Another Halloween has come and gone, and for the Superstars of WWE, they once again have had the chance to dress up for the season. The Superstars are hardly strangers to portraying colorful characters on TV every single week and that has been the case with this year’s Halloween costumes.
On X, WWE showcased some of the Superstars in this year’s costumes. Otis and Akira Tozawa made quite the pair of Dudley Boyz while Maxxine Dupri portrayed the ‘Duchess of Dudleyville’ Stacey Kiebler. R-Truth dressed as his childhood icon John Cena while Chelsea Green and Piper Niven did their take on WWE GMs Nick Aldis and Adam Pearce.
Mia Yim channeled her inner Lita while Zelina Vega represented her LWO ally Rey Mysterio from his WCW days post-unmasking. Byron Saxton gave a royal replication of King Booker and, Indi Hartwell learned how to be Chelsea Green from the self-prescribed Hot Mess herself.
Halloween is always a fun time in wrestling, with WWE leaning into the spooky season with the recent NXT Halloween Havoc Premium Live Event. Stay tuned to SEScoops for all the latest from WWE as the company prepares for major changes, including Raw’s move to Netflix, in the coming months.
During the Main Event taping before Monday’s episode of WWE Raw, Akira Tozawa was in action against Grayson Waller. As seen below, Tozawa was back to his old gear of shorts, ditching the ninja gear that he’s used since 2020, starting at the Backlash event.
Tozawa was previously in action against Baron Corbin on the November 14 episode of WWE Raw. After the match, which he lost, he posted a photo of his ninja gear with the caption, “thank you.”
This got people talking, as it was a cryptic post. Now, fans know what he was referring to. In addition to his previous look in regards to ring attire, there was a big hair color change as well to mark the new era for him.
Tozawa is a former 15-time WWE 24/7 Champion and former WWE Cruiserweight Champion. Also at the taping, Alba Fyre made her main roster debut taking on Tamina.
Waller and Fyre are the latest NXT stars to get a look on the main roster in front of a bigger stage.
A title match is set for the kickoff pre-show of this weekend’s (Sun. February 17, 2019) WWE Elimination Chamber pay-per-view (PPV). The show goes down from the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. WWE announced that the Cruiserweight Championship bout between defending champion Buddy Murphy and Akira Tozawa will take place on the kickoff pre-show.
The WWE’s one-hour pre-show kicks off at 6:00 P.M. ET. Also on the main card is an Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Championship. Daniel Bryan defends his title against Samoa Joe, Randy Orton, AJ Styles, Jeff Hardy, and Kofi Kingston. In the other Elimination Chamber match of the night, the first-ever WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions will be crowned.
The teams of Nia Jax and Tamina, Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan, Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose, Billy Kay and Peyton Royce, Bayley and Sasha Banks, and Carmella and Naomi will compete for the honor.
Elimination Chamber Card
Main Card:
Elimination Chamber Match for the WWE Championship: (C) Daniel Bryan vs. Samoa Joe vs. Randy Orton vs. AJ Styles vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Kofi Kingston
WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championships: (C) Shane McMahon & The Miz vs. The Usos
WWE Women’s Tag Team Title Elimination Chamber Match: Nia Jax & Tamina vs. Sarah Logan & Liv Morgan vs. Sonya Deville & Mandy Rose, Billie Kay & Peyton Royce, Bayley & Sasha Banks, Carmella & Naomi
WWE RAW Women’s Championship: (C) Ronda Rousey vs. Ruby Riott
Handicap Match: Bobby Lashley & Lio Rush vs. Finn Balor
No DQ Match: Braun Strowman vs. Baron Corbin
Pre-show:
WWE Cruiserweight Championship: (C) Buddy Murphy vs. Akira Tozawa
Another title match has been set for WWE’s upcoming Elimination Chamber PPV.
On this week’s edition of 205 Live, a fatal-four way elimination match was held in the main event to determine the number one contender for the Cruiserweight Championship.
The match involved Akira Tozawa, Humberto Carrillo, Lio Rush, and former Cruiserweight Champion Cedric Alexander.
Cedric first eliminated Lio Rush by pinfall via the Lumbar Check. Humberto got eliminated next when Tozawa pinned him after hitting the diving senton.
The winner and the number one contender came out to be Akira Tozawa when he eliminated Cedric Alexander last with another diving senton.
WWE Cruiserweight Championship: Buddy Murphy (c) vs Akira Tozawa
Tag team match for the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship: The Miz and Shane McMahon (c) vs. The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso)
WWE Championship Elimination Chamber Match: Daniel Bryan (c) vs. AJ Styles vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Mustafa Ali vs. Randy Orton vs. Samoa Joe
Tag team Elimination Chamber match for the inaugural WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship: Nia Jax and Tamina vs. Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville vs. The Riott Squad (Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan) vs. The IIconics (Billie Kay and Peyton Royce) vs. Bayley and Sasha Banks vs. Naomi and Carmella
The event will take place on February 17 from the Toyota Center in Houston Texas and will stream live on the WWE Network. As always, make sure to tune in to SEScoops for live coverage of the event.
UK independent promotion Fight Club: Pro headed to Japan in January for their Project Tokyo event. The company announced back in 2018 that they would be debuting in Korakuen Hall. The show took place on January 7th with a huge card of international stars.
205 Live Superstar Akira Tozawa had previously been announced for the event. Fight Club: Pro is owned by NXT UK Superstar Trent Seven. Seven was originally confirmed for this card but was recently pulled. Tyler Bate and Pete Dunne were also pulled from the event.
Tozawa’s opponents for the show were the team of Kid Lykos and Chris Brookes (CCK). Tozawa teamed with Fight Club: Pro Champion and Japanese legend Meiko Satomura. Meiko also appeared in the most recent Mae Young Classic tournament.
The ‘Project Tokyo’ event is now available On Demand as part of FCP’s new ‘Unlimited’ service. The new over the top VOD service is available for £5.95 per month and has hours of content from the Wolverhampton based promotion.
For more information check out the tweet below:
🚨FIGHT CLUB: PRO UNLIMITED🚨
The @Fightclubpro VOD subscription service is now live!!!
For just £5.95 per month you will have access to hours of events plus exclusive content!!!
Fight Club: Pro held one of their biggest events this past weekend. The company held their debut event in Tokyo, Japan. The world famous Korakuen Hall played host to the event and featured some top international talent. WWE Superstar Akira Tozawa was on hand for the event and teamed with Meiko Satomura to take on Chris Brookes and Kid Lykos of CCK.
Here’s the results from the show:
Moonlight Express (MAO & Mike Bailey) b. The Hunter Brothers (Jim Hunter & Lee Hunter)
Sendai Girls Tag Team Title Match – Beauty Bear (Chihiro Hashimoto & Mika Iwata) (c) b. DASH Chisako & Millie McKenzie – Hasimoto and Iwata took the win to retain their titles
Strong BJ (Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi) b. Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis)
Strong Hearts (Seiki Yoshioka & T-Hawk) b. Strong Hearts (CIMA & El Lindaman)
UK independent promotion Fight Club: Pro will be heading to Japan in January for their Project Tokyo event. The company announced earlier this year that they would be debuting in Korakuen Hall. The show takes place on January 7th with a huge card of international stars.
205 Live Superstar Akira Tozawa had previously been announced for the event. Fight Club: Pro is owned by NXT UK Superstar Trent Seven. Seven was originally confirmed for this card but was recently pulled. Tyler Bate and Pete Dunne were also pulled from the event.
Tozawa’s opponents for the show have now been named. The team of Kid Lykos and Chris Brookes (CCK) will be taking on Tozawa and Japanese legend Meiko Satomura.
There had been speculation that FCP was part of the ‘greenlit’ promotions for NXT UK talent. The cancellation of British Strong Style’s involvement seemed to change this but with Tozawa on board as a potential ‘make good’ for the Japanese fans who really knows at this point. NXT UK will be holding a taping within 7 days of this event, that is why British Strong Style were reportedly pulled.
🚨PROJECT TOKYO🚨
Capping off our first event in Japan we have two very special matches.
Tetsuya Naito Vows To Retire Chris Jericho (Video)
The rivalry between Chris Jericho and Tetsuya Naito has been brewing for quite some time now. It all stemmed from last year at Wrestle Kingdom 12 when Jericho claimed his match with Kenny Omega was the real main event of the show. However, Naito faced Kazuchika Okada in the main event for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.
Jericho went on to defeat Naito for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship at Dominion back in June. “Y2J” then successfully defended his title against EVIL at Power Struggle 2018. Now, he’ll rematch Naito at Wrestle Kingdom 13 in January with his title on the line. Last week, Jericho said he was going to end Naito’s career when they step into the ring again.
In a recent video from Naito on New Japan Pro Wrestling’s (NJPW) YouTube channel, Naito has promised the same in return:
A lot of WWE stars have been getting married recently. The Riott Squad’s Sarah Logan tied the knot with NXT star Raymond Rowe in a Viking-themed wedding. Then, RAW star Lio Rush married his longtime girlfriend Sarah Green last week as well. Now, 205 Live star Akira Tozawa has also gotten married. The ceremony took place this past Saturday on December 22nd:
UK independent promotion Fight Club: Pro will be heading to Japan in January for their Project Tokyo event. The company announced earlier this year that they would be debuting in Korakuen Hall. The show takes place on January 7th with a huge card of international stars.
205 Live Superstar Akira Tozawa has now been announced for the event. Fight Club: Pro is owned by NXT UK Superstar Trent Seven. Seven was originally confirmed for this card but was recently pulled. Tyler Bate and Pete Dunne were also pulled from the event.
There had been speculation that FCP was part of the ‘greenlit’ promotions for NXT UK talent. The cancellation of British Strong Style’s involvement seemed to change this but with Tozawa on board as a potential ‘make good’ for the Japanese fans who really knows at this point. NXT UK will be holding a taping within 7 days of this event, that is why British Strong Style were reportedly pulled.
WWE Mae Young Classic competitor and Japanese legend Meiko Satomura will also be on the card. Satomura is the current FCP Champion and will likely defend her title on the show. Jun Kasai, CIMA, Daisuke Sekimoto, Chris Brookes, Jimmy Havoc and NXT UK’s Millie McKenzie are also seen on the show’s official poster.
🇯🇵PROJECT TOKYO🇯🇵
We wanted our debut show in Japan to be something special. A showcase of what we are, but also, to put on an event that stands out from the rest!!!
Former WWE Cruiserweight Champion Neville made a surprise appearance at Tuesday’s Dragon Gate live event from Japan. He previously worked for the company between 2007-2012 under the name PAC.
PAC’s appearance in-ring at Dragon Gate’s to join heel group RED was his first since Sept. 26, 2017 on 205 Live, he defeated Ariya Daivari on that occasion.
Reaction from 205 Live Star
The return of PAC did not go unnoticed by at least one member of the WWE locker room. 205 Live competitor Akira Tozawa took to Twitter and simply wrote “PAC.” Tozawa himself had an impressive 12 year run in Dragon Gate where he held the Open the Brave Gate, Open the Twin Gate, Open the Triangle Gate and Open the Owarai Gate Championships.
In the past WWE stars have made cryptic comments on Twitter that possibly referred to events outside the company. There’s no two ways about this message though, Tozawa is clearly referring to his former colleague from both WWE and Dragon Gate.
We reported earlier this year that WWE and Pro Wrestling NOAH had a short term working relationship with Hideo Itami returning to the Japanese company to face Naomichi Marufuji.
More Working Relationships?
There are currently no announced plans for any further ‘outside’ relationships in Japan beyond the one off Marufuji/Itami match. What if…and this is a big what if, WWE and Dragon Gate had an understanding when it came to Neville appearing? It is clear that WWE are looking to expand globally, their work on the United Kingdom series and the confirmed relationship with Germany’s wXw promotion are just the start. Dragon Gate are currently one of the smaller, albeit it well respected, companies in Japan. New Japan Pro Wrestling is still the biggest player and NOAH/Dragon Gate will still be playing second fiddle for the time being.
Neville/PAC reportedly stopped responding to independent promoter’s messages just last week. There is a very good chance that this was just a rouse to give extra impact to his Dragon Gate return, but could this be linked to WWE? This might all sound a bit far fetched but with fans being more difficult to ‘work’ in 2018 what better way than to send one of your stars out to a different promotion? You can build anticipation for a return to the ‘big time’ later down the line.
The fact that Neville/PAC appeared for Dragon Gate and not New Japan speaks a lot of the performer. The former WWE Cruiserweight Champion returned to the place that helped build his career to the point of joining WWE, whilst many may have opted to make a huge return at the likes of ROH, Impact or New Japan.
Could his Dragon Gate return be linked to WWE? There’s a very good chance that is isn’t…but what if this was part of a bigger tactic to help push development for WWE into the Japanese market? We’ll have to wait and see.
– Below is video of Samir Singh talking about Triple H to promote The Game’s match with Jinder Mahal at the WWE Supershow live event in New Delhi next Saturday night. Singh talks about how Triple H suggested they go to Bollywood following their WWE tryout matches and how getting into Bollywood led to Triple H signing them for the Cruiserweight Classic, then the roster. Singh goes on about Jinder and how they belong with him and says The Modern Day Maharaja will reign supreme over Triple H in India, where he will be the underdog. Samir says they will show Triple H why they are the new “Games” in town.
– WWE taped the following matches tonight in Los Angeles for this week’s Main Event episode:
* Akira Tozawa vs. Brian Kendrick
* Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson vs. Heath Slater and Rhyno
– Rapper Machine Gun Kelly, who has appeared on WWE TV in the past and provided a few theme songs for pay-per-view events, announced on Twitter that he will be performing at WWE’s Tribute to The Troops special tomorrow from Naval Base San Diego in California. He will be performing his new “Home” single. As noted, WWE will tape the Troops Tribute tomorrow morning before SmackDown airs later in the night from the same city. MGK tweeted the following on the performance:
going to be performing our new song “Home” for the first time in front of our soldiers at the @WWE Tribute to the Troops.. tune in 12/14 on USA 🔥🎵🏠
Big Cass faced Enzo Amore in a Brooklyn Street Fight last night on WWE RAW. Cass dominated the entire match, but everything changed when he charged at Enzo while Amore was leaning up against the ropes. Enzo ducked at the last second and Big Cass went flying out of the ring and landed awkwardly on his leg. The match was stopped shortly after this as Big Cass fell down while trying to hit an Empire Elbow. Enzo was awarded the victory as Big Cass was unable to continue due to being injured. WWE uploaded the following video of Cass using crutches following the match:
Cruiserweight Championship rematch announced for tonight’s episode of 205 Live
On last week’s episode of RAW, Akira Tozawa dethroned the King of the Cruiserweights and became the Cruiserweight Champion. During Sunday’s WWE SummerSlam Kickoff Show, Tozawa defended his Cruiserweight Championship. Tozawa seemed to be in control of the match, but things fell apart when he went for the Senton Bomb. Neville was ready for it and was able to get his knees up. Neville then connected with the Red Arrow onto Tozawa’s back for the pinfall victory.
On last night’s episode of RAW, Neville was interviewed backstage about becoming the Cruiserweight Champion once again. Neville bragged about his victory but was quickly interrupted by Titus O’Neil and Akira Tozawa. O’Neil informed Neville that Tozawa will invoke his rematch clause tonight on 205 Live.
Neville is once again the King of the Cruiserweights
On this past Monday’s episode of RAW, Akira Tozawa captured the Cruiserweight Championship from Neville via the Swanton Bomb. It was later announced that Neville would get his rematch for the title tonight on WWE SummerSlam.
Akira Tozawa was in control and went for the Senton Bomb onto Neville. Neville was able to get his knees up and Tozawa landed right on them. Neville then quickly hit the Red Arrow onto Tozawa’s back and is once again the Cruiserweight Champion.
WWE uploaded a new video in which Bayley provides an update on her injury and says that she wants to see Sasha Banks win the RAW Women’s Championship tonight at WWE SummerSlam. In the video, Bayley says she is already tired of sitting out and wants to get back in the ring as soon as possible.
Akira Tozawa finally defeated Neville during last night’s RAW broadcast to secure the WWE Cruiserweight Title. Tozawa took the pinfall win after hitting a top rope Senton on the ‘King of the Cruiserweights.’
Members of the WWE & NXT locker rooms as well as New Japan and Independent stars took to Twitter to congratulate the new champion. check out their reactions below:
Elias Samson shows no remorse after hitting Finn Balor with his guitar
Last night on RAW, Finn Balor defeated Elias Samson via DQ. Samson bashed Balor over the head with his guitar. The strike was so vicious that it created a gash on the side of Balor’s head as you can see in the photo below.
WWE uploaded a backstage interview with Elias Samson and he was asked about the attack. Samson simply kissed his guitar and walked away. Finn Balor will look to get his revenge next week on RAW when the two Superstars face off in a No Disqualifications match.
Akira Tozawa has rematch with Ariya Daivari tonight on 205 Live
Last night on RAW, Akira Tozawa faced Ariya Daivari. Daivari controlled the entire match and focused all of his attack on Tozawa’s shoulder. Titus O’Neil was ringside and eventually asked the referee to stop the match. Tozawa screamed at O’Neil following the match and then demanded a rematch with Daivari on 205 Live.
WWE has posted the following the following about Tozawa’s match with Daivari later tonight on 205 Live:
Is Tozawa too injured to compete?
Despite his loss to WWE Cruiserweight Champion Neville at the first-ever WWE Great Balls of Fire pay-per-view – albeit by some questionable tactics from the champion – Akira Tozawa remains laser-focused on dethroning The King of the Cruiserweights.
However, last week on WWE 205 Live, Tozawa’s match against Ariya Daivari ended prematurely when Neville attacked and locked his nemesis in the Rings of Saturn. The extent of the damage done during the attack was unknown for nearly a week until Daivari and the Japanese Superstar squared off once more on Raw. During the contest, it was clear Tozawa was favoring his shoulder and The Persian Lion pounced. Neville’s attack, combined with Daivari’s merciless targeting of Tozawa’s shoulder led to Titus O’Neil quitting on behalf of his client.
After the match, Tozawa – upset that O’Neil made him quit – demanded that the Founder and CEO of Titus Worldwide secure not only a rematch with Neville for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship, but also a rematch with Daivari.
Tozawa may be over-exerting himself, especially if he’s nursing an injury, and that makes him especially vulnerable to The King of the Cruiserweights. Can The Stamina Monster fight through the pain, or will O’Neil’s decision on Raw turn out to be the right one?
WWE continues to mention Hassan Yazdani
Ariya Daivari dedicated his victory last night on RAW to Iranian wrestler Hassan Yazdani. Daivari is apparently doing the same tonight and there is speculation that WWE is trying to recruit Yazdani to the company. Yazdani is 22 years old and won a gold medal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
205 Live
February 28th 2017
Xcel Energy Center
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Lince Dorado vs. Noam Dar w/Alicia Fox
Dar needed a win here as he lost clean to Togawa on Raw, which seems to happen frequently for him. During this match someone delivered flowers to Alicia Fox, but it was unclear who sent them. Fox seemed to really enjoy receiving them however, and at one point even ate a couple of them.
Noam Dar wins clean with a running kick. After the match Dar said that he sent the flowers to Fox, but he may not have been telling the truth about that…
Winner: Noam Dar
Austin Aries interviews Akira Tozawa Aries conducted an in-ring interview with Tozawa. He asked him why he turned down Brian Kendrick’s offer of mentorship, to which Tozawa basically just said he wanted to be his own man. Kendrick came out, insulted people from Minnesota and promised more lessons for Tozawa.
Tony Nese, Ariya Davairi, Drew Gulak vs. Mustapha Ali, Cedric Alexander and TJ Perkins
Nese pinned Perkins to pick up the win for the bad guy cruiserweights. Not saying much for Perkins that he was chosen to take the pin here.
Winners: Nese, Davairi, Gulak (Nese pinned Perkins)
Neville “State of 205 Live Address” Neville claimed that the cruiserweight division was irrelevant before him but that the fans still don’t give him respect. Gallagher enters and says Neville believes the ring belongs to him when it actually belongs to the WWE universe. Their disagreement came to fisticuffs.
Gallagher challenges Neville for the cruiserweight championship Sunday at Fastlane.
WWE has announced the battle royal participants for tonight’s SmackDown – John Cena, Dean Ambrose, AJ Styles, Baron Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, Kalisto, Apollo Crews, The Miz, Luke Harper and Mojo Rawley. The winner will face WWE Champion Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania.
Tonight’s SmackDown will also feature Nikki Bella vs. Natalya in a Falls Count Anywhere Match and Naomi defending the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Alexa Bliss, if Naomi is cleared to wrestle.
– WWE 205 Live cruiserweight Akira Tozawa debuted on RAW last night in Portland. He defeated Drew Gulak, as seen in the video above. WWE also aired this video package with Cesaro talking about how good Tozawa is in the ring:
– To celebrate their friendship and show the world the strength of their bond, WWE US Champion Chris Jericho and WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens will be hosting a “Festival of Friendship” on next week’s RAW from Las Vegas.
WWE has also announced that Charlotte will defend the RAW Women’s Championship against Bayley on next week’s show in Vegas.
– NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura and Bobby Roode will sign their contract for TakeOver: San Antonio on next Wednesday’s episode.
– Below are backstage videos from this week’s NXT episode with DIY talking about how they will retain the NXT Tag Team Championships over The Authors of Pain at Takeover and NXT Women’s Champion Asuka going on the hunt for Billie Kay and Peyton Royce after an earlier beatdown from Billie, Peyton and Nikki Cross. Asuka told NXT GM William Regal that she wants all three at TakeOver. The match has not been made official as of this writing.
– Akira Tozawa will be coming to WWE 205 Live soon. He previously competed in the Cruiserweight Classic and has made some NXT appearances.