Former NJPW NEVER Openweight Champion Tama Tonga has officially said his farewell to New Japan Pro Wrestling. At the beginning of the year at Wrestle Kingdom 18, Tonga won the NEVER Openweight title and immediately afterwards, he admitted that he would soon be leaving NJPW when his contract expires. He lost the title over two weeks ago at NJPW The New Beginning in Nagoya to EVIL. He’s been on quite the farewell tour since and at last night’s Sapporo event he competed in his final match in New Japan. Tonga teamed with his brother and Guerrillas of Destiny stablemate Tanga Loa against Guerrillas of Destiny’s El Phantasmo and Hikuelo.ย
Will Tama Tonga Finally Put Pen to Paper With WWE?
Back at Wrestle Kingdom, the four-time NEVER Openweight champion Tonga revealed that he would be departing the company to be closer to his family in the United States. It’s no secret that WWE has had interest in Tonga for quite some time, including last year when his last contract was set to expire. In 2016 he had verbally agreed to jump to WWE but once he expressed this to NJPW, he ultimately decided to stay when Loa was hired. And, of course there’s also the obvious huge Bullet Club ties in WWE with original Club members Finn Balor (Prince Devitt) and Karl Anderson which Tonga was also part of.ย
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Now that the group has had time to grow and settle, it expands to almost every single major promotion including AEW and TNA. Tonga resides in Orlando which is where WWE’s Performance Center is and at this stage in his career the 41-year-old star could definitely be considering it as his main option. It’s also been said that WWE has a renewed interest in Tonga since he’s officially become a free agent.
In his final post-match comments, Tonga noted that NJPW will always be his home no matter where he goes. He promises to let the world know that New Japan is his home. The sentiment sounds very similar to what Trinity (WWE’s Naomi) said in her final TNA appearance before re-signing with WWE. “New Japan, thank you. Thank you for giving me a chance here in New Japan,” Tonga said. “When I came to New Japan, Jado was my trainer. He worked hard on us. He trained us very hard every single day. We had to give it 100%. If it wasn’t for Jado in the very beginning, I don’t know where I’d be. Jado, thank you very much. Last but not least, the fans, thank you. Thank you for accepting me. Thank you for taking me in. Thank you for giving me a home. Wherever I go in this world here on after, I want you to know that because of you, because of New Japan, you guys have made this my home. This will always be my home, wherever I go. When you see me, I will always let the world know that New Japan, that Japan is my home. It always will be. Thank you.”
Stay tuned to Comicbook.com for updates on Tama Tonga’s wrestling future.
H/T: Fightful
