Match Point is an ongoing series at Last Word on Pro Wrestling, where we look at intriguing matchups in indie wrestling and beyond. They may be dream matches, first-time matchups, or hotly anticipated rematches. This week, we take a deep dive into the empty arena showdown known as the DDT Tokyo Dome Cup.
In 2017, Dramatic Dream Team held their first show in the Tokyo Dome in the only way they could, featuring an Empty Arena Match with Minoru Suzuki and Sanshiro Takagi. Four years later, DDT Pro-Wrestling returns with a different attitude and a willingness to raise the stakes. Five teams of four will fight in the empty arena with people beyond DDT, including Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling stars and even some freelancers. The teams for the DDT Tokyo Dome Cup are as follows.
[DDT TOKYO DOME CUP]
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DDT Tokyo Dome Cup – The Teams
The 37 Kamiina
The team of current KO-D Openweight Champion Konosuke Takeshita, his former KO-D Tag Team Championship partner Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Ueno, and MAO would be considered the odds on favorite team. Not only are they the most decorated team, but they also have been teaming for close to a year in some form, be it as The 37 Kamiina, Sauna Club, or ALL OUT. Despite Katsumata’s recent success in Big Japan Pro-Wrestling, this hasn’t translated into much hardcore success in DDT, evidenced by their recent falling to DAMNATION in their most high-profile Rojo Wrestling match. Nonetheless, things could be different now that everyone is focused.
Chris Brookes, Brahman Kei, Brahman Shu, and Gorgeous Matsuno
This is a mishmash of a team, but if there was any such wild card, it would be this one. These four wrestlers have been consistent fixtures of many of DDT’s most chaotic matches; additionally, in the case of the Brahman brothers, some of the most chaotic matches period. This is an environment in which they would thrive. The Brahmans and Gorgeous Matsuno worked together as former KO-D Six-Man Tag Team Champions. Simply put, their ability as a team shouldn’t be in question.
Pheromones
This is the most recent of the stables formed. Pheromones has three standard members, but for this match, they add a fourth: Tetsuya “Hercules” Endo. The other members are Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yuki “Sexy” Iino, and Yumehito “Fantastic” Imenari. This is a team to expect the unexpected from. Their skillsets complement one another and Dieno is a smart veteran. This team could surprise everyone in the DDT Tokyo Dome Cup.
Team TJPW
Team Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling consists of Miyu Yamashita, Maki Itoh, Hikari Noa, and Hyper Misao. While this isn’t the first time that a TJPW wrestler has been in a Rojo Wrestling match, this is important in that it’s one of the first times that they have been under the TJPW banner. For example, Itoh was in a few Rojo Wrestling matches in 2020, but as part of her team with Chris Brookes in DDT. The lineup they chose for the Tokyo Dome Cup showing couldn’t have been better.
Yamashita is not only the current Princess of Princess Champion, but for the better part of 2021, she has been teaming with Itoh. “Itoh-chan” has been very dominant this year, challenging for the Princess of Princess title. Noa was in a few hardcore matches earlier this year and reigns as the current International Princess of Princess champion. Meanwhile, Misao found wrestling via a DDT Rojo Wrestling match and eventually fought Jun Kasai in a deathmatch. An argument could be made for other members on the TJPW roster to be part of this team, but sometimes, it’s the most creative that thrive in Rojo Wrestling.
Shinya Aoki, Kazusada Higuchi, Kazuki Hirata, X
The final team of the Tokyo Dome Cup is headed by the current DDT Extreme Champion, Shinya Aoki. With him is Kazuki Hirata and Kazusada Higuchi. All three are very well suited for the Rojo Wrestling match type and have taken part in multiple each. Most notably, Aoki received the opportunity to fight for the Extreme title in a four-way match at a hot spring after he beat the then-Extreme Champion, Chris Brookes. This isn’t even addressing the final member who isn’t even announced at the time of writing. Only one clue has been given which is they have not participated in a Rojo Wrestling match; this announcement only adds further intrigue to a very strong team.
The Tokyo Dome Cup show will be held on October 31, airing at 21:00 JST and 8 AM EST on the Wrestle Universe streaming service.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. Make sure to subscribe to Wrestle Universe to see more of DDT and its talent as well as the various promotions operating under the Wrestle Universe Umbrella.
