 Loa in 2016 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Tevita Tu'amoeloa Fetaiakimoeata Fifita (1983-05-07)May 7, 1983 (age 42)[10] |
| Alma mater | University of Texas at El Paso[1] |
| Parent | Haku (Father) |
| Relative(s) | Tama Tonga (Brother) Tala Tonga (Brother) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Camacho Agent T[1] Donny Marlow Micah[2] Nuku Tanga Loa[3][4] Tanga Roa[5] Tevita Fifita Tonga[1] Tonga Loa[6] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)[7] |
| Billed weight | 220 lb (100 kg)[7] |
| Billed from | Florida Honolulu,Hawaii[8] Juárez, Mexico[1] |
| Trained by | D-Von Dudley[1] Bubba Ray Dudley Florida Championship Wrestling[1] Ricky Santana[9] Haku[9] |
| Debut | November 8, 2008[1][3] |
Tevita Tu'amoeloa Fetaiakimoeata Fifita (born May 7, 1983) is an Americanprofessional wrestler. As of May 2024, he is signed toWWE, where he performs on theSmackDownbrand under thering nameTonga Loa. He is a member ofThe MFT stable.
Fifita started his professional wrestling career in WWE'sfarm territoryFlorida Championship Wrestling (FCW) in 2009 as at firstTonga, then later known asAgent T andDonny Marlow. He was promoted to the main roster in 2011, where he worked as a Mexican character namedCamacho in a tag team withHunico. They worked on the undercard on the SmackDown andNXT brands for a few years. After he left WWE in 2014, he worked for two years inTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) under the nameMicah, where he won the 2015'sGut Check. Later, he left the promotion and joinedNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) under the ring nameTanga Loa, joining his brotherTama Tonga asGuerrillas of Destiny (G.O.D.), a subgroup of theheel factionBullet Club. In NJPW, Loa and Tonga are seven-timeIWGP Tag Team Champions and former three-timeNEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions withBad Luck Fale andTaiji Ishimori.[11] He also has made appearances inRing of Honor (ROH), where the Guerrillas of Destiny are former one-timeROH World Tag Team Champions. He returned to WWE on May 4, 2024, under the ring nameTonga Loa, aligning himself with The Bloodline.
Fifita is part of the Fifita wrestling family, being the son ofHaku and brother ofTama Tonga andTalla Tonga.
Born inHonolulu, Hawaii, Fifita attended the University of Texas at El Paso, where he played football as adefensive end.[1] Fifita graduated with a degree inliberal arts with major in Communications Electronic Media and minor in criminal justice.[citation needed]
After taking part in a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) tryout alongside his adoptive brotherAlipate,[12] Fifita signed a developmental contract with the promotion on February 10, 2009, and was assigned to its developmental territoryFlorida Championship Wrestling (FCW) as Tonga.[1] In March, he became known as Agent T, as part ofAbraham Washington's Secret Servicestable, alongsideAgent D and Agent J.[13] He later changed his name to Donny Marlow. On July 21, 2011, Marlow andCJ Parker defeated Calvin Raines andBig E Langston to win theFCW Florida Tag Team Championship. On November 3, Marlow and Parker lost the Tag Team Championship toBrad Maddox andBriley Pierce.
On the December 15, 2011, episode ofSuperstars, Fifita came to the ring as the newenforcer ofHunico,[14][15] and his new ring name was revealed as Camacho.[16] Hunico and Camacho first teamed together on the April 26 episode ofSuperstars where they beatthe Usos.[17] Camacho made his pay-per-view debut atOver the Limit, where he was defeated byRyback in a singles match.[18] Camacho began appearing again on WWE's developmental territory, the former FCW, which had been rebranded intoNXT Wrestling;[19] He made his NXT debut on the July 4, 2012, episode of the rebootedNXT, first losing toSeth Rollins but emerging victorious later that episode in a six-man tag match while teaming with Hunico andMichael McGillicutty against Rollins,Bo Dallas, andTyson Kidd.[20] On the next episode ofNXT, Camacho defeated Kidd in a singles match following a distraction from McGillicutty.[21] In the pre-show ofMoney in the Bank, he and Hunico lost to theWWE Tag Team Champions,Kofi Kingston andR-Truth in a non-title match.[22] AtRaw 1,000, Camacho, along with Hunico and four other wrestlers attempted to ambushKane to make a statement, butThe Undertaker's return resulted inBrothers of Destruction disposing of all six would-be attackers.[23] With Hunico out injured, Camacho continued to compete on NXT; after a $5,000 bounty was promised to anyone who could putBig E Langston "on the shelf"; Camacho attempted to claim the bounty in late-2012 so that he could "get Hunico out ofMexico", but he wassquashed by Langston.[24][25] On April 4, 2013, Camacho reunited with Hunico at theWrestleMania Axxess live event.[26] On the November 6, 2013, episode ofMain Event he and Hunico made their first televised tag team match since July 2012, losing to The Usos. He and Hunico then started a feud against The Ascension, defeating them in a non-title match, but were then defeated in a NXT championship match.
Once Hunico started portraying Sin Cara again, Camacho started to wrestle solo onNXT. Camacho scored a rare victory over the returningOliver Grey at the March 13 television tapings.[27] His last feud in WWE was withAdam Rose onNXT, which began when he attacked one of Rose's followers after a match and ended atNXT Takeover when Camacho lost to Rose.[28][29] On June 12, 2014, Camacho was released from his contract.[30]
On February 16, 2015, Fifita participated atTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling'sTNA One Night Only'sGut Check, where he won a tournament to earn a spot in the company. On March 15, 2015, Fifita, under the ring name of Micah and announcing himself as the son of Haku, made his debut atImpact Wrestling as a member of The Rising, a stable consisting of himself,Drew Galloway, andEli Drake. On the April 24 edition ofImpact Wrestling, Micah defeatedKenny King. On the May 22 episode ofImpact Wrestling, Micah wrestled against Kenny King for hisTNA X Division Championship, but failed to win the title. On the June 3 episode ofImpact Wrestling, The Rising defeatedThe Beat Down Clan. On the July 1 edition ofImpact Wrestling, The Beat Down Clan defeated The Rising in a 4-on-3 handicap match, forcing The Rising to dissolve. On the September 9 edition ofImpact Wrestling, Micah,Tigre Uno andRobbie E defeatedJessie Godderz, Kenny King and his former partner Eli Drake in a six man tag team match. From October to November (during whichImpact Wrestling had been taped from July 22-July 25), Micah participated in theTNA World Title Series in the "Future 4" group, during which he earned 4 points and thus failed to qualify for the successive round of 16. On the December 16 edition ofImpact Wrestling, Micah wrestled his final match for TNA, where he teamed up with Eli Drake, Jessie Godderz andCrimson in a losing effort against Tigre Uno,DJ Z,Manik andMandrews in an Eight-Man Tag Team match. Micah did not appear after this leading to his release.
On March 12, 2016, Fifita was announced as the newest member ofNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) stableBullet Club. The announcement was made by his brotherTama Tonga, who challengedTogi Makabe andTomoaki Honma to a match for theIWGP Tag Team Championship atInvasion Attack 2016.[31] Two days later, Fifita was given the new ring name Tanga Loa (sometimes spelled "Tanga Roa"), while his team with his brother was dubbedGuerrillas of Destiny (G.O.D).[32][33] Fifita's ring name was taken fromTangaloa, a family of gods in Tongan mythology.[9] Loa made his NJPW debut on March 27 by attacking Togi Makabe during his match with Tonga, causing a disqualification.[34] Loa's debut match took place on April 1, when he and Bullet Club stablemates Tonga,Bad Luck Fale,Kenny Omega andYujiro Takahashi were defeated by Makabe, Honma,Juice Robinson,Hiroshi Tanahashi andMichael Elgin in a ten-man elimination tag team match.[35] On April 10 atInvasion Attack 2016, G.O.D defeated Makabe and Honma to become the new IWGP Tag Team Champions.[36] They lost the title toThe Briscoe Brothers (Jay andMark) on June 19 atDominion 6.19 in Osaka-jo Hall.[37] On October 10 atKing of Pro-Wrestling, the Guerrillas of Destiny regained the IWGP Tag Team Championship from the Briscoe Brothers.[38] In December, the Guerrillas of Destiny won their block in the2016 World Tag League with a record of six wins and one loss and advanced to the finals of the tournament.[39] On December 10, the Guerrillas of Destiny were defeated in the finals of the tournament by Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma.[40] On January 4, 2017, Loa and Tonga lost the IWGP Tag Team Championship toTomohiro Ishii andToru Yano in a three-way match, also involving Makabe and Honma.[41] On June 11 atDominion 6.11 in Osaka-jo Hall, Loa and Tonga defeatedWar Machine (Hanson andRaymond Rowe) to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship for the third time.[42] They lost the title back to War Machine in ano disqualification match on July 1 atG1 Special in USA.[43] In December, Guerrillas of Destiny 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, Guerrillas of Destiny and Bad Luck Fale defeated Evil, Sanada andBushi to become the newNEVER 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 Tama and Loa stayed neutral atStrong Style Evolved before a tag team match againstMarty Scurll and Cody, Loa speaking for both himself and his brother, stated if they were to be on a team it wouldn't 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, Tama debuted the newest member to Bullet Club,Taiji Ishimori. Later, it was announced that Tama will be competing in the G1 Climax 28.
At theG1 Special in San Francisco, Tama, Loa,King Haku,Chase Owens, and Yujiro Takahashi defeated CHAOS membersGedo,Yoshi-Hashi, andRoppongi 3K (Rocky Romero,Sho andYoh), with Tama 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, Tama, 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 membersHangman Page,Marty Scurll, even Chase and Takahashi, and finally Cody, when they tried to intervene. They then left the ring declaring that they were the true Bullet Club. On January 30, 2019, they lost the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Championship againstRyusuke Taguchi, Makabe and Yano.[49] On February 23, 2019, they would regain the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Titles by defeating Sanada & Evil atHonor Rising 2019: Day 2, starting their fifth reign.[50][51] After defending the championships seven times, their reign would end when G.O.D lost toFinJuice (Juice Robinson &David Finlay) atWrestle Kingdom 14.[52][53][54][55] 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 &Kota Ibushi) on a New Japan Road show inKorakuen Hall.[56][57][58][59][60]
After the 2020Pandemic, 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.[61] They would go on to win an IWGP Tag Team Title match at theTokyo Dome for the first time, defeating championsDangerous Tekkers (Taichi &Zack Sabre Jr.) after Loa hit 'ApeSh*t' (aSitout Reverse Piledriver) on Taichi after 19 minutes & 18 seconds.[62][63][64] They lost the championships back to the Dangerous Tekkers on June 1. On June 1,2022 Tanga Loa suffered an injury to his right knee,[65] it is later confirmed by his brother, Tama, that Loa suffered a tornMCL on his right knee. He underwent successful operation but missed out the remainder of 2022.[66] Loa returned to NJPW in July 2023, competing in the annualG1 Climax tournament.[67] Loa competed in the B Block, finishing with 6 points and therefore failing to advance to the quarterfinals.[68]
On March 31, 2024, at Road to Sakura Genesis, he wrestled his final NJPW match, challenging for theKOPW trophy in a losing effort toThe Great O-Khan.[69]
On June 1, 2016, the MexicanConsejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) promotion announced Roa and Tonga as participants in the2016 International Gran Prix.[70] On June 24, Roa, Tonga andSam Adonis defeatedAtlantis,Diamante Azul andVolador Jr. inArena México.[71] On July 1, Roa took part in the 2016 International Gran Prix, from which he was eliminated byÚltimo Guerrero.[72]
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Fifita made his return toWWE after nearly ten years atBacklash France on May 4, 2024 under the tweaked ring nameTonga Loa, assistingSolo Sikoa and his brotherTama Tonga in defeatingKevin Owens andRandy Orton in aTag TeamStreet Fight establishing himself as aheel in the process and joiningThe Bloodline.[73] His previous run as Camacho wasnot mentioned on WWE programming.[74] Loa made his WWE in-ring return on the May 31 episode ofWWE SmackDown, teaming with his brother Tama, now going by the tag team name of "The Tongans", to defeatStreet Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford).[75] On the August 23 episode ofSmackDown, Solo Sikoa hadJacob Fatu relinquish his share of the title to Loa so that Fatu could be Sikoa's personal enforcer.[76] On the October 25 episode of SmackDown, Loa and Tonga lost the titles toThe Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley andChris Sabin) after interference fromJey Uso ending their reign at 84 days. AtSurvivor Series: WarGames on November 30, Loa along with The Bloodline andBronson Reed lost toRoman Reigns,The Usos,Sami Zayn andCM Punk in aWarGames match.[77] After the match, it was revealed that Loa suffered a torn bicep and would be out of action for seven to eight months.[78]
On June 28 atNight of Champions, Loa returned from injury, where he assisted Sikoa in defeating Jacob Fatu for theWWE United States Championship.[79] After Night of Champions, Loa, Sikoa,JC Mateo, and the debutingTalla Tonga (formerly known as "Hikuleo") rebranded the Bloodline as the "MFT" (standing for "My Family Tree").[80][81]
Fifita is a second generation professional wrestler; his fatherTonga is the professional wrestler better known as Haku in theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) andNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), and Meng inWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW). He has a biological sister, Vika. His adopted brothersAlipate Leone andTaula Koloamatangi are also wrestlers; Leone and Koloamatangi currently perform in WWE alongside Fifita, while his cousinSimi Taitoko ("Toks") Fale currently performs in New Japan Pro-Wrestling.
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