AKIRA TOZAWA

Tozawa Akira is a 38-year-old wrestler from Hyogo, Japan. He is one of the WWE’s many high-flying wrestlers and currently performs on RAW under the ring name, Akira Tozawa.

He made his wrestling debut for Dragon Gate, a Japanese wrestling promotion, in October 2005 and wrestled for Dragon Gate for twelve years. During his stint with Dragon Gate, Tozawa earned the Open the Brave Gate, Open the Twin Gate, Open the Triangle Gate, and Open the Owarai Gate championships. Tozawa was also the 2011 and 2012 winner of Dragon Gate’s Summer Adventure Tag League. Akira Tozawa also competed in US promotions Dragon Gate USA, Chikara, and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.

Akira Tozawa’s WWE Debut

In 2016, Tozawa was signed by WWE and made his debut as part of the Cruiserweight Classic tournament in 2016 to crown the first WWE Cruiserweight Champion. He made it to the quarterfinals but was eliminated after losing to Gran Metalik in his third match.

Akira Tozawa then entered a feud with reigning Cruiserweight Champion, Neville, in 2017 and defeated him in August to win his first title in the WWE. He dropped the title only six days later to Neville at SummerSlam. At the WWE Draft in 2019, Tozawa was drafted to RAW and made his debut in November where he was defeated by Buddy Murphy.

Akira Tozawa’s 24/7 Title Reigns

In December, Tozawa captured the WWE’s 24/7 Championship from R-Truth but lost the title to Santa Claus. On April 12, 2020, WWE announced that Tozawa would be a participant in the Interim NXT Cruiserweight Championship Tournament. He defeated Isaiah “Swerve” Scott in his first match and Gentleman Jack Gallagher in his second match. Tozawa then lost to El Hijo del Fantasma though and failed to advance to the tournament’s finals.

In June 2020, Tozawa defeated R-Truth again for the 24/7 Championship for the second time. He lost the title back to R-Truth a week later. On August 3, Tozawa won the 24/7 Title for a third time in a triple threat match against champion Shelton Benjamin and R-Truth. A week later, he lost the title again to R-Truth. He would win the 24/7 title five other times.

On the February 15th episode of RAW, Tozawa pinned R-Truth backstage to win the 24/7 Championship. His reign ended 28 seconds later when he was attacked by Damian Priest and was pinned by Bad Bunny.

Akira Tozawa Feuding for 24/7 Title

Afterwards, he and R-Truth continued feuding over the title, alongside Drew Gulak and others. When Reggie won the title after he was abandoned by Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler, he and R-Truth began feuding with him. On the September 27th episode of Raw, Tozawa was quickly defeated by Keith “Bearcat” Lee.

In early 2022, after spending months with both him and Tamina Snuka trying to win the 24/7 Title, Tozawa and Tamina ended up becoming lovers. On March 28 they got (kayfabe) engaged. On April 18, Tozawa won the championship for the fifth time by pinning his partner, Tamina, during their wedding ceremony. Tozawa then lost the championship back to Dana Brooke.

Later that month however, due to him being unable to help her win the title, she filed for divorce. Seconds after Tamina laid claim to the 24/7 Title during a special Memorial Day edition of Raw, Akira Tozawa pinned his ex to become the 24/7 Champion.

On the November 17th, 2022 episode of RAW, Tozawa turned face after beating Baron Corbin and JBL in a game of cards. He returned to wearing more traditional ring gear as opposed to his ninja gimmick.

Akira Tozawa
Akira Tozawa

STATS

Birth Name: Tozawa Akira
Born: July 22, 1985, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan
Height: 5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
Weight: 156 lb (70 kg)
Ring Name(s): Akira Tozawa, Tozawa, Tozawa Kengai
Current Roster: WWE RAW
Finishing Move(s): Top-rope Senton, Snap German Suplex

Akira Tozawa’s Social Media:

Instagram Twitter

Photos of Akira Tozawa

Akira Tozawa
Akira Tozawa
Akira Tozawa
Akira Tozawa
Akira Tozawa

Career Championships and Accomplishments

  • Anarchy Championship Wrestling
    • ACW U–30 Young Gun Championship (1 time)
  • Dragon Gate
    • Open the Brave Gate Championship (1 time)
    • Open the Owarai Gate Championship (1 time)
    • DG’s Open the Triangle Gate Championship (2 times)
    • Open the Twin Gate Championship (3 times)
  • World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)
    • WWE 24/7 Championship (16 times)
    • WWE Cruiserweight Championship (1 time)
    • NXT North American Championship Invitational (2018)