The Brian Kendrick and Noam Dar vs. Akira Tozawa and Rich Swann
There has been no shortage of action and drama within WWE’s Cruiserweight Division.
Nothing better exemplifies this better than a good old fashioned grudge match. A set of personal rivalries converge in one tag team match up at WWE Fastlane.
Rich Swann has managed to stay somewhat upbeat since losing the Cruiserweight Championship to Neville at the Royal Rumble.
While his contractual rematch against The King of The Cruiserweights was delayed due to injury, he hasn’t much time to simply twiddle his thumbs awaiting the outcome of Neville’s upcoming defense against Gentleman Jack Gallagher.
In his return match on the 2/14 edition of 205 Live he encountered the “Scottish Supernova” Noam Dar. Fully taking advantage of the show landing on Valentine’s Day he dedicated the match to Dar’s girlfriend Alicia Fox before stating she couldn’t handle him. Swann went on to defeat Dar with a Phoenix Splash but may have inadvertently awakened an intensity inside the Scot he wasn’t prepared for.
Since the loss Dar has been on a tear, picking up consecutive wins over Mustafa Ali and Lince Dorado, all the while his focus on teaching Swann a lesson in respect and how to talk to a lady.
As it happens, Dar’s partner for this encounter has also been busy dishing out lessons as well. In his mind The Brian Kendrick offered the incoming Akira Tozawa the best gift he’d ever receive not only in his career but life as well. It just may have turned out better had the former Tag Team and Cruiserweight Champion had made the Dragon Gate stand out aware of his intentions beforehand.
From the night Tozawa debuted on 205 Live, Kendrick presented himself as his mentor. This was completely different from his attitude towards the returning Yoshahiro Tajiri and other new faces who he declared disrespectful and in need of being eradicated from the scene. Yet as he went about talking himself up as a guru to the Japanese sensation, Tozawa failed to even acknowledge him in the slightest. That is until an encounter backstage. It was there Tozawa flat out rejected Kendrick being involved with him in any capacity, declaring “I don’t like you”
To the surprise of no one, that did not sit too well with Kendrick; so the man with a plan mapped out a strategy designed to humble Tozawa. When the two were scheduled to compete on the following edition of Raw, Kendrick wanted the traditional handshake and became enraged when Tozawa wouldn’t oblige. He jumped him and stretched him out with the Captain’s Hook, the match never taking place.
The following night on 205 Live, Kendrick used his ring savy to score a count out victory over Tozawa by hooking his foot between the ring apron set up. None of that was enough for Kendrick however. He wanted to fully educate Tozawa on the error of his ways.
On the 2/27 edition of Raw, Tozawa picked up a key victory over Dar only be further assaulted by Kendrick once again. A man can only take so much and the Stamina Monster had reached his breaking point.
The following night on 205 Live he told Austin Aries he wanted to do things on his own and challenged Kendrick to a fight. Naturally the cerebral Kendrick chose to insult his rival’s grasp of the English language and decision to turn him down rather than accept the challenge on the spot.
Now they will clash alongside Swann and Dar as their respective partners.
Outlook:
This should be a high octane clash of styles and mindsets sure to wow the WWE Universe. Swann and Tozawa will need to use every bit of speed and hard striking at their disposal. Both possess lethal kicks that can turn out the lights in the blink of an eye while Tozawa’s German Suplex is one of the best to ever be used inside a wrestling ring.They will need to be weary and respectful of their opponent’s drive and mat abilities however.
Kendrick and Dar will need to set the pace early and keep their foes grounded.Both are highly accomplished submission specialists and share the quality of going to any length to secure a victory. That may serve them well should Swann and Tozawa get going and overwhelm them.One of these men could also emerge as a potential challenger to the winner of Neville and Swann. That dangled carrot will only add fuel to the fire that should burn brightly in this bout!
