NJPW talent Tama Tonga is all set to jump ship to WWE. After reaching the end of 14-year-long commitments with New Japan Pro Wrestling in Sapporo last Saturday, Aliopate Aloisio Leone aka Tama Tonga is eying a new start to his career with the world’s biggest wrestling promotion.
While any new signee usually makes rounds to some extent, Tonga’s impending debut has been seemingly subject to a greater hype and, of course, for a reason. The wrestling town suspected that the 41-year-old has a connection with WWE’s most marketable promotion, The Bloodline. Let’s dig a bit deeper to know the reality.
Is Tama Tonga really connected to Roman Reigns’ family tree? Explained.
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Tama Tonga belongs to the classic wrestling blood, although not biologically. His adoptive father Haku has a well-documented wrestling legacy spreading over several promotions. While his career was somehow intertwined with the legendary Anoa’i family, Tonga doesn’t belong to the same lineage as Reigns. He represents the Tangan lineage and The Tribal Chief roots for the Samoan lineage. So, they are not related in that sense.
BREAKING: Former NJPW star and Bullet Club member Tama Tonga has signed with WWE according to WON!
— Mahr M.Irfan hiraj (@Raj2Reign) February 28, 2024
Moving ahead, the adopted son of Haku was a founding member of the Bullet Club and was one of its longest-tenured members until his NJPW departure in 2022.
Read more: Roman Reigns’ Return Brought Back Hopes for Paul Heyman as He Showed Immediate Recovery Signs
But in WWE, it seems he would love to face off against Roman Reigns at some point in time.
Tama Tonga wants to lock horns with The Tribal Chief
Tonga had earlier expressed his desire to join a U.S.-based wrestling promotion. Then it eventually culminated into active WWE talks last year following the expiry of his NJPW contract. But the move didn’t materialize that time as he opted for a one-year extension in Japan before finalizing his move. Now that he’s ready to step up to the WWE ring, we can expect a clash with the Head of the Table in the future. The hope didn’t come out of the blue, nevertheless. Tonga had a heated social media standoff with the Tribal Chief years back, but things quickly resolved between them.
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During a recent interview, the former NJPW star looked back at that small beef and stated that he would love to see himself at the opposite end of the ring in a match with Roman Reigns.
With Tonga finally heading to WWE, this scuffle seems to be fated.
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What’s your take on Tama Tonga’s little to no direct Bloodline connection? Let us know in the comments.