In the wake of WrestleMania 40, Tama Tonga has officially arrived in WWE.
The 41-year-old Tonga made his WWE debut on Friday’s episode of SmackDown. He was introduced as the newest member of The Bloodline, joining forces with Solo Sikoa to take out Jimmy Uso. In storyline, the decision was made without the knowledge of Paul Heyman and potentially Roman Reigns.
An in-ring segment with Heyman, Sikoa, and Jimmy Uso was taking place before Tonga debuted. Heyman said Reigns had ordered The Bloodline to take accountability and deal with the consequences of their WrestleMania losses. As Heyman was speaking, Sikoa interrupted him. Sikoa affirmed that there needed to be consequences and change.
Sikoa turned his attention to Jimmy, then Tonga attacked Jimmy from behind.
“That’s the son of Haku who has been wrecking shop in Japan for years,” Corey Graves said on commentary as Tonga appeared.
Sikoa delivered multiple Samoan spikes to Jimmy before standing united with Tonga. Heyman didn’t like what was going on, but Sikoa had Heyman stand with them too. When Heyman tried to call Reigns, Sikoa took his phone away and stomped on it.
Heyman pleaded that this wasn’t what Reigns wanted, but Sikoa positioned a steel chair in front of Jimmy’s face and laid him out with a running hip attack.
The commentary team asked who was calling the shots in The Bloodline now.
Later in the show, Tonga and Sikoa confronted Heyman during a backstage interview. “By orders of The Tribal Chief,” Tonga said to a visibly shaken Heyman. Heyman questioned what that meant.
The Anoa’i family considers Tama Tonga as one of their own.
Our own Dave Meltzer reported yesterday that Tonga is headed to WWE and some fans have been wondering if he could potentially join The Bloodline when he arrives.
While Tonga did not appear in the family tree The Rock displayed at the WrestleMania 40 press conference earlier this month, Haku (Tonga Fifita) and his sons are considered part of the dynasty.
Lance Anoa’i spoke to Steve Fall recently about his family’s relationship with Tonga, his brothers, and his father.
Anoa’i said:
Every time I see Haku, he’s my uncle. A lot of respect for him. I believe it’s just more like the island culture. You know, we’re all from the South Pacific. So the islanders just stick together man like it’s just one breed. But yeah, I seen Tama Tanga growing up. I hung out with them while I was out in Japan. Whenever our schedules blessed us to meet up and have dinner. So there’s always love there. And man, I don’t know if it’s true or not. I’ve been reading on the internet that Tama Tonga has signed. Man and if he did, good for him, because I think it’s well deserved and about time.
However, Anoa’i continued to say he hopes Tonga aligns with Jey Uso on Raw.
Jey is kinda all alone. We do consider Tama as family. So I think Jey can use some help [on Raw]. Especially when you know Solo and Jimmy keep creeping over the wall and attacking Jey and then setting up hopefully for I believe a Wrestlemania match. That’s what we’re hoping for.
The Rock has long referred to Haku as an uncle despite there not being a blood relation between the two. In 2015, he gifted “Uncle Tonga” a truck.
Tonga and his brother Tanga Loa are seven-time IWGP Tag Team Champions in NJPW as The Guerrillas of Destiny. Their team would eventually turn into a stable after Tonga was kicked out of Bullet Club. The group now consists of Loa, Hikuleo, Jado, and El Phantasmo. Hikuleo and ELP are the current Strong Openweight Tag Team Champions.
Anoa’i was granted his release from MLW in October. He told Steve Fall in a previous interview that part of the reason he asked to be let go was that he was missing out on opportunities to be with his family on WWE programming.
A NEVER Openweight title match headlines NJPW’s New Beginning in Nagoya.
The show on January 20 will see Tama Tonga defend the NEVER title against EVIL. At Wrestle Kingdom 18, Tonga defeated Shingo Takagi to win the title. However, the following day at New Year Dash saw EVIL attack Tonga, cutting off a piece of his hair. Tonga said in a post-match interview following Wrestle Kingdom that he will be leaving NJPW at the end of the month.
The KOPW 2024 title will also be on the line, with Taiji Ishimori facing Great-O-Khan. After Ishimori won the title at New Year Dash, the two had a shouting match backstage. Other matches will see Hikuelo & TJP face off against KENTA and Chase Owens before their February 11 IWGP Tag Team title match in Osaka and a ten man tag team match with Los Ingobernables de Japon squaring off against Just Five Guys.
Here is the full card for NJPW New Beginning in Nagoya:
NEVER Openweight title: Tama Tonga defends against EVIL
KOPW 2024: Taiji Ishimori defends against Great-O-Khan
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, Yota Tsuji, Hiromu Takahashi, and BUSHI) vs. Just Five Guys (SANADA, Taichi, Taka Michinoku, DOUKI, and Yuya Uemura)
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, and Togi Makabe vs. Zack Sabre Jr., Mikey Nicholls, Shane Haste, and Kosei Fujita
Guerillas of Destiny (Hikuleo and El Phantasmo) vs. Chase Owens & KENTA
El Desperado & Master Wato vs. SHO and Yoshinobu Kanemaru
United Empire (Callum Newman, Francesco Akira, TJP, Henare, & Jeff Cobb) vs. Bullet Club War Dogs (David Finlay, Drilla Moloney, Clark Connors, Gabe Kidd, and Alex Coughlin)
Tomoaki Honma & Shota Umino vs. House of Torture (Ren Narita & Yujiro Takahashi)
Shingo Takagi will put his NEVER Openweight Championship on the line against Tama Tonga at Wrestle Kingdom. Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi is also now official for the January 4 Tokyo Dome event. If Sabre is still champion, his NJPW World Television title will be on the line.
Takagi won the NEVER title by defeating Tonga at Fighting Spirit Unleashed this October. Their rematch was set up for Wrestle Kingdom when Tonga confronted Takagi at Lonestar Shootout last Friday.
Sabre is approaching one year as NJPW World Television Champion. He became the inaugural champion at Wrestle Kingdom 17. During his reign, Sabre has made 16 successful title defenses. The most recent of those was against Mike Bailey at Lonestar Shootout.
Tanahashi pinned Sabre during a trios match at Power Struggle earlier this month, setting up that he would be a future challenger for Sabre’s title.
Wrestle Kingdom 18 streams live on NJPW World starting at 2:30 a.m. Eastern time on January 4, 2024. Here’s the updated card for the event:
IWGP World Heavyweight Champion SANADA defends against Tetsuya Naito
Kazuchika Okada vs. Bryan Danielson
Three-way match: IWGP United States/United Kingdom Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay defends against Jon Moxley and David Finlay
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi defends against El Desperado
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney defend against TJP & Francesco Akira
NJPW World Television Champion Zack Sabre Jr. defends against Hiroshi Tanahashi
NEVER Openweight Champion Shingo Takagi defends against Tama Tonga
NJPW has confirmed that Tama Tonga will put his NEVER Openweight Championship on the line against Shingo Takagi in Vegas on Saturday, October 28. It will be Tonga’s first title defense since defeating David Finlay for the championship at Destruction in Ryogoku last week.
The title match between Tonga and Shingo was set up at NJPW Royal Quest in London over the weekend. After Shingo defeated Tomohiro Ishii, Tonga confronted Shingo and said they still have a score they need to settle. Tonga said he would put the NEVER Openweight Championship on the line. Shingo suggested that the match take place in Las Vegas.
Tonga and Shingo went to a 20-minute draw when they faced off in the G1 Climax this summer.
Fighting Spirit Unleashed is being held at Sam’s Town Live. The event will be available as a pay-per-view on Fite TV.
Here’s the updated lineup for the show:
Atlantis, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Mistico & Atlantis Jr. vs. Rocky Romero, Tiger Mask, Soberano Jr. & Adrian Quest
NJPW Strong Openweight Champion Eddie Kingston defends against Henare
NJPW Strong Women’s Champion Giulia defends against Hyan
NEVER Openweight Champion Tama Tonga defends against Shingo Takagi
NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team Champions El Phantasmo & Hikuleo defend against Lance Archer & Alex Zayne
NJPW Strong Openweight Championship number one contender’s match: Jeff Cobb vs. Satoshi Kojima vs. Alex Coughlin vs. Fred Rosser
SANADA & Yuya Uemura vs. Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi
Stephanie Vaquer & Zeuxis vs. Lluvia & Johnnie Robbie
NJPW’s G1 Climax 33 tournament continues today with C Block & D Block matches in Sendai.
In the main event, Tomohiro Ishii faces Tama Tonga in a battle of NJPW veterans. Both are looking for their first win of the tournament.
In the semi-main, Hirooki Goto faces Tetsuya Naito in another matchup of NJPW stalwarts.
The full lineup:
C Block: Tomohiro Ishii (0-1, 0 points) vs. Tama Tonga (0-1, 0 points)
D Block: Hirooki Goto (1-0, 2 points) vs. Tetsuya Naito (0-1, 0 points)
C Block: Shingo Takagi (0-1, 0 points) vs. HENARE (0-1, 0 points)
D Block: Shane Haste (1-0, 2 points) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (0-1, 0 points)
C Block: Eddie Kingston (1-0, 2 points) vs. EVIL (1-0, 2 points)
D Block: Jeff Cobb (1-0, 2 points) vs. Alex Coughlin (0-1, 0 points)
C Block: David Finlay (1-0, 2 points) vs. Mikey Nicholls (1-0, 2 points)
D Block: Zack Sabre Jr. (1-0, 2 points) vs. Toru Yano (0-1, 0 points)
Our live coverage begins at 5:30 a.m. Eastern time.
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Recommended Matches
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Toru Yano – While not a must-watch, this was easily the best Yano match since his 2019 encounter with Jon Moxley, and that’s worth a mention. ZSJ is remarkable at everything he does.
Jeff Cobb vs. Alex Coughlin – This was an engrossing match on a structural level and an outstanding performance from Coughlin.
HENARE vs. Shingo Takagi – If you’re a fan of this pairing or big-match-Shingo, this is a must-see.
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Results
Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Toru Yano
This was an entertaining/clever match, even if it was borderline absurd. From both men having young lion doppelgangers to Yano tapping ZSJ’s legs together, this was a silly Yano match from the beginning. In the end, ZSJ caught Yano with a rollup after Kosei Fujita provided some assistance.
ZSJ takes lead of D block with 4 points.
David Finlay defeated Mikey Nicholls
This was a slow-built match structured around prolonged segments of Finlay control. Finlay utilized this control to close the match with Oblivion.
David Finlay stays undefeated with 4 points.
Jeff Cobb defeated Alex Coughlin
In a cool twist, this match was all about Coughlin proving he could match Cobb’s power. While Cobb did his fair share of power moves, it was all the more impressive when Coughlin stood toe-to-toe. Cobb ultimately ended Coughlin’s hubris with a Tour of the Islands.
Cobb continues his hot start, advancing to 4 points.
EVIL defeated Eddie Kingston
This match didn’t come together at all for me. EVIL, unsurprisingly, worked a dirty match from the opening bell. Eddie attempted to fight off the barrage but fell to Everything is Evil after a Dick Togo distraction.
EVIL remains on top with 4 points.
Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Shane Haste
Haste established control early and used it to wear down Tanahashi for long stretches. Tanahashi eventually launched a rally, enabling him to hit High Fly Flow and win the match.
Tanahashi is on the board with two points.
HENARE defeated Shingo Takagi
This match was comparable to a Shingo main event in a compressed package. Only after prolonged back-and-forth sequences, multiple major momentum shifts, and false finishes did HENARE manage hit streets of rage to close the match with less than 30 seconds in the match remaining.
HENARE has scored his first win in block action, earning 2 points.
Tetsuya Naito defeated Hirooki Goto
This was the kind of match you would’ve expected from this pairing a few years ago. Both guys were on the ball, leading to dramatic back-and-forth sequences. Naito was able to close with Destino, ending one of his best performances in a long while.
Naito earned his first points in D block.
Tama Tonga defeated Tomohiro Ishii
This was a reasonably standard Ishii affair. Most of the twists were built around Ishii avoiding the gun stun. Once Tama hit the gun stun, he followed up with a Jay Driller to win the match.
Tama Tonga is the new NEVER Openweight Champion, defeating WWE’s Karl Anderson at Wrestle Kingdom 17 Wednesday morning.
Anderson cheap shotted Tonga at the start of the match, hitting him with the NEVER title. The finish of the match had Tama Tonga hit Anderson with a gun stun off the middle rope, then connected with a second gun stun to win the title for the second time. It was Anderson who defeated Tonga back on June 12 at Dominion.
Anderson, along with Luke Gallows, returned to WWE in October despite Anderson being NEVER Openweight Champion. A scheduled match against Hikuleo on November 5 was postponed, with the storyline reason being Anderson claiming he wasn’t booked through the proper channels, instead working WWE’s Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia. The match instead took place at the World Tag League/Super Junior Tag League finals, where Anderson defeated Hikuelo.
After the match, Tama Tonga came out and challenged Anderson. The two brawled, with Anderson laying out Tonga.
Jay White’s next defense of the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship is officially set.
NJPW has announced that White will put the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship on the line against Tama Tonga at Declaration of Power on Monday, October 10. The event is being held at Sumo Hall in Tokyo.
Tonga challenging White for the title was set up by Tonga defeating White when they faced off in the G1 Climax.
Kazuchika Okada was crowned the winner of this year’s G1 Climax and is set to challenge for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 17 next January. At Declaration of Power, Okada will face off with JONAH in a special singles match.
Okada vs. JONAH was also set up by JONAH defeating Okada in the G1. The winner of the G1 usually has to defend their Wrestle Kingdom title shot on the road to the Tokyo Dome, but Okada stated that he wants to elevate the prestige of the G1 by guaranteeing that the winner of the tournament gets their Wrestle Kingdom title match without having to defend the rights.
White vs. Tonga and Okada vs. JONAH are the first two matches set for Declaration of Power. NJPW noted that the show name is making its return as part of the company’s 50th anniversary celebration.
“October 10 will see NJPW return to Ryogoku Sumo Hall, with a traditional national sports day holiday event back on the calendar,” NJPW wrote. “This time, as NJPW continues to revive classic tour names from our 50 year history, Declaration of Power is back from being a regular series through the late 1990s and early 2000s.
NJPW Declaration of Power (October 10) —
IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Jay White defends against Tama Tonga
The tournament semifinals took place on Tuesday from the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan.
In the night’s first semifinal match, Kazuchika Okada defeated Tama Tonga to advance to tomorrow’s finals. He’ll face Will Ospreay, who defeated Tetsuya Naito in Wednesday’s second semifinal match.
Okada, who won the tournament last year, will be looking for his fourth victory in a G1. Masahiro Chono holds the record with five G1 victories.
This is Ospreay’s third G1 tournament. Prior to this year, he had not made it past the group stage.
Ospreay vs. Okada in the finals of the G1 Climax 32 will take place Thursday from the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan.
The full results from Wednesday’s show are below.
Non-tournament matches:
Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Tomohiro Ishii, and Yoh defeated Lance Archer, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Douki & TAKA Michinoku
Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi defeated Tom Lawlor & Royce Isaacs
The G1 Climax 32 group stage has concluded, the block winners have been determined, and the semifinals are set.
The final night of the round-robin portion of the tournament took place on Tuesday from Nagano.
Kazuchika Okada clinched the A Block with a win over Lance Archer in the main event. Had Okada lost, a three-way tie atop the group would have seen Archer advance as he would have held wins over both Okada and JONAH.
Jay White went into Tuesday’s show needing only one point to clinch the B Block. Tama Tonga handed him his first loss of the tournament, however. Both Tonga and White finished the tournament with 10 points and Tonga advances on the head-to-head tie-breaker.
Tetsuya Naito came all the way back to pick up eight points and clinch the C Block. He defeated Zack Sabre Jr. on Tuesday to tie him in the standings and advance on the tie-breaker.
Will Ospreay needed to win and get some help on Tuesday to advance. He defeated Juice Robinson in the night’s first match and then clinched the group after El Phantasmo defeated Shingo Takagi to take him out of the running.
Okada vs. Tonga, and Ospreay vs. Naito will take place on tomorrow’s show.
The Good Brothers made an appearance at tonight’s NJPW Wrestling Dontaku, attacking the Guerillas of Destiny.
After Tama Tonga won the NEVER Openweight championship from EVIL on tonight’s show, the Good Brothers immediately rushed to the ring and attacked Tonga. Tanga Loa came down to the ring to aid his brother, but was taken out by the duo. Karl Anderson held the NEVER Openweight title, signaling he wanted the next title shot. He then gave the gun stun to Tonga on the championship belt.
The Good Brothers faced The Guerillas of Destiny back at Impact’s No Surrender event in February. During the match, Jay White turned on GoD, giving the bladerunner to Tonga. This allowed The Good Brothers to win the match and rejoin the Bullet Club, while Guerillas of Destiny were officially kicked out of the group.
Since being released from WWE in 2020, The Good Brothers have worked primarily for Impact Wrestling. They have also made appearances on New Japan Strong, most recently at Windy City Riot, where they teamed with Chris Bey, El Phantasmo, Hikuleo, and Scott Norton to defeat United Empire’s Aaron Henare, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb, Kyle Fletcher, Mark Davis, and TJP.
After a brief window of not being under contract, Tama Tonga has officially re-signed with NJPW.
On Sunday, Tonga sent out a tweet stating that he had been a free agent since January 30. He wrote: “I am a free agent since January 30, 2022 #misinformation”
Tonga was then asked about that tweet on the latest episode of his Tama’s Island podcast. He was asked what’s going on given the “misinformation” hashtag that he used.
“It’s true. I was a free agent on January 30. I am now officially signed with New Japan Pro Wrestling,” Tonga said.
Tonga made his NJPW debut in 2010. He’s a seven-time IWGP Tag Team Champion, holding the titles with his brother Tanga Loa as the Guerrillas of Destiny. Their most recent title reign lasted for five months from January to June of last year.
Tonga & Loa are both members of Bullet Club.
The Guerrillas of Destiny also recently appeared in Impact Wrestling for the first time. They’re challenging The Good Brothers (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows) for the Impact Tag Team titles at No Surrender on Saturday, February 19. That show is airing live on Impact Plus and for subscribers to Impact’s Ultimate Insiders service on YouTube.
NJPW’s Guerillas of Destiny Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa are set to make their Impact Wrestling debut.
Impact announced today that Tonga and Loa will be part of the January 21 and January 22 television tapings in Pembroke Pines, Florida.
GOD’s announcement comes on the heels of word that fellow NJPW and Bullet Club member Jay White will be returning to Impact at the same tapings. Some sort of Bullet Club faction war has been teased at different times on social media between GOD, White, and former Bullet Club members Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows.
Tonga and Loa are seven-time IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions in NJPW, former ROH World Tag Team Champions, and have held the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championship on four separate occasions with different members of Bullet Club. They won NJPW’s most prestigious tag team tournament, World Tag League, in 2020.
GOD come from wrestling royalty, as they are the sons of former WWF and WCW talent King Haku.
