WWE has signed some big free agents over the past few months, and those signings have all made their debuts in relatively short order after signing. Those include recent superstars like Ricky Saints, Giulia, JC Mateo, and the newest addition to the WWE roster, Blake Monroe, but there’s one key exception to this pattern. One particular free agent has been signed by WWE for months, but has yet to make their WWE debut. That finally changed during tonight’s WWE SmackDown, and we are now a huge step closer to them appearing on TV.
The star in question is former New Japan Pro-Wrestling talent Hikuleo, who has reportedly been signed for a long time, but for some reason, he hasn’t made an appearance on any of WWE’s shows. That all changed tonight, as ahead of SmackDown, Hikuleo made his WWE in-ring debut during a Main Event match against Pretty Deadly’s Kit Wilson (via @IAmBalakay).
Tonight’s WWE SmackDown is now completely in the books, and Hikuleo didn’t end up making another appearance during the televised show. That will likely change soon if he’s in the ring during dark matches ahead of the show, so it seems like only a matter of time before he finally makes his grand WWE debut.
It’s not known why it’s taken so long for Hikuleo to become an active member of the roster. After leaving New Japan Pro-Wrestling in June of last year, the former Strong Openweight Champion would sign with WWE, and he was reportedly going to be headed to NXT. That never materialized though, and in updated check-ins on his status with teh company throughout the year, he was still listed as part of the internal roster.
It was thought he might make an appearance as part of WWE’s ever-evolving Bloodline storyline, but that never happened. Other superstars would jump into that Bloodline story instead, including Jacob Fatu, Tonga Loa, and Tama Tonga, and now that has evolved yet again to have Fatu turning against Solo Sikoa.
With that in mind, Sikoa is down one powerhouse with Fatu, and tonight Sikoa offered to accept Fatu back into the family next week, as long as he says he loves him. That’s likely not going to happen, so the question is, what does Sikoa do when that backfires, and the answer likely could be the first appearance of Hikuleo on WWE TV. That would set up a big-time feud for Fatu early in his babyface run, and it would give Sikoa another powerhouse faction to lead into SummerSlam season.
That doesn’t mean he has to debut as part of Sikoa’s group, but it might be the perfect time to get him into that mix. At the moment, Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa are both dealing with injuries, but when they come back, they will likely be aligned with Jacob, as Tama was his ally before the injury. If Hikuleo joins Sikoa, that means we have three vs three for both sides, and that could lead to some fantastic match-ups when everyone is back and healthy.
What do you want to see from Hikuleo’s WWE debut? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk all things wrestling with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!
