IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr. had previously made peace with the idea of never going one-on-one against Nigel McGuinness, who had spent more than a decade out of the ring by last year.
But after the two met as part of the Casino Gauntlet at AEW All In London 2024, his perspective changed.
Sabre Jr. said last week that he hopes to face McGuinness sometime in the future, becoming one of the next opponents for him since he ended an absence from performing last year.
Sabre Jr. recently recounted the experience of appearing at All In, telling Pro Wrestling Illustrated about the event. He spoke about what it meant to perform at Wembley Stadium for the first time, and to walk out to a theme made by Mass Lines, a band whose front man he had grown up with.
“To be able to have a close friend’s song play me out in Wembley Stadium against a British wrestler like Nigel, that I’d come to terms with never getting to wrestle before, and then to actually have it so well received, seems like I’ve just made it up,” Sabre Jr. described to PWI. “The fact that that’s actually a real thing that happened was just a highlight of an insane year.
Sabre Jr. continued, mentioning his intention to face McGuinness sometime in the future.
“He still owes me a singles match as well,” Sabre Jr. said. “Big Nige looks very, very genki – healthy in Japanese – he’s in the shape of his career. Although I do wish he had his old hair … I’ve been able to wrestle some really incredible wrestlers, and I’ve come to terms with never getting to wrestle Nigel in a one-on-one match, but I think that has to happen at some point.”
