WWE News: Reason Why Zack Sabre, Jr. Is Not A Part Of The ‘WWE United Kingdom Championship’ Tournament
The WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament is promising a weekend of action-packed professional wrestling, showing the fans a different style that some may not be used to. Already, day one showed that this division is worth investing in, and has all the tools to succeed in even greater heights than the Cruiserweight Division. Not only does this give promotions in the U.K. a possibility to be a recruiting ground for more members on the WWE roster, but it also gives competitors something to strive for while wrestling for independent promotions.
One of the most popular wrestlers in the United Kingdom is Zack Sabre, Jr. In both 2014 and 2015, Sabre, Jr. was voted Technical Wrestler of the Year by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. In his career spanning over a dozen years, he has also been involved in feuds with a number of notable names, such as Finn Balor (as Prince Devitt), Sami Zayn (as El Generico), and Daniel Brian (as Bryan Danielson).
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All of this popularity outside of WWE earned him an opportunity to compete in the WWE Cruiserweight Classic tournament to crown the Cruiserweight Champion. While he was able to defeat Tyson Dux, Drew Gulak, and Noam Dar to get to the semi-finals, he fell short against Gran Metalik, who ended up the runner-up. This shocked many, as he was the frontrunner to win the entire tournament and the championship.
Many reports stated that Sabre, Jr., as well as Kota Ibushi, were in the tournament for the purposes of the fans getting to know them better, as both were slated for big careers in the WWE. However, the money offered was not enough for Sabre, Jr. to quit his commitments elsewhere, or Ibushi to move from Japan to Florida, and revolve his life around getting acclimated to American culture. As a result, both competitors did not make the finals of the tournament.
Sabre, Jr. also seemed to be a perfect fit for the WWE U.K. Championship tournament, since he is so popular in the U.K. Instead, he was not a member of the tournament, which left many puzzled.
When asked why Sabre, Jr. was not a part of the tournament, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer shared the reason, having to do with pay.
“Didn’t want to sign. These guys are all under very low contracts.”
Based on reports, the amount of money that talent are being signed on for is around $20,000. This is a very low amount for a yearly salary, but many competitors make more money competing for independent promotions. However, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, via Reddit, reports that the competitors are restricted to where they are allowed to compete at. This leaves the options reduced, which could also affect the income streams.
This seems to be the primary reason as to why Zabre, Jr. was not interested in competing in the tournament. Since he is an established name in both the United Kingdom and the United States, he is not looking for recognition. With the exception of perhaps Mark Andrews, who performed in the TNA X Division as “Mandrews,” other names in the tournament have not received significant American television exposure, if any.
In the end, it was certainly a good move for ZSJ not to restrict himself by competing for the WWE U.K. Championship. While it would be a great feat for him to achieve, the low contract offer is not substantial enough to compensate for the amount of money he is receiving outside of working under the WWE umbrella.
Perhaps we will see Sabre, Jr. competing for WWE. However, it does not look like that will happen anytime soon.
[Featured Image By WWE]
