WWE SmackDown Star Placed In Concussion Protocol
A WWE SmackDown wrestler missed a recent television taping due to a concussion.
When Solo Sikoa confronted Jacob Fatu on the post-WrestleMania edition of SmackDown on April 24th, Solo did so with the MFTs – Tama Tonga, JC Mateo, and Tonga Loa.
However, the biggest member of the MFTs is Talla Tonga (the brother of Tama and Loa), and he wasn’t by Solo’s side that night. Solo would later claim he gave Talla the night off.
It has been reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter by Dave Meltzer that Talla Tonga missed SmackDown on April 24th due to being in concussion protocol.
What isn’t known is when Talla may have suffered a concussion, nor was there a timeline for when Talla may return to WWE TV. If he’s cleared, then he’ll likely be back on the May 1 edition of SmackDown.
On the last SmackDown before WrestleMania on April 17th, Talla Tonga teamed up with the MFTs to beat The Wyatt Family. Later that night, Talla was the runner-up in the Andre the Giant Battle Royal, as Royce Keys picked up the big win.
Talla Tonga made his official WWE debut in June 2025 after being signed by the company several months earlier.
WWE SmackDown To Feature New Stars Along With Cody Rhodes
Since it’s post-WrestleMania season, WWE Raw and SmackDown have seen some new faces debut on their brands.
The former 2-time NXT Women’s Champion Jacy Jayne made her SmackDown debut on April 24th, along with her Fatal Influence allies Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid. Jayne faced WWE Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley in a match. It ended early when Henley cheapshotted Ripley and got Jayne disqualified. Fatal Influence attacked Ripley post-match to let the champion know that they have Ripley in their sights.
A former NXT Champion and NXT North American Champion, Ricky Saints, is also set to make his SmackDown debut on the May 1st episode.
In his NXT farewell match this past Tuesday, Ricky Saints lost to Shiloh Hill in the main event. Since WWE already announced that Saints was heading to SmackDown, it made the result of the Hill-Starks match rather obvious.
The May 1st edition of WWE SmackDown takes place at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with this lineup advertised so far.
- Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes kicks off SmackDown
- Charlotte Flair looks for payback on Jacy Jayne after Fatal Influence invade SmackDown
- Jacob Fatu returns to SmackDown after brutally securing a title match against Roman Reigns at WWE Backlash
- Ricky Saints debuts on SmackDown
The next WWE PLE is Backlash on Saturday, May 9th, in Tampa. Here’s the lineup so far, with every match featuring Raw wrestlers other than Jacob Fatu. It’s likely that some SmackDown-related matches will get added to the Backlash card.
* WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Jacob Fatu
* Seth Rollins vs. Bron Breakker
* Asuka vs. Iyo Sky
You can watch WWE Backlash, streaming live Saturday, May 9, at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT on ESPN Plus in the United States and Netflix internationally.
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