ZSJ and Ospreay, Takagi & Ishii to continue long standing rivalries
The first matches are official for Royal Quest III on October 14 in the Copper Box in London. Four big time singles bouts include one first time ever singles meeting, and a huge double title main event.
ROYAL QUEST III Copper Box London, October 14 TICKETS
Watch LIVE on RevPro On Demand (NJPW World to follow soon after)
Back at RevPro’s XI Anniversary event, Will Ospreay was confronted by Zack Sabre Jr., the NJPW World TV Champion telling his long time rival ‘if you hang on to that IWGP UK title, you’ve got yourself your next challenger’. It wasn’t entirely clear whether Sabre wanted Ospreay, the IWGP UK Championship or both, but both is what ZSJ has in the main event on October 14.
We got clarification at Destruction in Kobe. After Ospreay defended his red and gold against Yota Tsuji in the main event on September 24, Sabre was once again out to meet the Aerial Assassin. Sabre and Ospreay’s rivalry has defined British wrestling on the world stage for much of the last decade, making the challenge and its acceptance in Kobe all in Japanese before the live crowd rather fitting.
Backstage, Ospreay would vocalise just how far the two have flown the flag for their country and its place in the wrestling space. This is set to be yet another classic chapter in a rivalry that has defined not only both men’s careers, but the environment of British wrestling around them. Two of the best of British lock horns in the Copper Box October 14.
Shingo Takagi and Tomohiro Ishii collide in a special singles match at Royal Quest III. Neither Takagi nor Ishii had the G1 Climax campaigns they were hoping for, and both want to reset and forge their own path toward Wrestle Kingdom 18. For Shingo Takagi, the bouncing back campaign started in Kobe against Great-O-Khan on September 24; for Ishii, his road to G1 redemption runs through a man who beat him during the summer in the Dragon.
Every single in ring meeting for Ishii and Takagi since their first smash mouth battle in Yokohama in 2019 has torn houses down across Japan, but this is their first meeting on international soil. The London crowd is in for a huge treat as the Copper Box is sure to be shakes to its foundations.
Double NJPW STRONG and ROH World Champion Eddie Kingston has his work cut out for him with double gold around his waist. On October 1, he will have to defend both titles against ROH Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata. Should that tough task be accomplished, Las Vegas on October 28 will be another difficult job indeed. HENARE and Kingston have both spoken of a singles confrontation at Fighting Spirit Unleashed, with the only question being about the stakes at hand; whatever those stakes may be, Royal Quest III will see a star studded six man preview. Kingston will be backed up by RevPro’s Undisputed British Champion Michael Oku, and a former British Champion in the Ace, Hiroshi Tanahashi. Quite a lineup indeed, but will they have the team cohesion to counteract United Empire’s HENARE, Jeff Cobb and TJP?
Yota Tsuji faces Luke Jacobs in singles action. After a hard fought loss to IWGP UK Champion Will Ospreay in Kobe, Yota Tsuji seeks to start his journey back to contention at Royal Quest against some difficult competition. Luke Jacobs snatched a lot of headlines in the summer after an explosive war with Tomohiro Ishii in the Copper Box for RevPro, and holds a victory over Tsuji as the LIJ member was in the midst of his excursion. This is far from a tune up for Tsuji who needs to make his present felt, and feared in London.
A first time ever singles matchup sees El Desperado face Trent Seven. WWE NXT alum Seven has stirred controversy and baited heated crowds since his return to the British freelance stage, and there is no doubt that in the face of one of the most beloved members of Strong Style, the crowd will be on the side of El Desperado. Yet as a big opportunity to make Japan sit up and take notice presents itself, a win over Despe could do huge things for Seven who is sure to look for victory at any cost.
