Tag: tonga loa

WOL: It’s a New Day for Kofi, Xavier & a new group of talent parting ways with WWE

Posted on by Jim Valley

It’s the Saturday Wrestling Observer Live with Jim Valley.

It turns out the departure of talent from WWE isn’t finished yet. On Saturday, The New Day of Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods and others parted ways with WWE. Jim will talks about the names, their history and where you might like to see them appear next.

Ricky Saints made his WWE SmackDown debut Friday facing off against Cody Rhodes, Fatal Influence is still shaking up the top of the women’s division, and Jacob Fatu continued his march of terror towards Roman Reigns and the World Heavyweight Championship.

Plus, an AEW Collision preview, NOAH, AAA and more.

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WWE provides injury updates on Tonga Loa, Bronson Reed, Jimmy Uso

Posted on by Ethan Renner

WWE has provided injury updates on three of the competitors from last Saturday’s men’s Survivor Series WarGames match.

In a vignette on Friday’s SmackDown, WWE revealed that Tonga Loa suffered a torn biceps in the men’s WarGames match and will be sidelined indefinitely. The promotion showed a still image of Loa with his left arm in a sling, noting that he had undergone successful surgery to repair the injury.

In the same vignette, WWE revealed that Bronson Reed suffered a broken foot in the WarGames bout and will also require surgery to repair the injury. Reed is believed to have been injured while delivering a splash off the top of the cage.

As the company previously noted, Jimmy Uso suffered a broken toe in the WarGames contest and will also be sidelined indefinitely as a result.

The vignette detailing the injuries suffered in the WarGames contest included x-rays of all three injuries, and a close-up of Loa’s surgical incision.

Our full report from Friday’s WWE SmackDown is available here.

Wrestling Observer Live: AEW has the recipe for success, but just needs to mix the ingredients

Posted on by Jim Valley

Image: AEW

The Saturday edition of Wrestling Observer Live is on the air.

Here’s some thoughts I will share on today’s show:

  • Some new fresh faces in main event programs could help AEW maintain momentum coming out of All In
  • We have adrenaline in our souls as we watch the Kevin Owens and Cody Rhodes storyline unfold on WWE SmackDown.
  • It may be the most popular storyline in wrestling: the delusional women’s champion who doesn’t realize she’s being manipulated by the pretty blonde barbie type who’s pretending to be her biggest fan but is actually plotting to take her title. But enough about Nia Jax and Tiffany Stratton. Who else could it be?

All that plus some AEW In thoughts, Dory Funk Jr. returns to the ring, an AEW star wins the CMLL Grand Prix and more.

Click here to listen (sub required)

Two matches added to WWE SmackDown

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE has added two matches to the lineup for tonight’s SmackDown.

Bloodline brothers Tama Tonga & Tonga Loa will team up as they take on The Street Profits tonight. An Andrade vs. Apollo Crews singles match has also been announced for the episode.

This is Loa’s first match since joining The Bloodline. It was originally announced that Loa & Solo Sikoa would face The Street Profits on last week’s SmackDown from Saudi Arabia, but there was instead a backstage segment with Paul Heyman saying customs wouldn’t allow Loa into the country. Heyman told Sikoa there’s a reason why dangerous people like Loa and Tonga weren’t allowed into The Bloodline before.

In storyline, The Street Profits are out for revenge after being laid out by The Bloodline three weeks ago. Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford are also looking to position themselves for a shot at Grayson Waller & Austin Theory’s WWE Tag Team titles. Ford pinned Waller in a six-man tag match last week.

Andrade and Crews are competing on SmackDown for the first time since joining the brand in the WWE Draft. Last week, a video aired hyping that Andrade would be coming to SmackDown soon. Legado Del Fantasma debated whether Andrade could be an asset to them or an enemy.

MVP Arena in Albany, New York is the venue for tonight’s show. Here’s the updated lineup:

  • Nia Jax’s Queen of the Ring coronation
  • Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes appears
  • Tama Tonga & Tonga Loa vs. The Street Profits
  • Andrade vs. Apollo Crews

Tonga Loa to compete in tag match on WWE SmackDown next week

Posted on by Joseph Currier

After arriving at Backlash, we now know when Tonga Loa will be making his in-ring debut as a member of The Bloodline.

The former NJPW wrestler will be part of a tag team match on SmackDown next Friday. Loa is teaming with Solo Sikoa against The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford).

This is Loa’s first WWE match since 2014, when he wrestled in NXT as Camacho.

Loa was introduced as the newest member of The Bloodline by helping Sikoa & Tama Tonga defeat Randy Orton & Kevin Owens in a street fight at Backlash. The Bloodline has gotten a new identity in recent weeks with Sikoa taking charge of the group. Tonga and Loa have joined the faction while Jimmy Uso was kicked out.

In storyline, Sikoa claims that Roman Reigns has put him in charge of The Bloodline while Reigns is gone. Reigns hasn’t appeared on WWE programming since his loss to Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 40.

Loa was a seven-time tag team champion in NJPW, teaming with his brother Tonga as the Guerrillas of Destiny. In WWE, the spelling of Loa’s name has been changed to “Tonga Loa.” It had been “Tanga Loa” in NJPW. WWE filed trademarks for both spellings of the name earlier this month.

Next Friday’s SmackDown is taking place from Saudi Arabia one night before WWE’s King & Queen of the Ring PLE. Tama Tonga vs. Randy Orton in a King of the Ring semifinal match will take place on SmackDown. Tonga defeated Angelo Dawkins earlier in the tournament. Both members of The Street Profits were laid out by The Bloodline in that match.

WWE SmackDown (Friday, May 24) —

  • King of the Ring semifinals: Randy Orton vs. Tama Tonga
  • Queen of the Ring semifinals: Bianca Belair vs. Nia Jax
  • AJ Styles meets with Nick Aldis
  • Bayley vs. Chelsea Green
  • The Bloodline (Solo Sikoa & Tonga Loa) vs. The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford)