WWE Stars Who Shared The Ring With Zilla Fatu Prior To His NXT Debut

WWE

Following a lot of speculation, Zilla Fatu made his WWE debut on the August 11 NXT episode, attacking Grayson Waller and Cruz Montana.

Despite only making his wrestling debut in July 2023, the Anoa’i family member has crossed paths with numerous top stars, some of which are currently active in WWE today.

Here are five current WWE stars who Zilla Fatu shared the ring with prior to his debut for the company:

Jacob Fatu

Jacob Fatu teamed with his real-life cousin Zilla Fatu four times in early 2024, ahead of Jacob joining WWE that April.

The duo first shared the ring at GCW Look At Me in January 2024, defeating Jay Lyon and Midas Black.

Following this, they teamed together at the “Touch The Sky”, “Role Model” and “The Block Is Hot” events, scoring victories over Los Macizos, Bang And Matthews and Gringo Loco & Oni El Bendito respectively.

With this duo being undefeated as a team on the independent scene, it would be interesting to see this tag-team reunite in a WWE ring.

Bully Ray

Zilla Fatu and Bully Ray currently have one win apiece over each other, following their matches in House of Glory last summer.

The WWE Radio contributor actually defeated Zilla for the Crown Jewel Championship in a tables match at High Intensity in August 2025.

Just over a month later, Zilla won the gold back, beating Bully Ray at HOG Philadelphia.

Commenting on Zilla’s NXT debut, Bully Ray recently questioned whether the new signing will be able to keep his attitude in check, but ultimately stated that he sees lots of upside to Zilla Fatu.

Ricky Saints

While Ricky Saints and Zilla Fatu technically haven’t faced off in a match, a physical in-ring moment between the duo led to the crowd chanting for Fatu on NXT before he had even joined the company.

In the closing moments of the Reality of Wrestling World Title match at ROW SubZero in December 2025, then-NXT Champion Ricky Saints attacked Zilla, costing him the match.

This led to fans chanting for Zilla Fatu during a Ricky Saints NXT segment in January, which Zilla stated was a humbling experience for him.

With Zilla Fatu previously teasing having unfinished business with Saints, this feels like a ready-made rivalry which WWE could easily capitalise on.

Baron Corbin

Baron Corbin – then Bishop Dyer – made his House of Glory debut at the March 2026 Turf Wars event, challenging for Zilla Fatu’s Crown Jewel Championship.

While Dyer referenced his TLC 2019 victory over Zilla’s cousin, Roman Reigns, during the build to this match, it was ultimately the Anoa’i family member who walked out with the gold at the end of the night.

Both stars have since signed with WWE, with Dyer making his return as Baron Corbin on the July 10 SmackDown episode, and going on to win the US Championship from Trick Williams at SummerSlam.

With Corbin working with younger stars in his current role, we could see him meet Zilla in the ring in the future for a rematch.

Booker T

Booker T has a lot of history with Zilla Fatu, with the newest WWE star notably training with the Hall of Famer at Reality of Wrestling, ahead of his debut at ROW Summer of Champions in July 2023.

The mentor and protege met in the ring at ROW Battle To The Bell 2025, as part of the Street Justice Rules Gauntlet match which saw Zilla face five other stars, one being the current NXT commentator.

Entering last, Booker T scored the pinfall over Zilla Fatu. It’s fair to say that their dynamic will be different on NXT TV, with Booker T expressing excitement during Zilla Fatu’s debut segment.

With their real-life relationship, the Hall of Famer will be rooting for the young Bloodline family member to succeed.

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• wwe
• Debut
• unfinished business
• Zilla Fatu

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