{"id":161586,"date":"2026-05-16T03:26:46","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T07:26:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=161586"},"modified":"2026-05-16T03:26:46","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T07:26:46","slug":"did-damian-priest-beat-tama-tonga-on-5-15-smackdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2026\/05\/16\/did-damian-priest-beat-tama-tonga-on-5-15-smackdown\/","title":{"rendered":"Was Damian Priest Able to Exact Revenge on Tama Tonga on the 5\/15 WWE SmackDown?"},"content":{"rendered":"

On the March 20, 2026, episode of Friday Night SmackDown<\/a>, Damian Priest and R-Truth beat<\/a> MFT’s JC Mateo and Tama Tonga for the WWE Tag Team Championships, ending MFT’s reign at 56 days. From that point forward, the two of them have crossed paths with the faction multiple times. A rematch on the April 24 SmackDown led to a retention by them. That ended up being Mateo’s last match in WWE.<\/p>\n

A week after that, he and Tonga Loa were released<\/a>, leaving Solo Sikoa with just Talla Tonga and Tama by his side. But on May 8, SmackDown, MFT got some revenge on the men who took their tag team titles. In a singles match, Talla beat Priest in a good match.<\/p>\n

The next week was supposed to be R-Truth & Damian Priest vs. Tama Tonga and Talla Tonga, but SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis announced that R-Truth was unable to compete, with Priest fighting an MFT member two weeks in a row. Would he get himself back in the winner’s circle?<\/p>\n

\"WWE
A WWE SmackDown graphic of Tama Tonga & Talla Tonga vs. R- Truth and Damian Priest. (Photo Credit: WWE)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Damian Priest Beats Tama Tonga in an Exciting Match<\/h2>\n

<\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n

Heading into the match, both men were determined to get a victory for the men standing beside them. With R-Truth not medically cleared, Priest was forced to once again face off against a member of MFT. Including his tag team title win, he would be facing off in his fourth match in nine weeks with one of them. After losing to Talla last week, it was clear he had to win for both himself and R-Truth.<\/p>\n

For Tama, this match was a step closer to getting yet another WWE Tag Team Championship title match opportunity. With MFT down to just three members, Sikoa knows that Talla and Tama are the only ones who will carry out his plans. Loa and Mateo aren’t there anymore, and Fatu is in a huge storyline<\/a> with Roman Reigns. Getting another title shot is the number one priority for him, and Tama winning could get them that.<\/p>\n

The match<\/a> started with him striking Priest with his back turned. Priest threw him into the turnbuckle and hit him back. He received more strikes before getting his hands on him and throwing him into the ropes. Unfortunately, Tama rolled him up, but couldn’t get the pinfall. He kicked Tama in the face before running outside the ring, but a punch to his own face sent him down to the ground.<\/p>\n

They got back in the ring and onto the turnbuckle. After a few seconds of grappling, Priest tried to deliver the Razor’s Edge. Tama countered with a choke, but Priest backed him up into the turnbuckle and flipped him to the mat. They traded more punches until a Jumping DDT led to an unsuccessful pinfall by Tama.<\/p>\n

Priest struggled to get up, as a Dragonscrew was delivered to his leg right before the DDT. But when he got up, he hit Tama several times and knocked him down.<\/p>\n

More offense then led to an unsuccessful Broken Arrow pinfall. Tama rolled out of the ring, leading to Priest shoulder-tackling him over the announcer’s table.<\/p>\n

He got up and delivered a swinging neckbreaker, but couldn’t get the win. A double underhook was also unsuccessful directly afterward. That led to Priest picking him up and slamming him down for the South of Heaven. The pin was applied, and Priest got redemption for his loss against Talla last week.<\/p>\n

However, as usual, a celebration against an MFT member never happened. Sikoa and Talla rushed the ring, with Talla stomping on him. Then he got handed to Sikoa, who delivered the Samoan Spike to the helpless victor. Even though Priest won the match, MFT overpowered him in the end. But that will probably turn out to be a bad decision. Once R-Truth gets cleared, their tag team rivalry will resume emphatically.<\/p>\n