Search Results: "akira"

NEWS

Switcheroos. WWE Made Multiple Changes To This Week’s Monday Night Raw

January 12, 2023

What could have been. For thirty years now, WWE has presented Monday Night Raw almost every Monday night as its flagship program. That is one heck of a trick as it is not easy to find a way to produce that much content over and over. The show has to have some adjustments made some time and that was the situation again this week, as multiple changes were made. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: As They Should: WWE Team Praised For Recent Efforts, One Member Stands Out According to Fightful Select, there were multiple changes made to the original plan of this week’s Monday Night Raw. Originally, Akira Tozawa was scheduled to accompany the Street Profits to the ring during the Tag Team Turmoil match. In addition, the Usos were planned to accompany Solo Sikoa to the ring for his match with Dolph Ziggler. There is no word on why WWE made these changes. It was a long night. Check out what we got instead: [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] [This po..

NEWS

Monday Night Raw Results – December 19, 2022

December 20, 2022

Monday Night Raw Date: December 19, 2022 Location: Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves It’s the last show before Christmas and possibly the last show of the year depending on what they do next week. There is still a lot of time before the Royal Rumble but we have another big match coming up on December 30. John Cena is on his way back to WWE and that should have some people talking. Let’s get to it. Paul Heyman and Roman Reigns are here, with Reigns saying he is around here to deal with Kevin Owens. Reigns has been dealing with Owens and now he has to take care of John Cena again. Now, he is going to torture Owens until Raw acknowledges the Bloodline. We cut to the rest of the Bloodline beating down Mustafa Ali. Opening sequence. Street Profits vs. Judgment Day Finn Balor/Damien Priest for the team here, with their friends and Akira Tozawa at ringside too. Ford goes nuts on Priest to start but gets sent into the corner. We go split screen ..

NEWS

LOOK: WWE Star Reveals New Look While Interrupting Big Match

November 22, 2022

It worked before. There are several different aspects that go into making a wrestler work out in the right way. In addition to everything that takes place on the microphone and in the ring, a wrestler’s appearance needs to make them stand out in some way. Occasionally a change needs to be made and now a longstanding WWE star has done just that with a bit of a flashback. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: WRESTLING RUMORS: WWE Boss Triple H Sees Monday Night Raw Star As “Reclamation Project” This week on Monday Night Raw, Akira Tozawa appeared in his old tights and with blond hair, rather than the martial arts attire and black hair he had been sporting for years. Tozawa interrupted the Baron Corbin vs. Drew McIntyre match by distracting Corbin’s manager John Bradshaw Layfield, costing Corbin the match. This comes a week after Tozawa posted a photo of his old gear with a caption saying “thank you”, though it is not confirmed that he was talking about the upcoming change. Old look: IMG Credit: WW..

NEWS

That Could Mean Something: WWE Star Posts Cryptic Message After Rare Appearance

November 16, 2022

That could mean so much. The internet has changed the wrestling world in a lot of ways, with wrestlers being able to benefit from its presences in a lot of ways. One of the most important is by allowing wrestlers to be able to get their face and words out there a lot more often than they are on television. Now one of them has made a post that is more than a little curious. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: One More Time: How A Possible CM Punk WWE Return Is Being Received Backstage This week on Monday Night Raw, Akira Tozawa appeared in a backstage segment where he beat Baron Corbin and John Bradshaw Layfield in a poker game. Later in the night, Tozawa lost to Corbin in a match, which was Tozawa’s first match on Monday Night Raw since the June 27 episode. After the show was over, Tozawa sent out a tweet of his ring gear, with the caption “thank you”. There is no word on what Tozawa meant by the message. Tozawa has been in WWE since 2016. Thank you. pic.twitter.com/92XZsxPmwD — Akira Tozawa (@..

NEWS

Monday Night Raw Results – June 27, 2022

June 28, 2022

Monday Night Raw Date: June 27, 2022 Location: Sames Auto Arena, Laredo, Texas Commentators: Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Jimmy Smith It’s a very special night as John Cena is here to celebrate twenty years (to the day) of his WWE debut. That should be enough to carry the night and that might need to be the case. This is also the go home edition of Raw for Money In The Bank, meaning it’s time to build momentum, establish dominance, and maybe even come up with an original tagline for what the participants are doing. Let’s get to it. Earlier today, John Cena returned to quite the hero’s welcome, meeting a bunch of applauding wrestlers and backstage workers. Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: Battle Royal T-Bar, Mustafa Ali, Shanky, Akira Tozawa, Rey Mysterio, Dominik Mysterio, Ricochet, Shinsuke Nakamura, Jinder Mahal, Riddle, Miz, AJ Styles, Ciampa, Reggie, Shelton Benjamin, Dolph Ziggler, R-Truth, Veer Mahaan Tozawa is tossed out fast and Mahaan clotheslines Benjamin out. The Myste..

NEWS

WWE Backstage Producer Seems To Receive A Promotion

May 15, 2022

It’s an upgrade. There are a lot of people who make a wrestling show work and several of them are not even in the ring. While the wrestlers themselves are the people who put on the matches, there are others who work with them to get everything ready. In WWE, these people are called producers and now another former wrestler has received a promotion backstage. According to Fightful Select, Ariya Daivari worked on his own as a producer at this week’s Main Event taping. Daivari produced the Apollo Crews vs. Akira Tozawa match on his own, marking the first time he has done so. This comes after Daivari and Curtis Axel received tryout as producers in WWE, with Axel working on this week’s SmackDown. There is no word on if the two are now full time producers. Opinion: It is nice to see WWE bringing in some fresh blood to the producers’ ranks, as you are only going to get so far with the same people doing the same matches over and over. Daivari and Axel can offer a fresh perspective on the mat..

NEWS

Yes And Yes: Two WWE Couples Are Getting Married

March 29, 2022

It’s a storytelling device. There are a lot of different ways to present an angle in professional wrestling. With so many things having been done over the years, it is rare to see something brand new being done, but there is the chance of seeing something done with a new twist. That was the case again this week, as a classic story was combined with itself. Two marriage proposals took place this week on Monday Night Raw. 24/7 Champion Dana Brooke and Reggie were backstage when Reggie said he wanted to take things to a new level. This led him to propose, with Brooke accepting. Tamina then came in to attack Brooke, with Reggie making the save. Akira Tozawa then came in to propose to Tamina, who accepted as well. There is no word on when the weddings will take place. Opinion: Marriages have been a thing in wrestling for a long time now but I don’t remember the potential of a double wedding. I’m not sure how well the idea is going to go, but I’ll take it over them running around and doing..

NEWS

VIDEO: Several More WWE Draft Picks Made On Saturday

October 2, 2021

Keep it going. We are in the middle of the 2021 WWE Draft and that means we are seeing the WWE’s rosters shaken up in a huge way. There were several picks made during this week’s SmackDown and there will be even more made next week on Monday Night Raw. However, there are some other picks being made in the middle and some of them were quite big as well. There were more Draft picks made during this week’s edition of Talking Smack. Monday Night Raw made eleven picks while SmackDown made six, though two of Monday Night Raw’s picks were tag teams. The tag team of Mace and T-Bar have been split up, with Mace going to SmackDown and T-Bar going to Monday Night Raw. Here are all of the picks made on Saturday: Monday Night Raw 24/7 Champion Reggie Akira Tozawa Alpha Academy (Chad Gable & Otis) Apollo Crews & Commander Azeez Doudrop Drake Maverick John Morrison T-Bar Nia Jax R-Truth Zelina Vega SmackDown Toni Storm Aliyah Drew Gulak Mansoor Mustafa Ali Mace There are some big names here. Chec..

NEWS

Monday Night Raw Star Returns With New Nickname

September 28, 2021

Welcome back. There are all kinds of wrestlers in WWE these days and it can be easy to lose track of some of them. Maybe they run out of things to do or maybe they are not on television all that often, but every now and then you see someone make a surprise appearance that catches you off guard. That was the case this week, with a return taking place. Keith Lee returned to Monday Night Raw for the first time in nearly two months, defeating Akira Tozawa in a surprise appearance. Tozawa had issued an open challenge and Lee returned, defeating Tozawa in less than a minute with the Big Bang Catastrophe. This comes after Lee had only been wrestling on live events and in dark matches. He also now uses the ring name Keith “Bearcat” Lee. This is something you might need to get used to. Check out what Lee is bringing back to Monday Night Raw: [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] Opinion: I’m glad to..

NEWS

WATCH: Team Split Leads To Surprise Title Change On Monday Night Raw

July 20, 2021

Not the intended result. With so many wrestlers and characters on WWE television, it can make sense to put them together and see what they can do as a combined force. Some of these instances work a lot better than others and that has been the case as of late on Monday Night Raw. That being said, one such group seems to be no more, but the split resulted in a surprise ending. This week on Monday Night Raw, Reginald accidentally cost Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler a tag team match against Natalya and Tamina. Reginald’s distraction allowed Tamina to superkick Baszler and score the pin. After the match was over, Jax headbutted Reginald and left with Baszler, seemingly ending Reginald’s association with the team. Reginald’s night was not done yet though. After Jax and Baszler left, 24/7 Champion Akira Tozawa ran to the ring, with the regular group of challengers chasing after him. Reginald attacked Tozawa and gave him a running flipping seated senton to win the title for the first time. Follo..

NEWS

REVIEW: Great Balls Of Fire: Mediocre Gracious

June 5, 2021

Welcome to KB’s Old School (and New School) Reviews. I’ve been reviewing wrestling shows for over ten years now and have reviewed over 5,000 shows. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I’ll be posting a new review here on Wrestlingrumors.net. It could be anything from modern WWE to old school to indies to anything in between. Note that I rate using letters instead of stars and I don’t rate matches under three minutes as really, how good or bad can something that short be? Great Balls of Fire Date: July 9, 2017 Location: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas Commentators: Michael Cole, Booker T., Corey Graves It’s time for the most oddly named pay per view in a long time and yes they’re actually going to call it this. Brock Lesnar is getting back in the ring for the first time since Wrestlemania to defend the Universal Title against Samoa Joe. This has the potential to be a war and that’s what the title needs. Let’s get to it. Kickoff Show: Cruiserweight Title: Neville vs. Akira Toz..

NEWS

Main Event Results – December 10, 2020

December 15, 2020

Main Event Date: December 10, 2020 Location: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida Commentators: Tom Phillips, Samoa Joe It’s the last show in the Amway Center before everything moves over to Tropicana Field. Somehow Main Event has actually shaken things up a bit in recent weeks and I could go for more of that. This is the kind of thing that the show has needed for….well several years now and hopefully that is the case again. Let’s get to it. In Memory of Pat Patterson. Opening sequence. Here is Elias to open things up….and Jaxson Ryker of all people is with him. Elias talks about being electrocuted on Raw last week but he can still play his guitar like this. The electricity gave him a vision though, just like Ryker. The vision taught him that the universal truth is WWE stands for WALK WITH ELIAS. Cue R-Truth with the usual band of idiots, with Ryker taking out Akira Tozawa. Truth gets on the commentary table and says that he likes his own song better. Rapping ensues. We recap Roman Reig..

NEWS

Main Event Results – May 21, 2020

May 25, 2020

Main Event Date: May 21, 2020 Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida Commentators: Tom Phillips, MVP It’s back to this one again and I’m running out of ways to come up with ways to talk about this show. There isn’t anything worth seeing on it most weeks, but you never know when you might see something that throws you a little curve ball. Hopefully that is the case again here, but I wouldn’t get my hopes up. Let’s get to it. Opening sequence. Jinder Mahal vs. Akira Tozawa Mahal goes straight to the power to start but Tozawa slips out of a slam and kicks away at the leg. A superkick drops Tozawa but Mahal would rather slug away than cover. Tozawa gets whipped hard into the corner and it’s the knee to the face to keep Tozawa down. The chinlock goes on and some knees to the back keep Tozawa in trouble. Another chinlock goes on because this is a match that needs two of them. Tozawa fights up and hits a quick Shining Wizard into a missile dropkick for two. A whip into the corn..

NEWS

205 Live Results – March 19, 2019

March 22, 2019

205 Live Date: March 19, 2019 Location: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness, Aiden English The tournament concludes tonight and we’re going to have a new Wrestlemania match set. This wee will see Cedric Alexander vs. Tony Nese for the right to challenge Buddy Murphy for the Cruiserweight Title in a match that totally won’t be on the Kickoff Show. Other than that, Mike Kanellis is running out of chances to prove himself worthy of being on the 205 Live roster. Let’s get to it. Drake Maverick recaps the tournament before tonight’s final. Opening sequence. Here are the Kanellises for a chat before Mike’s (now with no hair) match. Maria says he’s the greatest wrestler in the world and better than the best. Mike is about to prove everyone wrong, including whoever his opponent is. Mike Kanellis vs. Akira Tozawa Tozawa is a mystery opponent. Mike grabs the arm and is immediately driven into a rope for the break. An aggressive fight ove..

NEWS

Elimination Chamber 2019 Live Coverage And Results

February 18, 2019

Elimination Chamber 2019 Date: February 17, 2019 Location: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young, Tom Phillips, Percy Watson It’s the first of two stops on the Road to Wrestlemania and that means we’ll be seeing a big steel structure. In this case it’s for the WWE Championship and the inaugural WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles. The structure alone makes this a little more interesting and hopefully it’s good on top of that. Let’s get to it. Kickoff Show: Cruiserweight Title: Buddy Murphy vs. Akira Tozawa Murphy is defending and they start fast with a battle over the wristlock. The fight heads outside with Tozawa ducking a chop to send Murphy’s hand into the post. Murphy is fine enough to drop him on the floor for an eight count and let’s go to the back for an interview with Kofi Kingston. Well actually with Xavier Woods and Big E. as Kofi is undergoing a maple syrup massage. Tozawa gets caught in a backbreaker and a chinlock as Xavier talks ab..

NEWS

Elimination Chamber 2019 Preview, Predictions And Thoughts

February 17, 2019

It’s time for the first of two stops on the way towards WrestleMania 35, because for some reason there are two pay per views between the Royal Rumble and the biggest show of the year. First up we have Elimination Chamber, though I’m not sure you would know that after this week’s Monday Night Raw, which mainly focused on WrestleMania. There is however a pay per view card to look at, with a pair of major matches. Let’s get to it. Kickoff Show: Cruiserweight Title: Buddy Murphy(c) vs. Akira Tozawa Was anyone realistically expecting this to be on the main show? The Cruiserweight Title is all but guaranteed to be on the Kickoff Show anymore, though I can go for the idea of having them get a little extra time so things can be fleshed out. Tozawa won a four way match on 205 Live to earn the shot against Murphy, who is becoming quite the top level Cruiserweight Champion. I’m thinking that’s enough to keep the title on Murphy, who seems almost guaranteed to have a major title match at Wrestle..

NEWS

205 Live Results – December 19, 2018

December 21, 2018

205 Live Date: December 19, 2018 Location: Save Mart Center, Fresno, California Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson Well with the most recently title match out of the way, things are starting to get back to normal around here. That doesn’t mean we don’t have anything big planned for tonight though, with a street fight between Akira Tozawa/Brian Kendrick vs. Jack Gallagher/Drew Gulak. Tozawa and Kendrick had a great street fight last year and this has the potential to be incredible as well. Let’s get to it. We open with a recap of Buddy Murphy retaining the Cruiserweight Title over Cedric Alexander at TLC. This leads into the regular preview of tonight’s show. Opening sequence. Here are Hideo Itami and Ariya Daivari for a chat. Daivari is extra serious tonight as he tells everyone to SHUT THEIR MOUTHS and show Hideo respect. He can’t sit idly by while a legend like Itami is ignored around here. Itami hasn’t had any real competition for two months so until that i..

NEWS

205 Live Results – August 28, 2018

September 1, 2018

205 Live Date: August 28, 2018 Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson We’re still on the way towards….whenever the next Cruiserweight Title match is going to be as Drew Gulak seems ready to get another shot at Cedric Alexander. Last week’s main event saw Lucha House Party defeat Buddy Murphy and Tony Nese, but we could still get a thing or two more out of the feud, especially since Kalisto got involved at the end. Let’s get to it. Here are last week’s results if you need a recap. Drake Maverick gives us the recap/preview. Opening sequence. Brian Kendrick vs. Akira Tozawa Before the match, Kendrick and Brian Gallagher rip on Toronto a bit for being a secondary Commonwealth city. In addition to that, Tozawa doesn’t know his place and needs to learn to keep his mouth shut. Tonight, Tozawa is taking the beating that he deserves. Kendrick bails to the floor to start so Tozawa dives onto both he and Gallagher. Back i..

NEWS

205 Live Results – May 22, 2018

May 25, 2018

205 Live Date: May 22, 2018 Location: DCU Center, Worcester, Massachusetts Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson We’re back stateside now and that means we need to get ready for next week’s title match with Cedric Alexander defending against Buddy Murphy. Tonight though we’ll be seeing a battle of the strikers as Hideo Itami faces Akira Tozawa in a battle over their issues during tag team matches of late. Let’s get to it. Here are last week’s results if you need a recap. We open with a look at Itami vs. Tozawa with Itami saying he didn’t like their time together. Why did Itami need a partner in the first place? Opening sequence. Drew Gulak vs. Gran Metalik Before the match, Gulak says he’s taking down another member of Lucha House Party. They can flip and dive all they want but if they step to him, they’ll tap out. Hang on though as here are Brian Kendrick and Jack Gallagher for commentary. Kendrick even has some drawings for the other comm..

Other

WWE 205 Live Results 4/17 Drake Maverick Addresses Buddy Murphy's Attack on Cedric Alexander, Tornado Tag Team Match & More!

April 18, 2018

This is the Fightful.com live coverage for tonight's episode of WWE 205 Live. Tonight 205 Live general manager Drake Maverick will address Buddy Murphy's attack on Cruiserweight champion Cedric Alexander last week, Lucha House Party take on Hideo Itami and Akira Tozawa in a tornado tag match and much more so be sure to come back here at 10 PM EST after Smackdown! Live for an hour showcasing the WWE Cruiserweight brand! Mustafa Ali vs Ariya Daivari Ariya attacks Ali before the bell rings, then Ali hits a huricanrrana for a quick two count. Ariya catches Ali up top and pulls him off of the top and to the mat before starting to focus on his back. Ali comes back with a series of clotheslines, chops and elbows before going for his signature rolling neckbreaker, but Ariya counters it into a superkick. Ali dropkicks Ariya out of the ring before Ariya hits a spinebuster onto the floor when Ali goes out after him and rushes him. They get back in the ring and Ariya gets a quick two c..