Sabre Jr. Replaces Ishii, Reuniting Dangerous Tekkers With Taichi
Summary: Zack Sabre Jr. said after Dradition on Nov. 6 that he will team with Taichi in World Tag League 2026 because Tomohiro Ishii cannot compete, per Fightful. The tournament starts Nov. 23 in Yokohama.
The quick version
- Sabre Jr. told reporters on Nov. 6 that he is filling in for Tomohiro Ishii, per Fightful.
- The team is Dangerous Tekkers, Sabre Jr. and Taichi, three-time IWGP Tag Team Champions.
- It fills the "partner not yet named" slot in B Block. World Tag League starts Nov. 23.
Zack Sabre Jr. will team with Taichi in World Tag League 2026, Fightful reports. Sabre Jr. spoke to reporters after Dradition Pro-Wrestling at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo on Friday, Nov. 6, and said Tomohiro Ishii is unable to compete, so he is stepping in. The two make up Dangerous Tekkers.
What was said
According to Fightful (Andrew Thompson), Sabre Jr. announced the reunion himself after the Dradition show. Fightful says Sabre Jr. and Taichi are three-time IWGP Tag Team Champions. It reports Ishii has not wrestled since February 2026, when it was announced he was out with a neck injury. Fightful did not report an update on the injury or a return date.
Why it matters
When NJPW revealed the 16 teams on Nov. 5, Taichi's partner was listed only as "X" in B Block. Our World Tag League story has the full field. B Block also holds Bishamon (Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI), who won three years running from 2021 to 2023, War Dragons (Shingo Takagi and Drilla Moloney), and Shota Umino and Satoshi Kojima.
Taichi lost to Gabe Kidd in the Global Heavyweight Championship match at Power Struggle on Nov. 3. See our results story. Sabre Jr. won this tournament last year, teaming with Ryohei Oiwa, per F4W Online as cited in our earlier story. Oiwa is in A Block this year with Hartley Jackson.
Sabre Jr. also wrestled on Nov. 6. He and Tatsumi Fujinami beat Aaron Wolf and Tatsuya Matsumoto in the Dradition main event, per Fightful's results.
What is not confirmed
We did not find an NJPW announcement of the change. The tournament starts Nov. 23 in Yokohama and runs to the Dec. 13 final in Kumamoto. NJPW has not said, in anything we read, whether it will update its official team list.
Source: Zack Sabre Jr.'s remarks to reporters on Nov. 6, as reported by Fightful. This rests on one outlet's account of what Sabre Jr. said. We did not hear the remarks ourselves.
Sources
- Fightful (Andrew Thompson), "Tomohiro Ishii Unable To Compete, Dangerous Tekkers Set For 2026 NJPW World Tag League", Nov. 6, 2026. https://www.fightful.com/wrestling/tomohiro-ishii-unable-to-compete-dangerous-tekkers-set-for-2026-njpw-world-tag-league/
- Fightful (Andrew Thompson), "Dradition Pro-Wrestling Results (11/6/26): Zack Sabre Jr. Teams With Tatsumi Fujinami", Nov. 6, 2026. https://www.fightful.com/wrestling/dradition-pro-wrestling-results-11-6-26-zack-sabre-jr-teams-with-tatsumi-fujinami/
- New Japan Pro-Wrestling, "World Tag League Teams Revealed!", Nov. 5, 2026. https://www.njpw1972.com/678773
- WrestlingNews.com staff reporting: read NJPW's team announcement and Fightful's reports. We did not speak to Sabre Jr. or NJPW.
How we credit sources: Editorial standards.