At the Royal Rumble, Funaki faced Kid Kash in a match for the title, when he was entered into a Cruiserweight Open along with four other Cruiserweight champions, including the champion Kash. Funaki was pinned in this one fall match by then Raw superstar Gregory Helms, who won the match and title. At No Way Out, Funaki participated in a Nine Man Cruiserweight Match for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship but Helms retained the title. Since that time Funaki, would regularly team with Scotty 2 Hotty during episodes of "Velocity" and "SmackDown!". During one such "Velocity" taping, however, Funaki suffered a 2nd Grade concussion, where he was unconscious for just under two minutes. Funaki would resume wrestling later that year, forming a tag team of sorts with Scotty 2 Hotty, which was mainly used to put over debuting wrestlers or tag teams.