When Tama Tonga made his surprise debut on SmackDown after WrestleMania 40, attacking Jimmy Uso by order of Solo Sikoa and the Tribal Chief, he became the latest former member of Bullet Club to join WWE, etching his name right next to Finn Balor, Cody Rhodes, AJ Styles, the Good Brothers, Karl Anderson, and Luke Gallows on a very successful list of defectors.
But how, you may ask, did his signing come together? While fans in the know were aware of Tonga's free agent status, as NJPW made no secret that his last match in the promotion was his last match in the promotion, in the end, why was becoming a member of The Bloodline the call instead of going solo in NXT, or landing in another promotion like AEW, or TNA? Well, the “Machine Gun” Karl Anderson actually provided some insight into that situation in a recent appearance on Busted Open Radio, letting it be known that he actually had a hand in helping Paul “Triple H” Levesque make the connection while celebrating his fit in the promotion.
“Look at him. I think he's got the perfect look. I think he's got exactly what WWE needs, wants. I think it's great that Tama's had 15 or 16 years, all in New Japan Pro Wrestling, to come into WWE and show them that experience, and that he is ready for primetime. I think that it's unlimited right now, for what Tama Tonga can pull off in the WWE, and I'm excited to watch. Just knowing that he was coming, last Friday, he had texted me and told me he was gonna show up in the city, he had no clue he was gonna debut that night, either, which is kind of WWE-style. They'll bring you in, and then you gotta debut, and they told him he was debuting, and it was pretty fun to see, just watch my friend and brother go through the fact he knows he's about to go on live, national television for the first time ever, really,” Karl Anderson explained on Busted Open Radio via Fightful.
“I'm proud of him. I thought he knocked it out of the park. He looked amazing, which he always does. I think he's ready. I think the world's ready for Tama. I think the attitude, the way he is, he's an opinionated guy, he's a charismatic guy. He's a bit insane [laughs], which is a part of kind of what we all need. I can't wait to see. I'm so glad he's in that Bloodline storyline because now he's involved with the tippy-top guys. He's got Paul Heyman right there, who's always creatively the genius that he is. It doesn't get much cooler, especially if you're a Bullet Club fan and have followed it for so long.
“After my Tokyo Dome match in 2023, which Triple H let me do. I re-signed with WWE, and I was still a champion in New Japan, and he still allowed me to go back and do two matches with New Japan Pro-Wrestling with no issue at all, but I remember texting Triple H and telling him, ‘Tama Tonga's contract's coming up. I think Tama's a full-blown, a can't-miss, if you ask me.' He wrote back right away, and it took a year to get it done, but now he's here.”
Whoa, move over Jay White, it would appear the Bullet Club has a new catalyst of professional wrestling, as, when “Switchblade” was goofing around with Billy Gunn's kids, “Bright Lights” was making moves to fortify The Bloodline as a true company man. All in all, a great development for WWE and Anderson, too.
Bully Ray reveals his one issue with Tama Tonga's WWE debut.
Speaking of Tama Tonga talk on Busted Open Radio, Bully Ray discussed his take on the son of Haku's debut in WWE, noting that while he's happy with everything the Tongan Superstar brought to the table, he was unsure why the commentary team of Wade Barrett and Corey Graves were so quick to give up the goat moments after his debut.
“Very proud of Tama Tonga and his finally debuting in the WWE. I want to talk about how the segment went off the air. (But) I don't know if I needed to know who Tama Tonga was the minute he jumped the rail and hit the ring. Like, I found it just a little bit odd that Wade Barrett and Corey Graves knew immediately, ‘That's Tama Tonga, son of Haku,” Bully Ray said on Busted Open via Wrestling Inc. “Haku is Tongan. The Bloodline are Samoan. Different, considerably different, but amongst the Samoan Family and the Tongan Family, very much the same because the Tongan families and Samoan families have crossed over a lot.”
Would it have been cool to see WWE make Tonga's debut feel more like a mystery? Maybe yes, maybe no, but unlike some other debuts, Tonga isn't exactly a household name like, say AJ Styles a few years back at the Royal Rumble, so it's not like the causal fan would have figured it out unless they looked into the matter online. Call it an AEW move, or call it a pair of informed commentators who know wrestlers outside of WWE, but fans now know that Haku's son is a member of WWE, even if they aren't exactly sure how it's going to shake out moving forward.
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