Zack Sabre Jr. wanted a match with Bryan Danielson at Forbidden Door to prove who was the best technical wrestler in the world. What he got instead, thanks to Danielson missing the event due to injury, was the AEW debut of Claudio Castagnoli, known to wrestling fans everywhere as Cesaro during his time with WWE.
Castagnoli came out on top in the all-European matchup, pinning Sabre after 18-plus minutes of action. The change in opponents didn’t sit well with Sabre, who stayed on-brand by complaining about it in a video posted to social media by AEW.
“That was not technical wrestling,” Sabre said. “I did not sign up for that. I was coming for you, Bryan, because we were going to find out who the best technical wrestler in the world is. You didn’t bloody show up, did you? And surprises, I bloody hate surprises.
“And sodding Claudio, did he not get the memo? That was supposed to be a technical wrestling match. Where was the technique? You Swiss bastard.”
.@zacksabrejr shared his thoughts after his battle with newest #BlackpoolCombatClub member @ClaudioCSRO at #AEWxNJPW #ForbiddenDoor, and safe to say, he was not pleased. See the fallout from #ForbiddenDoor at #AEWDynamite #BloodAndGuts TONIGHT LIVE at 8pm ET/7pm CT/8pm PT on TBS! pic.twitter.com/PQpTdt21V4
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) June 29, 2022
Sabre ended his rant by saying that if any American wrestlers wanted to take him up on his original challenge, they can head to either Japan or the U.K. to face him, because he has no intentions of returning to the U.S.
That idea has at least a chance of becoming a reality. Earlier this week, NJPW president Takami Ohbari planted the seeds for a Forbidden Door 2 in Japan, saying he’d like to see it and that the company’s “50th anniversary year is a good opportunity to make it happen” … which just so happens to be this year.
Danielson vs. ZSJ in the Tokyo Dome for technical supremacy bragging rights? We’re on board for that and would guess Sabre would be too, as long as there are no surprises this time.