Tama Tonga On Why WWE Did Not Sign Him

Years before he broke out as a star in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Tama Tonga says he was close to quitting the business. The seven-time IWGP Tag Team Champion says he became frustrated after he and his brother tried out for WWE.

"I had tried out twice," Tonga told the All Real Wrestling Podcast. "The first time we tried out, he got picked up right away and they told me I was too small. So, I said, 'Alright'. For six months, I just ate everything. And I worked out hard. And I got, like – I got big but it wasn't the good big and so I went back. I went back again and tried out and they just said I'm not what they're looking for."

Tama Tonga says his father Haku encouraged him to keep working independent shows but it wasn't long before Tonga said he began to doubt if he could make it in pro wrestling.

"I was doing these rinky-dink shows for like next to nothing for two years," Tonga recalled. "And I think you're like, 'Am I doing the right thing? Am I holding on to a dream that is just a dream?' And so I think I would say I was on my last leg. I was just about to, like – I had left my job and I was trying to, like, figure out which way am I going in my career now, because I thought wrestling was over because there was just no way. I had hurt my knee at one of the indie shows and I broke my hand. I'm like, 'Man'. It was like one thing after another.

"And out of the blue, this guy named Ricky Santana got me booked out in Puerto Rico. He said, 'You're gonna have to go out there and stay for a few months. They pay is when they pay you – if they pay you. But it's the experience you get.' And I said, 'Alright. I ain't got nothing going on.'"

The call to Puerto Rico in 2009 kept Tama Tonga's career alive and he has some fond memories from his time working there.

"It was kinda awesome because we had this shitty-ass room next to the beach," Tonga said. "But it was next to the beach, man!"

After working in Puerto Rico for a few months, Tama Tonga connected with New Japan. Tonga said, at first, it was little more than an opportunity to get his foot in the door.

"My pop hit me up and said that New Japan is interested," Tonga explained. "But I was only going in just for training and just like a fill-in guy, whatever they needed. So I came in and so I was training. I was real green and they could tell that right away and so I went for three months and I was supposed to come back and then try to go into WWE with my brother. After that third month they – I guess I was doing a good job being a fill-in guy and they asked me to stay on another three months. I said, 'Alright'. So I stayed another three months and when that three months ended they asked me to stay another three months."

Tama Tonga's tenure in New Japan continues to this day. Looking back, he recognizes the lessons of perseverance that can be drawn from his story, and perhaps help other wrestlers who are struggling to make their own breaks.

"Mentally, I was done," Tonga said. "But I was just like – I was barely hanging on and then, that came through. Puerto Rico, and then, Japan. You know? So, hang on, I guess. If I can tell anybody. Hang on. You just never know, man."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit All Real Wrestling Podcast with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.