soon after, he began a feud with ali, murphy, and cedric alexander for the cruiserweight championship. on the june 19 episode of "205 live", itami defeated ali and murphy in a triple threat match, thus earning a championship match. on the july 10 episode of "205 live", itami unsuccessfully challenged alexander for the wwe cruiserweight championship. on the july 24 episode of "205 live", itami failed to win a number one contender's fatal four-way match also involving ali, tjp, and the eventual winner drew gulak. on the august 7 episode of "205 live", itami defeated ali in a singles match after which ali collapsed. on the september 25 episode of "205 live", ali and itami wrestled to a double count out. this led to a falls count anywhere match on the october 24 episode of "205 live", which itami lost.