Ōdō Tournament

**Ōdō Tournament** (王道トーナメント, *Ōdō Tōnamento*, "Royal Road Tournament") is a 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. 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. 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. 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. 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, coming in the heels of a mass exodus of wrestlers that led to the formation of the Wrestle-1 promotion. The winner of the tournament, if not already the reigning champion, would become the number one contender to the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship. On September 23, Suwama became the only wrestler to win the tournament twice in 2016 and 2017.

## 2013

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. 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. The tournament marked the first tour under an AJPW contract for longtime freelancer Akebono, who signed his contract on September 1. 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. 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. 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. He, however, returned to the ring the following summer. On September 23, Akebono defeated Go Shiozaki in the finals of the tournament to become the first Ōdō Tournament winner. Following the win, Akebono went on to defeat Suwama on October 27 to win the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship for the first time.

## 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. 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. Akebono, the defending Ōdō Tournament winner, was eliminated from the tournament in the semifinals on September 22 by Suwama. On September 28, Shiozaki defeated Suwama in the finals to win the second Ōdō Tournament. Shiozaki received his shot at the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship on October 29, but was defeated by Doering.

## 2015

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. Tournaent brackets were revealed on August 29. Jun Akiyama, the president of AJPW, won the tournament, defeating Akebono in the finals on September 26. Akiyama went on defeating Akebono in a rematch on November 1 to win the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship.

## 2016

The 2016 Ōdō Tournament took place between September 4 and 19. 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. On September 19, Suwama defeated Zeus in the finals to win the tournament. Suwama received his shot at the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship on November 27 unsucessfully challenging Miyahara. Suwama became the first wrestler to not defeat the Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion in his championship match.

## 2017

The 2017 Ōdō Tournament took place between September 12 and 23. The participants were revealed on July 17. Included were the reigning Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion Shuji Ishikawa, the 2016 Ōdō Tournament winner Suwama, reigning World Junior Heavyweight and All Asia Tag Team Champion Hikaru Sato and three debuting outsiders; freelancers KAI and Tajiri, from New Japan Pro Wrestling Yoshitatsu. Jake Lee was scheduled to take part in the tournament, but was forced to pull out after suffering a knee injury. He was replaced by Kotaro Suzuki. On September 23, Suwama defeated Zeus in the finals to win the tournament. Following the win Suwama became the only wrestler to win the tournament twice. Suwama went on to defeat Kento Miyahara on October 9 to win the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship for the sixth time.

## 2018

The 2018 Ōdō Tournament will take place between September 15 and 24. The participants were revealed on July 15. Included were the reigning Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion Kento Miyahara, the 2017 Ōdō Tournament winner Suwama and three debuting outsiders; from Land's End Pro Wrestling Ryoji Sai, from Pro Wrestling Malta Gianni Valletta, from Kaientai Dojo Kengo Mashimo and freelancer Yuji Hino.

## 2019

The 2019 Ōdō Tournament took place between September 14 and 23. The participants were revealed on July 16. Included were the reigning Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion and the 2018 Ōdō Tournament winner Kento Miyahara, the 2017 Ōdō Tournament winner Suwama and three debuting outsiders; from Land's End Pro Wrestling Ryoji Sai, from Pro Wrestling Malta Gianni Valletta, from Active Advance Pro Wrestling Taishi Takizawa and freelancer Jiro Kuroshio.

## 2021

The 2021 Ōdō Tournament took place between August 15 and 29. The participants were revealed on June 30. Included were the reigning Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion and the 2019 Ōdō Tournament winner Jake Lee, the 2018 Ōdō Tournament winner Kento Miyahara and three debuting outsiders; from Big Japan Pro Wrestling Abdullah Kobayashi, from GLEAT T-Hawk and from Active Advance Pro Wrestling Ayato Yoshida.

## 2022

The 2022 Ōdō Tournament took place between August 7 and 20. The participants were revealed on July 22. However the reigning Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion and the 2016 and 2021 Ōdō Tournament winner Suwama announced that he wasnt going to participate in the torunament being replaced by his fellow Voodoo Murders stablemate TARU and three debuting outsiders; from New Japan Pro-Wrestling Yuji Nagata, from Big Japan Pro Wrestling Takuya Nomura and freelancer Cyrus. On August 18, Naoya Nomura was scheduled to face Jake Lee in the semi-finals; however, Nomura tested positive for the COVID-19, leading him to forfeit and be replaced with Takao Omori

1. ↑ Originally, Naoya Nomura qualified to the semi-finals. However, Nomura contracted COVID on August 18, leading him to be replaced by Omori, since he defeated Omori to qualify himself.

## 2023

The 10th Ōdō Tournament took place between August 19 and 27. The participants included the outside participation Just Tap Out Professional Wrestling's Ren Ayabe, Big Japan Pro Wrestling's Takuya Nomura, New Japan Pro-Wrestling's Satoshi Kojima and GLEAT's Hayato Tamura.

## Gallery

* Gallery
* Winners

Ōdō tournament trophy

AkebonoGo ShiozakiJun AkiyamaSuwamaKento MiyaharaJake LeeSatoshi Kojima

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 ja: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！ (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling* (2013-07-30). Archived from the original on 2013-08-02. Retrieved on 2014-09-18.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 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！  (in Japanese). *Battle News* (2014-08-17). Retrieved on 2014-09-18.
3. ↑ Caldwell, James 2013-07-10. Japan news: Great Muta announces new promotion . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2014-09-18.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 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！！  (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling* (2013-08-11). Archived from the original on 2013-08-15. Retrieved on 2014-09-18.
5. ↑ *ja:青木が王道トーナメントでの番狂わせを予告* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2013-09-01). Retrieved on 2014-09-18.
6. ↑ *ja:フリーを卒業！曙が全日本プロレスに入団* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2013-09-06). Retrieved on 2014-09-18.
7. ↑ *ja:諏訪魔 王道トーナメント2回戦でまさかの敗戦* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2013-09-16). Retrieved on 2014-09-18.
8. ↑ ja:「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 (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling* (2013-09-17). Archived from the original on 2013-10-12. Retrieved on 2014-09-18.
9. ↑ ja: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。 (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling* (2013-09-19). Archived from the original on 2013-10-12. Retrieved on 2014-09-18.
10. ↑ Johnson, Mike 2013-10-14. First Ring of Honor Champion announces retirement  (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2014-09-18.
11. ↑ Martin, Adam 2014-03-30. Low Ki (Kaval) coming out of retirement for PWS . *Wrestleview*. Retrieved on 2014-09-18.
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 ja: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 (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling*. Archived from the original on 2014-09-24. Retrieved on 2014-09-18.
13. ↑ *ja:曙が「王道トーナメント」初代覇者* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2013-09-24). Retrieved on 2014-09-18.
14. ↑ Anniversary Tour 2013 東京・両国国技館  (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling*. Archived from the original on 2014-09-24. Retrieved on 2014-09-18.
15. ↑ *ja:曙が諏訪魔下し悲願の初３冠／全日本* (in Japanese). *Nikkan Sports* (2013-10-28). Retrieved on 2014-09-18.
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 ja:王道トーナメント　～2013オープン選手権～　東京・後楽園ホール (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling*. Archived from the original on 2014-09-24. Retrieved on 2014-09-18.
17. ↑ ja: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 (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling*. Archived from the original on 2014-09-24. Retrieved on 2014-09-18.
18. ↑ ja: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 (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling*. Archived from the original on 2014-09-24. Retrieved on 2014-09-18.
19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 ja: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 (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling*. Archived from the original on 2014-09-24. Retrieved on 2014-09-18.
20. ↑ ja:王道トーナメント　～2013オープン選手権～ 島根・出雲体育館 (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling*. Archived from the original on 2014-09-24. Retrieved on 2014-09-18.
21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 ja: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 (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling*. Archived from the original on 2014-09-24. Retrieved on 2014-09-18.
22. ↑ ja: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 (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling*. Archived from the original on 2014-09-24. Retrieved on 2014-09-18.
23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 23.4 *ja:【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* (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling* (2014-09-16). Retrieved on 2014-10-04.
24. ↑ 【全日本プロレス】王道トーナメント1回戦、ドーリングvs潮崎、秋山vs宮原  (in Japanese). *Battle News* (2014-09-16). Retrieved on 2014-09-18.
25. ↑ *ja: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* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2014-09-16). Retrieved on 2014-09-18.
26. ↑ *ja:３冠王者ドーリング、潮崎に敗れ初戦敗退* (in Japanese). *Nikkan Sports* (2014-09-16). Retrieved on 2014-09-18.
27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 *ja:【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* (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling* (2014-09-22). Retrieved on 2014-10-04.
28. ↑ *ja:全日「王道Ｔ優勝戦」は潮崎ｖｓ諏訪魔* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2014-09-23). Retrieved on 2014-09-28.
29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 *ja:【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* (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling* (2014-09-29). Retrieved on 2014-10-04.
30. ↑ *ja:全日本で初勲章！潮﨑「王道Ｔ」初制覇 ３冠挑戦へ* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2014-09-29). Retrieved on 2014-09-29.
31. ↑ *ja:潮崎が王道Ｔ初優勝　次は３冠ベルトだ* (in Japanese). *Daily Sports Online*. Kobe Shimbun (2014-09-29). Retrieved on 2014-09-29.
32. ↑ *ja:【10.29】全日本プロレス 旗揚げ記念シリーズ 山形大会* (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling* (2014-10-29). Retrieved on 2014-10-29.
33. ↑ *ja:３冠王者ドーリング　潮崎下しＶ３* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2014-10-30). Retrieved on 2014-10-30.
34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 *ja:【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* (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling* (2014-09-20). Retrieved on 2014-10-04.
35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 35.2 35.3 *ja:【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* (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling* (2014-09-18). Retrieved on 2014-10-04.
36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 試合結果！！/ *ja:【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* (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling* (2014-09-21). Retrieved on 2014-10-04.
37. ↑ 『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！  (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling* (2015-08-24). Retrieved on 2015-08-24.
38. ↑ 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  (in Japanese). *Battle News* (2015-08-24). Retrieved on 2015-08-24.
39. ↑ 『『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!!  (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling* (2015-08-30). Retrieved on 2015-08-29.
40. ↑ 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  (in Japanese). *Battle News* (2015-08-30). Retrieved on 2015-08-29.
41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 41.2 41.3 優勝決定戦・後楽/ *ja:【9.26】 第3回王道トーナメント　優勝決定戦・後楽園大会* (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling* (2015-09-27). Retrieved on 2015-09-27.
42. ↑ *ja:王道トーナメント優勝の秋山が３冠挑戦* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2015-09-28). Retrieved on 2015-09-28.
43. ↑ 43.0 43.1 大阪大会/ *ja:【9.12】 第3回王道トーナメント　大阪大会* (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling* (2015-09-12). Retrieved on 2015-09-12.
44. ↑ 横浜大会/ *ja:【9.19】 第3回王道トーナメント　横浜大会* (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling* (2015-09-20). Retrieved on 2015-09-21.
45. ↑ 45.0 45.1 高松大会/ *ja:【9.13】 第3回王道トーナメント　高松大会* (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling* (2015-09-14). Retrieved on 2015-09-14.
46. ↑ 新居浜大会/ *ja:【9.14】 第3回王道トーナメント　新居浜大会* (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling* (2015-09-14). Retrieved on 2015-09-15.
47. ↑ 浜松大会/ *ja:【9.16】 第3回王道トーナメント　浜松大会* (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling* (2015-09-16). Retrieved on 2015-09-17.
48. ↑ 48.0 48.1 48.2 開幕戦・後楽園大/ *ja:【9.10】 第3回王道トーナメント　開幕戦・後楽園大会* (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling* (2015-09-10). Retrieved on 2015-09-10.
49. ↑ 郡山大会/ *ja:【9.24】 第3回王道トーナメント　郡山大会* (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling* (2015-09-25). Retrieved on 2015-09-25.
50. ↑ 熊谷大会/ *ja:【9.20】 第3回王道トーナメント　熊谷大会* (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling* (2015-09-21). Retrieved on 2015-09-21.
51. ↑ 『第4回王道トーナメント』日程決定のお知らせ  (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling* (2016-07-08). Retrieved on 2016-07-11.
52. ↑ 『第4回王道トーナメント』出場選手、1回戦組み合せ決定！  (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling* (2016-08-08). Retrieved on 2016-08-08.
53. ↑ 全日「王道トーナメント」１回戦カード決定  (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-08-08). Retrieved on 2016-08-08.
54. ↑ 諏訪魔が復活の王道Ｔ初Ｖ！次は３冠挑戦だ  (in Japanese). *Daily Sports Online*. Kobe Shimbun (2016-09-20). Retrieved on 2016-09-19.
55. ↑ 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  (in Japanese). *Battle News* (2016-09-20). Retrieved on 2016-09-19.
56. ↑ 【全日・王道Ｔ】初Ｖ諏訪魔の原動力は不沈艦魂  (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-09-20). Retrieved on 2016-09-20.
57. ↑ 57.0 57.1 57.2 57.3 57.4 57.5 57.6 57.7 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)  (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling* (2016-09-04). Retrieved on 2016-09-04.
58. ↑ 58.0 58.1 58.2 58.3 9.17神奈川・横浜ラジアントホール[観衆330人(超満員) ] (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling* (2016-09-17). Retrieved on 2016-09-17.
59. ↑ 59.0 59.1 59.2 9.19後楽園ホール大会[観衆1183人 ] (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling* (2016-09-19). Retrieved on 2016-09-19.
60. ↑ 【全日本】「王道トーナメント」９・１２開幕  (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2017-05-31). Retrieved on 2017-05-31.
61. ↑ ジェイク・リー選手「第5回王道トーナメント」欠場のお知らせ  (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling* (2017-08-01). Retrieved on 2017-08-01.
62. ↑ 「第5回 王道トーナメント」ジェイク・リー選手欠場に伴い鈴木鼓太郎選手が急遽参戦決定のお知らせ  (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling* (2017-08-04). Retrieved on 2017-08-04.
63. ↑ 63.0 63.1 63.2 63.3 9.12後楽園大会[観衆1130人 ] (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling* (2017-09-12). Retrieved on 2017-09-12.
64. ↑ 64.0 64.1 9.18大阪大会[観衆612人(超満員) ] (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling* (2017-09-18). Retrieved on 2017-09-18.
65. ↑ 65.0 65.1 65.2 9.23仙台大会[観衆477人(超満員札止め) ] (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling* (2017-09-23). Retrieved on 2017-09-23.
66. ↑ 66.0 66.1 66.2 66.3 9.16北本大会[観衆799人(満員) ] (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling* (2017-09-16). Retrieved on 2017-09-16.
67. ↑ 67.0 67.1 9.19名古屋大会[観衆401人 ] (in Japanese). *All Japan Pro Wrestling* (2017-09-19). Retrieved on 2017-09-19.
68. ↑ 68.0 68.1 AJPW results for July 15, 2018  (in English). *Puroresu Spirit* (2018-07-15). Retrieved on 2018-07-15.