Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi on Wednesday to win the 2018 New Japan Cup tournament and earn an IWGP title shot of his choosing at the Sakuru Genesis iPPV at Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan on April 1st. Sabre Jr. picked the IWGP Title and will challenge IWGP Champion Kazuchika Okada for the title in the main event of Sakuru Genesis.
Sabre Jr. defeated Tanahashi, SANADA, Kota Ibushi and Tetsuya Naito during the tournament, all via submission, on his way to winning the Cup and will go up against Okada, who is going for his 11th successful title defense during his record-setting reign as IWGP Champion. If Okada retains the title at Sakuru Genesis, he will tie Hiroshi Tanahashi’s record of 11 consecutive title defenses as IWGP Champion.
The full cards for Sakuru Genesis, as well as this Sunday’s Strong Style Evolved live special on AXS TV from Long Beach, will be released later on Wednesday.
NEW JAPAN CUP 2018!!(3/21)を公開！#NJCUP 優勝決定戦！@tanahashi1_100 VS @zacksabrejr ！
復活のACEか、強敵を潰してきた若き匠か⁉︎
激戦を勝ち抜いてきた者同士の最終戦！
今宵、2018年春男の称号を手にするのは⁉︎
視聴＆登録▷https://t.co/M34By85R4M#NJCUP pic.twitter.com/nRi4ktfZgb— njpwworld (@njpwworld) March 21, 2018