MAO Wins KO-D Openweight Title At DDT Wrestle Peter Pan 2026
MAO defeated Yuki Ueno to win the KO-D Openweight Championship in the main event of DDT Wrestle Peter Pan 2026 inside Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan, on Tuesday. The 29-year-old secured the biggest victory of his career after rocking Ueno with his Cannonball 450 to earn the three-count at 33:47.
Following his victory, MAO was quickly challenged by DDT President Sanshiro Takagi, who had previously pinned To-y to earn a Right to Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contract, essentially DDT’s version of WWE’s Money in the Bank briefcase. Luckily for MAO, he was able to defeat Takagi in 6:29, earning his first successful title defense and ensuring he would end the night as champion.
MAO’s reign is the 88th in the championship’s history since the belt was first created in 2000. Some of the biggest names to have held the title include Kota Ibushi, Kenny Omega, Jun Akiyama, HARASHIMA, Dick Togo, and Konosuke Takeshita.
After finally recovering from both matches, MAO took a moment to share his thoughts on the whirlwind night.
“I’ve managed to have my name listed alongside Yuki Ueno’s, so I’ve achieved what I’d been working so hard towards… that was my biggest motivation this time. Now that I’ve got the Openweight belt, I feel like I can do anything.”
-MAO
MAO and Ueno have a long history together, having spent much of their careers as close friends and allies. The two were members of 37KAMIINA, which was one of DDT’s top factions throughout much of the early 2020s. MAO amicably left the group in March 2025 after teaming up with KANON to form the Strange Love Connection.
After leaving the group, MAO and KANON would go on to win the KO-D Tag Team Championships and expand the Strange Love Connection into one of the most popular stables in the promotion, while 37KAMIINA has largely stagnated.
To that point, KANON, Viento Levante, and Yuki Naya of the Strange Love Connection defeated paleyouth’s Daichi Satoh, Takeshi Masada, and Yuya Koroku to win the KO-D Six-Man Tag Team Championships in the show opener, further establishing the group as one of the company’s top acts.
Elsewhere on the show, Ilusion left with the DDT Iron Man Heavy Metal Championship. Shunma Katsumata defeated Hideki Okatani to win the DDT Extreme Championship for the fourth time in his career, while Junta Miyawaki and Shinya Aoki became the new KO-D Tag Team Champions after defeating Chris Brookes and HARASHIMA. NJPW’s Ryusuke Taguchi also defeated Kazuma Sumi to become the DDT Universal Champion, while Konosuke Takeshita defeated Kaisei Takeuchi in a special singles match.
For much more from the Japanese wrestling scene, including DDT, WrestlePurists will keep you updated.
H/T to Monthly Puroresu for the translation.
