Last year, my dear friend Cole had a podcast on Violent People Lab, home of Late Night with the 2012 Royal Rumble and more, that set out to cover the 2025 King of DDT tournament. He only made it through the first two shows.

When I asked Cole if he would attempt to cover the competition again, he replied, “No.”

Now, I already have too many podcasts, but I still want to take up the challenge. So I’m going to write a review for each night. Will I fall short like my fallen compatriots before me? Only time will tell. I’ll be only covering the tournament matches, not the other doubts on the card, unless I want to. 

Match 1 Hideki Okatani vs. Yuya Koroku

This is how you want to start a tournament: with a fun, good but not great match. Koroku, the resident DDT slut, is someone I’m not fully sold on. His work can feel bland and unauthentic, clearly styling himself as DDT’s next top babyface for whenever Yuki Ueno’s time in the sun starts to fade. He often comes across like he’s playing the character of a top babyface rather than actually being one. Obviously, this is pro wrestling. Everyone is playing a character, but he feels cookie-cutter to me. He’s also one of the worst thigh-slappers in wrestling, we’re talking Gargano bad, and this match is no exception.

Then you have Okatani, who I think is having a very impressive 2026, really settling into his Damnation persona. This match is mostly built around Koroku working over Okatani’s arm. The actual offense to the arm is very enjoyable, both through Koroku’s creative moves and the constant return to arm locks during the match, which gives it a sense of a through-line. The best of these is Okatani escaping one of the holds by kicking Koroku in the head multiple times.

The arm work does have its drawbacks. First of all, it casts Okatani in a sympathetic light, which isn’t really what you want here. Okatani is smart enough to throw in a few heel moments to make it still work, like when he uses Koroku’s sluttiness against him by grabbing his choker. Okatani’s selling can also be a bit Seth Rollins-esque. He’ll grab the arm and look hurt, but it doesn’t really affect how he wrestles.

At times, the match devolves into reversal slop, but it’s at its best when both men are throwing their big, high-octane moves at each other. There are some great flying kicks into the corner. The highlight of all this is that they somehow manage to make the Bryan Danielson/Will Ospreay flying knee versus Hidden Blade spot not utter dog shit!

In the end, Okatani wins off one of these kicks in the corner.

Very, very close to being a three-boy. A 2.999, but I’m not a freak who uses non-quarter fractions for match ratings, so…

Rating: **¾

Match 2 To-y vs. Takeshi Masada

Very much a distillation of what a lot of 2026 DDT is. Enjoyable, fast, move-move-move wrestling that might not be the most compelling stuff, but like a cheap cocktail, it goes down very smoothly. Then you sprinkle in enough absurdist comedy and you get a match like this. It’s what makes DDT the most watchable product out there.

The comedy here is built upon a previous encounter where Masada put two of his fingers in To-y’s mouth, which caused him to enter a state of uncontrollable gagging. Ever since then, Masada has been toying with To-y by putting his fingers near, but not into, his mouth. This has caused so much psychological damage that To-y can no longer look at Masada’s fingers, having to shield his eyes whenever Masada wriggles them about. This leads to him attempting a frog splash while covering his eyes, which he predictably eats shit on.

The rest of the match plays out with, again, fun, flashy offense, but it will occasionally return to the finger-wiggling until Masada finally makes good on his threat and puts his fingers in To-y’s mouth. But To-y has a plan, biting down on Masada’s fingers and using this to hulk up. It’s all for naught, as after a bit more fighting, Masada picks up the win.

Like I said, a cheap cocktail of a match, but I mean that as a compliment. Sometimes you want a cheap cocktail.

Rating: Gentleman’s ***

Match 3 Chris Brookes vs. Junta Miyawaki

Ohhh, I liked this a lot. Brookes is often maligned in my corner of the internet, and while I wouldn’t say I’m the biggest Brookes fan, he’s not a guy I want to see holding the top belt. I still think he’s a valuable member of the DDT roster. He’s great as the third or fourth best guy in a tag, and in this match he puts in a brilliant bully performance.

As for Miyawaki, I’ve liked but not loved his excursion to DDT from NOAH, with the Aoki match being the big highlight. I don’t know how NOAH fans feel about him, and I try not to associate with NOAH fans, but there’s something here. He does have a big flaw though. He throws strikes like an absolute bitch, the weakest of weak sauce. But in this match, it works. A lot of Miyawaki’s lamer elements work here, such as his stupid varsity jacket with a cape attached. It all creates the feeling that this guy should not be here and is not on Chris’s level.

Chris works great with this, throwing Miyawaki into the chairs and the wooden steps with a thud. All his chops and elbows have a great sound to them. He never really sells for Miyawaki’s strikes, he has a great suffocating submission hold where every time Miyawaki tries to get to the ropes, Chris just grabs another limb. When Miyawaki throws a weak headbutt, Chris just gets up.

This, in turn, forces Miyawaki to get creative with his offense, trying to sneak out any opportunity he can get to target Brookes’ knees. This brings them almost to an even playing field, but then something interesting happens. A fire is lit under Miyawaki, and he starts getting these near falls. There’s an almost Aoki-esque part where Miyawaki struggles to get Chris’s shoulders to the mat. And would you believe it, there’s actually a bit of juice behind his strikes. You can see it in his body language. There is some real heat here.

In the end, Brookes still picks up the win, but Miyawaki wins something as well today. There is an honest-to-God wrestler in there.

Now, how much of Miyawaki usually sucks, but through this match he unlocked being good, is intentional? Who knows. But good wrestling on accident is still good wrestling.

Rating: *** ½

Match 4 HARASHIMA vs. Daichi Sato

Hell yeah.

A very interesting match. Essentially, it’s just HARASHIMA and Daichi Sato trading kicks to each other’s chest. If you remember that one Ibushi vs. Tachi G1 match, it’s kind of like that. As it plays out, it’s Sato trying to prove himself to the former ace of the company, and HARASHIMA seeing what this kid has got. The best moment comes when Sato kicks HARASHIMA, he sells it, then flexes his biceps, only to start selling the kick again.

This match does not work without HARASHIMA’s connection to the crowd, but most wrestling doesn’t work without that connection anyway. The kicks are also hard as fuck, which helps a lot. It’s Sato who breaks the agreement to just trade kicks, and therefore must pay, as he loses soon after. HARASHIMA talks to the kid afterwards to me saying he was a bit impressed. 

(we also for like 3 seconds get to see Antonio Honda so this is actually the only good match on the show.)

Rating: It’s not really a match that’s appropriate to give a star rating to. It’s more something that’s just interesting to watch, but also *** ½

Match 5 Shinya Aoki vs. Kanon

It’s interesting. Aoki is a wrestler who often forces his opponents to wrestle his style of match. And that’s great. I would much rather watch an Aoki-style match than a KANON-style one. But I sometimes wish we got to see that battle of styles more often. Great wrestling often feels like a clash of differing ideologies about what wrestling should be, and I know Aoki is capable of that.

Anyway, this is still pretty good. It’s an Aoki match, and he’s one of the best wrestlers in the world. It’s great for all the reasons Aoki matches are great. There’s a wonderful sense of flow, but also intentionality to his matches. Most wrestlers build matches around kick-outs, but Aoki’s are built around simply getting the shoulder to the mat.

KANON does his job adequately by adapting to Aoki’s format, but it does feel like almost any half-competent wrestler can have a good match with Aoki. He does bring some uniqueness with a focus on lariats and a few big bombs.

This is a good match, but not one I’d wager will stay with me for very long.

Rating: *** ¼

Match 6 Minoru Suzki vs. Yuiko Naya

Minoru Suzuki is one of the best non-comedy comedy match wrestlers of all time. In fact, I’ll go as far as to say he is the best. This is why I welcome Suzuki to DDT and have broadly enjoyed his work in the promotion. But Suzuki in a normal, “serious” match is a no from me, especially when working with someone like Naya, who feels like they’ve never quite figured out who they’re supposed to be.

There are parts of this where it’s just Suzuki fucking around, grabbing the ref’s finger and spamming the shit out of the stuck-out tongue emote, and that I do enjoy. Suzuki is still incredibly charismatic, so it’s always charming to watch him work. But this goes 16 minutes, and a lot of it is really bland. Suzuki still gets in a few signature hits that remind you why you love him, but it’s not enough.

This is spiritually a Mania weekend match. I’d give this one a skip.

Rating: **

Match 6 Danshoku Dino vs. Kazuki Hirata

These two probably face each other two or three times a week in tag matches that just don’t matter. They’re two of my favourite wrestlers of all time, and while I watch DDT for the comedy, the point of those matches isn’t about who wins or loses. So what happens when you book these two in a match that does matter, where the winner actually counts for something? They go out and have one of the best matches of the year.

The comparison here would be something like Dieno vs. Tanahashi from last year, or anything involving Hirata’s KO-D title reign. Matches where the context around them makes them mean more. Not every match can be like this, that would kill the joke, but when they do happen, they’re damn special. These are matches only DDT can do, and that’s why I love this company so much.

You can tell things feel more important from Dieno’s entrance. He comes out in his special rainbow sequin robe, and I’m being 100 percent serious when I say the passion with which he kisses members of the crowd shows that this means more. What I love is that the match doesn’t abandon the comedy. Dieno is still trying to fuck Hirata in the ass, but now there’s actual weight behind it, the ass fucking means something. The best moment is when they have a forearm exchange, and you know what? They are throwing absolute heaters. But then Dieno stops the exchange, offers Hirata his glasses, the music starts playing, and they resume the exchange. It’s incredible. It’s where the joke meets reality.

Dieno hits a moonsault wearing nothing but a thong. It’s insane. I’ve always pushed back against the idea that comedy wrestlers are only good if they can actually “work,” whatever the hell that means, but these two worked a clinic.

It ends with a kiss that acts as a test of strength, with Dieno forcing Hirata down to his knees before Hirata fights back and drops him. But you can’t kiss Dieno. Hirata is out cold. Dieno gives one last, small “I’m sorry, I love you” kiss before dropping him with a piledriver for the win.

I loved this match. Screw you if you didn’t.

Rating: **** 1/4

Match 8 Mao vs. Kazuma Sumi

No thank you, I’m full.

Remember how I described To-y vs. Masada as a cheap cocktail? This is like having two liters of that same cheap cocktail while it insists to you that it’s actually a complicated whisky.

MAO is another guy I like in tags, but as a main eventer, dear God, keep him away from me. And Sumi isn’t much different. Once you take the guardrails off, it all starts to collapse. There are cool moments in this match, but not enough to carry a 21-minute runtime, which then ends in a farcical submission sequence that doesn’t feel earned.

If you consume this match in GIFs, you might have a good time, but this is a big no from me. If this were half the length, it could have been a really good match. Not everything has to be most, learn restraint.

Rating: **

Overall thoughts on the show

Two matches I didn’t enjoy but outside of that I had a really good time. DDT continues to be easily watchable and I can not recommend Dino vs. Hirata enough. I look forward to day two. Watch the show and watch DDT! Best promotion out there