Talla Tonga pins former WWE World Champion on SmackDown to pick up the biggest win of his career

Talla Tonga has been nothing short of a one-man wrecking ball for Solo Sikoa and the MFTs. This week on SmackDown, just one day before Backlash 2026, he pinned a former WWE World Champion to pick up the biggest win of his career.

For some context, last week on SmackDown, Damian Priest and R-Truth found themselves in an unexpected Championship defense after a bit of miscommunication. Regardless, they defeated Nathan Frazer and Axion (Fraxiom), and right after the match, Talla Tonga would come out and destroy everybody in the ring – all four men. This was only a part of an elaborate plan because Jacob Fatu and Royce Keys were attacked as well. Keys, in particular, took collateral damage and was never an intended target. Regardless, Priest was looking for vengeance, and he was all ready as he walked into SmackDown to face the imposing Talla Tonga. Priest told R-Truth that the Gingerbread Man wasn’t on his mind, and revenge was. R-Truth offered to come and help him out, but Priest told him to stay back because he knew what the MFT’s game plan was (having the same playbook from the Judgment Day). He revealed that R-Truth wasn’t a 100% cleared, which is why he wanted him to stay back.