Update On Tama Tonga Being Deleted From NJPW Website

There was speculation this week that Tama Tonga might already be gone from New Japan Pro-Wrestling after his profile on NJPW's roster page was suddenly removed on January 10, with EVIL being listed as the NEVER Openweight Champion despite having not won the belt.

Many ultimately assumed the whole situation was an angle and that turned out to be the case. New Japan have released a video of EVIL pressuring NJPW staff to make the website changes and NJPW noted in a statement the "alterations were made by staff members under extreme duress at the command of EVIL."

The alterations have since been scrapped and Tama Tonga is once again listed as NEVER Openweight Champion.

Tama Tonga's fourth reign with the NEVER Openweight Title began at Wrestle Kingdom 18 when he defeated Shingo Takagi. The title change has subsequently been met with confusion, however, as Tama announced only minutes after the match that he would be finishing up with NJPW in January 2024.

Tonga will defend the championship against EVIL at New Beginning in Nagoya on January 20. With Tonga's impending exit, the expectation is EVIL will win the match to become a three-time NEVER Openweight Champion.