Talla Tonga

[6.0] "He was okay during his many years in NJPW, able to have a good match with a skilled opponent. He was the man to remove Jay White from Japan in a Losers Leave Town match, and that was possibly his best match. He's at about the same level in WWE, just with a different overall wrestling style. An okay big man, likely already at his peak. He's not gonna give a MOTN but he's solid enough."

[8.0] "I have no idea how wrestling fans see him as just another tall guy, but they don't notice that he's very technical for his size. Look at his Power Slam or just his other moves in the ring. He's greatly underestimated. Among many other wrestlers with similar size, Talla stands out for his abilities in the ring. Yes, we haven't heard him on the microphone in WWE, but that doesn't mean we should count it as a negative just because he hasn't had the opportunity to showcase it. He's one of those big guys whose matches are interesting to watch in terms of what happens in the ring."

[2.0] "Did you guys know that Talla Tonga is....TALL! ? That's quite literally the only reason he is employed by WWE, as he can't wrestle and hasn't said a single word on tv. The thing that bothers me is that he's on TV almost every week and takes spots from actually talented and entertaining wrestlers."

[0.0] "NJPW, he wasn't good. With him being in WWE, he isn't good nor improved. The biggest issue was them having him on the Main Roster instead of having him go through the NXT System because he needs it. His wrestling as a Big-Man Style is awful, very sluggish, and doesn't provide a lot as a Wrestler. He hasn't lost in WWE yet, but I don't see him winning a World Title or being a Made Man. Just the Muscle for the MFTs."

"I honestly like Talla. Imposing presence, big silent big man, and he's fresh compared to other Samoans. I feel like he has a ceiling in WWE once the MFT split up, but for now he ain't bad"

[1.0] "Talla Tonga is tall. He is a tall man. He is a man who is tall. He is of above average height. He probably has to duck his head a lot and hates sitting in the back seat of cars. He is tall. That's it."

[2.0] "He's nothing special. I don't know what he thought he'd get out of WWE but he's at his ceiling there. At least in NJPW he was sort of treated like a big deal. He still wasn't great but he was able to have watchable matches. I honestly forget he's even in WWE at times."

[1.0] "Few wrestlers make me actively groan the way Talla Tonga does. The guy has zero defining character traits other than just being large, and it shows. He walks around the ring doing the same tall guy offense that we've seen millions of times, but with zero energy."

[3.0] "I mean he is cool in the fact he is the big intimidating dude but thats literally it, he has no skills in anything but hes intimidating."

[7.0] "Talla Tonga is a big dude with a good bit of grit in him, I'm very excited to see where he goes with the Bloodline Wolfpack / New Bloodline under the wing and tutelage of Solo Sikoa. He's been physically imposing so far and it's interesting to see where it'll go"

[0.0] "Literally the only reason he's in the position he is is because of family and his height. He can't wrestle, can't cut a promo, and when you're part of the MFTS, you sure as hell won't have a singular ounce of charisma. He managed to have a bad match with Rey Fenix and probably had the worst in ring debut I've ever seen in WWE. I don't see a future in this company for him as a singles competitor. The fact that it took him a year to get onto tv says a lot."

[6.0] "The burden of the legacy is immense. However, what he showed during the AAA shows gives hope that the character of La Parka will shine once again. He has the perfect physique for the role and looks great in the gear. Plus, he's doing very well in the ring. In two or three years, La Parka will be a star again"

[3.0] "Very much a tag team guy, and a very mediocre one at that. I'd rate him a four or a five but his current run in WWE is hilariously bad. Imagine being the least interesting member of the worst faction on one of the worst shows currently airing."

[2.0] "Hikuleo, or "talla tonga" now has literally never been good. He's all size with limited wrestling ability. Even if not downright bad, he can't do anything outside of the basics. A few good tag matches under his belt but that is all."

[5.0] "Hikuleo has outstanding size at 6 foot 8. With his family he was quickly brought into New Japan Pro Wrestling. Throughout his time in NJPW he should steady improvement. His WWE run has started with him getting a stupid new name in Talla but being presented as a monster. Will be interested to see how his career in WWE goes."

[1.0] "Talla? The best name WWE could come up for him was Talla? Well, previously Hikuleo, the newly minted "Talla Tonga" was part of the NJPW scene for almsot a decade, not really making much noise even though he's 6'8. His matches with the likes of Tetsuya Naito have been quite....OK.....and that's really the highlight of his career. I mean, he was in Bullet Club! Did anyone know? Now he's making the people around him in WWE worse in the honestly quite terrible "MFT" group. I really thought he would have been a better in-ring worker or a reliable promo artist. Well, not from what I've seen."

[8.0] "Few legitimate giants exist in the world of wrestling today, Tala Tonga is 6'8 and could be truer than that distinction. The godsend chokeslam that ends careers out of companies and if you get sent through a table, you bound to recuperating on the sidelines for a while. His battles were collective yet diabolical in nature with Fred Rosser, Golden Boy Jordan Clearwater and Juice Robinson during both their times in NJPW. Although he never was perfect in his early years where he barely played around the likes of Omega, Ibushi, Okada or Naito, he made good as a quiet young lion dispute being the youngest brother of Tama and Toa. He would later on develop his undeniable presence with lack of athleticism but pure talent in stamina and swiftness. He wrestled for RevPro in a streak of matches losing to Dan McGee and Iestyn Rees to defeating Kyle Fletcher and Dan Maloney. Further on past his excursion, he would go on with his high profile feud with Rosser with wins apiece. His pressure back in Japan however took a different turn, in RevPro he delivered his load as a tag team specialist with El Phantasmo for Bullet Club and soon after leaving the group when his brothers were unceremoniously removed thanks to the switchblade Jay White, he got revenge by kicking him not only out of the BC as well but New Japan completely. His team with ELP continued with Jado alongside him as Strong Openweight and at the Tokyo Dome, became IWGP heavyweight tag team champions. They rode high on success until new beginning in Osaka losing to KENTA/Owens, held the Strong Openweight tag titles a few times until the loss at Dominion to TMDK. Not long afterwards the team dissolved. The man formerly known as HikuLeo went back to the states and a year later, joined the bloodline, costing Jacob Fatu the United States title. Tala Tonga still shy of 8 years of experience but his quiet confidence grows loud expressions. Behold the giant."

[5.0] "Not as horrible as most big men in terms of athleticism but so far behind in terms of charisma. We've been waiting what seems like forever for him to become a dominant big man and it looks increasingly like that will never happen."

[5.0] "Hikuleo is not a really good wrestler, but I think he's a pretty decent powerhouse and I enjoy watching him wrestle, always imposing himself and being dominant, with stiff strikes and powerful moves. He's improving each year, and found himself in an interesting tag combination with ELP. Hikuleo kind of suffer when working for a company like NJPW, where the ring variety and presentation is very important, but I think when booked properly this guy can thrive."

[6.0] "Hikuleo gets a lot of shit, and in some cases I understand, but as a whole there's not much wrong with him. This is mainly including Hikuleo's role now, as his tag team with El Phantasmo is actually surprisingly fun and it hides Hikuleo's otherwise visible lack of charisma. However, Hikuleo's run in the G1 was beyond infuriating, and I still haven't emotionally recovered from it, especially considering those he beat whilst being definitively less talented, Simply, Hikuleo is not a main event talent yet, and if he's ever going to be one, well that's uncertain."

[6.0] "Do I want to see him in big spots? Lord no. However as a big man who gets the hot tag in a multi man he can be plenty of fun. That is a perfectly fine spot to have. He is already better than his cousin and has shown noticeable improvement during the years he has been in new japan."

[6.0] "Hikuleo has developed into a decent big man, certainly not setting the world on fire but not stinking out the joint either anymore. He is slowly showing improvements, even having his best ever singles matches in the 2023 G1 Climax against Sanada and Tetsuya Naito."

[6.0] "Hikuleo was really one of the things that I really disliked about NJPW but look at him in 2023, he improved a lot in my opinion (still a looooooong way for him to be very good) but he was very watchable and made me chnage my opinion on him. Thanks for the had work"

[7.0] "I like hikuelo, a solid, reliable big man who has improved since his matches with Jay White, He moves pretty well for a man of his size and has a few good matches in him. No charisma however, and works well with standing behind his older brothers and looking big. Good, but don't give him a title run with any belt except for maybe tag."

[6.0] "Nothing outstanding, nothing just terrible. Bland in ring work, lacks charisma, not a great talker. His height is his main asset but also has a lean frame that doesn't help with his overall look. Edit 2023 - bumping up my Hikuleo rating a bit because I feel he has shown measurable improvement in the past year. He is moving with more confidence, is smoother, and does some surprising bumps for a man his size."

[6.0] "4 years ago, Hikuleo was terribly dull inside the ring and was boring as a heel but since his match against Jay White, he has shownd so much improvement both inside the ring and though he's the most interesting character standpoint, he's way better as a babyface. If you want good evidences about his progress, check it out his G1 Climax 33 and you will easily see his progress. He lacks charisma though but i'am sure he's going to improve it sooner than later."

[7.0] "Hikuleo, for the majority of his career, didn't show much. Seemed like he was just a generic big man with not much going for him. Then, he had that match with Jay White, and he showed signs of being a hell of a lot better - signs that would come to fruition during the G1 Climax 33. Hikuleo had several great matches in that G1, against people like Kaito Kiyomiya, SANADA, Yota Tsuji, Shota Umino, and Tetsuya Naito. While some may call these carryjobs, most of those people aren't particularly known/are too inexperienced for them to be carryjobs, and all of them carry the control variable of Hikuleo. Essentially, the guy's improved a lot and has a ton of potential to be truly great in the future. I am looking forward to the continued success and growth of Hikuleo."

[7.0] "I feel he is very underrated just because he is a very tall guy. He's a very solid wrestler and has shown in this G1 33 that he is playing a good role as the giant foreigner. He improved a lot and is still not in his prime, could gain some charisma but there's a lot of potential here."

[6.0] "My image of Hikuleo improved greatly after G1 Climax 33, maybe the best four matches of his career took place there, and because by the end of the tournament he seemed way more comfortable in the ring and his offensive way more devastating. Still, he has a long road ahead in order to become the giant NJPW expects of him."

[6.0] "Hikuleo has improved greatly. He looks like he is more comfortable in his own skin. His Bullet Club run was... not handled well. He was supposed to be the big guy to take over for Bad Luck Fale, that never happened. He then stayed with BC instead of joining his brothers, but he wasn't used as often as he should have been. Currently, running with his family in Guerrillas of Destiny, he's doing better. Maybe a little too much to fast, but decent. He is still learning and you see him learning."

[8.0] "The new monster gaijin of New Japan who is doing well and growing into his role with each major outing he has. His recent matches with Shota Umino, Jay White, Yota Tsuji, and Tetsuya Naito were all great and got the crowd to give him a major reaction each time. I dont believe he deserves such a low rating on here. Hes improved and its shown. Hikuleo has proven he can hold his own with the right opponent and at just 32 hes likely only going to improve more. Once he can figure out to exude more of an aura in the ring things will really start to pick up for him. Hes also got my favorite Chokeslam on the scene right now and his various counters/transitions with it have been cool and refreshing."

[8.0] "Hikuleo has levelled up big time during the 2023 G1 Climax. He finally put all the pieces together, and showed why NJPW gave him the big victory over Jay White earlier this year. If he's able to stay at this level in the future, we will only see him rise to the top of the card - and have earned his spot. There was a lot of time to get to this point, but he's finally arrived."

[6.0] "6 making a premise. He is getting better day by day. But early in his career, it was one of the worst things to ever happen to the sport. Driven by the name, however, he has been able to work and improve himself and now you can look at him as a real wrestler. An honest big guy."

[3.0] "Very limited in the ring and not much charisma. I feel like he might benefit from an extra 20-30lbs and a change of look to really be taken seriously as a big enforcer and then his limitations in the ring won't be as noticeable."

[5.0] "He is improving but he is wayyyyyyyyyyy far from being at his peak. I hope he can really turn into something in this current New Japan mainland run."

[4.0] "Not awful in the ring and has some good big man presence but unfortunately that might be what holds him back. His size is about the only thing going for him that's special. That being said he's alright in a tag match and can do ok singles matches. Just nothing with any flavor to it. Still pretty young so he can still definitely get better, but for now he's sitting at a 4"

[4.0] "Hikuleo has improved and isn't bad. He seems impressive on the surface but is actually very limited and very basic. He doesn't have the look to make him dangerous."

[0.0] "I am sorry to rate someone this way but I think that Hikuleo is one of the worst wrestler, to me, saw in the latest years..."

[0.0] "Hikuleo is a strong candidate for the worst wrestler of the year in all honesty and for the second year in a row, last year when he appeared on NJPW Strong and delivered boring matches I thought it was only the beginning and that he would surely improve by dint of working with very good workers every week but nothing did, one year later the observation is still the same or even worse. Even if he faced a lot of great wrestlers since last year, Hikuleo never showed anything good in singles action. All his matches are a total bore, he has no charisma, he has no talent between the ropes and his potential is close to nothing. At this point I'm thinking he's being promoted for everything but his wrestling abilities which are more than zero, a bad wrestler all around who don't deserve his actual spot in NJPW and IMPACT."

[3.0] "Great look, he just looks amazing, but once you get past that there's really not much left. Yes, he's pretty much a rookie, but he's had excellent teachers, the opportunity to gain experience in several promotions and he still looks so... weak? For a guy so huge it's worse than being bad and making plenty of mistakes. I think NJPW wants to make him Fale's replacement but do we really need such a thing?"

[3.0] "Apparently he's finally on excursion in RevPro where he will hopefully improve. For now, all I can do is rate his performance so far which hasn't been good."