Dreams Of The Past is a series that will detail historic and important matches from throughout the history of Dramatic Dream Team, commonly known as DDT. To kick off we look ar DDT’s first trip to the Tokyo Dome, for…an Empty Arena Match
To say that the Tokyo Dome is a large name in wrestling is an understatement. It hosts one of the biggest wrestling shows in the world in New Japan Pro Wrestling’s (NJPW) Wrestle Kingdom. However, on June 1st, 2017, it would host Dramatic Dream Team (DDT) and true to the company’s name it would be dramatically different wrestling than what the dome was used to in DDT’s debut showing at the Tokyo Dome.
The only match announced was Sanshiro Takagi vs. Minoru Suzuki. A grudge match stemming from years into the past. The last time they fought Suzuki beat Takagi at his own signature match, the weapons rumble. This lead to a challenge that chose another signature stipulation of DDT in the Street Wrestling stipulation. As such this match was removed of fans and a ring with only wrestlers and cameramen allowed entry. This would be the only match on the card in true street fighting fashion.
The match was already bubbling chaos from the very beginning with the two trying to have a staredown while Aja Kong was singing the National Anthem. To the referee counting the bases as rope breaks it only broke down further as time went on to make room for a lot of DDT talent and more to show up. Including legends of the wrestling industry like Meiko Satomura and Genichiro Tenryu.
Suzuki and Takagi brawled all around the Tokyo Dome and used the entire arena to their advantage in order to get as much as they could in one match. And after a wild bench-clearing brawl Minoru Suzuki hit the gotch style piledriver onto home plate for the victory. What occurred after the match was a mirror to their prior encounter as Takagi admitted defeat and declared retirement, during the ten bells to end his career he attacked Suzuki with a stunner and upped the ante. This time challenging him to a Street Fighting match on a deserted island, which has yet to happen at this time.
While this match seems standard fare for DDT, this was an important step for them as a company. In their 20th year as a promotion, they held a show in a Tokyo Dome a feat that the company now unified as CyberFight wishes to repeat. This was also a match streamed live in the first year of DDT having a streaming service cementing DDT as a very solid contender in puro.
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