Former WWE Champion Returns, Dean Ambrose And Seth Rollins Team Up At Tokyo Event
At Friday’s WWE Tokyo event, fans were treated to several great matches on the card including the return of a former champion and a partial Shield team up. Among those surprises was the return of a former WWE Champion to the wrestling ring after a brief hiatus, as well as a team up by Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins. The former Shield brothers were in action against the team of The Miz and Samoa Joe as all four men prepare for this month’s WWE Great Balls of Fire pay-per-view event.
In a report from Top Rope Press, it was said that the WWE Tokyo results included NXT star Hideo Itami battling Chris Jericho in a match. Jericho has been out of action ever since he lost the United States Championship to Kevin Owens on SmackDown Live and Owens brutally attacked him after the match. That sent Jericho away from the wrestling ring for a bit so he could focus on touring with his rock band, FOZZY. It appears he’ll be done with that in the near future and heading back to his old stomping grounds. In preparation, he took on Itami and defeated him in front of the Tokyo fans.
Following the match, Chris Jericho had nothing but praise for his opponent Hideo Itami who was still recovering in the ring from the loss. After picking up a mic, the always outspoken Jericho said he considers Itami one of the best wrestlers in the world and a “future NXT World Champion.” That’s high praise coming from a man who has held multiple championships during his illustrious wrestling career. A fan in attendance shared video footage online of Jericho’s in-ring message to Itami.
In other action, Neville won a Triple Threat Match over Austin Aries and Akira Tozawa to retain the WWE Cruiserweight Championship. Tozawa hit a huge senton on Aries off the top rope but Neville stole the pinfall. The reigning Raw tag team champions Sheamus and Cesaro defeated Heath Slater and Rhyno to keep their titles. Titus O’Neil represented his Titus Brand and got a victory over Bo Dallas. Finn Balor also picked up a win, defeating Karl Anderson in the ring.
About midway through the WWE Tokyo card came a bit of a Shield reunion when Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose formed a tag team. They battled WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz and Samoa Joe, the man who will be featured in about a week at the Great Balls of Fire PPV against Brock Lesnar. At one point in the match, Maryse was sent backstage after slapping Ambrose. Rollins and Ambrose picked up the win after Ambrose planted Miz with Dirty Deeds. Those rumors that The Shield will reunite in the future continue to swirl around the internet.
The show mixed several NXT stars into the match card, and that was also true in a six women’s tag match. It featured the WWE Raw Champion Alexa Bliss on one side, teaming with Nia Jax and Emma. On the opposing side were Bayley and Sasha Banks, as well as NXT Women’s Champion Asuka. The NXT champ’s team was victorious with Asuka putting a submission hold on Emma to get the win. Bayley and Sasha embraced the longtime NXT champ Asuka following their big win in front of the Tokyo crowd.
In the main event, the man people have a love-hate fandom with was in action. After being beaten up and shoved into the back of an ambulance on Raw, Roman Reigns made it to Tokyo to battle Bray Wyatt in a match featuring superstars who have feuded before. Both competitors will be featured at the pay-per-view in a week, against different opponents. After hitting a spear on Wyatt, Reigns picked up the pinfall, as he prepares to face his nemesis Braun Strowman in an Ambulance Match at Great Balls of Fire.
The WWE was scheduled for two shows in Tokyo, before the superstars will head back for this coming Monday’s Raw and next Sunday’s big pay-per-view in Dallas, Texas.
[Featured Image by WWE]
