Tajiri Announces Full-Time WWE Return
Former Cruiserweight Champion returns in the spring.
"The Japanese Buzzsaw" Tajiri took to Twitter on Sunday to announce that he would be returning to WWE full-time. Though his tweet was in Japanese, translation on PWInsider reveals that his comeback will occur in the spring of 2017.
Tajiri has recently been working for the company again, most notably participating in the summer's Cruiserweight Classic tournament. In that competition, Tajiri defeated first round opponent Damien Slater before falling to Gran Metalik in the second round. He also competed at Saturday's NXT house show in Osaka, teaming up with Akira Tozawa in a failed attempt to capture the brand's Tag Team Titles from Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa.
The 46-year-old star's first WWE run began in 2001, just after his former employer of ECW shut its doors. During his tenure, he would hold a multitude of titles, starting with WWE's old Light Heavyweight Championship. He would go on to capture the United States Championship, as well as tag team titles with both William Regal and Eddie Guerrero. Perhaps most famously, he also racked up three reigns with the original WWE Cruiserweight Championship, which the company adopted from WCW.
Tajiri left WWE in 2005, though he made appearances for the company in 2006 and 2008.