JBL Says WWE Was Right To Fine Tama Tonga And Would Have Supported Firing Him Over Rehearsal Leak

JBL didn’t hold back when addressing the recent situation involving Tama Tonga posting backstage rehearsal footage, making it clear he believes WWE had every right to issue a major fine — and even suggested termination would have been justified.

Reports surfaced that Tama Tonga was hit with a significant fine after posting rehearsal footage from a prior episode of SmackDown, raising concerns internally about backstage privacy and protecting company content. Speaking on the Something to Wrestle podcast with Conrad Thompson, JBL made it clear he backed WWE’s decision immediately.

After learning about the situation, JBL said he fully supported disciplinary action and made it clear he would have taken it even further under similar circumstances.

“I completely agree with WWE for the fine, for whatever the amount was, and if they’d have fired him, I’d have agreed with it.”

JBL went on to explain that during his time in WWE, sharing backstage material without approval wasn’t treated lightly. He described it as one of the most serious violations a performer could commit, especially when it involved exposing company operations.

“This was always a fireable offense. You release something like that, you release secrets of your company.”

He also pointed out that there’s a major difference between talent releasing material on their own and WWE choosing to show behind-the-scenes footage through official programming. According to JBL, the company has the right to control how sensitive content is presented to the public.

“The company chooses to release that in a way that is canned in their WWE Unreal, which is the prerogative that they have to be able to look at that, edit that, figure out what they want to put out, what they don’t. You can’t have talent just putting out stuff like, ‘Here’s a rehearsal, here’s what’s going on backstage,’ and just letting stuff out like that.”

Despite his strong stance on discipline, JBL also acknowledged that generational differences may have played a role in the situation. He suggested that younger wrestlers today might not fully understand how serious certain actions can be, particularly when it comes to protecting company information.

“A fireable offense in my generation, yeah, you should fire a guy, because we knew better. 100% knew better. I don’t know that the talent today knows better. And that’s a matter of education, not a matter of intelligence. You don’t know unless somebody tells you.”

Even with his strict viewpoint, JBL didn’t believe the punishment should follow Tama Tonga long-term. Instead, he argued that once the fine is issued, the matter should be considered closed — something he credited Vince McMahon with enforcing during his leadership years.

“I think it’s appropriate to give a slap on the wrist, a pretty big fine. I don’t think it should carry forward anywhere in his career or be held against him in any way. That’s one thing Vince was very good about. When Vince would fine somebody or punish somebody, that was it, and it was over, and Vince forgot about it after that. I think that’s what should happen with this young man.”

JBL’s comments add to the discussion about how WWE handles internal discipline and the growing challenges that come with social media access behind the scenes. While the fine appears to have settled the immediate issue, the situation shows how closely WWE guards its production process and backstage operations.