Hikuleo Debuts At Night Of Champions, New Name Revealed (WWE News)

Hikuleo debuts, Tonga Loa returns as Solo Sikoa wins US Title.

by Andrew Pollard
WWE Night Of Champions 2025 Jacob Fatu Hikuleo
WWE.com

After plentiful speculation, Hikuleo finally made his WWE debut 'proper' at Night of Champions yesterday, costing Jacob Fatu and aligning with Solo Sikoa.

Sikoa vs. Fatu featured plenty of shenanigans, with interference from JC Mateo and then from the returning Tonga Loa. With that not enough to keep the Samoan Werewolf down, the giant presence of Hikuleo appeared at ringside and slammed Fatu onto the announce desk. Jacob was rolled back into the ring, where Solo hit him with the Samoan Spike to get the 1-2-3 and become the new United States Champion.

So, in one night, Solo's 'Bloodline' has doubled in size, going from two active members to four active members.

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The WWE commentary team didn't use the Hikuleo name at all, which many fans immediately took as meaning a name change was in the cards, much like what happened with Ricky Starks/Saints and Mariah May/Brooke Monroe in NXT this year. And for those who watched the post-Night of Champions panel show, the hulking 6'8" star was referred to as Tala Tonga.

That Tala Tonga moniker matches up with a trademark WWE filed last year, with many presuming that name was indeed being reserved for the impending arrival of Hikuleo. However, despite being signed to the company last summer, it took until this month for Hikuelo to finally make his WWE debut. That soft debut came with a couple of WWE Main Event matches, ahead of his debut 'proper' at Night of Champions.

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For those not familiar with Hikuleo/Tala Tonga, the 34-year-old is a former member of Bullet Club, a former IWGP Tag Team Champion, a former NJPW Strong Tag Team Champion, a former NJPW Strong Openweight Champion, the brother of Tama Tonga, the adopted brother of Tonga Loa, and the adopted son of the legendary Haku.

As for Tonga Loa, he's been out of action since Survivor Series: WarGames back in November, where he suffered a biceps injury. His brother Tama may still be out with an undisclosed injury, but Loa is now back in the fold to add numbers to Solo's group.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.