Akira Tozawa Akira Tozawa ( July 22 , 1985 ) is a Japan ese professional wrestler who mainly performs for Dragon Gate . He is currently signed to WWE under the ring name Tozawa . In July 2010 , Tozawa left on a year - long excursion to United States , during which he performed for promotions such as Chikara , Dragon Gate USA and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla . Professional wrestling career . Dragon Gate ( 2005 – 2010 ) . Akira Tozawa was the third graduate of the Dragon Gate dojo to debut . He was being groomed to enter the stable M2K , but he did not progress very well . After debuting , he underwent a 10 match trial series , but lost all 10 matches and was banished back to the DG dojo . Tozawa returned in October 2005 , teaming with fellow rookie Yuki Ono / Katsuo . However , he ended up teaming with Vangelis , a wrestler with a Nazi stripper gimmick . Kenichiro Arai intervened , much to Tozawa ' s resentment . When Tozawa scored the biggest win of his career so far by beating Naruki Doi during the Brave Gate League , the impressed Arai offered him a spot in M2K . Tozawa , however , refused , and stated his intention to run a stable of his own , and created a cram school based stable called Tozawa - juku . Even though Tozawa - juku bore his name , he was not necessarily the leader . Because of his backstage reputation as a troublemaker at the time , he was regularly held off of shows , progressed little , and was far beneath his stablemates Taku Iwasa , Kenichiro Arai , and even fellow troublemaker Yuki Ono in rank . When Ono experienced newfound popularity and rank courtesy of a massive amount of weight gain ( 40 + KG ) , Tozawa began to bulk up as well , and he and Ono formed the Metabolic Brothers tag team within Tozawa - juku . They discarded the gakuran pants worn by the unit and wore silver tights and boots . However , they hardly got anywhere , due to injuries to Ono and the general awfulness of the whole concept . On July 11 , 2008 , after having done this for a little over half a year , he appeared on a show with his gakuran pants on and announced that , in light of the recent success that new stablemates Shinobu and El Generico have brought to the unit ( as well as constant pestering from Iwasa and Arai ) , he was going on a diet . After a diet trial series , where he actually had success , he brashly challenged Open the Triangle Gate Champions Masaaki Mochizuki , Don Fujii , and Magnitude Kishiwada to a title match against him , Iwasa & Arai on November 16 . The trio agreed , but on the condition that Tozawa - juku would have to disband if his team lost . His team would lose the match , bringing about the end of the unit , and he and his stablemates were given a graduation ceremony . He promised everyone that he would ascend to the next stage . He and Iwasa began to team with Shingo Takagi in the weeks that followed , and then on December 19 , he appealed to Shingo to form a new unit with him and Iwasa . Shingo agreed to it . On January 11 , 2009 , Dragon Kid joined up with him and the others , and Shingo gave the unit the name of Kamikaze . Tozawa participated in the Battle of Tokyo Tournament two weeks later , and made it to the finals before losing to Kagetora . In his times with Kamikaze , he was the lowest ranked member ; as such he was lower on the card and took the losing fall often in his matches . Highlights of this time period were an Open the Brave Gate Championship challenge in 2009 against Cima and a " Loser is Banished to Dark Matches " match on May 5 , 2010 against Kamikaze stablemate Cyber Kong . After this loss against Kong , Tozawa left Japan for an extended tour of the United States beginning in May 2010 . American exploits ( 2010 – 2016 ) . On May 7 , 2010 , Tozawa made his debut for Dragon Gate ' s international expansion Dragon Gate USA , as a member of the heel group Kamikaze USA , teaming with Gran Akuma in a match , where they were defeated by Mike Quackenbush and Jigsaw . Also in May 2010 , Tozawa began working regularly for SoCal promotion Pro Wrestling Guerrilla . He made his Pro Wrestling Guerrilla debut on May 9 , during the Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament , teaming with fellow Kamikaze partner Yamato in a first - round losing effort against The Briscoe Brothers ( Jay and Mark Briscoe ) . At the following show on June 11 , he defeated Scott Lost and on July 30 Chris Sabin . Tozawa also competed in Chikara ' s Young Lions Cup VIII in August 2010 . He defeated Green Ant on August 27 in the first round , but was the last man eliminated from the six - way elimination semifinal match later that same night . On August 29 , the final day of the tournament , Tozawa was defeated by Hallowicked in a singles match . On September 5 Tozawa entered PWG ' s 2010 Battle of Los Angeles , defeating El Generico in his first round match . The following night , Tozawa was eliminated from the tournament by Chris Hero . The match , called by some a match of the year contender , is considered Tozawa ' s breakout performance , which got him noticed even by the Dragon Gate office . Tozawa returned to PWG on December 11 , 2010 , in a match , where he was defeated by Kevin Steen . Afterwards Steen recruited Tozawa as his partner for the March 4 DDT4 tournament . Tozawa earned victories over Sami Callihan , Austin Aries , and BxB Hulk for Dragon Gate USA in January 2011 , but run - ins with stablemates Jon Moxley and Yamato led to him being kicked out of Kamikaze USA , turning him face in the process . At the following Dragon Gate USA tapings on April 3 , Tozawa defeated Moxley to earn an immediate shot at Yamato ' s Open the Freedom Gate Championship . He was , however , unsuccessful in his attempt to become the new champion . Tozawa was also unsuccessful in beating Pac for his Open the Brave Gate Championship on April 2 , at Mercury Rising 2011 . On March 4 , 2011 , Tozawa and Kevin Steen , the team known collectively as the Nightmare Violence Connection , entered PWG ' s " DDT4 " tournament , upsetting the Briscoe Brothers in their first round match . After another upset victory over the ROH World Tag Team Champions , The Kings of Wrestling ( Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli ) , during which Tozawa pinned Hero , avenging his Battle of Los Angeles loss , he and Steen made it to the finals of the tournament , where they were , however , defeated by The Young Bucks ( Matt and Nick Jackson ) . On April 9 , Tozawa was defeated by Low Ki in a singles match in PWG . On April 15 , Tozawa returned to Chikara , captaining Team Dragon Gate , consisting of himself , Kagetora and Super Shisa , in the 2011 King of Trios tournament . In the first round of the tournament , Team Dragon Gate defeated the Spectral Envoy ( UltraMantis Black , Hallowicked and Frightmare ) . The following day , Team Dragon Gate was eliminated from the tournament in the quarterfinal stage by The Osirian Portal ( Amasis , Hieracon and Ophidian ) . On April 17 , the final day of the tournament , Tozawa faced Eddie Kingston in a losing effort . On April 19 , Tozawa made his debut for Evolve at the promotion ' s first live internet pay - per - view , facing Chuck Taylor in a losing effort . On May 15 , 2011 , in Austin , Texas , Tozawa captured the Anarchy Championship Wrestling ( ACW ) U – 30 Young Gun Championship , the first title of his career , by defeating previous champion ACH , Arik Cannon and Gary Jay in a four – way match . He would lose the title to Gerald James six days later . On May 27 , Tozawa returned to PWG for his final weekend with the promotion before his return to Japan . During the first night of " All Star Weekend 8 " , Tozawa and Kevin Steen defeated El Generico and Ricochet in a tag team match . The following night , Tozawa wrestled two matches , first teaming with Steen to defeat the RockNES Monsters ( Johnny Goodtime and Johnny Yuma ) in a tag team match , before defeating Chris Hero in his PWG farewell match . This ended Towaza ' s extended USA tour , although Tozawa remained a part of Dragon Gate USA . On June 3 , Tozawa and Yamato failed to capture the Open the United Gate Championship when they lost to reigning champions Masato Yoshino and Pac at Fearless 2011 . On June 28 , 2012 , Tozawa unsuccessfully challenged Johnny Gargano for the Open the Freedom Gate Championship . Tozawa received another shot at the title on July 28 , 2013 , at Dragon Gate USA ' s fourth anniversary event , but was again defeated by Gargano . On July 24 , 2015 , Tozawa returned to PWG , losing to Ricochet , and on the first show of 2016 , returned once again , losing to Zack Sabre Jr . Return to Dragon Gate ( 2011 – 2016 ) . On June 8 , 2011 , Tozawa made his return to Dragon Gate , joining the promotion ' s dominant heel stable , Blood Warriors . Upon his return , Tozawa was treated as a serious competitor and given a major push , which included defeating Shingo Takagi on July 17 at " Kobe Pro Wrestling Festival 2011 " . In August , Tozawa and fellow Blood Warriors member BxB Hulk took part in the 2011 Summer Adventure Tag League , where they ultimately defeated Masaaki Mochizuki and Yamato of rival group Junction Three to win the tournament . On the September 16 , Tozawa defeated rival Yamato in a no ropes , no disqualification match . This led to Tozawa challenging Masaaki Mochizuki for the Open the Dream Gate Championship on October 13 , but Tozawa was defeated . On December 1 , Tozawa and BxB Hulk defeated Kagetora and Susumu Yokosuka to win the vacant Open the Twin Gate Championship , Tozawa ' s first title in Dragon Gate . On January 19 , 2012 , Tozawa and Hulk turned on Blood Warriors leader Cima , causing him to lose a ten - man " Loser Leaves Unit " tag team match ; as a result , Cima was kicked out of Blood Warriors . After this match , Tozawa assumed the leader role inside Blood Warriors . On January 29 , Tozawa made a one night return to PWG , when he teamed with Kevin Steen and Super Dragon in a six - man tag team main event , where they were defeated by El Generico , Masato Yoshino and Pac . On February 9 , the Tozawa - led Blood Warriors won their feud with Junction Three by defeating them in a fourteen - man elimination tag team match , forcing their rival group to disband . On March 1 , Tozawa renamed the Blood Warriors as Mad Blankey . Three days later , he and BxB Hulk lost the Open the Twin Gate Championship to Jimmy Kagetora and Jimmy Susumu . On July 22 , Tozawa received another shot at the Open the Dream Gate Championship , but was this time defeated by Cima . On August 19 , Tozawa , BxB Hulk and Naoki Tanisaki defeated Cima , Gamma and Magnitude Kishiwada to win the 2012 Summer Adventure Tag League and the vacant Open the Triangle Gate Championship . They lost the title to Kaettekita Veteran - gun ( Gamma , Hub and Magnitude Kishiwada ) on October 21 . On May 5 , 2013 , Tozawa received another shot at the Open the Dream Gate Championship in the main event of Dead or Alive 2013 , but was again defeated by Cima . On June 15 , Tozawa and BxB Hulk regained the Open the Twin Gate Championship from Shingo Takagi and Yamato , when Yamato turned on Takagi and joined Mad Blankey . Tozawa and Hulk went on to lose the title to Naruki Doi and Ricochet on July 21 . On August 1 , after Tozawa had led Mad Blankey to victory against - akatsuki - in a match , where the losing stable would have to disband , the rest of Mad Blankey turned on him , kicking him out of the group and assuming Yamato their new leader . On August 30 , Tozawa formed a new stable with former Mad Blankey stablemate Uhaa Nation and Shingo Takagi . On September 12 , the three were joined by Masato Yoshino , Ricochet and Shachihoko Boy , forming a stable named Monster Express . On December 22 , Tozawa and Takagi defeated Naruki Doi and Yamato to win the Open the Twin Gate Championship . They lost the title to Eita and T - Hawk on July 20 , 2014 . On February 28 , 2015 , Tozawa won his first singles title in Dragon Gate , when he defeated Kzy for the Open the Brave Gate Championship . On March 29 , Tozawa also won the Open the Owarai Gate Championship by defeating Yosuke♥Santa Maria . On November 1 , Tozawa lost the Open the Brave Gate Championship to Kotoka in a three - way match , which also involved Naoki Tanizaki . On November 14 , 2015 , Tozawa lost the Open the Owarai Gate Championship to referee Mr . Nakagawa via fan support . On September 22nd , 2016 , Tozawa unsuccessfully challenged YAMATO for the Dream Gate Championship . On September 25 , he announced that he will be wrestling his final Dragon Gate match on November 3 , before moving to the United States to work for WWE . In his send - off match , he teamed with Masato Yoshino and Naruki Doi in a losing effort against the team of Shingo Takagi , YAMATO , and BxB Hulk . WWE . Cruiserweight division ( 2016 – present ) . On March 31 , 2016 , Tozawa was announced as a participant in WWE ' s Global Cruiserweight Series tournament , which was later renamed the " Cruiserweight Classic " . The tournament began on June 23 with Tozawa defeating Kenneth Johnson in his first round match . On July 14 , Tozawa defeated Jack Gallagher in his second round match . On August 26 , Tozawa was eliminated from the tournament in the quarterfinals by Gran Metalik . On the September 5 , 2016 , episode of " Raw " , Tozawa was announced as part of WWE ' s upcoming cruiserweight division . On November 2 , Tozawa was announced as a roster member for the upcoming cruiserweight - centric " 205 Live " show . On December 3 , at an NXT live event at Osaka , Japan , Tozawa teamed with Tajiri in a losing effort to NXT Tag Team Champions # DIY ( Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano ) . On February 6 , 2017 , Tozawa made his debut on " Raw " , defeating Drew Gulak in singles action .