New Japan is looking to make a big splash overseas.
New Japan Pro Wrestling's global expansion picks back up starting this summer when the G1 Climax 29 tournament kicks off from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. Following that show, New Japan is hosting an event entitled 'Royal Quest' at the Copper Box Arena in London, England and there are some portions of the venue that have sold out thus far.
New Japan Pro Wrestling General Manager Michael Craven shared his thoughts about the forthcoming Royal Quest show while speaking with Mirror Sport. He said that the company is expecting the show to be a must-see event and added that he feels it could be the wrestling event of the summer.
"Firstly, none of this would be possible without our British fans - they are the best in the world. When I joined New Japan Pro Wrestling, one of my goals was to bring New Japan to our fans in the United Kingdom. NJPW Royal Quest would not be possible without them and I want to thank everyone for smashing our records. Our summer tournament, the G1 Climax, is the biggest wrestling tournament in the world. Since our event in the Olympic Park is just after it, the stakes will be higher than ever." He explained. "Also, the best wrestlers from not only Japan but also worldwide are going to be on the card - we expect it to be the must-see event of the year. It?s the first time we?re doing such a big event in the U.K. and we are asking the fans about who they want to meet through our Twitter account. Our motto is 'King of Sports' and our fans like the fact that we take pro-wrestling as seriously as any other sport. We're listening to the fans and want to remind them to purchase their tickets to NJPW Royal Quest as soon as they can. It's going to be the event of the summer."
NJPW has announced Will Ospreay, Zack Sabre Jr., Tetsuya Naito and Kazuchika Okada for Royal Quest and to keep up with the announcements for the August 31st show, head over to NJPW1972.com.