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WWE Newcomer Wins First Televised Match On SmackDown

By John Canton • Published Aug 02, 2025 07:55 EDT
WWE Logo Blur Talla Tonga

A new WWE superstar picked up his first victory in his debut match on SmackDown.

Ever since he made his televised WWE debut at Night of Champions to help Solo Sikoa beat Jacob Fatu to win the US Title, Talla Tonga has been a difference maker who has helped Solo every time he needs him.

The WWE debut of Talla Tonga took a long time because the former NJPW Tag Team Champion was signed by WWE over a year before they put him on television. It was a case of waiting for the right time to make it happen.

On WWE SmackDown in Newark, the tallest MFT, the 6’8″ Talla Tonga, made his televised in-ring debut when he faced off against former Tag Team Champion Jimmy Uso, who has been feuding with his brother, Solo Sikoa, for the past year.

WWE Debut Of Talla Tonga Ends With Chokeslam

Talla Tonga dominated Jimmy Uso for most of the match. In the final moments of the match, Jimmy superkicked brother Solo on the apron. Jimmy hit another superkick on Talla. Jimmy hit a Spear on Talla. After Jimmy went up top, he jumped off with an Uso Splash, but Talla got his knees up to block. Talla hit a Chokeslam for the pinfall win after about 10 minutes.

After the match, Solo Sikoa called for JC Mateo and Tonga Loa to come down to the ring. Solo called for the Steel Cage to be lowered, so it was as the MFT’s beat up Jimmy. The cage was lowered, but Jacob Fatu made his entrance to make the save.

Jacob Fatu got into the ring, so Solo opened the door and bailed out. Talla left as well. Fatu beat up JC and Loa with superkicks. Fatu threw JC and Loa into the steel cage. Fatu hit a Samoan Drop on Loa. There were loud “Fatu” chants. Fatu hit a running hip attack on JC and a running hip attack on Loa, too. Fatu hit a Mighty Moonsault onto JC that barely touched him. Fatu hit a Mighty Moonsault onto Loa, too. Fatu had a staredown with Solo, who said that the US Title belongs to him.

It’s worth noting also that when Talla Tonga debuted at Night of Champions, the spelling of his name was Tala with one L. However, on SmackDown in Newark, his name was shown on screen several times as Talla Tonga with two L’s, so it looks like the two L version is what will be used moving forward.