[17], After recuperating and spending six months training at the NJPW Dojo in Los Angeles, Hikuleo returned at Honor Rising: Japan in February 2019, accompanying his brothers to ringside. He is an expert in pro-wrestling and mixed martial arts, and has been featured on numerous high-profile websites and magazines. The Firing Squad attempted to make peace with Cody, but Cody refused, and was also attacked. Your login session has expired. [70][71] After defending the championships seven times, their reign would end when G.O.D lost to FinJuice (Juice Robinson & David Finlay) at Wrestle Kingdom 14. An angle with implications for NJPW and AEW took place Saturday night on Impact Wrestling 's No Surrender PPV. Then the fight started. [23], Following The Guerillas of Destiny's ejection from Bullet Club at No Surrender Hikuleo began to become more aggressive to stable leader Jay White, who was responsible for kicking out Hikuleo's brothers. 2008. Here is what Tama Tonga wrote on Twitter: For months, Tama and Tanga (Guerrillas of Destiny) have been feuding with the Suzuki Gun duo of Zack Sabre Jr. and Taichi (Dangerous Tekkers). And weirdly, many are asking if this is an internal family war. On 4 January 2016, Fifita, as King Haku, made a surprise return to New Japan Pro-Wrestling, taking part in the New Japan Rumble on the Wrestle Kingdom 10 pre-show. Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa are currently in their seventh reign as IWGP Tag Team Champions. Later, he faced Sting in a losing effort for the vacated United States title at the 1995 Great American Bash. On April 7, Tonga and El Terrible successfully defended the CMLL World Tag Team Championship against La Mscara and Valiente at New Japan's Invasion Attack event. His distraction seemed to irritate both Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa. He also participated in matches for the newly introduced WCW Hardcore Championship toward the end of 1999. The 'fake' stuff. According to Sullivan, it was obvious that he and Meng weren't locals, so when they walked into the bar, a guy playing pool insulted Meng. He would return in 2003 to win the championship for the third time. comments sorted by Best Top New Controversial Q&A Add a Comment Pumpkin-Bomb Fresh off his victory over El Phantasmo at NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka, Tama Tonga is ready for new challenges. A face turn appeared to be in the offing, as Tonga interfered in a tag match, attacking Road Warrior Animal and Paul Ellering during a bout with Jos LeDuc and Jacques Rougeau, Jr. A miscommunication in another tag match with partner Butch Reed led to Reed and Tyler attacking Tonga. That . While Tama stayed neutral at Strong Style Evolved before a tag team match against Marty Scurll and Cody, Tama stated if he were to be on a team it wouldn't be Team Cody. Tonga, born Alipate Aloisio Leone, is Tongan American and not Samoan. [87] Also at the event, Tonga was announced to be a part of the G1 Climax 32 tournament in July, where he would compete in the B Block. Tama Tonga is the son of Haku. He was promoted to the main roster in 2011, where he worked . For some reason, social media users believe that Tama Tonga and Roman Reigns are related. Fans around the world have also made it vocal that they are quite invested in a potential dream tag team match between The Guerrillas of Destiny and The Usos. Tevita Fifita (May 7, 1983) is a Tongan-American professional wrestler, currently working for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) under the ring name Tanga Loa. With the Bullet Club currently being stacked with talents such as Jay White, KENTA, and EVIL, it shouldn't be too hard for Guerrillas of Destiny to find a third man for a match against The Bloodline. Love it. Indonesian live rock is back after years and is considered to be the PREMIER display live rock on the market. In the 2018 G1 Climax, Tonga participated in the B Block, where he tied for last place with 6 points, down from the 8 he posted in the previous two years. In 2009, as King Haku, he would wrestle regularly for World Xtreme Wrestling where he won the WXW Hardcore Championship twice. The second night, Tama debuted the newest member to Bullet Club, Taiji Ishimori. And I reached over without thinking there are four other guys there (laughs) grabbed his face, and bit his nose off. In that time, Anderson made successful defenses against former NJPW ace Hiroshi Tanahashi and rising star Hikuleo. A feud thus broke out between the Islanders and the Connection; when Zenk left the WWF, Martel and replacement partner Tito Santana, as Strike Force continued the war, with the Islanders challenging Strike Force for the WWF World Tag Team Championship after the latter team won the belts. "I . bishop vesey's grammar school fees. Earlier in the show heel manager Bobby Heenan had announced he would have a new tag team that night and everyone thought he was going to introduce a new team to the WWF. NJPW star Tama Tonga is a member of the original Bullet Club in the promotion. Tautuiaki Taula Koloamatangi (born February 7, 1991) is an American professional wrestler of Tongan descent. Tama Tonga Defeats Karl Anderson, Wins NEVER Openweight Title At NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 Colin Tessier Wednesday, January 04, 2023 Image Credit: NJPW Tama Tonga has won the NEVER Openweight. 40. [48] The following day, he was eliminated from the tournament in the second round by Hirooki Goto. But these two dont have legitimate blood ties. The feud has been quite entertaining to wrestling watchers. I said, 'Yeah. His final TV taping was against Shawn Stasiak on a WWF Jakked taping in Buffalo, New York on 23 July 2001 which Stasiak won. WWE has interest in longtime New Japan Pro-Wrestling superstar Tama Tonga, according to a recent report from Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp.. The four of them founded a new villainous stable named Bullet Club under Devitt's leadership.[36]. January 4, 2023. He is currently wrestling for the Japanese promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), and the U.S. promotion Impact Wrestling under the ring name Hikuleo ( Hikureo), he is a former member of Bullet Club. After moving to Japan in 1974, he competed under the shikona (sumo name) of Fukunoshima (). 330 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003, The Heartbreakers (Heartbreaker Apollo and Heartbreaker Adonis), The Wildcats (Mike Anthony and Dobby Gillies), The Starr Corporation (Bouncer Bruno and Victor the Bodyguard), The Huertas Brothers/The Invaders (Maelo Huertas and, Salt 'n' Pepper (Derrick King and Stan Lee), The Texas Outlaws (Todd Dean and Brian Gamble), D'Jour Twins (Dave D'Jour and David D'Jour), This page was last edited on 24 February 2023, at 15:13. [52] Heenan also praised Haku as a good-hearted family man. Karl Anderson [6] Debut. On November 13, Tonga and El Terrible won the CMLL World Tag Team Championship from Atlantis and Diamante Azul.Tonga next made it to the finals of the 2012 La Copa Junior Tournament, where, on December 14, he was defeated by La Sombra in the main event of CMLL's 2012 Sin Piedad ("No Mercy") show. Prior to this, Meng had faced Goldberg (before he won the World Championship) on WCW Saturday Night and despite the loss had pushed Goldberg for longer than anyone had until that point. [2][6] Koloamatangi, under the ring name Hikule'o (a reference to the Tongan god[10]), made his professional wrestling debut on November 12, 2016, in Auckland, New Zealand at NJPW's On the Mat Internet pay-per-view, losing to Henare. He is also known as a founding member of Bullet Club; he also makes appearances for Impact Wrestling in the United States.[8]. "Meng bit through the guy's shirt like a wolf, bit a chunk out of the guy's back, then spit it on the floor," he said. The heel Tonga was managed by former wrestler Tarzan "The Boot" Tyler. That's a match I would love to see, but we know that if anything ever came of it, you've got the military background which is why I believe you'll wear the military attire. At Wrestling Dontaku, Tonga defeated EVIL to win the NEVER Openweight Championship, his first New Japan singles championship. Haku is somehow related to the Rock and Romans branches of the family. [39], A second generation professional wrestler, Koloamatangi is the nephew and adopted son of professional wrestler Haku and his wife Dorothy Koloamatangi. 316K subscribers NJPW star Tama Tonga sits down with Chris Van Vliet from his home in Tampa, FL. Roman Reigns' tweet about getting so many views for Tama doesn't mean Reigns > Tonga like he intended it to mean. [44] On February 11 at The New Beginning in Osaka, Tonga, Fale and Takahashi defeated the Briscoes and Yano in a rematch to win the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship. Haku then delivered a piledriver to Omega onto a steel chair, leaving the Firing Squad standing tall at the end as they declared themselves to be the real Bullet Club. If the fans think so, OK, great. Meng spent much of 1997 facing lower and mid-card performers before starting a small winning streak in the summer of 1998. Discover Tama Tonga's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. He challenged Randy Savage for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship on December 17 at The Spectrum but failed to win the title. Tonga formed a team with his until-then rival Dino Bravo, and the two became successful, including a win over The Road Warriors at the Montreal Forum. [32] Hikuleo appeared on the August 11th episode of AEW Dark, defeating Thad Brown. During the appearance he represented his son Tama Tonga's Bullet Club stable. By: Caroline John - Published: August 2, 2018 at 9:21 am, Tama Tonga (Left) and Roman Reigns (Right) (Photo: Twitter/Tama_Tonga, Jon Kopaloff/Stringer). His adoptive father, Haku, competed for WWE on two occasions, wrestling for the then-WWF in the 1980s and early. [53] NJPW's most prestigious tournament, it entitles its winner to an IWGP Heavyweight Championship title match at the next Wrestle Kingdom., Tonga's participation in the G1 was seen as a major step-up. So there is definitely a relation there, although not blood relatives since I think Tama Tonga is Haku's adopted son. He then grabbed another guy who tried to get involved and knocked him unconscious." By Gentleman Ian. After the Rumble, he formed a tag team with Rikishi, but the team did not last long due to Rikishi suffering an injury. On November 13, Tonga and El Terrible won the CMLL World Tag Team Championship from Atlantis and Diamante Azul. Thank U. Published Nov 22, 2016. Growing up on the main island of the South Pacific island-kingdom of Tonga, Fifita attended Tonga College, where he played rugby union. [5] They turned heel in 1987 during a match on the WWF Superstars of Wrestling with The Can-Am Connection (Tom Zenk and Rick Martel). The professional wrestler, the Tongan warrior, is an original member of the Bullet Club with fellow non-Japanese wrestlers - Prince . He is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is the current NEVER Openweight Champion in his second reign. He wrestles under the ring name Hikuleo[22] previously, Leo Tonga. They initially congratulated Omega, but suddenly turned and attacked Omega and the Young Bucks as they were celebrating on the ramp while wearing T-shirts referring to themselves as the "BC Firing Squad". Instead he showed up at ringside during the match where it became known his "new" team was in fact The Islanders. I have no negativity with it. [1][3], Koloamatangi was trained to wrestle by Bully Ray and Devon at the Team 3D Academy in Florida. It's said the interest "isn't new", and . Archived post. [5][16] In March 2018, Hikuleo sustained an injury to his anterior cruciate ligament. [20] In the first round, Hikuleo defeated Fred Rosser, but lost in the semi-final round to eventual tournament winner Tom Lawlor. [51] At The New Beginning in Sapporo, Bullet Club stablemate Cody turned on the leader of the stable, Kenny Omega. Rob Parker,[13] wearing business suits and shades while maintaining a quiet demeanor. Fifita appeared on multiple pay-per-view events for the WWF and WCW and is a former WWF World Tag Team Champion. The verbal sparring between Jay and Tama is passive-aggressive at best, but it exists nonetheless. The following night, after losing to Bullet Club in a six-man tag team match, Tonga announced that Guerrillas of Destiny would become a stable. [13], Alipate continued wrestling as Kava in WXW during the year, winning the WXW Television Championship on 20 June 2009 though he lost it the same day. [45] After a three-day reign, the three lost the title back to the Briscoes and Yano at The New Beginning in Niigata. Do check the Promotions tab if you cannot find it in the Primary Inbox. At the age of 15, he was part of a group of six teenagers and young men sent by the king of Tonga to Japan to study Sumo. Nevertheless, this merely served as a springboard for him to wrestle all over the world. Many wonder if the Bullet Club star is somehow related to Reigns. [24] At Windy City Riot, Hikuleo teamed with his Bullet Club stablemates and Scott Norton, losing to United Empire. It was in Baltimore Airportme and Siva Afi went over and there were lots of babyfaces there at the bar. I'll show you.' [12], Leone went to Japan in 2010, initially going to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) to train, he impressed enough to be hired by the company. [91] Tonga later defeated Anderson to regain the NEVER Openweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 17, becoming the first to win a NJPW title from a WWE contracted wrestler since the two companies' past partnership ended in 1985. 94 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the, Ranked No. He became the final WCW Hardcore Champion. Since 2003, Fifita has been essentially retired, returning to the wrestling ring on a few occasions over the years. Tonga is the reigning NEVER Openweight Champion, winning the belt from Karl Anderson at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17. [37] Tonga regained the title from Tanahashi and Liger on September 14 with new partner Rey Bucanero. And we had a lot of spat, back and forth but he knows now I ain't one to back down. So, you can see where Reigns connection to someone named Tama Tonga comes from. New Japan Pro-Wrestling has revealed the full lineup for its upcoming 51st Anniversary event to take place at the Ota Ward General Gymnasium on March 6th. [46] During February, Tonga accepted an offer to join WWE. He would later lose the crown to Hacksaw Jim Duggan[7] who himself was crowned as "King Duggan". No returns accepted. By fall, he would become listed as a member of the Impact roster,[34] and he, Chris Bey, and El Phantasmo established themselves as a U.S. based branch of Bullet Club in Impact Wrestling. Civil Unrest. 46: 29.10.2021: But after Taichi and Sabre Jr. defeated the champions in two separate singles matches earlier this month, they are expected to challenge for the IWGP Tag Team Championships once again. He was named Webber International University's junior varsity men's basketball most valuable player for 20092010. Roman Reigns himself has been on a tear in WWE for months and it would certainly be a fascinating scenario to have the reigning Universal Champion share the ring with Bullet Club members. Are Tama Tonga and Roman Reigns related to each other? [60] They lost the title back to War Machine in a no disqualification match on July 1 at G1 Special in USA. All it means is that WWE is much bigger than NJPW. "It was fast and furious. Me and Siva kind of cleaned house there and left. In WCW, (because the name Haku was trademarked by the WWF) Fifita wrestled as Meng. BULLET CLUB (Jado, Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) defeat Kazuchika Okada & TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) (13:04) NJPW Road To Power Struggle 2021 - Tag 6 - Event @ Iwate Industrial Cultural Center Apio in Takizawa, Iwate, Japan. Few will understand the love and admiration I have for the country, fans and the people of Japan. He was eliminated from the match after submitting to Hiroyoshi Tenzan. For exclusive Tama's Island content please visit the Tama's Island Patreon page! Link copied to clipboard. "Standing behind [The] Rock at Mania" - Wrestling fans react to Triple H reportedly bringing in WWE legend's adopted son Triple H. [47] On March 3, Tonga scored the biggest singles win of his career by defeating former IWGP Heavyweight Champion and reigning IWGP Tag Team Champion Togi Makabe in the first round of the 2016 New Japan Cup. [88] He finished with 10 points, defeating IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Jay White to advance to the semi-finals. Published Aug 14, 2021. One of the wrestlers who teased the idea of a dream match-up was Tama Tonga. Andr's face turn meant that the team had split. Also in November 2008, they took part in a WWE tryout camp, two months later they were told that Tevita would be offered a contract by the company (he would later appear on television as Camacho) while Alipate would not. Be the first one to comment on this story. Alipate Aloisio Leone is a professional heavyweight wrestler, Tama lives a luxurious and luxurious lifestyle. Haku would later go on to form the tag team known as The Colossal Connection with Andr the Giant and win the WWF Tag Team Championship from Demolition on 30 December edition of Superstars (taped on 13 December). Roman Reigns was born Leati Joseph Joe Anoaiand is a member of the Anoai family. Roman Reigns, whos gearing up for the anticipated SummerSlam, managed to get a screenshot of Tongas tweet before that though. This led to there being two sides to Bullet Club; Team Cody and Team Kenny. Leone and his younger brother Taula were adopted by their maternal aunt and her husband, professional wrestler Tonga Fifita better known as Haku or Meng from his native island of Tonga while they were visiting in 1991. [17] The following day, Haku teamed with his son and fellow Bullet Club members Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson and Yujiro Takahashi in a ten-man tag team match, where they defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Kushida, Satoshi Kojima, Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma. Like bragging about being a bigger star as a WWE wrestler than a non-WWE wrestler actually means nothing at all and is a really weak insult. [18] Haku next appeared at NJPW's G1 Special in USA on 2 July 2017, alongside his sons.[19]. With this victory, Tonga became the first four-time NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champion in NJPW history, and later that night, the Guerrillas of Destiny declared their intention to challenge the Young Bucks for the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships as well. According to the report, WWE has . Tonga collected a net worth of $5 million and an average salary of $ 500,000 at an important event. [82][83][84] They lost the belts back to the Dangerous Tekkers on June 1. Afterwards, White, Chris Bey, and the Good Brothers all gave the 'too sweet' hand gesture in the middle of the ring signalling that Tonga and Loa had been kicked out of the group. [29], In September 2012 it was announced that Tonga would go to Mexico from 10 October 2012 and work for NJPW's partner promotion, Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). A week later, he left WCW just weeks before it was bought by WWF in March 2001. The team was named "Guerrillas of Destiny" (G.O.D.). The next week, Col. Parker announced that Meng will no longer be a bodyguard, but will be a wrestler from now on, winning his first match against a jobber with one fast high kick. He attended Tonga College, an all-boys school, where the top sport was rugby. First off, Tama Tonga is the son of Haku, a Wrestler that in Kayfabe was in a tag team with a Samoan and presented as such.He had the same moves, the same headbutt no selling spot and stuff, also had the same outfits the samoan used. In the course of their conversation, Tonga revealed that he met with Triple H in 2016 and verbally agreed to join WWE. However, NJPW retained him when they offered a new contract and hired his brother. And then the banter escalated. On 4 January 2012, Tonga appeared in a dark match during Wrestle Kingdom VI (considered as NJPW's most important show), teaming with Captain New Japan to defeat Kyosuke Mikami and Tomoaki Honma. [40][41] Tonga remained in CMLL until the end of the year. After dragging Omega and the Young Bucks back to the ring to attack them further, fellow Bullet Club members Hangman Page, Marty Scurll, Yujiro Takahashi, and Chase Owens all attempted to come to The Elite's defence, but were summarily beaten down. Fifita wrestled under the names Haku or Meng and was close to the Anoai Family, even forming a tag team with Rikishi. Tonga has spent his entire career in New Japan, but he does have some ties to WWE. Privacy Policy. and our Or, maybe its because Reigns is related to someone with a similar name as Tama Tongas. He defeated Nobuo Yoshihashi,[16] and Akira,[17] but lost to Ryusuke Taguchi,[18] Fujita Hayato,[19] Kenny Omega,[20] Koji Kanemoto,[21] and Taiji Ishimori, ending with four points, second to last his group. Is Tama Tonga related to WWE megastar Roman Reigns?
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