Kento Miyahara Vows To Defeat His “Unknown” First Round AJPW Royal Road Tournament Opponent in One Minute

By: Lewis Carlan 

The All Japan Pro-Wrestling Royal Road Tournament 2026 is set to kick off on Sept. 9th at the Shinagawa Prince Hotel Stella Ball with a number of first round matches.

A press conference was held today with all the participants of the tournament in attendance.

Photo Credit: All Japan Pro-Wrestling

The AJPW Triple Crown Champion and last year’s Royal Road Tournament winner Kento Miyahara is set to face Pro Wrestling Up Town’s Hyo Ogawa in a first round bout.

A seemingly over confident Kento Miyahara took to social media and had less than kind words for Ogawa. Miyahara appeared to be confused as to why AJPW would have him face a relative “unknown” in the first round and promised to defeat Ogawa in one minute.

From Kento Miyahara:

“On to a second consecutive title in the Main Tournament.But my first-round opponent is. Who on earth is that? I can’t believe the company would pit some total unknown against superstar Kento Miyahara in the first round. Oh well. At the September 9 event in Shinagawa, Tokyo, I’ll wrap up the match in one minute. That’s right—one minute.”

Ogawa attempted to make a statement at the expense of Miyahara as the press conference was concluding. Ogawa attacked Miyahara and hit him with a swinging Hammer Throw which may or may not have had the effect he was hoping for.

Ogawa competes primarily for Pro Wrestling Up Town and has made a number of appearances for AJPW in the past.

Despite the Hammer Throw attack by Ogawa, Miyahara remains the heavy favourite to win their first round Royal Road Tournament bout on Sept. 9th.