When Zack Sabre Jr made came to the US last August and delivered some of the best matches of the entire calender year in PWG & Evolve, he really opened the eyes of many American fans to the British wrestling scene. Since then, I've been itching to check out some of the top promotions over there and with Revolution Pro UK launching their TV series on YouTube, I've now gotten that opportunity. There are multiple episodes up now and I almost started at the beginning, but I just couldn't bring myself to wait to see this match between two of my favorite performers at the moment. It's NJPW vs NOAH as then IWGP Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura battles then GHC Jr Heavyweight Tag Team Champion Zack Sabre Jr in a match from Summer Sizzler 2014!
Speaking of Summer Sizzler, to start the show, this year's event was discussed and man, the card is STACKED! AJ Styles will be in the house as well as Tomohiro Ishii. On top of that, Ricochet will be facing off in the main event with none other than Shinsuke Nakamura! Needless to say, it gave me yet another thing to be excited about this summer when it comes to pro-wres.
After we take a look back at past episodes, all of which can be found on YouTube, that featured the likes of Ricochet & Rich Swann, Will Ospreay, & Rocky Romero, it was time to head on to the main event. The reason everyone is watching - Nakamura vs Sabre Jr!
1) Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Zack Sabre Jr
The entrances alone for this match got over 20k views on YouTube which is what led Rev Pro to release this entire match for free. When I heard that fact, I was even more excited due to the charisma both men have as was displayed in their respective walks to the ring. Once both men were in the ring, a big fight feel set in as the crowd chanted "Holy shit!" Indeed, that's exactly how I feel as well! The opening sequence sees the King of Strong Style attempt to psyche out Sabre to no avail. Both men go for strikes, but neither were able to land any which leads to a stand off AND a standing ovation. Nakamura gets the first real advantage by outsmarting Sabre and jumping him from behind when he leaned out to say something to a fan in the audience. Sabre falls out of the ring and Nakamura's assault begins as he throws him into the crowd through some chairs. He then sets Sabre up on the railing and delivers a vicious running knee lift that floors the master of the arm bar. Back in the ring, Nakamura continues working over Sabre only to get caught off guard admist one of his signature mannerisms as Zack lands a huge kick on him. Things really picked up from this point on with so many slick, smooth counters. It was clear that both competitors had each other well scouted. Nakamura goes for the Boma Knee, SABRE RESPONDS WITH AN UPPERCUT OUT OF NOWHERE! Sabre hits a northern lights suplex and goes directly for the cross armbreaker, but NO! NAKAMURA BREAKS OUT AND LOCKS IN A CROSS ARM BREAKER OF HIS OWN! Jeez! Sabre gets out fairly quickly and sets Nakamura up for his signature soccer ball kick in the center of the ring. That gets him a two count and he cinches the cross arm breaker in fully immediately after. Nakamura can't get to the ropes and resorts to putting Sabre in a pinning predicament for a near fall. Sabre has him back in the hold in the center of the ring, Nakamura can't escape - or can he?! Nakamura is up and BOMA KNEE TO SABRE! Nakamura covers him, 1..SABRE IS OUT AT 1!!! Nakamura charges Sabre in the corner only to meet turnbuckle. Sabre immediately goes back to the arm with a vicious kick that shoots pain through the body of the reigning IWGP Intercontinental Champion. Sabre is wrenching on the arm now and Nakamura muscles him up! NECK BREAKER ON THE KNEE! He ascends to the second rope - BOMA KNEE OFF THE ROPE! BOMA KNEE AGAIN IN THE CORNER! 1...2...3! Nakamura wins after a pretty heated struggle. This match is definitely worth checking out!
Match rating - ****
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