Zack Sabre Jr. explains why he’s thankful that a large-scale American wrestling company like AEW exists right now.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling‘s Zack Sabre Jr. recently participated in the AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door Media Scrum. When asked what it means to him to be the face of British technical wrestling, Sabre spoke about how AEW has changed the world of professional wrestling for the better.
“I debuted at a very interesting time for British wrestling,” Zack Sabre Jr. said. “I started training in 2002, which is like the post-World of Sport. The period of British wrestling that people call World of Sport. Obviously, we had such a unique style and identity. Obviously, we lost television and everything. American wrestling had such a huge impact.
“But I was fortunate that I was really trained by one of the last schools, like Hamlet Wrestling. That’s where Finn Balor and Becky Lynch, and a plethora of other people come from. But we were very fortunate that not even the foundation of that training but the training was solely British wrestling. I don’t wrestle that way because that’s what I was taught. I wrestle that way because that was what inspired me the most.
The evolution of British wrestling
“My goal has been to not just sort of keep that in a sort of like retro fashion. Like, if British wrestling had stayed on television, it would have evolved in the same way. It wouldn’t have been like a static style. So I’m continuously trying to keep the essence of British wrestling whilst not being stuck in the rigid sort of format of like what it was before.
“So to be able to wrestle in America, I mean, AEW, has changed the entire industry because to be able to have a large-scale American company that completely respects pro wrestling did not exist before. And it’s only had a paramount influence on every other company here; I think we’re at the time now where people just respect and admire quality wrestling.”
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What do you make of Zack Sabre Jr.’s comments? How do you think AEW has changed the landscape of professional wrestling? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
If you use any of these quotes, please credit the AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door Media Scrum with a link to this article for the transcription.
