Tajiri doesn’t see his entry into the Cruiserweight Classic leading to a WWE return

If you’re at all like me, the release earlier this week of the field for WWE’s upcoming Cruiserweight Classic tournament was something you were eagerly anticipating.

What I wasn’t expecting was how excited I’d be to see Tajiri’s name on the list.

It’s not that I don’t think the former tag champ who know works for Japan’s Wrestle-1 is great - he won those tag belts with two of my all-time favorites in Eddie Guerrero and William Regal, after all. But either because I was so focused on the Kota Ibushis and Cedric Alexanders, or because Tajiri’s been gone from WWE long enough that I sadly started to forget him, I didn’t expect to actually, audibly pop for his name.

So, it’s a little bit of a bummer that in his recent reddit AMA, Tajiri said he doesn’t see a return to WWE in his immediate future. But he does it in such a humorous and down-to-Earth way, you kind of love him more for it:

At some point I would like to return as an old man, and do a very slow slide into the ring, and a handspring elbow.

I was able to do everything except heavyweight and intercontinental titles, so there's not much left for me to do. Many who were fired seem to want to come back, but I don't feel that way. I think I've done everything I can as a Japanese guy this size.

Check out the whole thing for some great Eddie and Regal stories, and more from a guy who kind of quietly has had an amazing wrestling career.

And if that’s not enough to make you a Tajiri mark, consider that he keeps it 100% kayfabe when talking about his green mist:

I don't know what the other peoples' mists taste like. It comes out of my body, so I'm not putting anything in my mouth. It tastes like wasabi.

While a main roster run may not be in his immediate future, the CWC films next Thursday (June 23) and begins airing on WWE Network next month... so we won’t have to wait long for our Tajiri fix!