Wrestling legend Tully Blanchard recently confirmed his departure from AEW and ROH last year will be permanent.

The Four Horseman original managed Shawn Spears and FTR for much of his time with the promotion. Later on, he moved into AEW’s ROH angles, where he managed Brian Cage and The Gates of Agony. Together, the group were known as Tully Blanchard Enterprises.

Ultimately, the faction didn’t last long in this format as Blanchard was quickly replaced by longtime ROH personality Prince Nana.

On a recent edition of The Two Man Power Trip podcast, Blanchard reunited with old tag partner Arn Anderson. The Brainbusters discussed a variety of topics before focusing on Blanchard’s surprise AEW departure.

Tully Blanchard Suggests Departure Was “Complex”

Blanchard explained that there was more to the closure of his time in AEW and ROH than a simple contract expiry.

“No, it [Blanchard leaving] was a little more complex than that, but my contract is up and I’m gone.”

Blanchard ultimately opted out of shedding any further light on the situation. His comments do raise some questions as to what might have prompted his sudden departure from the company. Renowned for his intensity and technical skill in his wrestling heyday, Blanchard was also notorious for often being difficult to work with.

The man himself went on to opine that his time in the wrestling business is likely up. His daughter, Tessa Blanchard, was widely regarded as one of the best women’s wrestlers in the world late into last decade. A variety of personal and professional issues have led to her essentially being blacklisted in multiple promotions.

When asked for his thoughts on her daughter’s future, Blanchard was encouraging of her recent decision to return to college and finish getting a degree. The podcast was record prior to Monday’s announcement that Tessa Blanchard and former Impact Wrestling act DAGA are getting divorced.

Actor and screenwriter Freddie Prinze Jr. has been working on the formation of his own wrestling promotion for some time now.

On a recent episode of his Wrestling with Freddie podcast, the Scooby-Doo star shed some light on a feud he had in mind for his promotion. At the top of the card, Prinze Jr. wanted Karrion Kross vs. Bray Wyatt. The angle would’ve also included Kross’ wife Scarlett and Wyatt’s real-life brother Bo Dallas.

Perhaps most curious of all was the manner in which Prinze Jr. wanted to use Bo Dallas. Instead of being a standard, active professional wrestler, Dallas would’ve essentially been a figment of Wyatt’s personality. It would’ve lent an almost supernatural vibe to Wyatt in his feud with Kross. Interestingly, the Hollywood star would’ve booked Kross as a babyface, something he’s rarely played in his professional wrestling career.

Ultimately, though, the feud had to be cancelled when Kross made his surprise return to WWE last year. At that point, Prinze Jr. considered booking ‘The Eater of Worlds’ as a babyface before he too returned to WWE.

Karrion Kross Reportedly Has Freddie Prinze Jr.’s Blessing To Use The Angle In The Future

On the same podcast episode, Prinze Jr. revealed that Karrion Kross knows the full story that was planned out for his and Bray Wyatt’s feud.

Despite both me ultimately backing out to rejoin WWE, the podcast host is happy for Kross to use the angle down the road if he wants to. The former White Rabbit in Lucha Underground plays a devilish heel in WWE managed by Scarlett. His return and subsequent feud with Drew McIntyre in 2022 drew a polarized response from audiences.

Bray Wyatt, meanwhile, returned to much fanfare at Extreme Rules 2022. Since then, he’s engaged in a complex, slow-burning feud with LA Knight. The angle appears set to climax at the Royal Rumble when the two finally wrestle.

While both stars are on the SmackDown roster at the moment, an angle between them seems unlikely for now. Bo Dallas, meanwhile, has not been seen on WWE TV in a long time. Rumors are currently swirling that he will turn out to be the Uncle Howdy character later this year.

Six months after their Dominion showdown, Kazuchika Okada has finally gotten the better of Jay White.

Wrestle Kingdom 17 marks Okada’s first win over ‘Switchblade’ in almost four years. In that time, White picked up a 2020 G1 Climax win over ‘The Rainmaker’ as well as taking the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship off of him last year.

Okada vanquished his long-running foil with a Rainmaker at the 33-minute mark of the bout. This marks the second consecutive Wrestle Kingdom closed out with ‘The Rainmaker’ on top. Last year, he won back-to-back main events over then-champion Shingo Takagi and Will Ospreay.

Tonight’s match was especially notable for White’s unpleasant, mouth-foaming selling of Okada’s Money clip submission hold. ‘The Rainmaker’ also kicked out of the highly-protected Blade Runner finisher.

Kazuchika Okada’s First Challenger Revealed

Following his win, Kazuchika Okada was confronted by none other than the man he beat at last year’s January 4 event: Shingo Takagi.

Takagi was relegated to the prelims at this year’s Tokyo Dome extravaganza. There, he was one of the winners of the annual New Japan Ranbo. The KOPW 2022 Champion ultimately made his presence felt on the main card when he confronted the new champ after the main event.

The popular Los Ingobernables de Japon member made clear his intention to regain the gold he lost to Okada last year.

Wrestle Kingdom 17 then rounded out on a fitting tribute to the late Antonio Inoki. The founder of NJPW, Inoki passed away in October last year. This year’s Tokyo Dome show, and particularly its main event, marked the promotion’s tribute to its original ace. It’s fitting then, that current leading man Kazuchika Okada was the one to close out the show.

The highly-anticipated showdown between Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay has finished with ‘The Cleaner’ coming out on top.

The January 4 victory marks the start of Omega’s second reign as IWGP US Champion. His inaugural run with the title in 2017 and 2018 drew widespread acclaim. Omega played up his heel-side against the brash Ospreay in this near 35-minute war.

Both men worked a stiff, hard pace between the ropes, dismantling each other with hard shots and explosive moves. Ultimately, a defiant Ospreay spat in ‘The Cleaner’s face before eating a One Winged Angel to lose his belt.

After several months of re-establishing the US Title’s prestige after a chaotic first half of 2022, Will Ospreay’s defeat here may come as a surprise to some. Omega is of course no longer with the promotion, making the future of the US Title in NJPW more unpredictable than ever.

Today Marks Four Years Since Kenny Omega Last Wrestled In NJPW

Before today’s US Championship war, ‘The Cleaner’ had not competed in NJPW for four years. He was last seen at Wrestle Kingdom 13, where he defended the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against 2018 G1 Climax winner Hiroshi Tanahashi.

Tanahashi ultimately got the better of Omega in a classic main event bout.

Since then, Kenny Omega has of course been focusing most of his time on AEW, where he enjoyed a lengthy run with the World Championship in late 2020 and most of 2021. After spending much of 2022 on the shelf due to injuries, ‘The Cleaner’ returned with a bang to team with old pals The Young Bucks.

If today’s showdown with Will Ospreay at Wrestle Kingdom 17 is anything to go by, Omega still has a lot left in the tank at the singles level.

Wrestle Kingdom 17 has played host to several notable title changes already, including the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title.

In a four-way bout, Taiji Ishimori wound up losing his strap to longtime junior heavyweight lead star Hiromu Takahashi. The bout also featured Takahashi’s longtime nemesis El Desperado and Master Wato. It was Wato who wound up eating the pin almost 17 minutes into the match.

Wrestle Kingdom 17 saw the first defense of the junior belt in six months. The long-running four-way angle between this quartet essentially held up the division for much of the closing stretch of last year. Before that, Ishimori’s feud with KUSHIDA had to be cut short when the returning former champ required time off due to severe illness.

Where Does Hiromu Takahashi Go Following Wrestle Kingdom 17?

The now five-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion has a lot of options coming out of the Tokyo Dome. He did suffer a singles bout loss to Ishimori last year. Considering the fact that ‘The Bone Soldier’ didn’t get pinned, a title between the pair soon seems likely.

Interestingly, during and after the match, a confrontation between Los Ingobernables de Japon and NOAH faction KONGO broke out. As the junior ace of LIJ, Takahashi could well have to fend off some NOAH invader challengers in the months to come.

A war between the two factions was first teased last year. Fan interest in a Tetsuya Naito vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima feud has been building for years now. While the pair did wrestle at the 2016 G1 Climax, Nakajima has come a long way since then.

For Hiromu Takahashi, this is another exciting prospect for his latest run on top coming out of Wrestle Kingdom 17.

After six long months, Karl Anderson’s polarizing NEVER Openweight Title run came to an end against Tama Tonga today at Wrestle Kingdom 17.

Tonga himself lost the strap to Anderson at last year’s Dominion event. In that time, Anderson made successful defenses against former NJPW ace Hiroshi Tanahashi and rising star Hikuleo.

Karl Anderson’s run was riddled with controversy. This was due to his recent return to WWE to reform The OC with AJ Styles. The original Bullet Clubber was also Tama Tonga’s mentor in the latter’s early years in the promotion, lending some interesting long term themes to their feud.

In a match that didn’t quite live up to their considerably more slick first encounter, Tama Tonga bested Anderson with his own Gun Stun finisher.

Where Does Karl Anderson Go From Here?

Considering his WWE commitments, it’s quite plausible Karl Anderson is done with NJPW for the foreseeable future. After a six-year absence, ‘Machine Gun’ returned to New Japan last year to a fair bit of fanfare and a surprise singles push.

He defeated then-NEVER Champion Tama Tonga in his first singles match back. Anderson then shocked many when he started appearing on Monday Night RAW shortly thereafter.

His second title defense with Hikuleo wound up being delayed due to his WWE commitments. Now, with the belt taken out of his hands, Anderson can likely enjoy a more relaxed schedule in 2023.

For Tama Tonga, this big win is another step in his rise to babyface superstardom in NJPW. Few could’ve suspected the Tongan star would take off so quickly in the redeemed hero role. As a two-time NEVER champ, the sky could be the limit in 2023 for him.

The tournament to crown the inaugural NJPW World Television Champion has come to an end with Zack Sabre Jr. as the victor.

Despite almost six years in the promotion, during which he’s won two New Japan Cups, the technical wizard has never held a New Japan singles belt. He’s enjoyed reigns with the IWGP Tag Team Titles as part of his Dangerous Tekkers act with Taichi. Beyond that, though, he was often slotted into representing RPW in singles bouts earlier in his run.

Now, with a submission victory over Ren Narita in the Tokyo Dome, ZSJ can add the TV belt to his growing list of accolades. Despite being the more established star, many expected Sabre Jr. to lose here. Narita has been presented as essentially the new Katsuyori Shibata. The general consensus was that the belt’s time limit rules were tailor-made for his fast-paced style.

Zack Sabre Jr. Moving Into New Faction

Throughout his time in NJPW, Zack Sabre Jr. was a key figure in Suzukigun. Run by the legendary Minoru Suzuki, the heel group enjoyed almost babyface-like reactions in recent years despite their villainous ways.

Last month, the group was officially ended by Suzuki himself. Due to the TV Title tournament, Zack Sabre Jr. did not tag with Taichi in this year’s World Tag League either.

Now with a new singles title to establish, it appears the British globetrotter is joining TMDK. The team came out to congratulate the catch-as-catch-can master on his victory. They then offered him a spot with them moving forward after Wrestle Kingdom. Interestingly, rumors have swirled lately of either Sabre Jr. or Taichi possibly leading a Suzukigun-like faction in 2023. Whether or not this TMDK alliance leads to such an angle remains to be seen.

For fans of NJPW, more news on this development will likely unfold on tomorrow’s New Year’s Dash show.

After 190 days on top in New Japan’s IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Division, FTR finally met their match today.

Bishomon, the team of longtime upper midcard fan favorite Hirooki Goto and perenial underdog YOSHI-HASHI, are tag team champions once more. In a surprisingly quick 10-minute showdown, these two teams enjoyed a heated response from the audience. The crowd popped in particular for the Big Rig.

Despite playing babyface for much of 2022, FTR heeled it up here in service of NJPW’s home team. Goto and YOSHI-HASHI won the 2022 World Tag League tournament to get here. All in all, this is the second consecutive year of the well-liked CHAOS members winning the tag leagues before securing the titles in the Tokyo Dome.

The match came to an end when YOSHI-HASHI landed an upset pinfall on Dax Harwood.

FTR Lose Another Set Of Tag Titles

Last month, the former three promotion champions dropped their ROH Tag Titles to the Briscoe Brothers. It was the final chapter in the acclaimed trilogy of epic bouts between the two teams. After besting the Briscoes twice in 2022, FTR crumbled in a blood-soaked Dog Collar Match that garnered widespread acclaim.

FTR’s contracts with AEW reportedly come to an end in April. The popular duo suddenly losing all of the titles they’ve snatched up does appear to lend credence to the rumors they won’t be continuing with the land of the Elite past April.

The pair also lost their AAA World Tag Team Championships to Dragon Lee and Dralistico in December, essentially freeing them up for 2023.

If FTR decide against sticking with AEW, it’s very likely Triple H and co. will want them back in WWE for another run as The Revival.

Former AEW World Champion Kenny Omega’s long-awaited return to New Japan Pro Wrestling is almost here.

The former Bullet Club leader was one of the promotion’s top main event attractions from his G1 Climax 2016 win all the way up to his highly acclaimed Wrestle Kingdom 13 main event with Hiroshi Tanahashi. After months of online bickering and tag team showdowns in AEW, Omega will face Will Ospreay one-on-one for the IWGP US Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 17.

Omega was the inaugural IWGP US Champion. He is still widely argued to have had the finest reign in the title’s history. Will Ospreay, meanwhile, moved into the US title picture this year after failing to regain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 16 in January.

For fans, Omega vs. Ospreay has been a dream match for years. Based on a recent interview with NJPW, however, Omega does not feel the same way. “The Best Bout Machine” was critical of Ospreay’s matches as well as New Japan’s decision to highlight “The Aerial Assassin” as one of their premier acts.

“But after seeing the way that Will has led the ship [NJPW], I started to become disgusted, And I didn’t understand why ‘why are you backing him, New Japan?’ And I get it. It’s just because you had no-one else. Until now.”

– Kenny Omega

“He Was Just Like Anybody Else”

Kenny Omega was then asked for his initial thoughts on Will Ospreay when the then-junior heavyweight star debuted in 2016.

“How did I feel about Will Ospreay when he first arrived in New Japan? He was just like anybody else,” Omega opined. “There are so many guys like him, who can do a bunch of flips and tricks. And it’s fun to watch them practice, and it’s fun to watch their matches. But did I ever feel anything from Will Ospreay? Hmm, not so much.”

Omega went on to essentially bury Ospreay’s work as a top star in NJPW. Omega widely dismissing it as a pale imitation of his own run on top in Japan’s premier wrestling promotion.

Considering the angle Omega and Ospreay have been running this year of trying to one-up each other, it’s likely that at least some of these comments are in kayfabe.

Considering Omega’s commendable drawing power in 2017 and 2018 in New Japan, there are likely plenty of Elite fans who agree with his considering himself the superior main event star in the Land of the Rising Sun.

ESPN First Take commentator and sports personality Stephen A. Smith recently tweeted his thoughts on comments recently made by Paul Heyman about him.

Paul Heyman, often regarded as the great wrestling manager since Bobby Heenan, took issue with a complementary tweet comparing him to Stephen A. Smith. US Democrat Party strategist and LA Times journalist Kurt Bardella suggested a “mic battle” between Smith and Heyman would be “the greatest manager promo” ever.

In response, Paul Heyman dismissed both the manager title for himself, and the notion of Stephen A. Smith being on his level.

Stephen A. Smith took the time to tweet out an amusing response to Paul Heyman last night. Most interesting of all was his implied interest in potentially doing work with WWE in the future.

“I Am Coming One Of These Days” – Stephen A. Smith On Paul Heyman Tweet

Stephen A. Smith was unimpressed by Paul Heyman’s tweet, taking particular issue with the former ECW and WWE booker’s “land of obscurity” jibe. After threatening to show up Heyman’s acclaimed work as Special Counsel to Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, Smith eased the mood by confirming he was merely kidding around.

Rumors have recently swirled of him potentially doing something with the WWE in 2023. If so, it’s not implausible that this recent back-and-forth on social media with Paul Heyman could be used in a storyline or segment when Stephen A. Smith shows up. He has discussed his WWE fandom in the past and has even tweeted about The Rock being his favorite wrestler in the past and admiring Vince McMahon.

John Cena is set to wrestle for the first time this year at the December 30 edition of SmackDown.

The longtime star-turned-Hollywood actor will tag with Kevin Owens against Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn. John Cena has not wrestled since his SummerSlam main event loss against Reigns last year. In that time, Cena has been focusing on film and TV work, including the popular HBO series Peacemaker.

As per the Wrestling Observer, several angles for John Cena at next year’s WrestleMania could be implemented in next week’s match. Despite interest in seeing the 16-time World Champion perform at the Show of Shows, it’s not yet definite he will be able to. The former face of the company is very busy with other commitments at the moment but it’s believed he will manage to make the Mania event.

Due to his show business commitments, John Cena will be unavailable for much of February and March. This could make building his WrestleMania angle troublesome.

Who Did Vince McMahon Want Cena To Face At WrestleMania?

Before his retirement earlier this year, Vince McMahon was apparently keen on John Cena facing Austin Theory next year. Seeds for a feud were seemingly planted at Cena’s 20th Anniversary celebrations on RAW earlier this year. Theory was in his first run as US Champion at the time. The rising star cut an aggressive promo on “The Doctor of Thuganomics”.

Since then, Theory has lost the US Title, won and failed to cash-in the Money in the Bank briefcase, and regained the US Championship. The title’s long been synonymous with John Cena due to both his early years in the WWE midcard and his acclaimed 2015 title run. Therefore, a US Title bout between the two could work as a passing of the torch-type angle.

Vince McMahon reportedly considered Theory the next John Cena-level star. However, Cena has been inserted into the Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn/Roman Reigns angle. With this in mind, a Theory feud coming soon doesn’t look as likely as it did earlier this year.

Mandy Rose is already receiving interest from other promotions following her surprise release from WWE earlier this month.

As the leader of the Toxic Attraction stable, Mandy Rose was the face of women’s wrestling in NXT this year. Holding the NXT Women’s Title and unifying it with the NXT UK Women’s Championship, Rose had arguably the finest run of her career on the developmental brand. She successfully reinvented herself following a main roster run best known for her romance angle with Otis in 2020.

Mandy Rose’s release from WWE was announced shortly after Roxanne Perez ended her epic 413-day reign. The release was decided on due to the adult content on Rose’s FanTime account which was considered inappropriate for modern WWE.

A key figure in the Impact Wrestling Knockouts division has now revealed she’d like to face Mandy Rose in the squared circle.

Mandy Rose in Impact Wrestling?

Former two-time Impact Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo recently revealed that she’d love to wrestle the former NXT Women’s Champion.

Deonna Purrazzo is a key figure in Impact Wrestling. She was even voted Wrestler of the Year by the promotion in 2020. In 2022, she’s focused more on the Knockouts tag team division, forming the VXT duo with Chelsea Green. Earlier this year, she main-evented an episode of AEW Dynamite. There, she faced Mercedes Martinez in an ROH Women’s Championship unification bout which she lost.

“The Virtuosa” is known for her realistic, technical, submission holds-focused ring style. Her matches often revolve around her well-protected Fujiwara armbar submission hold finisher. Going up against the more explosive offense and vainglorious persona Mandy Rose exhibited in NXT could make for an interesting styles clash.

Quotes via Metro

Dax Harwood of the popular FTR tag team is moving into the podcast arena starting next week. The reigning IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champion will co-host a new show titled, “FTR With Dax Harwood’ along with co-host Matt Koon.

Koon previously co-hosted the Gentleman Villain podcast with William Regal. That show has come to an end due to his AEW departure and imminent WWE return.

The debut episode of ‘FTR With Dax Harwood’ premieres December 29 at on AdFreeShows.com. Any potential involvement of his longtime tag team partner Cash Wheeler is also yet to be confirmed.

FTR No Longer Three-Promotion Tag Team Champions

Following Final Battle 2022, FTR are down to two of the three tag team titles they’ve held for much of this year.

At the ROH event, Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler dropped the ROH Tag Team Championships to the Briscoe Brothers. The third of their bouts was a bloody Double Dog Collar Match that has received considerable acclaim.

On Wednesday’s Dynamite, FTR lost a non-title match to the Gunn Club. Dax Harwood ate a partner-assisted roll-up pinfall to end the match.

On January 4, the pair are set to defend their IWGP titles against World Tag League winners Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI. The recent losses of their belts, as well as an AEW Tag Team Title match against current champions The Acclaimed, has turned some heads lately.

Dax Harwood himself has confirmed that FTR’s AEW contracts finish in April 2023. The fan favorite tag team’s prospects could get very interesting if they choose to become free agents next year.