Ōdō Tournament

Ōdō Tournament (王道トーナメント Ōdō Tōnamento, "Royal Road Tournament") is a professional wrestling tournament held annually by All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) since 2013. The single-elimination tournament is a spiritual successor to the Open Championship tournament, which was held in 1975.[1] Typically, the winner of the tournament earns a future match for the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship.

History

On July 30, 2013, All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) announced a new single-elimination tournament, set to take place the following September.[1] Masanobu Fuchi, advisor to the AJPW board of directors, announced that the tournament was open to both Japanese and foreign wrestlers regardless of their weight divisions.[1] This sets it apart from AJPW's top tournament, the Champion Carnival, which is generally exclusive to heavyweight wrestlers. Since its inception, the tournament has been subtitled "Open Championship", which was a similar openweight tournament held by AJPW in 1975.[1][2] In the spirit of keeping the new tournament different from the Champion Carnival, the elimination format was set for use (the 1975 tournament was round-robin, as opposed to the Carnival which at the time was by elimination). Fuchi hailed Ōdō Tournament as the start of AJPW's rebirth,[1] coming in the heels of a mass exodus of wrestlers that led to the formation of the Wrestle-1 promotion.[3] The winner of the tournament, if not already the reigning champion, will become the number one contender to the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship.[1]

List of winners

Year Winner Total
won		 Ref.
2013 Akebono 1 [4]
2014 Go Shiozaki 1 [5]
2015 Jun Akiyama 1 [6]
2016 Suwama 1 [7]

2013

Akebono, the winner of the 2013 Ōdō Tournament

The 2013 Ōdō Tournament took place between September 11 and 23 and featured sixteen wrestlers. The participants and brackets were revealed on August 11. Included were the reigning Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion Suwama and four outside wrestlers; Mexican Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) representative Dark Cuervo, American freelancers D'Lo Brown and Low Ki and Austrian freelancer Bambi Killer.[8] As part of the openweight nature of the tournament, Atsushi Aoki, Kotaro Suzuki and World Junior Heavyweight Champion Yoshinobu Kanemaru from AJPW's junior heavyweight division also entered the tournament.[8][9] The tournament marked the first tour under an AJPW contract for longtime freelancer Akebono, who signed his contract on September 1.[10] On September 15, Suwama, the reigning Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, was eliminated from the tournament in the second round by his former Last Revolution tag team partner Joe Doering.[11] After being eliminated from the tournament on September 16 by Akebono, Low Ki was sidelined for the rest of his AJPW tour with an abdominal injury.[12][13] The injury eventually led to Low Ki announcing his retirement from professional wrestling on October 14 due to AJPW supposedly not honoring their contractual obligation of medical care.[14] He, however, returned to the ring the following summer.[15] On September 23, Akebono defeated Go Shiozaki in the finals of the tournament to become the first Ōdō Tournament winner.[4][16] Following the win, Akebono went on to defeat Suwama on October 27 to win the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship for the first time.[17][18]

First round
(September 11, 14) 		Second round
(September 15, 16, 17) 		Semifinals
(September 19, 21) 		Finals
(September 23)
        
Akebono Pin
Jun Akiyama 11:45[19]
Akebono Pin
Low Ki 07:03[20]
Low Ki Pin
Dark Cuervo 08:27[19]
Akebono Pin
Bambi Killer 06:13[21]
Bambi Killer Pin
Kenso 13:24[22]
Bambi Killer Pin
Takao Omori 13:12[23]
Takao Omori Pin
Atsushi Aoki 09:59[22]
Akebono Pin
Go Shiozaki 17:40[4]
Go Shiozaki Pin
Kotaro Suzuki 18:36[19]
Go Shiozaki Pin
Yoshinobu Kanemaru 14:32[24]
Yoshinobu Kanemaru Pin
D'Lo Brown 07:26[22]
Go Shiozaki Pin
Joe Doering 15:03[25]
Joe Doering Pin
Sushi 03:47[19]
Joe Doering Pin
Suwama 12:18[24]
Suwama Pin
Kento Miyahara 19:45[22]

2014

The 2014 Ōdō Tournament took place between September 15 and 28 and featured sixteen wrestlers. The participants and brackets were revealed on August 17. Included were the reigning Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion Joe Doering, the defending Ōdō Tournament winner Akebono and one qualifying match, set for August 30 between Sushi and Yohei Nakajima.[2] Joe Doering, the reigning Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, was eliminated from the tournament in his first round match on September 15 by Go Shiozaki, while veteran wrestler and AJPW's new president Jun Akiyama, for the second year in a row, was also eliminated in his first round match by Kento Miyahara.[26][27][28][29] Akebono, the defending Ōdō Tournament winner, was eliminated from the tournament in the semifinals on September 22 by Suwama.[30][31] On September 28, Shiozaki defeated Suwama in the finals to win the second Ōdō Tournament.[5][32][33] Shiozaki received his shot at the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship on October 29, but was defeated by Doering.[34][35]

First round
(September 15, 18) 		Second round
(September 20, 21) 		Semifinals
(September 22) 		Finals
(September 28)
        
Jun Akiyama Pin
Kento Miyahara 15:39[26]
Kento Miyahara Pin
Yoshinobu Kanemaru 12:20[36]
Yoshinobu Kanemaru Pin
Hikaru Sato 14:00[37]
Kento Miyahara Pin
Go Shiozaki 17:08[30]
Sushi Pin
Zeus 10:06[37]
Zeus Pin
Go Shiozaki 19:23[36]
Go Shiozaki Pin
Joe Doering 19:48[26]
Go Shiozaki Pin
Suwama 29:55[5]
Suwama Sub
Atsushi Aoki 15:57[26]
Suwama Pin
Takao Omori 20:26[38]
The Bodyguard Pin
Takao Omori 14:01[37]
Suwama Sub
Akebono 08:24[30]
Kotaro Suzuki Pin
Kenso 09:24[26]
Kotaro Suzuki Pin
Akebono 10:49[38]
Yutaka Yoshie Pin
Akebono 07:26[37]

2015

Jun Akiyama, the winner of the 2015 Ōdō Tournament

The 2015 Ōdō Tournament took place between September 10 and 26 and featured sixteen wrestlers. The participants were revealed on August 24. Included were the reigning Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion and 2013 Ōdō Tournament winner Akebono, reigning World Tag Team Champion and 2014 Ōdō Tournament winner Go Shiozaki, his championship partner Kento Miyahara and debuting outsiders Shuji Ishikawa and Yuji Hino.[39][40] Tournament brackets were revealed on August 29.[41][42] Jun Akiyama, the president of AJPW, won the tournament, defeating Akebono in the finals on September 26.[6][43]

First round
(September 10, 12, 13, 14) 		Second round
(September 16, 19, 20, 24) 		Semifinals
(September 26) 		Finals
(September 26)
        
Akebono Pin
Bodyguard 09:33[44]
Akebono DQ
Suwama 16:39[45]
Hikaru Sato Pin
Suwama 14:29[46]
Akebono Pin
Shuji Ishikawa 06:42[6]
Kento Miyahara Pin
Yutaka Yoshie 15:00[47]
Kento Miyahara Pin
Shuji Ishikawa 15:03[48]
Takao Omori Pin
Shuji Ishikawa 13:31[49]
Akebono Pin
Jun Akiyama 08:46[6]
Yuji Hino Pin
Zeus 11:26[49]
Yuji Hino Pin
Yoshinobu Kanemaru 11:39[50]
Yoshinobu Kanemaru Pin
Kenso 14:19[46]
Yuji Hino Pin
Jun Akiyama 12:42[6]
Atsushi Aoki Pin
Kotaro Suzuki 16:08[44]
Atsushi Aoki Pin
Jun Akiyama 17:20[51]
Jun Akiyama Pin
Go Shiozaki 08:20[49]

2016

Suwama, the winner of the 2016 Ōdō Tournament

The 2016 Ōdō Tournament took place between September 4 and 19.[52] The participants were revealed on August 6. Included were the reigning Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion Kento Miyahara, the 2015 Ōdō Tournament winner Jun Akiyama, reigning World Junior Heavyweight and All Asia Tag Team Champion Hikaru Sato and four debuting outsiders; Kendo Kashin, Mitsuya Nagai, Ryoji Sai and Taishi Takizawa.[53][54] On September 19, Suwama defeated Zeus in the finals to win the tournament.[55][56][57]

First round
(September 4) 		Second round
(September 17) 		Semifinals
(September 19) 		Finals
(September 19)
        
Zeus Pin
Bodyguard 09:49[58]
Zeus Pin
Ryoji Sai 18:51[59]
Jake Lee Pin
Ryoji Sai 08:22[58]
Zeus Pin
Jun Akiyama 10:33[7]
Hikaru Sato Sub
Mitsuya Nagai 11:57[58]
Mitsuya Nagai Pin
Jun Akiyama 13:07[59]
Jun Akiyama Pin
Takao Omori 13:45[58]
Zeus Pin
Suwama 25:36[7]
Yuma Aoyagi Sub
Kendo Kashin 06:38[58]
Kendo Kashin Pin
Atsushi Aoki 09:59[59]
Atsushi Aoki Pin
Yutaka Yoshie 08:51[58]
Kendo Kashin Sub
Suwama 08:10[7]
Naoya Nomura Pin
Taishi Takizawa 10:50[58]
Taishi Takizawa Pin
Suwama 14:06[59]
Kento Miyahara Pin
Suwama 18:56[58]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 ９月シリーズ「王道トーナメント～2013オープン選手権～」開催決定！渕選手のコメントも掲載！. All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). July 30, 2013. Archived from the original on August 2, 2013. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  2. 1 2 "全日本プロレス第2回王道トーナメントの組み合わせが決定！一回戦からドーリングvs潮崎、秋山vs宮原などが実現！". Battle News (in Japanese). August 17, 2014. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  3. ↑ Caldwell, James (July 10, 2013). "Japan news: Great Muta announces new promotion". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 王道トーナメント　～2013オープン選手権～ 愛知・名古屋国際会議場. All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 24, 2014. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 【9.28優勝決定戦】 第２回王道トーナメント～2014オープン選手権～　大阪大会. All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). September 29, 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 優勝決定戦・後楽/ 【9.26】 第3回王道トーナメント　優勝決定戦・後楽園大会. All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). September 27, 2015. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "9.19後楽園ホール大会[観衆]1183人". All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). September 19, 2016. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
  8. 1 2 "王道トーナメント組み合わせカード決定！一回戦から「秋山vs曙」「諏訪魔vs宮原」、バーニング対決も！！". All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). August 11, 2013. Archived from the original on August 15, 2013. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  9. ↑ 青木が王道トーナメントでの番狂わせを予告. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). September 1, 2013. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  10. ↑ フリーを卒業！曙が全日本プロレスに入団. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). September 6, 2013. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  11. ↑ 諏訪魔 王道トーナメント2回戦でまさかの敗戦. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). September 16, 2013. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  12. ↑ 「王道トーナメント～2013オープン選手権～」9.17島根・出雲体育館大会ロウ・キー選手欠場のお知らせ. All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). September 17, 2013. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  13. ↑ ロウ・キー選手が負傷の為、今シリーズ残り３大会(9/19豊橋、9/21橋本、9/23名古屋)を欠場。. All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). September 19, 2013. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  14. ↑ Johnson, Mike (October 14, 2013). "First Ring of Honor Champion announces retirement". All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  15. ↑ Martin, Adam (March 30, 2014). "Low Ki (Kaval) coming out of retirement for PWS". Wrestleview. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  16. ↑ 曙が「王道トーナメント」初代覇者. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). September 24, 2013. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  17. ↑ "Anniversary Tour 2013 東京・両国国技館". All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 24, 2014. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  18. ↑ 曙が諏訪魔下し悲願の初３冠／全日本. Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). October 28, 2013. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  19. 1 2 3 4 王道トーナメント　～2013オープン選手権～　東京・後楽園ホール. All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 24, 2014. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  20. ↑ 王道トーナメント　～2013オープン選手権～　岡山・岡山県卸センター　オレンジホール. All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 24, 2014. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  21. ↑ 王道トーナメント　～2013オープン選手権～ 愛知・豊橋市総合体育館. All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 24, 2014. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  22. 1 2 3 4 王道トーナメント　～2013オープン選手権～　神奈川・横浜ラジアントホール. All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 24, 2014. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  23. ↑ 王道トーナメント　～2013オープン選手権～ 島根・出雲体育館. All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 24, 2014. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  24. 1 2 王道トーナメント　～2013オープン選手権～　大阪・ボディメーカーコロシアム（大阪府立体育会館）第2競技場. All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 24, 2014. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  25. ↑ 王道トーナメント　～2013オープン選手権～ 和歌山・和歌山県立橋本体育館. All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 24, 2014. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  26. 1 2 3 4 5 【9.15開幕戦】第２回王道トーナメント ～２０１４オープン選手権～後楽園大会. All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). September 16, 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
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  28. ↑ 王道Ｔ初戦でドーリング撃破！潮﨑Ｖでかつてのバイト先に恩返しだ. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). September 16, 2014. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  29. ↑ ３冠王者ドーリング、潮崎に敗れ初戦敗退. Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). September 16, 2014. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  30. 1 2 3 【9.22】第2回王道トーナメント～2014オープン選手権～長崎大会. All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). September 22, 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  31. ↑ 全日「王道Ｔ優勝戦」は潮崎ｖｓ諏訪魔. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). September 23, 2014. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  32. ↑ 全日本で初勲章！潮﨑「王道Ｔ」初制覇 ３冠挑戦へ. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). September 29, 2014. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
  33. ↑ 潮崎が王道Ｔ初優勝　次は３冠ベルトだ. Daily Sports Online (in Japanese). Kobe Shimbun. September 29, 2014. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
  34. ↑ 【10.29】全日本プロレス 旗揚げ記念シリーズ 山形大会. All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). October 29, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  35. ↑ ３冠王者ドーリング　潮崎下しＶ３. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). October 30, 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
  36. 1 2 【9.20】第２回王道トーナメント ～２０１４オープン選手権～福岡大会. All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). September 20, 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  37. 1 2 3 4 【9.18】第２回王道トーナメント ～２０１４オープン選手権～愛知・豊橋大会. All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). September 18, 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  38. 1 2 試合結果！！/ 【9.21】第2回王道トーナメント～2014オープン選手権～山口・下関大会. All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). September 21, 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  39. ↑ "『第3回王道トーナメント～2015 オープン選手権～』出場選手発表！". All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). August 24, 2015. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  40. ↑ "全日本プロレス『王道トーナメント2015』の出場選手決定！ユニオンの石川修司とK-Dojoの火野裕士が初出場". Battle News (in Japanese). August 24, 2015. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  41. ↑ "『『第3回王道トーナメント～2015 オープン選手権～』一回戦組み合わせ決定!!". All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). August 30, 2015. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
  42. ↑ "ゼウスが9月1日付で全日本プロレス所属に！9.10後楽園から開幕する第3回王道トーナメントの組み合わせが決定". Battle News (in Japanese). August 30, 2015. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
  43. ↑ 王道トーナメント優勝の秋山が３冠挑戦. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). September 28, 2015. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  44. 1 2 大阪大会/ 【9.12】 第3回王道トーナメント　大阪大会. All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). September 12, 2015. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
  45. ↑ 横浜大会/ 【9.19】 第3回王道トーナメント　横浜大会. All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). September 20, 2015. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  46. 1 2 高松大会/ 【9.13】 第3回王道トーナメント　高松大会. All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). September 14, 2015. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
  47. ↑ 新居浜大会/ 【9.14】 第3回王道トーナメント　新居浜大会. All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). September 14, 2015. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
  48. ↑ 浜松大会/ 【9.16】 第3回王道トーナメント　浜松大会. All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). September 16, 2015. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  49. 1 2 3 開幕戦・後楽園大/ 【9.10】 第3回王道トーナメント　開幕戦・後楽園大会. All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). September 10, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  50. ↑ 郡山大会/ 【9.24】 第3回王道トーナメント　郡山大会. All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). September 25, 2015. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
  51. ↑ 熊谷大会/ 【9.20】 第3回王道トーナメント　熊谷大会. All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). September 21, 2015. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  52. ↑ "『第4回王道トーナメント』日程決定のお知らせ". All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). July 8, 2016. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
  53. ↑ "『第4回王道トーナメント』出場選手、1回戦組み合せ決定！". All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). August 8, 2016. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  54. ↑ "全日「王道トーナメント」１回戦カード決定". Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). August 8, 2016. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  55. ↑ "諏訪魔が復活の王道Ｔ初Ｖ！次は３冠挑戦だ". Daily Sports Online (in Japanese). Kobe Shimbun. September 20, 2016. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
  56. ↑ "9･19　全日本後楽園大会　諏訪魔vsケンドー・カシン　秋山準vsゼウス　【Gaora TV王座】ビリーケン・キッドvs中島洋平". Battle News (in Japanese). September 20, 2016. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
  57. ↑ "【全日・王道Ｔ】初Ｖ諏訪魔の原動力は不沈艦魂". Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). September 20, 2016. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  58. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "9.4東京・品川プリンスホテルステラボール大会［観衆］755人(超満員)". All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). September 4, 2016. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
  59. 1 2 3 4 "9.17神奈川・横浜ラジアントホール[観衆]330人(超満員)". All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). September 17, 2016. Retrieved September 17, 2016.

External links

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