KEITA YANO vs. ZACK SABRE JR. (TENRYU PROJECT, 11/04/2025)

When Tenryu Project announced this surreal matchup, fans of grappling and pure indie sleaze were left in awe: Keita Yano, the underground grappling wizard himself, will face none other than two time IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr. and it's happening on New Japan World. For fans of Puroresu, this is a dream come true. For Yano, it's a long overdue moment in the spotlight after all those years grinding in the shadows of our beloved indie sleaze.

WATCH IT ON NJPW WORLD

This match was fifteen minutes of pure grappling joy, a technical feast for all the freaks who live for holds, counters, and subtle chaos. It started respectfully, with a handshake that Zack Sabre Jr. gladly accepted. What followed was a pleasant surprise: the usually smug Brit put aside his cocky attitude and focused entirely on precision, control and technical mastery. Yano, on the other hand brought his own flavor of mischief and shithousery into the bout.

I love watching Yano unleash his tremendously creative holds and counters and it doesn't matter if he's performing in front of sixteen fans at his own Wallabee shows or here, in front of nearly a thousand fans at the legendary orange seat arena, broadcast on Japan's biggest wrestling streaming service. Sabre Jr. was by no means outmatched; he met Yano hold for hold, counter for counter. When Yano started to tighten up and turn the tempo higher, the Lionmark representative followed suit, matching that intensity with the same precision and attitude.

The finishing stretch was awesome. After all the grappling, the two finally started throwing hands. Zack rocked Yano with some European Uppercuts right to the jaw, but Yano fired back with his own, matching him strike for strike after being on spaghetti legs for some time. He nearly caught Zack twice with flash pin attempts afterwards. As one famous old-school German wrestler once said, “You’ll get rolled up like a sausage” and that couldn't have been more fitting here, even if this idiom does not make the most sense. Both men tumbled across the mat in a giddy exchange of roll-ups and counters, each trying to outsmart the other. Then, out of nowhere, Zack trapped Yano in a Japanese Leg Roll Clutch and scored the three count.

This was absolutely awesome and a pure joy watching Keita Yano share the ring with one of the most famous technical wrestlers of our generation. It felt special seeing Yano bring his unique style of wrestling weirdness to such a big stage. Now I've got the bug for it: Run it back! Or, at least, give Yano another high profile opponent under the bright lights. (No gifs this time you all know the NJPW drill.)