7 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SmackDown (20 Feb - Results & Review)

5. Tama Tonga Continues To Shine Solo

Solo, not Solo. So to speak.

Sikoa's MFTs did help Tama beat Ilja Dragunov, but Tonga looked really good out there on his own. He has a promising singles push in the works here, by the looks of things, and there's something in Shinsuke Nakamura drawing his attention away from Solo's mission vs. The Wyatt Sicks too. Honestly, if Shin saves Tama from that nightmare then they should build a statue of him!

The match itself was typically stiff Dragunov fare. He really does leave it all in the ring every single time he’s out there, and it's clear to anyone with eyes that Ilja is a fantastically intense worker who deserves all of the flowers. A leaping clothesline spot off the ring steps from Tama looked amazing, and so did Ilja’s German Suplex later on.

On a side note, is anyone else beginning to think it must be contractually obliged for Dragunov to bust his nose/lip/eyebrow during matches? The dude never seems to escape unscathed. It was his nose that took a pounding on this occasion, but Ilja wiped away the blood and soldiered on so he could make Tonga look like something special. Good on him for that.

Tama packed on some muscle a few months back and has looked better for it. Crucially, that extra beef hasn't stopped him from moving around the ring freely, so he can match up well against pretty much anyone and bump around when necessary. He could come in pretty handy on the midcard/upper midcard once this MFTs stuff is in the rearview mirror.