPW's Royal Quest IV events.

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