![Image of Yuki Ueno Courtesy of WIkimedia Commons [Yoccy441, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons]](https://lastwordonsports.com/prowrestling/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2025/07/上野勇希2024-scaled-e1752739122872-1200x800.jpg)
Yuki Ueno won the right to challenge for the KO-D Openweight Championship on day two of Wrestle Peter Pan 2025 at The Fighting Beer Garden 2025 in Shinjuku. DDT’s biggest show of the year will be a two-day event, with day one happening at Higashin Arena on August 30 and day two at Korakuen Hall on August 31.
Ueno bested 20 other wrestlers to win the battle royal for the number one contendership in the main event of last night’s The Fighting Beer Garden show. It came down to him, Schadenfreude International’s Takeshi Masada, one-half of Strange Love Connection KANON, and Kazuki Hirata as the last four competitors. Following KANON’s elimination of Masada with a lariat off the ring apron, he and Ueno engaged inside the ring.
After Ueno pinned KANON with July 2, Hirata tried to catch the former off guard with a schoolboy attempt from behind. Ueno kicked out and immediately went for a WR, but Hirata tapped out before he could hit it, and he was declared the winner.
Yuki Ueno Earns Another Shot at Glory
Ueno won the KO-D Openweight title for the first time in his career at Ultimate Party 2023 after beating Chris Brookes. He would then go on to successfully defend it seven times before losing it to Shinya Aoki in August last year.
Day two of Peter Pan will be his shot at reclaiming the gold, but it will not be a walk in the park. He would have to defeat the winner of day one’s title match between current champion Kazusada Higuchi and Jun Akiyama.
Akiyama and Ueno have faced each other in singles competition twice, both in the D-Oh Grand Prix tournament in 2020 and 2021, and they are tied with one win apiece. Higuchi, on the other hand, has faced him five times. Higuchi leads their singles match record with three wins, with the most recent one being in this year’s King of DDT semifinals.
Either way, the 29-year-old Ueno has his work cut out for him. But for the fans, regardless of who he challenges on August 31, it should be an excellent match.
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