Cody Rhodes Faces Defeat From Roman Reigns’ New ‘Tribal Chief’ Successor 5-Days After WrestleMania XL Victory

Early last year, speculation garnered pace about WWE entering into talks with Tama Tonga and Hikuleo over their potential recruitment. However, the return of Vince McMahon to initiate a sale of the company brought all developments to a halt. A year later, with McMahon out and WWE under the umbrella of Endeavor, Tonga has signed with the company and debuted this Friday on SmackDown, attacking Jimmy Uso alongside Solo Sikoa. Thus entering directly into the storyline surrounding The Bloodline.

And despite just one appearance, he already eclipsed Cody Rhodes in terms of grabbing the attention of the audience. What do we mean by this? Let’s find out, shall we?

Tama Tonga makes a monumental impact for WWE via their social channels

As another new Samoan entered the realm of the WWE, fans expected the Bloodline to only get stronger. But when Solo Sikoa and Tonga attacked Jey Uso and also hinted at a new Tribal Chief, we all knew that a new era had begun. Not just for the WWE but also for the Bloodline. The impact of the attack was such that Tonga’s appearance has already defeated Cody Rhodes in terms of the number of views on YouTube. While Rhodes’ segment from the same episode generated 1 million views, the Bloodline segment featuring the 41-year-old generated 1.3 million views. Talk about making an impact!

It sure looks like the WWE is in for one hell of a ride with the emergence of a new bloodline. And while we are aware that Jacob Fatu has also joined the company, what about Hikuleo? Will the son of legendary star Haku also join the promotion?

The hidden fate of Hikuleo

WWE has had Tama Tonga and Hikuleo on their radar for a long time, and they have always maintained a good relationship with them. While Hikuleo decided to stay in NJPW, Tonga believed it was time to jump ship. Although he was expected to debut sooner, the company decided to bide their time for him to join The Bloodline. Reports had also suggested that Tonga did not hold talks with AEW and that he was initially expected to join WWE.

As for the son of the legendary Meng, Hikuleo continues carving out a path for himself in New Japan Pro-Wrestling. As reported by Sean Ross Sapp on Fightful Select, his contract with the Japanese company expires in June. Previously, there was a belief that the deal would end in January, as it happened with his still-teammate, El Phantasmo. But this is not the case. So for now, Hikuleo will have to wait before getting to work with his brother again, but this time for a different promotion. And we too will have to wait to find out if he also ends up in WWE to get involved in the history of The Bloodline. What do you think? Should Hikuleo join the WWE? What did you make of Tongá’s immense impact on his debut for WWE? Let us know in the comments.