Royal Quest III

Promotional poster for the event

**Royal Quest III** was a professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). The show took place on October 14, 2023 at Copper Box Arena in London, England, United Kingdom. These were the third NJPW shows that the promotion had produced independently in the United Kingdom and it was the third event under the Royal Quest name.

## Production

### Background

On August 14, 2023, NJPW officially announced the return of Royal Quest for October 14, 2023, taking place at the Copper Box Arena, following the success of the previous shows. The show marked the second time NJPW presented shows in the United Kingdom independently, as opposed to partnering up with a British promotion, with the first time, being the first Royal Quest on August 31, 2019. Over the comings weeks, various wrestlers would be announced to take part in the show, including IWGP World Heavyweight Champion SANADA, 2023 G1 Climax winner Tetsuya Naito, IWGP United Kingdom Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay, NJPW World Television Champion Zack Sabre Jr. and Hiroshi Tanahashi.

NJPW had previously partnered with Revolution Pro Wrestling (RPW) since 2015, co-producing shows annually in the United Kingdom as part of the he "New IWGP Conception", a global expansion strategy centered on their international partnerships. NJPW had previously partnered with Revolution Pro Wrestling for the 2015 Uprising event, while also co-producing the Global Wars UK and Strong Style Evolved UK in 2018. On September 19, NJPW announced that they would partner with RPW to broadcast the event live RPW's internet streaming service on RevPro On Demand!.

### Storylines

Royal Quest III featured professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portray villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches.

Royal Quest III was headlined by Will Ospreay making his second defense of the IWGP United Kingdom Heavyweight Championship against fellow compatriot Zack Sabre Jr. On September 1, at Revolution Pro Wrestling's 11th Anniversary show, after Ospreay defeated Shingo Takagi in an instant classic, Sabre came out expressing his interest in returning to RevPro, before remarking Ospreay that "he believed that he had a belt saying IWGP United Kingdom Champion" before promising if he could keep his belt, he would have his next challenger and leaving afterwards. On September 24 at Destruction in Kobe, after Ospreay successfully defended the IWGP United Kingdom Heavyweight Championship against Yota Tsuji, fellow compatriot and reigning NJPW World Television Champion Sabre, challenged Ospreay to a title match at Royal Quest III. At the beginning much to the crowd's awareness, both men exchanged comments in Japanese; however, as Ospreay could not accompain Sabre's Japanese speaking level, both men switch to English, as Sabre clarified his challenge. After an hesitant handshake, Ospreay playfully knocked the NJPW World Television Championship belt from Sabre’s waist, only to tease a Hidden Blade as Sabre went to retrieve it. This also led to a fast reacting Sabre going for a *Zack Driver* before Ospreay countering to his feet.

The two had been rivals since 2020, with Sabre having three victories over Ospreay's two, including a controversial submission victory for Sabre over Ospreay in the 2022 New Japan Cup. Their rivalry drew comparisions to British wrestlers Billy Robinson and Karl Gotch, who worked in Japan in the 1960s and ‘70s.