WWE: Talla Tonga on Haku Was Originally Supposed To Return On 7/24 WWE SmackDown Show, Kyoki (Hiromu Takahashi) Makes WWE In-Ring Debut Prior To 8/24 WWE RAW Show, Jordynne Grace Working on Research Paper on Why Female Athletes Outperform Males In Wrestling Developmental, ESPN Unlimited To Increase Prices

Talla Tonga Comments on Haku Was Originally Supposed To Return On July 24th WWE SmackDown Show

As noted before, the July 31st episode of WWE SmackDown in Green Bay, Wisconsin WWE Hall of Famer Haku made his surprise return to WWE and reunited with his sons Tama & Talla Tonga.

A recent episode of the Cheap Heat Radio podcast featured Talla Tonga as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Tonga’s thoughts about when he first learned of the plans for his father to return to WWE.

“It came through Tama first. They had the idea, passed it onto Tama and then passed it on to me. I want to say around SummerSlam, that’s when it became solidified. That’s when my dad started calling like, ‘Hey, I just got hit up, I got a flight coming out.’ I was like, ‘Oh, shoot, so it’s serious then.’ It was around that time. There had been spread of it before, maybe a week or two after we split from Solo there was probably word of it. But, you know how it is, you hear a word and you don’t really trust it, you just go week by week. You see what happens week by week.”

Tonga also revealed that Haku was originally supposed to return at the the July 24 episode of WWE SmackDown in the San Francisco area.

“Even then, we were in San Francisco [Oakland] and he was supposed to debut then. Then they pushed it back to the week of SummerSlam. So he was with us for two weeks, those first two weeks before SummerSlam. You know how it is, everything comes last minute and you just got with it.”

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com

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Kyoki (Hiromu Takahashi) Makes WWE In-Ring Debut Prior To Aug. 24th WWE RAW Show

As noted before, the August 21st WWE SmackDown show in Toronto, Ontario, Canada featured Hyoki, former Hiromu Takahashi in NJPW, making his official debut appearance in WWE.

WWE held a dark match prior to the start of Monday’s WWE RAW show in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

This match was Kyoki competing in his official in-ring debut for WWE in a singles match against Kit Wilson, which was won by Kyoki.

Main event match one: Kit Wilson vs Kyoki/Hiromu!! pic.twitter.com/6JB8q3PkNt

— Tom 🇨🇦 (@TQSherwood) August 24, 2026

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Jordynne Grace Working on Research Paper on Why Female Athletes Transitioning To Pro Wrestling Outperform Males In Developmental

In recent weeks, Kevin Owens and WWE Hall of Famer AJ Styles have joined in on the online debate and praise of NXT and WWE NIL female talent progressing better than their male counterparts in WWE’s developmental system in recent years.

Jordynne Grace recently announced on Twitter that she is currently working on a research paper for her kinesiology class explaining why female athletes transitioning to professional wrestling outperform male athletes in developmental training.

“Writing a research paper in my kinesiology class on something highly debated in the wrestling world:

Why female athletes transitioning to professional wrestling outperform their male counterparts in developmental training

The biggest reasons:
– most women are coming from sports with high transferability to wrestling
– the female recruits have extensive experience being coached on precise movements
– recruiting for women focuses on skill; recruiting for men focuses on size

Will release my paper at a later date, but feel free to weigh in.”

Writing a research paper in my kinesiology class on something highly debated in the wrestling world:

Why female athletes transitioning to professional wrestling outperform their male counterparts in developmental training

The biggest reasons:
– most women are coming from…

— Jordynne Grace (@JordynneGrace) August 24, 2026

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ESPN Unlimited To Increase Sub Prices

ESPN recently announced that they will be increasing the prices for subscriptions to their ESPN Unlimited streaming service starting on September 17.

ESPN’s official website:

ESPN Select or Unlimited Plans and Prices

To view the latest prices and offers for ESPN Select and Unlimited, click on the plan link below:
* ESPN Select Monthly Subscription $12.99/Month
* ESPN Select Annual Subscription $129.99/Year
* ESPN Unlimited Monthly Subscription $29.99/Month
* ESPN Unlimited Annual Subscription $299.99/Year

NOTE: As of September 17, 2026, subscription prices will increase as follows:
* ESPN Select Monthly Subscription $13.99/Month
* ESPN Select Annual Subscription $139.99/Year
 * ESPN Unlimited Monthly Subscription $31.99/Month
* ESPN Unlimited Annual Subscription $319.99/Year

For all Disney bundle pricing with ESPN Select or Unlimited, please visit the Disney+ Help Center

ESPN Unlimited is the streaming home of WWE’s Premium Live Events in the United States.