 Hikuleo in 2023 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Taula Koloamatangi[5] (1991-02-07)February 7, 1991 (age 35)[3] Kissimmee, Florida, U.S.[6] |
| Alma mater | Webber International University[5] |
| Parent | Haku (father) |
| Relative(s) | Tama Tonga (brother) Tanga Loa (brother) Bad Luck Fale (cousin) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Hikuleo[1] HikuLe'o[1] Leo Tonga[1] Tala Tonga Talla Tonga[2] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 8 in (203 cm)[3] – 6 ft 9 in (206 cm)[2] |
| Billed weight | 265 lb (120 kg)[2] |
| Billed from | Kissimmee, Florida[2] |
| Trained by | Bad Luck Fale[3][1] Super Strong Machine[4] Bubba Ray Dudley D-Von Dudley[3][1] |
| Debut | November 12, 2016[3][1] |
Taula Leone Fifita (née Koloamatangi; born February 7, 1991) is an Americanprofessional wrestler. He is signed toWWE, where he performs on theSmackDownbrand under thering nameTalla Tonga, and is a member ofThe MFTsstable.
The son of professional wrestlerTonga "Haku" Fifita, he debuted as a wrestler in 2016 inNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) asHikuleo. In his time with NJPW, he was a member ofBullet Club andGuerrillas of Destiny (GoD), and was a formerStrong Openweight Champion, a two-timeStrong Openweight Tag Team Champion, and a one-timeIWGP Tag Team Champion (with partnerEl Phantasmo as part of GoD).[3][1][7] He departed from NJPW in 2024 and signed with WWE shortly thereafter.
Taula Leone Fifita (born Taula Koloamatangi) and his elder brotherAlipate were adopted by their maternal aunt, Dorothy Koloamatangi, and her husbandTonga Fifita.[8][9][10][11] He was born and raised inKissimmee, Florida, where he attendedOsceola High School. He then attendedWebber International University inBabson Park, Florida, majoring insport management and playingbasketball as acenter for theWebber International Warriors. He was named Webber International University's junior varsity men's basketballmost valuable player for 2009–2010.[5][6]
Fifita was trained to wrestle byBully Ray andDevon at theTeam 3D Academy in Florida.[1] In 2016, he travelled to Japan, where he became a student at theNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) dojo.[3][4] Fifita, under thering name Hikule'o (a reference tothe Tongan god[12]), made his professional wrestling debut on November 12, 2016, inAuckland, New Zealand at NJPW's On the Mat Internetpay-per-view, losing toHenare.[3][13]
Fifita continued his training throughout 2017, serving as ayoung lion. He rejoined the active NJPW roster in September 2017, taking part in theDestruction tour under the ring name "Leo Tonga".[14][15] He joined thegaijinheelstableBullet Club alongside his brothersTanga Loa andTama Tonga and his cousinBad Luck Fale, substituting for the injuredKenny Omega.[16] On January 4, 2018, Fifita appeared atWrestle Kingdom 12, the 27th annualJanuary 4 Tokyo Dome Show (NJPW's annual flagship event), taking part in aNew Japan Rumble.[17] AtThe New Beginning in Sapporo later that month, Fifita changed his ring name to "Hikuleo".[18][19] In March 2018, Hikuleo sustained an injury to hisanterior cruciate ligament.[20]
After recuperating and spending six months training at theNJPW Dojo in Los Angeles, Hikuleo returned atHonor Rising: Japan in February 2019, accompanying his brothers to ringside. Hikuleo competed in the 2019New Japan Cup for the first time in his career, in which he was eliminated in the first round byMikey Nicholls. Following that, Hikuleo debuted in The European promotionRevolution Pro Wrestling for his excursion to gain more experience and training, losing to Dan Magee in his first match on June 29.[21] Hikuleo was absent from NJPW for a year from September 2019; he returned in September 2020 on the NJPW's United States show,NJPW Strong, defeatingBrody King.[22] In March of the following year, Hikuleo competed in theNew Japan Cup USA tournament, defeating Jordan Clearwater to qualify for the tournament.[23] In the first round, Hikuleo defeatedFred Rosser, but lost in the semi-final round to eventual tournament winnerTom Lawlor.[24][25] In August, Hikuleo was defeated byJuice Robinson atNJPW Resurgence.[26]
Following TheGuerillas of Destiny's ejection from Bullet Club atNo Surrender Hikuleo began to become more aggressive to stable leaderJay White, who was responsible for kicking out Hikuleo's brothers. This led to Hikuleo answering White's "U.S of Jay" open challenge atMutiny in April 2022, however White defeated Hikuleo, who gave White the "too sweet" gesture post-match, confirming his loyalty to Bullet Club.[27] AtWindy City Riot, Hikuleo teamed with hisBullet Club stablemates andScott Norton, losing toUnited Empire.[28] Hikuleo teamed with White, to defeatKazuchika Okada andRocky Romero ofChaos atCapital Collision in May.[29] Hikuleo was scheduled to compete in an 8-man tag-team match atAEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door, teaming with Bullet Club stablemateEl Phantasmo and one night only membersThe Young Bucks againstDarby Allin,Sting andLos Ingobernables de Japon members,Hiromu Takahashi andShingo Takagi, however it was announced that Takahashi wouldn't be able to compete at the event, due to suffering from a fever, so the match was made a six-man tag-team match, without Hikuleo.[30] Despite this, Hikuleo appeared at the event in the corner of Bullet Club. Despite interfering in the match, Bullet Club was defeated by Sting, Allin, and Takagi at the event.[31] In September, Hikuleo made his return to Japan atNJPW Burning Spirit teaming withKenta andTaiji Ishimori to defeatTogi Makabe,Tomoaki Honma andKushida.[32] Later in the Burning Spirit tour on September 25, Hikuleo betrayedBullet Club by attacking Jay White and siding with Tama Tonga, turning face and joining the Guerillas of Destiny stable with his brothers Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa along withJado.[33] On January 4, 2023, atWrestle Kingdom 17, Hikuleo competed in theNew Japan Rambo match, but failed to last till the final 4.[34]
After the event, Jay White challenged Hikuleo to a "Loser Leaves Japan Match", which took place in February atThe New Beginning in Osaka, where Hikuleo defeated White, expelling him from Japan.[35] In May 2023, atWrestling Dontaku, Hikuleo defeated Kenta to win theStrong Openweight Championship, his first championship in NJPW.[36] He would lose the title back to Kenta 18 days later, atResurgence.[37] In July, Hikuleo entered his firstG1 Climax tournament, where he would compete in the A Block.[38] Hikuleo finished his tournament campaign with 8 points, with a win overShota Umino in the final match of the block, causing him to be the runner up in his block and thus advancing to the quarter-finals.[39] In the quarterfinal round, Hikuleo lost to eventual tournament winnerTetsuya Naito, eliminating him from the tournament.[40] On October 9 atDestruction in Ryogoku, Hikuleo and Phantasmo defeatedBullet Club War Dogs (Alex Coughlin andGabe Kidd) to become the new champions and the first wrestler to hold the Strong Openweight andStrong Openweight Tag Team Championships.[41]
From November 25 until December 6, Hikuleo and Phantasmo took part in the 2023 World Tag League, where they won their block with a record of five wins and two losses, advancing to the semifinals of the tournament. On December 8, Hikuleo and Phantasmo defeatedMikey Nicholls andShane Haste in the semifinals and then were defeated byHirooki Goto andYoshi-Hashi, on December 10 in the finals of the World Tag League. Following the match,Bishamon challenged Hikuleo and Phantasmo to a match, for bothIWGP and the Strong Openweight Tag Team Championships in a Winner Takes All" match.[42] On January 4, 2024, atWrestle Kingdom 18, Hikuleo and Phantasmo defeated Bishamon in a Winner takes all match to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship, where their Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship was also on the line.[43] On February 11 atThe New Beginning in Osaka, Hikuleo and Phantasmo lost the IWGP Tag Team Championship toBullet Club (Chase Owens andKenta), ending their reign at 38 days.[44] On April 12 atWindy City Riot, Hikuleo and Phantasmo lost the Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship toTMDK (Mikey Nicholls andShane Haste) in a four corners match, before regaining them on May 11 atResurgence.[45][46]
Hikuleo wrestled his final match for NJPW on June 9, 2024 with El Phantasmo atDominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo Hall, losing a match for theIWGP Tag Team Championship andStrong Openweight Tag Team Championship.[47]
Hikuleo appeared in the crowd on Night 2 ofFyter Fest in July 2021, watching theIWGP United States Championship match betweenJon Moxley andLance Archer, thus making hisAll Elite Wrestling (AEW) debut. After Archer's victory, Hikuleo entered the ring to have a stare-down with the victor, hinting at a future match between the two.[48] The match was scheduled for the following week atFight for the Fallen, where Hikuleo, who was accompanied to the ring by his fatherKing Haku, lost to Archer.[49] Hikuleo appeared on the August 11, 2021 episode ofAEW Dark, defeating Thad Brown.
Hikuleo returned to AEW on the June 1, 2022 episode ofAEW Dynamite teaming withUndisputed Elite membersThe Young Bucks andreDRagon to defeatJurassic Express,Christian Cage,Matt Hardy andDarby Allin in a ten-man tag-team match.[50]
In summer 2021, Hikuleo began making appearances in another NJPW partner promotion in the United States,Impact Wrestling. By autumn 2021, he was listed as a member of the Impact roster,[51] and he,Chris Bey, andEl Phantasmo established themselves as a U.S. based branch of Bullet Club in Impact Wrestling.[52] Hikuleo teamed with Bey in his Impact debut, defeatingFinJuice atVictory Road.[53] On the October 21st episode ofImpact!, Hikuleo and Bey faced off in a #1 contendership match for theImpact World Tag Team Championship, but the match ended in a no contest. Therefore, atBound for Glory, a three-way tag-team match was set up between the two teams and Tag Team Champions,The Good Brothers with the titles on the line. At the event, The Good Brothers retained the championships.[54] AtTurning Point in November, Bey and Hikuleo were once again unsuccessful in capturing the Impact World Tag Team Championships from The Good Brothers.[55] Hikuleo returned to Impact Wrestling in November 2022 atEmergence, teaming with Bullet Club stablemates to lose toHonor No More in a12-man tag team match.
In July 2024, Fifita signed withWWE and began training at thePerformance Center.[56] Almost a year after, he had his first match before the June 13, 2025 episode ofSmackDown, defeatingKit Wilson in a dark match.[57] He debuted atNight of Champions asTala Tonga, assistingSolo Sikoa in defeatingJacob Fatu for theWWE United States Championship, establishing himself as a heel and joiningThe Bloodline.[58][59] On the July 4 episode ofSmackDown, his ring name was slightly changed toTalla Tonga and rebranded the Bloodline to the MFT.[60][61][62] He then made his formal televised in-ring debut on the August 1 episode ofSmackDown, the night beforeSummerSlam, emerging victorious againstJimmy Uso.[63]
A second generation professional wrestler, Fifita is the nephew and adopted son of professional wrestlerTonga Fifita (known as Haku and Meng) and his wife Dorothy Koloamatangi. He has a half-brother,Alipate Leone who is also a professional wrestler best known as name Tama Tonga, and is the cousin and adopted brother of fellow professional wrestlerTevita (who is best known under the name Tanga Loa), and Vika Fifita. He is also the cousin by adoption ofSimi Taitoko ("Toks") Fale, who is also a professional wrestler best known under the name Bad Luck Fale.[8][9]
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