The writing was on the wall for some time, but we learned Monday that Akira Tozawa has officially become the No. 1 contender for Neville's cruiserweight title. In less than two weeks, they'll face off at the "WWE Great Balls of Fire" pay-per-view (hereafter referred to as GBOF, for the sake of brevity and to avoid fits of laughter).
What wasn't so obvious, until Monday night, was that Tozawa would wholeheartedly joined Titus Worldwide. There wasn't a contract signing, or any sort of last-ditch marketing effort. Rather, Tozawa just showed up in Titus O'Neils luxury ringside seat once again, in a sharp suit and designer sunglasses.
Although the story of Tozawa signing with Titus was pushed along a bit quickly, it does allow us to skip ahead to the good part in bringing together two of the premier competitors in the division.
As Neville's reign continues to roll on, and challenger after challenger steps up, the first question has to be whether Tozawa is the right choice to dethrone the king.
It's the biggest issue with having a dominant, long-term champion. When The New Day held the tag team titles for 483 days, the narrative was just as much about "who will end the streak" as it was "how long will New Day hold the titles."
Tozawa could lead the division. He is charismatic, he connects with the crowd, and he brings an in-ring game on par with Neville's. Neville has done this, not just by holding the title, but by putting on top matches, delivering standout promos, and ramping up the intensity of feuds with a variety of challengers.
Both O'Neil, the loudmouthed hype-man, and Tozawa, an intense fan favorite, clash well with Neville's straight-ahead, but devious, heel character. On paper, it doesn't necessarily seem that O'Neil and Tozawa would be a good pair, but so far, it's worked incredibly well.
As Neville has with each title challenger who has stepped up to challenge his reign, the champ verbally tore down Tozawa as 205 Live rolled to a close.
"Tozawa, I know you like to give lessons. Well, the King of the Cruiserweights likes to give warnings. In two weeks, at Great Balls of Fire, don't show up. Because if you do, I promise the moment you step through these ropes, you will be smacked in the face with the harsh, cold realization that you don't belong in my ring. That you're not even close to the Neville level."
.@WWENeville: "Do you understand what I'm saying to you?"@TozawaAkira: "HA!"@WWENeville: "ENOUGH!"@TozawaAkira: "HA!"#205Live pic.twitter.com/q6quDmswbM
- WWE (@WWE) June 28, 2017
That brought Tozawa to the ring, and the familiar script was followed as Neville was bested, both verbally, as Tozawa frustrated Neville with his "war cry," and physically, as a pair of kicks drove Neville out of the ring and up the ramp.
Tozawa has the upper hand in the feud as we near GBOF. But is the timing right for a title change?
"SummerSlam" looms large, and a title reign as noteworthy as Neville's needs to end on a bigger stage than GBOF. Obviously, the rematch could take place at SummerSlam, but the big moment, the title change, would have already come and gone.
On the other hand, an outright Neville victory also leaves few options for the headline cruiserweight feud at SummerSlam. There's Cedric Alexander ... and a bunch of contenders long-dispatched by Neville, most notably Austin Aries, who continues to sit on the shelf for an indeterminate window.
You hate to advocate for an unclean finish, but it seems that's the best way to stretch Neville-Tozawa to another pay-per-view. It's a long stretch, about two months, to carry on a rivalry, but things are still fairly fresh and new -- and it'd also allow O'Neil and Neville to work their magic.
Hits and Misses
-- I thought this week's Drew Gulak was the best version we've seen since his WWE arrival. The feud with Mustafa Ali seemed a little stagnant, but we got a fresh take Tuesday when Ali won with a couple of mat-based maneuvers, and Gulak, knees shaking all the way up, attempted a Superfly Splash. The mental side of the feud is getting interesting, and now it's time for the next step.
-- Brian Kendrick returned with a great performance, first impersonating, and then dressing down, Gentleman Jack Gallagher. Kendrick might be the best thing that's happened to Gallagher since Gallagher's title shot.
-- Is this another false finish to the Alexander-Noam Dar feud? I don't think Dar's interference and his trying to add another chapter to the feud was worth ending Alexander's winning streak, especially when the rivalry seemingly ended neatly after their first match following Alexander's return.