Tonga Loa has reflected on the end of his latest WWE run, describing the experience as a rewarding period that took on added meaning because he was able to share it with his brothers, Tama Tonga and Talla Tonga.
Loa returned to WWE as part of The Bloodline’s expanding family story and went on to win the WWE Tag Team Championship alongside Tama Tonga. His release came after roughly a year back with the company, ending a run that also placed him on the same roster as Talla and, eventually, their father Haku.
Speaking during a virtual signing for K & S WrestleFest, Loa made clear that he did not view his departure as a personal issue. Rather than dwell on the circumstances behind it, he focused on the positives from his time in WWE and the rare opportunity to work and travel with members of his own family.
“How I conducted myself up there, I feel like it wasn’t personal.”
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That perspective is particularly notable given that this was Loa’s second spell under the WWE umbrella. He said he valued both opportunities, but explained that the more recent run meant more to him because of where he was personally and professionally at this stage of his life.
“I enjoyed ’em both,” Loa said. “This time, I enjoyed it more because I was sober.”
For Loa, the central part of the experience was not simply appearing on WWE programming or holding championship gold. It was being able to operate in the same environment as Tama and Talla. The three brothers have long carried one of wrestling’s most recognizable family legacies, as the sons of Haku, whose reputation as a feared and respected figure stretches across generations of the business.
Loa and Tama had previously spent extensive time together outside WWE, most prominently as the Guerrillas of Destiny in New Japan Pro-Wrestling. They also wrestled in Japan alongside family at various points. Still, Loa explained that opportunities to wrestle with Talla had been comparatively limited before all three were connected on WWE’s main roster.
“What was even better was I was there with Tama and Talla,” Loa said. “Even though we got to wrestle in Japan a little bit, we didn’t get to wrestle with Talla that much. But then, when we were all over with WWE and Talla was finally on the main roster, it was fun. It was just nice to work with them and get to travel.”
That family dynamic remains visible on SmackDown even with Loa no longer in the company. Tama Tonga and Talla Tonga are currently the WWE Tag Team Champions, with Haku serving as their manager. The presentation has given WWE viewers another chapter of the Tonga family story, bringing Haku back into a prominent on-screen role while his sons compete at the top of the tag team division.
Loa said he is genuinely pleased to see his father involved with Tama and Talla. At the same time, he admitted there is a natural sense of envy in watching them get the chance to be together on the road in WWE.
“I’m just really happy that our dad is up there now,” Loa said. “Not gonna lie, I’m a little envious that my brothers get to work with my dad on the road, but, I’m happy that he’s back.”
It is an understandable emotion for a wrestler whose latest WWE run was built around the value of family connection. Loa had been part of a group with Tama, had the chance to work around Talla’s arrival on the main roster, and had won a major championship with his brother. With Haku now accompanying Tama and Talla, the remaining members of the family are getting an experience Loa would clearly have welcomed.
When asked directly why WWE released him, Loa did not offer a definitive explanation. He initially declined to say whether he knew the specific reason, maintaining the same measured approach he took throughout the conversation.
“Uh… Nah,” Loa said when asked if he knew why he had been let go.
However, Loa did discuss his feeling that a release was possible before it happened. He said his departure came one week after a larger wave involving more than 20 talents. In his view, the timing and the atmosphere around WWE television production left him with the impression that another round could follow.
“I had a feeling because I was released the week after the big release of 20-plus talent, and I just felt like it was just gonna happen the following week,” Loa said.
He identified Jeff Cobb as another wrestler who was released during that subsequent week. Loa said that while he was filming material and working through the usual routine, he sensed that his own WWE status could be changing.
“Jeff and I got released the following week, and that week, just filming and stuff, I could just feel it,” Loa said.
The release was not Loa’s first experience with WWE letting him go, but he emphasized that his reaction was different this time. He described his initial release as a shock that occurred when he was younger, and he contrasted that earlier period with his mindset during the more recent departure.
“I’ve been released by the company before,” Loa said. “My first time getting released was a shock to me. But, I was young then and probably drank too much too but, I was real clear-headed and I could feel it and I just had a better understanding of just the business.”
Loa’s comments frame the release less as a moment of public resentment and more as an example of a veteran understanding the uncertainty of wrestling employment. He did not present a specific backstage reason for WWE’s decision, and there is no confirmed explanation from him beyond the timing he described. What he did stress was that he was prepared for the possibility and able to process it with a clearer perspective than he had earlier in his career.
That perspective has been shaped by a career that has taken Loa through several major stages of the industry. His work with Tama made the brothers a defining tag team in New Japan, while their connections to Haku ensured that their family name remained a point of interest wherever they competed. WWE offered a different kind of platform: a chance for Loa to work with Tama on a global television stage, capture the WWE Tag Team Championship, and see Talla enter the main-roster environment.
His comments also underline how much the road itself mattered. Professional wrestling is often discussed in terms of championships, match placement, storylines, and television exposure. For Loa, the ability to travel with family was a major part of why the second WWE run stood out. That opportunity made the experience personal beyond any single match or title reign.
While Tama and Talla continue their championship run on SmackDown with Haku at their side, Loa’s remarks leave no doubt that he is watching with pride. His admission of envy does not come across as bitterness toward his brothers or father. Instead, it reflects the significance of a unique family moment in wrestling—one that he was able to partially experience during his own time in WWE, even if he is no longer there for its current chapter.
For now, Loa has not revealed a specific next destination or detailed plans for his post-WWE future. His comments were centered on appreciation for the run he had, his sobriety and personal growth, and the family bond that made the latest chapter especially meaningful. As he moves forward, the former WWE Tag Team Champion appears to be viewing the release with a clear-eyed understanding of the business, while still cherishing what he got to accomplish alongside Tama Tonga and Talla Tonga.
Darryl Polo
Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.