Photo Credit: DDT Pro Wrestling
By Noah Leatherland
DDT brought the opening round to this year’s King of DDT Tournament to Korakuen Hall. The entire first round played out in front of a huge Korakuen crowd.
The tournament kicked off with the DDT Extreme Champion, Hideki Okatani, taking on Yuya Koroku. Okatani gained a quick advantage by taking the fight to the outside, using the chairs at ringside to throw Koroku off his game. Koroku had an uphill battle, but showed tremendous fight. His elbow strikes in particular rocked Okatani again and again, proving themselves to be a valuable weapon. However, a Kushizashi-style Claymore from Okatani in the corner snuffed out Koroku’s tournament, with the DDT Extreme Champion advancing to the second round.
Next up, To-y did battle with Takeshi Masada. To-y started the match with great urgency, with some huge dives to the outside sending him crashing down on Masada. However, not long after, a blinded To-y ended up diving onto nobody, crashed and burned in the middle of the ring. The high octance action came to an end with Masada showing great strength to hoist To-y up for the Chikara KOBU Mukimuki. The paleyouth leader scored the pin and steps into the second round.
The third match saw Junta Miyawaki taking on Chris Brookes. Miyawaki didn’t wait for the bell, attacking Brookes early. Things quickly descended into chaos around ringside. The smack of a chair across Miyawaki’s back rung out through Korakuen Hall. Once things got back into the ring, the intensity did not die down at all. The two men went back and forth, giving each other their best shots before Brookes eventually came out on top. Brookes’s Praying Mantis Bomb was the final nail in the coffin of Miyawaki’s tournament run.
The next contest say Daichi Satoh squaring off against HARASHIMA. The match took a measured start, with both competitors taking things to the mat, trying to gain an advantage. The action soon ramped up once Satoh broke out his repetoire of kicks. HARASHIMA was not to be outdone, firing back with his own. A Somato from HARASHIMA proved to be the final blow, sending Satoh out of the tournament and HARASHIMA into the next round.
Shinya Aoki did battle with KANON in the next first round match. KANON had a massive size advantage, and used it to great effect throughout. However, Aoki is no stranger to being the smaller man in a match. Aoki had the upper hand on the ground, and after a series of pin attempts, Aoki locked in a European Clutch to secure the win.
Next up, Yukio Naya faced off against Minoru Suzuki. This was a war of attrition, with Naya stepping up to take on Suzuki at his own game. The wild brawl spilled to the outside, and later took the form of a stand-off in the middle of the ring as the two traded smacking forearms and elbows. Despite all the fight that Naya showed, he ended up finding himself hooked for the Gotch Style Piledriver, dropped on his head, and pinned by Suzuki.
Kazuki Hirata stepped in to replace Kaisei Takechi in the King of DDT tournament. Hirata met Danshoku Dieno in the first round. The match brought a madness that only these two can bring. Hirata’s signature dance break ended up in the two exchanging blows as the music rang out across Korakuen Hall. Dieno ended up in just his thong, finally being the one to end the chaos with a Gotch-Style Danshoku Driver, advancing into the second round.
The main event of the evening pit MAO against the DDT Universal Champion, Kazuma Sumi. This match had Korakuen Hall bumping, with both men giving it their absolute all for a place in the second round. They went to war for over 20 minutes, pushing each other further and further. Ultimately, it was MAO that came out on top, making Sumi submit to the Rock Killer.
The second round of the King of DDT tournament takes place on May 9th. The matchups are as follows:
Date:
May 5, 2026
Category:
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