Zack Sabre Jr. says he would have loved to defend his title against Bryan Danielson.
Bryan Danielson defeated Zack Sabre Jr. at AEW WrestleDream 2023. Sabre Jr. then defeated Danielson at NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka. Danielson wrapped up his full-time in-ring career at AEW WrestleDream, as he had been dealing with neck issues for months. Meanwhile, Sabre Jr. won the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at NJPW King Of Pro-Wrestling.
In an interview with Philip Lindsey for Bleacher Report, Zack Sabre Jr. reflected on facing Bryan Danielson and predicted that the former world champion will return to the ring if he is able to do so.
"I feel very fortunate to have been able to wrestle Bryan twice in, for now, his retirement period, but I expect that he will be back. If he's physically capable of wrestling, I'm certain he'll be back. But I'll certainly be waiting for the decider. But to be able to wrestle Bryan in both America and Japan in close proximity was very important to me. I would never have presumed to be able to have that match on an American pay-per-view either. So, I think it's a testament to professional wrestling fans as well as to how open-minded they are for it to have been received the way that it was," Sabre Jr. said.
Sabre Jr. also made it clear that he has unfinished business with Danielson. He also said that he would have loved to defend the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against Danielson, and he noted that everyone would have to wait and see whether that becomes a possibility.
"I've not tapped him out yet. He graciously said that I was the best technical wrestler in the world, but I don't know if I can take that mantle until I've beaten the best submission artist. So, yeah, get your ass back, Bryan. I've been aiming to be the best technical wrestler in the world my whole career. I wasn't hoping that it would come with attempted murder. So, yeah, it would have been somewhat more enjoyable if he was still alive. But I think he's OK. Likewise, I would have loved to defend the title against Bryan. I mean, I plan on being the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion for the foreseeable future. So, we'll obviously have to see. But I guess there's some melancholic symbolism of people attempting to murder Bryan while I win my first championship," Sabre Jr said.
Sabre Jr. previously said that he was not done with Danielson. Check out his comments here.
Bryan Danielson has not wrestled since AEW WrestleDream. Click here to see what he had to say about potentially returning to the ring.
Sabre Jr. is set to defend the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against Shota Umino at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 19. He is also set to face Ricochet at NJPW x AEW Wrestle Dynasty.
