Blanchard says his departure from AEW/ROH is more ‘complex’ than just his deal being up.
Throughout Tully Blanchard’s time with All Elite Wrestling, he managed FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler), Shawn Spears and was a member of The Pinnacle with the aforementioned names in addition to MJF and Wardlow.
When Blanchard was no longer paired with FTR, he was moved over to the Ring of Honor branch of AEW and formed Tully Blanchard Enterprises with Brian Cage, Kaun and Toa Liona. At the Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view, Prince Nana ‘purchased’ the group from Blanchard.
Tully was invited onto the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling Podcast and confirmed that he’s longer with AEW/ROH. His said his departure was ‘more complex’ than just his contract coming up. Blanchard would imagine his on-screen career is done and can’t imagine AEW or WWE having him back.
Well, I’m no longer with AEW or Ring of Honor or any subsidiaries thereof. That sounded pretty legal didn’t it?… So I would imagine that my wrestling career is probably over other than doing autographs shows and things like we did in Nashville (Starrcast), although I don’t know how many retirement matches, last matches [Ric] Flair can have so…
It was a little more complex than that (his departure from AEW/ROH was more than just a contract situation) but, my contract is up and I’m gone.
I am probably done. I doubt that AEW would have me come back. I doubt that WWE would have me come back and where else would you go except those two places?
In November 2022, Ricky Steamboat came out of retirement for one last match. He teamed with FTR to face Jay Lethal, Nick Aldis and Brock Anderson. Tully revealed that he was asked to be part of Steamboat’s last match but did not want to embarrass himself by not being able to do what he once did.
I was asked to do a last match with Ricky Steamboat and I’m not gonna go out there and embarrass myself and not be able to do what I used to do. Just watch the videos.
On the topic of final matches, Blanchard opted not to weigh in on Ric Flair’s Last Match because he did not have many positive things to say. Tully stated that unfortunately, AEW talked him out of retirement when he competed on Dynamite in 2021.
He tagged with FTR to face Jurassic Express (Marko Stunt, Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus). Blanchard credited Stunt for taking the slingshot suplex well and added that he got through the match and did not need to wrestle anymore.
I didn’t see it (Ric Flair’s Last Match) and wasn’t there… Well, the show was on Sunday and I have to be at my day job. The one that pays all my bills.
Um… I would probably not comment on that (what I think of Flair getting back in the ring), because I probably don’t have a lot of positive to say and I personally would prefer my last match — unfortunately, AEW talked me into one — but before that, most of my matches, I think I only wrestled maybe six or seven times after my full-time career and people’s memories are of me and me and Arn [Anderson] or me and The Horsemen from back in those days when I could actually do it and I can’t do it anymore. I couldn’t do it.
Marko [Stunt] took the absolute greatest slingshot suplex of anybody alive, anytime (when I wrestled for AEW in 2021). It was awesome and it made me look better than I am and everything else was good and we got through it and I didn’t need to do that anymore.
At the Death Before Dishonor media scrum, Tony Khan wished Blanchard well and said viewers could see him in AEW or ROH in the future.
If the quotes in this article are used, please credit the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling Podcast with an H/T to POST Wrestling for the transcriptions.
