Zack Sabre Jr. wins the 2022 New Japan Cup, set to challenge top champion

Zack Sabre Jr. has won the second New Japan Cup of his career. The Suzuki-gun member defeated Tetsuya Naito in the finals of the 2022 tournament, hitting the Zack Driver to earn the victory.

The first time ZSJ won the New Japan Cup was in 2018. He beat Hiroshi Tanahashi in the finals. In doing so, he became the second gaijin to win the tournament after Giant Bernard in 2006.

With the win, Sabre Jr. now has an opportunity to dethrone Kazuchika Okada and win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. The match is yet to be officially confirmed by New Japan Pro-Wrestling.

On his way to winning the New Japan Cup 2022, Sabre Jr. started the tournament with a victory over Ryohei Oiwa. The three-time IWGP Tag Team Champion defeated fellow Suzuki-gun stablemate DOUKI in the next round and followed up with wins over Great O-Khan and former world champion Will Ospreay.

In the semi-final of the New Japan Cup 2022 tournament, ZSJ defeated former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Shingo Takagi in an instant classic before beating Naito.

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Zack Sabre Jr's tenure in NJPW has seen him establish his place as one of the most successful gaijins of all time

Zack Sabre Jr. is yet to win a singles title in New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Over the years, he's established his place as one of the most successful gaijins ever.

Since joining Suzuki-gun, ZSJ has been a crucial member of the faction and has formed a tag team with fellow stablemate, Taichi. The duo, known as Dangerous Tekkers, has won the IWGP Tag Team titles thrice.

In November 2021, at NJPW Power Struggle 2021, Zack Sabre Jr. faced Shingo Takagi for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship in a losing effort. Also, earlier this year, ZSJ & Taichi lost their IWGP Tag Team titles to Chaos (Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi) at Wrestle Kingdom 16.