Tama Tonga Confirms Talks With WWE, Says He Worked In NJPW Without A Contract For A ‘Few Months’

Tama Tonga confirms that he was in talks with WWE.

Near the beginning of 2023, many reports surfaced regarding the possibility of Tama Tonga and WWE. Fightful Select reported in January that many in WWE were interested in the idea of bringing in Tonga to the company. At that time, Fightful Select also noted that Tonga’s contract with New Japan Pro Wrestling was set to expire in a number of weeks.

Fast foward to the fall of 2023, and Tama Tonga has remained with New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he is currently the reigning NEVER Openweight Champion.

In a new interview with Fightful, Tonga stated that he was in talks with WWE at one point, but noted that he ended up choosing to stay with NJPW. Tonga also stated that he didn’t know if there was a hiring freeze in the company.

“Yes, I was in talks with them. Very much interest in myself and my brother. Out of respect for New Japan, I have to always give them the doors first and see what they can do. Yes, there was a period of a few months of myself working without a contract to give New Japan a chance. I know in this game, it can get messy with contracts and the way we’re talking right now. I was raised by my father on the way to go about business and treat loyalty and respect to those who put me through the door. New Japan, first and foremost. Yes, there was talks with WWE. I don’t know anything about the hiring freeze. I ended up choosing New Japan at the end, and here we are.”

Fightful went on to bring up the fact that Tonga’s loyalty to the company has paid off for him in a big way.

“Thank goodness, because you never know these days. The game has changed so much, the environment, the community, everything has changed and you don’t know what from who. Just doing everything I was taught and moving forward from there. That’s it. I was always taught to do good business, stick with your gut, and do good business. That’s it.”

Tonga is set to defend the NEVER Openweight Championship against Shingo Takagi at NJPW STRONG’s upcoming Fighting Spirit Unleashed show in Las Vegas, Nevada. That show will emunate from Sam’s Town Live on Saturday, October 28.

Fans can see Fightful’s full interview with Tama Tonga in the video linked above.