AEW Star Defeats Zack Sabre Jr., Wins IWGP World Heavyweight Title At NJPW KOPW

Other than a four month reign by Hirooki Goto earlier this year, Zack Sabre Jr. has largely owned the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship scene in New Japan Pro Wrestling after first winning the title nearly a year ago. Since then, Sabre has held the title twice in dominant fashion, headlining Wrestle Kingdom and Wrestle Dynasty and defeating the likes of Shota Umino, Shingo Takagi, Ricochet, and Nigel McGuinness along the way.

Unfortunately for Sabre, this morning his second run came to an end at the hands of a top AEW star. In front of 5,000+ fans at New Japan's King of Pro Wrestling event in Tokyo, G1 Climax winner Konosuke Takeshita defeated Sabre in 31 minutes to claim the title. The hard fought back and forth match saw Takeshita connect with several hard strikes while Sabre worked over Takeshita's arm; in the end, Takeshita powered through and hit two knee strikes, including one with his knee pad down, to put Sabre away.

Takeshita didn't have long to celebrate, however, as he was immediately confronted by Goto, who challenged for the title. Takeshita mocked Goto and the fans, and notably criticized the younger stars in New Japan's locker room for not stepping up to challenge him. Even still, he accepted Goto's challenge, though it remains unclear whether the match will take place soon or at Wrestle Kingdom in January.

The victory makes Takeshita, who holds contracts with AEW, New Japan, and DDT, the second AEW star to hold the IWGP World Title in the last year, following Jon Moxley's three month championship reign in 2024. He will look to add more gold this weekend at AEW WrestleDream, when he and Don Callis Family stablemate, and budding frenemy, Kazuchika Okada challenge Brodido for the AEW World Tag Team Championships.