Chris Brookes Wins 2023 King Of DDT Tournament

Japanese pro wrestling company Dramatic Dream Team (DDT) held one of their premier events earlier today when the King of DDT 2023 Tournament final took place in Korakuen Hall. While the tournament began with 16 competitors, the show arrived with only four men remaining, and in the end, it was British pro wrestler Chris Brookes who took home the trophy.

The first and second matches of the main card were the two semifinal bouts of the tournament, with Kazusada Higuchi facing Yuki Ueno and Chris Brookes battling Japanese wrestling legend Jun Akiyama. Higuchi, the winner of last year's tournament, defeated Ueno soundly, while Brookes survived his veteran opponent's onslaught to advance to the finals. When he got there, Higuchi gave Brookes a similarly brutal beating, but the Englishman's resolve and perseverance led him to victory when he submitted his imposing adversary with his signature Octopus Hold.

Not only does Brookes' victory put him in line for a shot at Yuki Hino's KO-D Openweight Championship, but it also makes him only the second non-Japanese competitor to win the King of DDT Tournament, the first of which was Kenny Omega in 2012. Other past winners of the tournament include Kota Ibushi, Tetsuya Endo, and Konosuke Takeshita.

Chris Brookes has been a mainstay in DDT since 2019, staying in the country throughout the pandemic and becoming its top foreign competitor in the process. Since restrictions have loosened up, more foreign talent has been appearing in DDT in recent times, with Matt Cardona set to make his debut for the company this summer against Tetsuya Endo. Furthermore, due to DDT's ongoing partnership with AEW in America, the company frequently invites members of the AEW roster to compete in the company for a few weeks at a time.