.jpg) Tonga in 2023 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Alipate Aloisio Leone (1982-10-15)October 15, 1982 (age 43)[8] |
| Family |
|
| Website | tamatonga |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Kava King Tonga Jr. Pate Fifita Tama Tonga Tonga Strong Machine[1] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)[2] |
| Billed weight | 220 lb (100 kg)[3] |
| Trained by | Dudley Boyz[4] Ricky Santana[5] Haku[5] Jado[6] Karl Anderson[7] |
| Debut | 2008 |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Years of service | 2000–2005 |
| Rank |  Technical sergeant |
Alipate Aloisio Leone[9] (born October 15, 1982), better known by hisring nameTama Tonga (Japanese:タマ・トンガ), is a Tongan-Americanprofessional wrestler. He is signed toWWE, where he performs on theSmackDown brand and is a member ofThe MFT stable. He is also a formerWWE Tag Team Champion.
From 2010 to 2024 he was inNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was a founding member ofBullet Club alongsideBad Luck Fale,Karl Anderson andPrince Devitt. He was also a founding member ofGuerrillas of Destiny (G.O.D.) alongside his brotherTanga Loa. The Guerrillas of Destiny won theIWGP Tag Team Championshipseven times, the 2020 edition of theWorld Tag League tournament and, due to the collaboration between NJPW andRing of Honor, theROH World Tag Team Championship. Leone made his WWE debut as a member ofThe Bloodline stable.
As a singles wrestler, Leone held theNEVER Openweight Championshipfour times. He has also worked with NJPW's partner promotion in Mexico,Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) where he has held theCMLL World Tag Team Championship twice.
Leone and his younger brotherTaula were adopted by their maternal aunt and her husband, professional wrestlerTonga Fifita – better known as Haku or Meng – from his native island ofTonga while they were visiting in 1991. They took him back toPoinciana, Florida where he grew up with his biological cousin and adoptive brother, fellow professional wrestlerTevita, and his older sister Vika.[10]
After graduating fromPoinciana High School, he joined theUnited States Air Force and was stationed for six years atWhiteman Air Force Base, serving as aB-2 Spirit mechanic. At the same time, his cousin Tevita was playing college football with theUTEP Miners. During a phone call in 2004, they decided they would become professional wrestlers once they had finished their respective obligations three years later.[11][5]
In January 2008, the brothers approached theDudley Boyz to use the ring they had at the Team 3D Academy of Professional Wrestling and Sports Entertainmenttraining school they operated inKissimmee, Florida. They did not join the school at the time as they were being trained directly by their father andRicky Santana, a family friend. To practice more frequently they eventually joined the academy proper and were partly trained byBubba Ray Dudley andD-Von Dudley.[5][12]
The brothers made their professional debut in November 2008, wrestling as a tag team under the nameThe Sons of Tonga (referencing their father) in Southern Championship Wrestling (Florida). They continued wrestling under the same name inWorld Xtreme Wrestling (WXW) and Puerto Rico'sWorld Wrestling Council (WWC) until early 2009.[13] Also in November 2008, they took part in aWWE 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.[12]
Alipate continued wrestling as Kava in WXW during the year, winning theWXW Television Championship on 20 June 2009 though he lost it the same day.In the first part of 2010 he returned to WWC, first as a singles wrestler with the moniker King Tonga Jr. (his father had also wrestled in Puerto Rico as King Tonga).He later teamed withIdol Stevens, billed asThe New American Family they briefly held theWWC World Tag Team Championship.[13]
Leone went to Japan in 2010, initially going toNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) to train, he impressed enough to be hired by the company.[14] He made his NJPW debut in May 2010 under the name "Tama Tonga". His debut match came as part of the2010 Super Junior Tag Tournament, where he teamed up withDavey Richards, losing in the first round toEl Samurai andKoji Kanemoto.[15] Tonga was one of sixteen wrestlers who competed in the2010 Best of the Super Juniors tournament. He defeatedNobuo Yoshihashi,[16] andAkira,[16] but lost toRyusuke Taguchi,[16]Fujita Hayato,[16]Kenny Omega,[16] Koji Kanemoto,[16] andTaiji Ishimori, ending with four points, second to last his group.[16]
He teamed up withHirooki Goto, calling themselvesAra-tonga (a pun on Goto's nickname "Aramusha/Daredevil" and Tama's last name) to compete in the 2010G1 Tag League tournament. They defeated the teams ofTogi Makabe/Tomoaki Honma,[16] andKing Fale/Super Strong Machine,[16] but lost to the teams ofManabu Nakanishi/Strong Man,[16]Masato Tanaka/Tomohiro Ishii,[17] andYuji Nagata/Wataru Inoue,[16] which meant they finished fourth in their group with four points. He also entered the 2011G1 Tag League tournament, this time teaming up with Strong Man, calling themselvesMuscle Pavilion. He had less success than the previous year with a solitary victory over the team of King Fale/Yuji Nagata,[16] and losses against the other teams. On 4 January 2012, Tonga appeared in adark match duringWrestle Kingdom VI (considered as NJPW's most important show), teaming withCaptain New Japan to defeat Honma andKyosuke Mikami.[18]
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).[19] His debut match for CMLL saw him participate in the 2012 edition of CMLL'sLeyenda de Azul tournament. The match was a 16-mantorneo cibernetico elimination match, from which Tonga was eliminated whenAtlantis andShocker double teamed him.[20] Following the tournament Tonga worked with a number of CMLL's top stars, including theLeyenda de Azul tournament winnerDiamante Azul. On November 13, Tonga andEl Terrible won theCMLL World Tag Team Championship from Atlantis and Diamante Azul.[21] Tonga next made it to the finals of the2012La Copa Junior Tournament, where, on December 14, he was defeated byLa Sombra in the main event of CMLL's 2012Sin Piedad ("No Mercy") show.[22]
Tonga returned to NJPW in early 2013, just in time to compete inWrestle Kingdom 7 on January 4 where he teamed up with Captain New Japan andWataru Inoue to defeatJado, Tomohiro Ishii andYoshi-Hashi by pinning Jado.[23] On April 7, Tonga and El Terrible successfully defended the CMLL World Tag Team Championship againstLa Máscara andValiente at New Japan'sInvasion Attack event.[1] On May 3 atWrestling Dontaku 2013, Tonga followedPrince Devitt andBad Luck Fale ringside afterKarl Anderson's loss toHiroshi Tanahashi where they all attacked Tanahashi. The four of them founded a newvillainous stable namedBullet Club under Devitt's leadership.[24]
On July 5, Tonga and El Terrible lost the CMLL World Tag Team Championship to Tanahashi andJyushin Thunder Liger.[1] Tonga regained the title from Tanahashi and Liger on September 14 with new partnerRey Bucanero.[1] Tonga returned to CMLL with Bucanero in early October.[25] On October 18, Tonga and Bucanero were stripped of the CMLL World Tag Team Championship when they were unable to defend the title against La Máscara andRush due to Bucanero being sidelined with an injury.[26][27] Tonga remained in CMLL until the end of the year.
Returning to Japan in 2014, Tonga participated almost exclusively in tag matches the next two years,[13]He took part in the2014 World Tag League with Bad Luck Fale in November of that year. They finished at the bottom of their block with a record of three wins and four losses.[1] Tonga and Fale would team up again in the2015 World Tag League for a worse result, picking up two wins for four losses to finish penultimate with four points.[28]
On 4 January 2016, atWrestle Kingdom 10, Tonga teamed with Fale andYujiro Takahashi to take part in a match to determine the inauguralNEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions, they were defeated byJay Briscoe,Mark Briscoe andToru Yano when Jay pinned Tonga.[29] On February 11 atThe 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.[1] After a three-day reign, the three lost the title back to the Briscoes and Yano atThe New Beginning in Niigata.[1] During February, Tonga accepted an offer to joinWWE. However, NJPW retained him when they offered a new contract and hired his brother.[30] On March 3, Tonga scored the biggest singles win of his career by defeating formerIWGP Heavyweight Champion and reigningIWGP Tag Team ChampionTogi Makabe in the first round of the2016 New Japan Cup.[31] The following day, he was eliminated from the tournament in the second round by Hirooki Goto.[1]
In March 2016, Tonga announced he would reform his tag team with Tevita in NJPW, recruiting him into the Bullet Club as Tanga Loa. The team was named "Guerrillas of Destiny" (G.O.D.). On April 10 atInvasion Attack 2016, G.O.D. defeated Makabe andTomoaki Honma to become the new IWGP Tag Team Champions.[32] They lost the title to Jay and Mark Briscoe on June 19 atDominion 6.19 in Osaka-jo Hall.[33] In late June 2016, Tonga returned to CMLL with his brother for a month-long excursion and the two competed in the2016 International Gran Prix, where Tonga was the last eliminated, losing to winnerVolador Jr.[34]
Tonga was announced as one of the participants of the2016 G1 Climax from 18 July 2016.[35] NJPW's most prestigious tournament, it entitles its winner to anIWGP Heavyweight Championship title match at the next Wrestle Kingdom. Tonga's participation in the G1 was seen as a major step-up.[36][unreliable source] In his third tournament match on 25 July, he scored the biggest win of his career by defeating Hiroshi Tanahashi (who had won the previous year's G1).[37] Tonga finished the tournament on August 12 with a record of four wins and five losses.[1]
Returning to tag team competition with G.O.D., he and his brother regained the IWGP Tag Team Championship from the Briscoe Brothers on October 10 atKing of Pro-Wrestling.[38] They reached the final of the2016 World Tag League but lost to Makabe and Honma on December 10.[39] On January 4, 2017, Tonga and Loa lost the IWGP Tag Team Championship to Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano in a three-way match, also involving Makabe and Honma.[40] On June 11 atDominion 6.11 in Osaka-jo Hall, Tonga and Loa defeatedWar Machine to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship for the third time.[41] They lost the title back to War Machine in ano disqualification match on July 1 atG1 Special in USA.[42]
Tonga participated in his second G1 Climax by entering the2017 edition in July. He finished with a record of four wins and five losses.[43] In December, G.O.D. won their block in the2017 World Tag League with a record of five wins and two losses, advancing to the finals of the tournament.[44] On December 11, they were defeated in the finals of the tournament byLos Ingobernables de Japón (Evil andSanada).[45] Six days later, G.O.D. and Bad Luck Fale defeated Evil, Sanada andBushi to become the new NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions.[46] They lost the title toChaos (Beretta, Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano) in a five-teamgauntlet match on January 4, 2018, atWrestle Kingdom 12 in Tokyo Dome.[47] The following day at New Year's Dash, they would regain the title from Chaos.[48]
AtThe New Beginning in Sapporo, Bullet Club stablemateCody turned on the leader of the stable,Kenny Omega. This led to there being two sides to Bullet Club; Team Cody and Team Kenny. While Tonga stayed neutral atStrong Style Evolved before a tag team match againstMarty Scurll and Cody, Tama stated if he were to be on a team it would not be Team Cody. On the first night of theWrestling Dontaku 2018 shows, G.O.D and Fale lost theNEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship to the Super Villains (Marty Scurll and theYoung Bucks). The second night, Tonga debuted the newest member to Bullet Club,Taiji Ishimori. Later, it was announced that Tonga would be competing in the G1 Climax 28.
At theG1 Special in San Francisco, Tonga, Loa,King Haku,Chase Owens, and Yujiro Takahashi defeatedChaos membersGedo,Yoshi-Hashi, andRoppongi 3K (Rocky Romero,Sho andYoh), with Tonga pinning Gedo after a Tongan Death Grip by Haku to Gedo followed by a Gun Stun. At the end of the night, following Kenny's victory over Cody in the main event, Tonga, Loa, and Haku came out to seemingly celebrate with Kenny and the Young Bucks in a show of loyalty, only to attack The Elite, as well as fellow Bullet Club members Scurll andHangman Page, even Owens and Takahashi, and finally Cody, when they tried to intervene. They then left the ring declaring that they were the true Bullet Club. From then on, Tonga and his associates would be announced during their entrances as members of Bullet Club OG, while the rest would be known as Bullet Club Elite.
In the2018 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. However, Tonga did manage to defeat theIWGP United States Champion,Juice Robinson, as well as that year's B Block winner,Kota Ibushi. On the night of the G1 Climax finals, Tonga, Loa, and Ishimori won the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship from the Super Villains in what was originally scheduled to be a showcase match but became a title match after Matt Jackson accepted a challenge from Loa to put the belts on the line. With this victory, Tonga became the first four-time NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champion in NJPW history, and later that night, G.O.D. declared their intention to challenge the Young Bucks for the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship as well.[49]
G.O.D. would end up dropping the tag team titles at Wrestle Kingdom 13 toEvil andSanada in a three-way Match for the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship that also included The Young Bucks. On January 30, 2019, they lost the Never Openweight 6-Man Championship against Taguchi, Makabe, and Yano.[50]
On February 23, 2019, they would regain the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship by defeatingEvil andSanada atHonor Rising 2019: Day 2, starting their fifth reign.[51][52] After defending the championships seven times, their reign would end when G.O.D lost toFinJuice (Juice Robinson andDavid Finlay) atWrestle Kingdom 14.[53][54][55][56] They would soon immediately regain the belts at The New Beginning in the USA event in Atlanta, before again losing them without a defence toGolden☆Ace (Hiroshi Tanahashi andKota Ibushi) on a New Japan Road show inKorakuen Hall.[57][58][59][60][61]
After thepandemic, Guerrillas of Destiny would make their return to Japan as participants of the World Tag League. They would win the tournament for the first time after defeating FinJuice in the finals.[62] They would go on to win an IWGP Tag Team Championship match at theTokyo Dome for the first time, defeating championsDangerous Tekkers (Taichi andZack Sabre Jr.) after Tanga Loa hit "ApeSh*t" (asitout reverse piledriver) on Taichi after 19 minutes and 18 seconds.[63][64][65] They lost the belts back to the Dangerous Tekkers on June 1.
AtNo Surrender,Jay White interfered in G.O.D.'s match against formerBullet Club stablematesKarl Anderson and Doc Gallows by hitting his finishing move Bladerunner on Tonga causing them to lose the match. 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. In the 2022New Japan Cup, Tonga facedEvil in the second round. During the match,House of Torture attacked Tonga, only to briefly be saved by the Japanese division of Bullet Club, before they also turned on G.O.D. andJado. 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. In March, Tonga, Loa and Jado formed an alliance withRyusuke Taguchi andMaster Wato (and laterHiroshi Tanahashi), and joined the Hontai stable which represents New Japan.[66]
AtWrestling Dontaku, Tonga defeated Evil to win theNEVER Openweight Championship, his first New Japan singles championship.[67] He lost the title toKarl Anderson atDominion 6.12 in Osaka-jo Hall, ending his reign at 42 days.[68] Also at the event, Tonga was announced to be a part of theG1 Climax 32 tournament in July, where he would compete in the B Block.[69] He finished with 10 points, defeatingIWGP World Heavyweight Champion Jay White to advance to the semi-finals.[70] In the semi-finals match, Tonga was defeated by A Block winnerKazuchika Okada, therefore failing to make the finals.[71] Due to knocking White out of the tournament, Tonga earned an IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match on October 10 at Declaration of Power, however failed to capture the title from White at the event.[72] Tonga later defeated Anderson to regain the NEVER Openweight Championship atWrestle Kingdom 17, becoming the first to win a NJPW title from a WWE contracted wrestler since the two companies' past partnership ended in 1985. AtWrestling Dontaku on May 3, he lost the title toDavid Finlay, ending his second reign at 119 days.[73]
Two months later, Tonga would participate in the 2023G1 Climax, competing in the C Block.[74] Despite avenging his loss to Finlay, Tonga finished the tournament with 9 points, narrowly missing out in a place in the quarterfinals.[75] On October 9 atDestruction in Ryogoku, Tonga defeated Finlay to win the NEVER Openweight Championship for the third time.[76] On October 28 atFighting Spirit Unleashed, Tonga lost the title toShingo Takagi in his first title defense.[77] On January 4, 2024, atWrestle Kingdom 18, Tonga defeated Takagi to win the NEVER Openweight Championship for the fourth time.[78] In a post-match press conference, Tonga announced he would be leaving NJPW due to his contract expiring and wanting to be closer to his family.[79] On January 22 atThe New Beginning in Nagoya, Tonga faced EVIL for the NEVER Openweight Championship. The match originally ended in a no contest, after Tonga was attacked by the House of Torture. The match was restarted into alumberjack match, where Tonga lost the title to EVIL.[80] Four days later, Tonga wrestled his penultimate match under his NJPW contract, where he, El Desperado, Tomoaki Honma and Yoh defeated House of Torture. Later that night, Tonga helped Shota Umino win his match against Ren Narita, alongside Desperado, following the interference from House of Torture, marking his final appearance for the promotion. AtThe New Beginning in Sapporo: Night 2, he wrestled his final NJPW match alongside his brother Tanga Loa against fellow G.O.D membersEl Phantasmo andHikuleo, ending his near fourteen-year tenure with the company.[81]
_(cropped).jpg)
On the April 12, 2024 post-WrestleMania XL episode ofSmackDown, Tonga made his debut forWWE attackingJimmy Uso, establishing himself as aheel and in the process, becoming the newest member ofThe Bloodline stable.[82] Then, The Bloodline started a feud withKevin Owens assaulting him the following week on SmackDown and again on the April 26 episode of SmackDown, beforeRandy Orton made the save.[83][84] As part of the stable, Tonga also received the moniker "MFT" (short for "Mother F'n Tonga") and "The Right Hand Man" (formerly used byJey Uso). Later that night, it was announced that Orton and Owens would face The Bloodline (Sikoa and Tonga) in atag team match atBacklash France. This would mark Tonga's in-ring debut in WWE.[84] At the event, The Bloodline won the match following interference from Tonga's brother, the returningTonga Loa who joined the stable.[85] On May 10 episode of SmackDown, Tonga defeatedAngelo Dawkins in the first round for the King of the Ring tournament.[86] The following week he would defeatLA Knight in the quarterfinals,[87] but lost to Orton in the semifinals, marking his first pinfall loss in WWE.[88]
AtMoney in the Bank on July 6, Tonga along with Sikoa and the debutingJacob Fatu defeatedCody Rhodes, Orton and Owens at in aSix-man tag team match with Sikoa pinning Rhodes.[89] In the main event of the August 2 episode ofSmackDown, the night beforeSummerSlam, Tonga and Fatu defeatedDIY (Johnny Gargano andTommaso Ciampa) to win theWWE Tag Team Championship marking Tonga's first title win in WWE.[90] On the October 25 episode of SmackDown, Tonga and Loa lost the titles toThe Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley andChris Sabin) ending their reign at 84 days. AtCrown Jewel on November 2, Tonga along with Sikoa and Fatu defeated the original incarnation of The BloodlineRoman Reigns andThe Usos in aSix-man tag team match with Sikoa pinning Reigns.[91] AtSurvivor Series: WarGames on November 30, Tonga along with The Bloodline andBronson Reed lost to Reigns, Usos,Sami Zayn andCM Punk in aWarGames match.[92]
On the April 18 episode ofSmackDown beforeWrestleMania 41, Tonga was assaulted byLA Knight in the parking lot and had his hand smashed through a door. This was used to write Tonga off television as he had suffered an undisclosed injury.[93] After a six-month hiatus, Tonga returned on the October 10 go-home episode ofSmackDown beforeCrown Jewel: Perth sporting the face paint he wore during his time with NJPW, taking outSami Zayn andShinsuke Nakamura in the process, thus joining the new MFT stable.[94]
Leone is the cousin ofSimi Taitoko ("Toks") Fale, both having spent their early childhoods inMuʻa, Tonga without meeting. They were in the NJPW dojo at the same time and realised they were related when a relative commented on a photo Fale had posted on social media.[14]
In addition to his biological cousin, adoptive brother, and longtime tag team partnerTevita Fifita (best known under the ring name Tonga Loa), Leone's younger biological brotherTaula Koloamatangi is best known for his tenure in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) under the name Hikuleo.
Leone is also the nephew and adopted son of professional wrestlerTonga Fifita, who is best known as Haku and Meng.
He has performed alongside all of the above as members of Bullet Club (all), the Guerrillas of Destiny (his brothers), and currently The Bloodline (his brothers).
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
,Cagematch,Wrestlingdata,Internet Wrestling DatabaseLinks to related articles | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||
